Uchiha Fugaku ultimately couldn't withstand the pressure.
Following orders, he released the villagers who had spread the rumors from prison.
Public opinion in Konoha surged again.
The second wave was even more ferocious than before, like a vast, dark cloud of words pressing heavily on everyone's heads.
Inside the Hokage's Office.
"Danzo, how far do you intend to go?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe and glared at the man leaning on a cane in front of him.
"The Uchiha Clan has realized there's an issue with this matter. I can only suppress it for so long. Let's stop here. It's enough."
Danzo Shimura snorted coldly.
"No, it's far from enough! From the moment Sakumo Hatake decided to take an Uchiha as his disciple and attempted to win over the Uchiha Clan, he could no longer be trusted!"
"We absolutely cannot let him become Hokage, you know that!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a while, seemingly contemplating something, before finally nodding.
"Handle it with discretion. Sakumo Hatake is an important fighting force for the village; don't go too far. Stop when the time is right."
Seeing that he had finally relented, Danzo Shimura softened his tone a bit.
"I understand."
He seemed to agree not to push things to an extreme, but in reality, Danzo was secretly triumphant.
This time, he not only wanted to stomp Sakumo Hatake into the mud, but he also intended to make that evil Uchiha brat willingly walk into Root himself!
...
Naraku once again arrived at the Clan Head's residence late at night.
Uchiha Fugaku assumed he had come to persuade him.
His eyebrows were tightly furrowed, making his already grim face appear even more weathered.
"Hokage-sama has already explicitly ordered that the Uchiha Clan is not to interfere in this matter. Everything will be handled by the Anbu."
"But in reality, he hasn't done anything, has he?"
Facing Naraku's rhetorical question, Uchiha Fugaku could only remain silent.
The Sandaime was currently in his prime, and his control over Konoha was pervasive, inside and out.
How could he possibly be powerless to stop the spread of rumors?
The situation had developed to this point, and there was only one possibility.
The Sandaime also tacitly agreed to give Sakumo Hatake an indelible stain on his reputation.
Several elders within the clan had differing opinions on this, arguing incessantly.
The prevailing opinion was that Sakumo Hatake was unlikely to become Hokage in the short term.
Therefore, for the Uchiha Clan to stubbornly go against the now-powerful Hiruzen Sarutobi just for Sakumo's reputation was simply not worth it.
Even the relatively independent Uchiha Police Force could not openly defy the Hokage's will.
Otherwise, it would be a direct challenge, and the already disadvantaged Uchiha Clan would only face greater difficulties in the future.
So, Uchiha Fugaku hesitated.
When he received the Hokage's order again, after much deliberation, he still chose to release the people.
There was only silence.
Naraku knew that Uchiha Fugaku was completely unreliable.
Without his cooperation, he wouldn't get the support of the entire Uchiha Clan.
This Clan Head, accustomed to appeasement, was indecisive in his actions.
He could see the situation clearly but lacked the resolve to fight back desperately.
Moreover, since the Uchiha Clan had not yet been pushed to the brink, he simply didn't have the courage to break ties with the Hokage faction.
Matsukata Seigou must have felt the same helplessness towards his own father back then.
As for seizing control of the family like Matsukata Seigou... he currently lacked the necessary accumulation.
He didn't have enough prestige, nor did he have the ability to subdue the entire Uchiha Clan.
Naraku stopped speaking, bowed, and then got up to leave.
Actually, it wasn't entirely Uchiha Fugaku's fault for backing down.
No one would have expected that Sakumo was likely to commit suicide because of this, making things so irreversible...
This time, Uchiha Fūyō was still escorting him.
He watched the seemingly more somber and taciturn Naraku, having already figured out that the previous arrest operation was related to him.
As a hero of Konoha, the White Fang, most Uchiha Clan members admired Sakumo.
They were particularly angry when they heard he was being slandered, especially since those people were using Naraku, a genius of the Uchiha Clan, as a scapegoat.
The day the Clan Head announced the arrests, everyone finally got to vent their anger properly.
Many team members even decided to go to a tavern to celebrate after their shift.
But just a day or two later, the Police Force lost the authority to deal with the matter.
Rumors once again spread throughout the village, creating a foul atmosphere.
The Police Force members could only watch, unable to do anything, each of them feeling extremely unwilling to accept it.
It was clear there was irrefutable evidence, so why did the Hokage turn a blind eye?
Moreover, they were slandering Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.
He was a hero with illustrious military achievements whom even their Uchiha Clan respected.
How could the always proud Uchiha Clan accept this!
He couldn't help but say, "Actually, everyone in the Police Force doesn't want to give up, but..."
"It's not your fault; after all, it's an order."
Naraku promptly interrupted Uchiha Fūyō.
Once outside the Uchiha Clan Compound, they were within Hiruzen Sarutobi's reach, and anything said could be relayed to the Hokage Office.
He softly muttered to himself, "I'll find another way. I will find a way."
Uchiha Fūyō watched him, seeing he was still unwilling to give up, and couldn't help but feel for this stubborn young man.
Without the help of the Uchiha Clan and the Police Force, what could he do alone?
Returning to the hospital, Naraku watched Uchiha Fūyō leave, then turned and went upstairs.
As soon as he walked into the corridor on the second floor, he felt a distinct chakra fluctuation from behind him.
He turned to look, and there stood a masked Root member.
"My lord has an order, Uchiha Naraku."
Naraku calmly asked, "Who are you?"
"You do not need to know the answer to that question."
The Root member spoke emotionlessly, faithfully conveying the order like a machine.
"You are to wait at the Forest of Death entrance at a quarter past midnight within three days. Someone will take you to report to Root."
"What if I don't go?"
The Root member mechanically repeated words he had heard before: "You will go. Otherwise, this matter will never end."
Having delivered the message, the Root member vanished from the spot.
Naraku faced the empty corridor, his expression shifting erratically.
That naturally evil old ghost Danzo... threatening me with Sakumo, huh?
Just you wait, I'll smash your teeth in!
After cursing for a long time in his mind, Naraku quietly returned to the ward.
This genjutsu was quite deep.
Kakashi was still in a deep sleep, but his expression was slightly pained, indicating that his dreams were not pleasant.
He must have accumulated a lot of worries these past few days with no one to confide in, only able to keep it all inside.
Naraku gently smoothed Kakashi's furrowed brow, secretly making a firm decision.