gossip
It was a long night. Amidst the rolling thunder and light rain, a dozen or so clusters of firelight leaped and danced, illuminating the surrounding area as if it were daytime. Burning debris fell like a downpour, igniting even more places.
The scorching heatwave rolled outwards, carrying an aura of destruction, evaporating even the cold raindrops into white vapor in mid-air. Large sections of those ancient and glorious mansions were charred black; some, rescued in time, suffered only minor damage, while others, sleeping soundly, were completely burned away in the thunder and fire, as if sin and evil had been wiped away with a single stroke, collapsing with a deafening roar. Quite a few were burned.
Such a commotion naturally sparked rumors, and many people had even witnessed the 'wrongfully summoned spirits.' Even the slightest hint could fuel eighteen different versions of the story. Not to mention, the subjects of these rumors were all high-ranking officials and powerful figures—clan leaders, who were always the center of attention.
Furthermore, the house that caught fire was filled with characters whose appearances Luna learned from Hazuki, Root, and the Uchiha clan. Hazuki was also a ninja, but she quit after getting married and fearing her daughter would become an orphan. She had seen many innocent deaths and remembered many voices; aside from some who only appeared but didn't speak, the main perpetrators were those who personally questioned the ringleaders.
Luna's ability to create other shapes of thought entities was an improvement on her transformation technique. Fortunately, she possessed high mental strength, coupled with her special kaleidoscope, which allowed her to perform this 'questioning by a wronged spirit' scene with remarkable realism.
The fire also affected some of the more selectively located fish, such as those living nearby or next to the warehouse. It's not surprising that such places would be affected by a spark, is it?
Those who live next to the clan chief are usually the most loyal, but when their own interests are involved, resentment will inevitably arise. They may hold their anger in their hearts but dare not speak it out openly, though they will always find ways to vent it in secret.
Young men from wealthy families like this tend to be somewhat chauvinistic. They're adept at fawning over superiors in public, but at home they like to act like emperors. Being burned down at home is already upsetting enough, but then being blamed by their wives and children makes them vent their anger by scolding their wives for being unreasonable.
So, the man went out drinking, and the woman had nowhere to stay, so she had to take the child and temporarily return to her parents' home. The rumors, fueled by this, intensified.
What do you mean by the third generation owing something to the fourth?
Seriously, Kushina cried so hard, it sounded like she was talking about her son or something.
Four generations have children?
I don't know. Sigh, the Fourth Generation Lord really left us too soon.
I heard that the Hyuga clan chief's younger brother has returned to plead his case.
That was about Lord Hishi's affair?
I heard that her son was mistreated.
Human nature has so many facets. A few years ago, the actions of the Hidden Cloud Village caused such a huge uproar, and the border situation was on the verge of conflict, which frightened many villagers of Konoha. Most people were angry when they learned that Hizashi had died, but deep down, most of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Now that Hizashi has returned to plead his innocence, they feel that the Hyuga family has indeed gone too far, and that it's truly tragic to be born into the branch family.
Luna, who deeply understood the complexities of human nature, sighed. She had spent several years in the hospital and knew that human nature couldn't withstand the test, and that no matter what kind of relationship it was, it was difficult to endure it. She had witnessed too much joy and sorrow, seen couples turn against each other, and experienced everything from giving up and despair to perseverance.
She's testing human nature now, and I imagine she won't come away empty-handed.
Seeing Luna's tired appearance, Hazuki walked over and said gently, "Koizumi, rest if you're tired. Mom is here."
The daughter didn't tell her her real name, saying she was afraid of accidentally calling her by the wrong name and causing unnecessary trouble.
"Okay." Luna obediently agreed and went to sit at the shop entrance.
Naruto had just arrived when he saw Izumi yawning, and he couldn't help but chuckle. He skipped over and greeted her energetically, "Izumi-neechan, I want to buy some spicy strips!"
"Okay, here's a sample for you." Luna lowered her hand and greeted the customer with a smile. Naruto had taken a liking to spicy snacks and would come to buy them from time to time, making people wonder if he had eaten.
"Wow, thank you!" Naruto cheered, revealing his missing front tooth. He realized that as long as he was clean, well-dressed, and greeted Izumi with a smile, she would give him food.
Quan-nee-nee-san likes clean children!
Are all girls like this? No wonder everyone likes Sasuke.
Ring ring ring!
The school signaled the start of class, so Luna took off her apron, grabbed her lunchbox, and headed to work at the security unit. As a civilian communications officer, she worked from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and was required to participate in eight patrol missions each month. In the mornings, she could also help her mother open the shop and, incidentally, show her face to the little kid.
[The three generations haven't sent anyone to monitor me, are they too busy?]
>>>>>
When Hiashi saw his younger brother Neji again, he decided to treat him better and even reason with him, telling him about what happened back then. But Neji, who was only eight years old at the time, had never fought Naruto and was still entangled in the fate of the branch family, so he didn't buy into Hiashi's words at all.
"Lord Hiashi, are you feeling guilty?" Neji sneered. He had seen his father last night. Even if it was just a fleeting glimpse, even if not a single word was spoken, that smile was enough for him to know that his father had started the fire!
Burn it!
Why weren't you burned to death!
Hiashi frowned deeply, feeling that Neji was far too arrogant. But out of respect for his younger brother, he didn't want to say anything more to his nephew and simply turned and left.
The other families only suffered financial losses and developed a sense of awe towards ghosts. Although the vengeful spirits they encountered that night couldn't harm them, burning down houses and such... was really quite ruthless.
Their assets are limited and could be destroyed at any moment; it's like they've seized their lifeline.
The villagers of Konoha filed a complaint with the wronged spirits, advocating for appeasement and the fulfillment of their last wishes. It's understandable that they're worried about their children; why don't you just treat them well?
The Third Hokage was well-regarded by the villagers, who believed that the burning of the Hokage Tower was for the hundreds of innocent souls on Danzo's side. They felt that the Third Hokage's favoritism towards Danzo was the reason for this calamity.
So many wronged souls!
Danzo Shimura was worse than a beast.
“Every time he made a mistake, he said it was for the sake of the village.”
"Shameless."
"The Third Generation Lord is truly too sentimental."
Why would you defend someone like that?
Danzo was the angrier, unaware yet of his utterly disgraced reputation. But maintaining staff was expensive, and his Root organization had many 'unofficial staff' who didn't receive pay. The burning of his warehouse was a devastating blow.
"It must be fake!"
"There is definitely someone in control!"
"Find him!"
"We must seize this opportunity."
With three generations of worries, many documents were burned, and now he has to work overtime every day. He's getting on in years, and his energy and mind aren't what they used to be, so he's completely busy.
Luna's mental image chuckled silently beside her, feeling a surge of satisfaction at seeing Danzo break down. All her hard work in subtly hinting at things and guiding the flow of rumors hadn't been in vain.
It's only because Konoha doesn't have internet that, if there were an anonymous forum or something, the game would probably be updated much faster. Phrases like "May Heaven judge loyalty and treachery" would definitely become popular memes. Then you'd say "No way," and someone else would say "Really?" and the atmosphere would instantly heat up. Who knows, someone might even be laughing non-stop, anonymously mocking a leader they can't mock in real life, and then someone below would say, "You're blocking my eyes."
That atmosphere is gone forever!
Fugaku was knocking on the door outside. He had been summoned suddenly and had no idea what trouble the Konoha higher-ups were causing this time. They couldn't very well pin this incident of vengeful spirits on the Uchiha clan, could they?
"What are you guards doing?"
"Let those shady characters infiltrate the village."
Fugaku's expression immediately darkened. He was a notoriously difficult person, but also a master of defense. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to lead the hot-tempered Uchiha clan through so many years of obedience tests.
[What? The security force is going to be responsible for the safety of the Hokage Building?]
[What? The security force is responsible for the security of all ethnic areas?]
"When did the security forces gain these powers?" Fugaku asked slowly, his face etched with mature laugh lines.
"..."
"..."
Danzo immediately shut up. He couldn't very well say that the security of the Hokage Building and other clan territories was also the responsibility of the police force, or the other clans would probably tear him apart.
"Lord Third Generation, does the Anbu need reinforcements now?" Fugaku continued firing, already impatient with the rudeness.
"No need, you just need to take care of the city's security." The Third Hokage's eyes twitched; he was implying that the Anbu were useless.
"I think so too, after all, the police force doesn't catch ghosts." Fugaku said this and left leisurely.
What the heck?
He was scolded for nothing.
As soon as the door closed, Danzo started tapping his cane: "What kind of attitude was that?"
"Danzo, this is not their job." The Third Hokage continued to smooth things over. The power of the guard force had been greatly reduced. They couldn't just give back the power that had been so hard-won over this trivial matter, could they?
Danzo knew this, but he was still furious. That night he saw many ghosts: Yakushi Nonou, countless children, Hyuga Hizashi, and even Uchiha Kagami and Shisui. He didn't regret what he had done, but these things were just too annoying.
Luna, in her conscious form, listened to the conversation between Danzo and the Third Hokage, her heart heavy. Even though the matter had escalated to this point, the Third Hokage hadn't made a single move to appease public opinion, showing a complete lack of intention to restrain Danzo's behavior, not even bothering to put on a show of doing so.
She now deeply understands the Uchiha's despair at having nowhere to turn for help. Even though the Third Hokage was the leader of the Konoha's high-level interest group, his blatant disregard for public opinion was enough to explain why so many clans 'voluntarily' sent their best people to Danzo to be tormented.
The Third Hokage wasn't enough; the Uchiha clan needed the Fifth Hokage.
"We need to increase the intensity for the boss." Luna yawned and continued to slack off at work.
Let's do it tonight.
We can't let them be idle.
That night, as autumn was approaching, the Anbu guarding the Hokage's headquarters suddenly saw a series of ghostly figures appear. They were familiar children, both boys and girls, all quite young. They seemed like wandering spirits, some floating, some landing, and they surrounded the Hokage.
Why us?
"Hokage, come out!"
"come out!"
"I want to go home. I want to find my mom and dad."
"Send our remains home!"
The children's ghostly figures were all numb, sending chills down the spines of the ANBU members. Their empty eyes and terrifying expressions were enough to send shivers down one's spine. One of the long-haired boys cried out "Tianzang!" and was pulled back by a silver-haired ANBU member.
Many people lived nearby, and they gazed at this extraordinary sight from afar, peeking out from behind their windows, their hearts pounding. Everyone swallowed hard, eager to share this incredible spectacle with their friends right then and there.
Oh my god!
There really are ghosts!
Luna's true form was in her bedroom, observing everything around her through the vision of her spirit form. She raised her hand, and the wandering spirits surrounding the Hokage Tower also raised their hands. Suddenly, a torch appeared in the hand of the leading child, who then tossed it towards the wooden building.
The silver-haired ANBU immediately stepped forward to stop him, but he passed right through the thought, only feeling a chill run through his body. His Sharingan began to rotate, but he couldn't detect anything.
"What?"
Luna snapped her fingers, activating red magic circles in certain areas of the Hokage Building. Crimson flames shot up, instantly reducing the Third Hokage's hard-earned work to ashes. The wooden structure was too easily ignited, and the flames quickly rose high into the air.
"Fire!"
"quick!"
The ANBU members were astonished; there hadn't been the slightest fluctuation of chakra just now.
"Pay with your life... Danzo."
"Just and fair."
The two children stared at the Hokage Building, then turned and vanished. The other wandering spirits followed suit and disappeared as well.
The Dark Guards: !!!
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