Chapter 50 Rumors Arise
The next day, after arriving at work, Uchiha Touhuan summoned the captains of the security force to his office one by one, instructing them to take care of Naruto a little more.
Several Jonin captains, including the recently joined Inuzuka Kaze and the Jonin from the Aburame clan, Aburame Shihai, received the instructions and relayed them privately down the ranks.
Therefore, in the following days, when the security force members encountered Naruto during patrols, they would intentionally or unintentionally give him a little attention. A few oblivious villagers, while verbally abusing Naruto, happened to be caught in the crossfire and were immediately arrested by the patrol members on some pretext and taken back to the security headquarters.
So, in these few days, Naruto clearly felt that the malice around him had lessened considerably, and his already optimistic personality became even more cheerful.
However, during this time, some discordant voices began to emerge in the village.
"
Have you heard? That fox demon brat's got a powerful backer lately."
"Really? No wonder he seemed so arrogant. Turns out he found a ninja to back him up."
"By the way, do you guys know who this guy is?"
"I think his name is Hatake Kakashi. I heard he used to be in the Anbu."
"Hmph, anyone who hangs out with that fox demon brat can't be a good person, right?"
"Yeah, I heard he was kicked out of the Anbu by the Hokage."
"And I also heard he's a serial killer. He even killed his own teammates during the Third Shinobi World War."
"Really? Doesn't the Hokage care? Why didn't he kick him and that fox demon brat out of the village together?"
"I heard he's connected to the guards."
"That's terrifying! Looks like we really shouldn't mess with that damned fox brat anymore."
"Hmph! What's there to be afraid of! Can he really do anything in the village? We have the Hokage backing us up. If he dares to make a move, we'll all go to the Hokage Building to petition!"
"That's right! If we petition together, the Hokage will definitely help us drive them out of the village!"
Soon, their conversation attracted the attention of a green-clad, bowl-headed man standing upside down nearby. After listening for a while, the man immediately stood up, dissatisfied: "How can you say that! Kakashi is the village's hero!"
Seeing a ninja approaching, the villagers who had just been gathered together talking about petitioning scattered like birds.
"Hey! Don't go! Explain yourself!" Might Guy said, annoyed.
"Never mind, Guy." At this moment, Kakashi appeared behind Might Guy and patted his old friend on the shoulder.
"Kakashi?" Guy, who had been on a mission, turned around and saw Kakashi's unmasked face. He suddenly felt a surge of emotion. "You..."
Kakashi knew what Guy meant, nodded, and said, "Consider it a farewell to the past."
Upon hearing this, Guy's eyes immediately welled up with tears. "I don't know what you're talking about, but this must be the feeling of youth! Kakashi, let's begin our youthful duel!"
"Sorry, I really haven't been free these past few days," Kakashi declined Guy's challenge.
Guy was taken aback at first, then remembered what had just happened, and said, "Is it because of what those people said? Come on, let's go find them and reason with them. How could they say such things about you!"
"Forget it," Kakashi shook his head, "Even if we catch them, what can we do? Ninjas can't attack civilians."
...
Similar conversations had been frequently heard in various corners of the village these past few days, and in just a few days, Kakashi's name had become something everyone in the village hated.
Uchiha Touhuan, who was in the Security Department, naturally heard about this news as well.
The results of his investigation revealed that the source of these rumors was the commoner merchants in the businesses of the Utatane and Mitomon families in the village.
"After all these years, I thought they could come up with something new, but I didn't expect them to still be playing the same old tricks."
In his office, Uchiha Touhuan leaned back in his office chair after putting down the investigation report brought to him by Inaho and the others, and couldn't help but sneer.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of Uchiha Touhuan's office.
"Come in." Uchiha Touhuan called out, and the door opened, allowing Uchiha Shisui to enter.
"Vice-Captain, what can I do for you?" Shisui asked as he entered.
"Shisui-nii, it's just the two of us here, no need to be so formal, have a seat." Uchiha Touhuan said.
"You are now the vice-captain of the security force, after all, so you still need to observe the proper etiquette." Shisui said after sitting down at Uchiha Touhuan's desk.
"Never mind, let's not talk about that. Here, take a look at this." Uchiha Touhuan handed Shisui the investigation report on the rumors circulating in the village, submitted by Uchiha Inaho and the others.
After carefully reading the report, Uchiha Shisui looked up at Uchiha Touhuan with disbelief. "This...is there some kind of misunderstanding?"
"What misunderstanding could there be? The mastermind behind this is clearly targeting Kakashi, just like the rumors about clans in the village before," Uchiha Touhuan laughed. "By the way, why don't you go and ask the Third Hokage what his opinion is on this?"
"This..." Uchiha Shisui hesitated, but after a while, he finally spoke up: "I believe the Third Hokage will definitely step in to stop this from going on."
"The Third Hokage is so busy, how could he have time to deal with this?" Uchiha Touhuan laughed. "However, we really can't ignore this completely. Kakashi is a hero who performed great deeds at the Kannabi Bridge. If we continue to let these rumors and slanders continue, who in the village will still believe in the Will of Fire? We must stop these rumors from spreading immediately!"
Seeing that Uchiha Touhuan seemed quite agitated, Uchiha Shisui also became nervous and hurriedly asked, "Touhuan, what do you plan to do?"
He was genuinely afraid that Uchiha Touhuan would act impulsively and cause the situation to spiral completely out of control.
"Don't worry, Shisui, I have no intention of using the Security Department's violent authority." Uchiha Touhuan gestured for Shisui to calm down before continuing, "I plan to have the Security Department enact a law within the village to restrict this kind of behavior. I intend to entrust this task to you."
"That's for the best." Uchiha Shisui breathed a sigh of relief. "However, does the Security Department have the authority to enact laws?"
"Of course. I've carefully reviewed the documents from when the Security Department was established and discovered that the Second Hokage granted the Security Department legislative power within the village." Uchiha Touhuan said, "Therefore, Shisui, we must formulate a comprehensive set of legal provisions for this matter. We can't let the Second Hokage's efforts go to waste."
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(End of Chapter)