Chapter 13: Konoha Strikes, Cloud Village Takes the Blame

Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite intelligent.

He knew very well in his heart that the truth of the matter no longer mattered.

Just as Shikaku Nara had said, what mattered most now was stabilizing morale.

Itachi must understand.

We are still at war; who has the mind to investigate a case?

Besides,

only Uchiha died.

The village has always been wary of the Uchiha; a few more deaths is a good thing.

Even if they did not die in the village, he would sooner or later find a way to have the Uchiha perish in the war.

The Uchiha must be restrained; they cannot be allowed to grow too powerful.

Under these circumstances, if they die, so be it.

Considering this, Hiruzen Sarutobi made an immediate decision, effectively settling the matter.

It would also serve to smear the Hidden Cloud Village and, in turn, boost the morale of the Hidden Leaf Village.

This is a good thing!

So without any hesitation, he issued the order directly.

And Shikamaru Nara, true to expectations, immediately spread the news throughout the entire ninja world.

Of course, as the incident festered, the reputation of the Hidden Cloud Village plummeted.

There was no way around it.

With pictures and proof, there was no reason not to believe it.

Especially the manner in which those three Uchiha died; it appeared they offered no resistance whatsoever.

Before Might Guy stepped in, the entire ninja world assumed that only the Hidden Cloud Village possessed taijutsu experts of such caliber.

Hidden Cloud Village: "..."

I have ten thousand words of curses, yet I do not know whether to speak them or not.

Framed like this, they wanted to cry.

Rumor had it that upon learning of this, the Third Raikage immediately issued a declaration to the ninja world, claiming it was all a slander by the Hidden Leaf Village. He, the Third Raikage, was an upright man and would never stoop to such deeds.

But, unfortunately,

the Hidden Leaf Village soon produced various pieces of evidence left behind two years ago when a Hidden Cloud ninja squad was caught attempting to steal a Kekkei Genkai in the Hidden Leaf Village.

This time,

the Hidden Leaf Village presented only the evidence, saying not a word.

Silence speaks louder than words!

Third Raikage: "..."

He was left speechless!

In the end, furious and frustrated, he smashed everything in his office.

Damn it.

He was truly furious!

If he had actually done this, he would have accepted the failure.

But the problem is,

he could swear to the heavens that he did not do it!

He was a victim too!

However, it was useless.

In the current ninja world, no one believed him.

Even the Hidden Stone Village, their secret ally, thought the Hidden Cloud Village's character was too poor. Every time they negotiated with the Hidden Cloud, they were extremely cautious, and the distrust in their eyes drove the Third Raikage mad.

This frame-up was too heavy; he truly could not bear it.

He silently vowed in his heart that if he ever found out who the real culprit was,

even if the Third Great Ninja War stopped, he would have to eliminate that bastard.

It was simply too disgusting.

Of course, unlike the Hidden Cloud Village, the Hidden Leaf Village saw its morale soar due to this incident.

Especially when fighting the Hidden Cloud, they charged forward with roaring enthusiasm.

Clearly,

the Hidden Cloud's actions had disgusted them, and at this moment, they all sought revenge.

On the other side, the Hidden Leaf Village.

Uchiha Compound.

Uchiha Jin, the person directly involved, was unaware that his actions would stir up such a storm.

At this moment, he was sitting in the living room, receiving Uchiha Shisui as a guest.

"Can Itachi tell me?"

"What exactly happened?"

"This spectacle today seems a bit too much, doesn't it?"

"Of course, if it is confidential, then Itachi need not tell me."

Uchiha Jin spoke up.

Looking at Uchiha Shisui before him, he could not help but ask.

Uchiha Shisui, however, smiled and shook his head: "Rest assured, it has been clarified."

"Actually, there is nothing that needs to be kept secret. Uchiha Yoshio and the other two died last night."

"Moreover, this matter has been thoroughly investigated. From start to finish, it was a conspiracy by the Hidden Cloud Village, with the sole purpose of inciting civil strife within our Hidden Leaf Village."

"Truly, a wolf's heart and a fox's ambition!"

"Fortunately, the Hidden Leaf Village possesses the wise Nara clan. The current head of the Nara clan and leader of the Jonin Command, Nara Shikaku, has thoroughly analyzed and completely unraveled the conspiracy originating from the Hidden Cloud Village."

"Furthermore, this matter has now been reported to the entire ninja world."

"We must ensure that everyone in the ninja world knows just how filthy and despicable the Hidden Cloud Village is."

Uchiha Jin: "..."

He stood there, utterly bewildered.

What on earth is going on?

A conspiracy by the Hidden Cloud Village?

He, the very person involved, knew absolutely nothing about it.

Although he had indeed intended to shift the blame onto the Hidden Cloud Village, he hadn't thought it through deeply; he had simply intended it as a hidden reserve to keep himself in the shadows.

In reality,

he himself had no idea how effective it would be.

He merely thought that as long as the investigation didn't lead back to him, everything would be fine.

Looking at Uchiha Shisui before him, his face filled with rage, eager to rush to the front lines and kill, Uchiha Jin momentarily found himself at a loss for words.

This child is far too honest, isn't he?

However,

he still had a vague feeling that something was off.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but frown.

"Uchiha Shisui, do not rush to anger."

"Could Itachi explain the details to me? Since this matter involves me as well, I wish to understand it specifically."

"What exactly did the head of the Nara clan say?"

Uchiha Jin spoke with a serious tone.

Yes.

Regarding the head of the Nara clan and the current leader of the Jonin Command, he dared not underestimate him in the slightest.

This was the person famous throughout the entire ninja world for his high intelligence!

He was not a brat like Uchiha Shisui, believing whatever anyone told him.

Therefore,