Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Land of Rivers, heading northwest.

In a dense forest, the trees grew thick, their interlocking branches completely obscuring the sky. Sunlight leaked through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground. A thick layer of fallen leaves blanketed the earth, soft underfoot and rustling with every step.

Two figures walked one after the other.

The person in front wore a long robe, the hood covering most of his face and obscuring his features. His pace was steady—neither fast nor slow—and his footsteps barely made a sound against the fallen leaves.

The person behind walked with his hands resting behind his head, taking large strides while glancing around with a bored expression.

He had blond hair and three whisker-like marks stretching from his cheeks to the corners of his mouth. He wore an orange and black outfit with the collar left open, revealing a white T-shirt underneath.

He glanced at the hooded man walking ahead and asked listlessly, “Old man, how much longer until we get there?”

The man in front didn’t stop or look back. His voice drifted out from beneath the hood.

“Soon, kid. My home is just up ahead.”

His voice was incredibly calm, as if he were stating the most ordinary fact in the world.

After speaking, the hooded man fell silent and simply continued walking.

His pace remained steady, showing no intention of rushing the youth behind him, nor any desire to look back.

He didn’t seem to care whether the teenager behind him would run away.

The teenager, naturally, was Uzumaki Naruto.

When he ran out of the village, he had intended to head west—or more accurately, northwest—but he had completely misjudged the direction.

He thought the west was the Land of Rain, believing he could find Uchiha Sasuke once he got there, but he had taken the wrong path.

He ran and ran, crossing the borders of the Land of Fire, passing through the fields of the Land of Rivers, and arriving in the Land of Rivers.

It was here that he met the person in front of him.

The hooded man had been standing by the side of the road. Seeing Naruto walking alone, he asked where he was going.

Naruto said he was looking for a comrade.

The hooded man said it was getting dark and there were no houses ahead, so it would be better to come home with him first and leave the next day.

Then he gave Naruto some food.

A few rice balls wrapped in lotus leaves. The rice was stark white, and the plums inside were incredibly sour.

Naruto was starving, so he ate quickly, devouring them in just a few bites.

That was the entire process of how the two met. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the hooded man was not normal and definitely had an ulterior motive.

If this had happened in Uchiha Taiga’s previous life, that hooded man would definitely be considered a creepy weirdo.

But in the ninja world… well, in the ninja world, he was still a creepy weirdo.

But the crucial point was that Uzumaki Naruto actually believed him.

The reason was simply that the hooded man truly harbored no ill intent toward Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto could feel it.

His innate ability to sense good and evil told him that this man meant him no harm.

So, he followed him.

Before long, the two arrived at a mountain valley.

The valley wasn’t large, surrounded by mountains on three sides with only one opening. The rock walls were covered in creeping vines, and the ground was overgrown with weeds. It looked completely ordinary, no different from any other valley.

The hooded man stopped, raised his hand, and pulled back his hood.

The hood slipped from his head, revealing his face.

He had long black hair that cascaded over his shoulders. His facial features were sharp and deeply contoured, making him look to be in his thirties or forties. It was easy to tell that he had been quite handsome in his youth.

Uchiha Madara.

He walked up to a stone wall, raised his hand, and pressed it against the rock.

The stone wall let out a muffled rumble and began to move.

One boulder sank into the wall, while another next to it protruded. The stone wall parted to the sides, revealing a cave entrance.

The entrance was small, only wide enough for one person to pass through, and it was pitch black inside, making it impossible to see anything.

Uzumaki Naruto let out a gasp of surprise.

“Wow, is this your house?”

His voice was loud, his tone carrying an uncontrollable sense of wonder.

“Why is it so remote?”

He tilted his head, looking at the cave entrance and then at Uchiha Madara, his eyes full of curiosity.

Uchiha Madara gave a soft chuckle.

“Because there are quite a few bandits in the Land of Rivers.”

His voice was calm.

“Living in a remote place is safer.”

Uzumaki Naruto nodded in sudden realization.

“I see! You’re amazing!”

He gave a thumbs-up, flashing a bright smile.

Uchiha Madara’s mouth twitched. He clearly hadn’t expected Uzumaki Naruto to believe him so easily.

He even began to doubt whether all of this kid’s actions along the way were genuine. How could anyone in the ninja world trust others so easily? And to think this person was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

After thinking it over, Uchiha Madara couldn’t find anything off about the kid’s behavior during their journey.

Sure enough, there was a reason for the Uzumaki name.

Uchiha Madara took a deep breath, nodded without saying much, and took the lead into the cave.

The cave wasn’t dark.

Lamps along both sides of the stone walls automatically lit up, one after another, stretching from the entrance all the way into the depths. The orange light illuminated the stone walls, brightly lighting up the entire cave.

The deeper they went, the larger the space became.

What started as a narrow path only wide enough for two people turned into a corridor where several people could walk side by side without feeling crowded, and then that corridor opened up into a spacious cavern.

Uzumaki Naruto found it all incredibly novel, looking around with shining eyes.

He touched the stone wall; it was cool and smooth, as if it had been polished. He then looked at the lamps. They were embedded in the stone walls, burning lamp oil, but they produced no smoke, making them look quite advanced.

Uzumaki Naruto didn’t know what they were, but he thought they were amazing.

The two soon reached the deepest part.

This was an even larger cavern, bigger than any of the previous ones, measuring three to four hundred square meters. The cavern contained basic living furnishings: a stone table, a few stone chairs, a stone bed, and some wooden cabinets and shelves.

Uchiha Madara walked straight over to a stone chair and sat down.

The stone chair was large. As he sat on it, resting his hands on the armrests and leaning back slightly, he looked very relaxed.

He looked at Uzumaki Naruto, and his eyes changed.

They shifted from black to red, and on the red irises, three black tomoe slowly began to spin.

The Sharingan.

Uzumaki Naruto was busy inspecting the items in the cavern, looking very intently.

He saw a cup on the stone table; there was still water inside, the surface gleaming under the lamplight. He saw the bedding on the stone bed, folded neatly, indicating someone lived there. He saw some scrolls on the shelves, stacked together and tied with string.

He withdrew his gaze and looked toward Uchiha Madara.

He immediately met that pair of Sharingan.

His body stiffened slightly.

“Eh, your eyes…”

His voice was somewhat dazed as he stared at the three black tomoe spinning on the red irises, his pupils shrinking slightly.

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he instantly became alert. He leaped back several meters, landing on both feet with his body leaning slightly forward, his weight on the balls of his feet. His right hand reached for the ninja tool pouch at his waist, his fingers gripping the handle of a kunai.

He glared at Uchiha Madara, his voice loud.

“Who are you?”

His tone was heavy.

“Why do you have the Sharingan?”

Uchiha Madara sat in the stone chair, looking at Naruto. His mouth twitched, hesitating to speak.

Even someone like him was left somewhat speechless by the kid’s reaction.

Seriously, they had been traveling together this whole time, and it was only now, when he revealed his Sharingan, that this kid finally realized something was wrong?

Was this kid really that naturally dense?

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.

“Kid, my name is Uchiha Madara.”

He paused.

“You should have heard this name before.”

Uzumaki Naruto frowned.

His brows furrowed and his lips pressed together as his brain searched for information regarding that name.

Then, his brows relaxed, and his eyes lit up.

“Ah, you’re that guy who was beaten to death by the First Hokage?”

His voice was loud, his tone carrying a sense of sudden realization.

Uchiha Madara’s mouth twitched, his eyelids jumped, and his fingers tightened around the armrests.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation rising in his heart.

Then, he spoke.

“Kid.”

His voice was still very calm.

“You are the Child of Destiny.”

He paused, looking directly into Naruto’s eyes.

“Join me in bringing peace to the ninja world.”