Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

While Uzumaki Naruto was taking a beating, back in Amegakure of the Land of Rain, Nagato sought out Uchiha Taiga.

Just as Uchiha Madara had suspected, he noticed something unusual.

Nagato held a small glass tube, barely the thickness of a finger, containing two eyeballs. The eyes hovered in the center of the tube, suspended in the air without touching the glass walls.

They emitted a faint, pale orange glow, flickering inside the glass tube like two tiny stars.

Uchiha Taiga raised an eyebrow at the sight of the two eyeballs.

“Huh, how did Uchiha Madara’s Rinnegan turn into lightbulbs?”

His tone was casual, as if he were commenting on something mildly amusing.

Nagato looked at him. “These eyes have been like this since yesterday. I didn’t want to act rashly. What do you think happened?”

His brows were slightly furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line, and his expression was dead serious.

Uchiha Taiga raised a hand and beckoned to Nagato.

The glass tube floated out of Nagato’s grasp, tracing an arc through the air before landing in Taiga’s hand. The entire process was incredibly smooth, as if an invisible hand were carrying it without the slightest tremor.

Gripping the tube, Taiga channeled his chakra, letting it flow through the glass and into the two eyeballs.

He closed his eyes to get a feel for it.

Then he opened them, looking at Nagato with a hint of surprise.

Nagato met his gaze and nodded.

“These eyes have come alive. The chakra inside them is restless, and it hasn’t stopped since yesterday.”

Uchiha Taiga nodded, the corners of his mouth curling up.

“Yeah, it looks like Uchiha Madara has reaped quite a harvest.”

Nagato’s frown deepened.

“What should we do?”

Taiga looked surprised. “Do what?”

Nagato replied, “If there’s a change on Uchiha Madara’s end, it will inevitably threaten the entire ninja world. We can’t just ignore it.”

Taiga tilted his head. “Ah, and what does that have to do with me? That wasn’t part of our agreement.”

Nagato’s expression shifted slightly, his voice growing tense.

“Are we really just going to let this go?”

He seemed completely caught off guard by Taiga’s attitude, finding it hard to believe.

Taiga looked puzzled. “Weren’t you the one who said we shouldn’t interfere with the ninja world unless absolutely necessary, to avoid plunging it into even greater chaos?”

Nagato fell silent. He kept his mouth shut, lips pursed and brows knitted, unable to offer a rebuttal.

Taiga stroked his chin, lightly rubbing it with his fingers.

He looked Nagato up and down, circling him—from left to right, then right to left.

Nagato stood there motionless, allowing himself to be scrutinized.

After two laps, Taiga stopped right in front of him.

He looked at Nagato. “Something’s wrong with you. Very wrong. You weren’t like this before.”

He paused.

“When I tried to bring you on board back then, I agreed not to actively change the ninja world. That was your condition.”

He stared directly into Nagato’s eyes.

“But now, it seems you’re ready to break your own promise.”

A smirk tugged at his lips.

“You’ve changed, Nagato. You’ve become a stranger to me.”

Nagato gritted his teeth slightly, the muscles in his jaw flexing. His lips were pressed into a tight line, his brows locked in a knot.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “That was in the past.”

Taiga’s smirk widened.

“Ah, right, right. The past is the past, and the present is the present.”

His tone was incredibly casual, as if discussing something trivial.

Then his smile faded a fraction, and his gaze turned a bit more serious.

“But I don’t see it that way. I’ve always honored our original agreement. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have stayed here all this time.”

His voice was calm.

“And now, you’re ready to throw that agreement away so easily.”

He paused again.

“What’s the matter, Nagato? Do you think our past agreement was just empty talk, something to be broken on a whim?”

He stared intensely at Nagato, his gaze heavy.

Nagato met his stare, remaining silent for a moment.

Then he spoke.

“So, you don’t plan to intervene?”

His voice was calm, but there was a probing edge to his tone.

Taiga nodded.

“Of course.”

His tone was nonchalant.

“According to our agreement, unless a world-altering event occurs, I won’t take the initiative to change the state of the ninja world.”

Nagato clenched his jaw.

He stared at Taiga for a few seconds.

Then he moved. He bent his knees, lowered his body, and dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

He planted his hands on the floor and pressed his forehead against the ground, his entire body arched like a bow.

A dogeza.

“I was wrong.”

His voice was deep, laced with absolute sincerity.

Seeing this, Taiga moved in a flash.

He was so fast that he was nothing but a blur cutting through the air, instantly dodging out of Nagato’s path to stand off to the side.

Then he bent down, reached out with both hands, grabbed Nagato by the shoulders, and hauled him up.

Nagato was pulled from his kneeling position back to his feet.

Taiga looked at him, grinning so widely that both rows of his teeth were showing.

“Hehehe, that’s exactly what I was waiting to hear.”

His voice was loud, brimming with irrepressible smugness.

“You’re just too stubborn.”

He patted Nagato on the shoulder.

“If you hadn’t caught my eye, do you really think I would have willingly stayed in Amegakure for so long?”

His tone was casual, as if stating a simple fact.

With that, he tossed the glass tube containing the Rinnegan back to Nagato.

The tube arced through the air, and Nagato reached out to catch it.

Taiga looked at him and spoke again.

“Relax. It just means Uchiha Madara has grasped a stronger power.”

His voice was calm.

“Nothing to worry about.”

Nagato held the glass tube, staring at the two eyeballs inside.

The eyes were still glowing, their pale orange light flickering within the glass.

He still didn’t look entirely convinced. His brows remained furrowed, his lips pressed tight.

He looked up at Taiga. “Are you absolutely certain?”

Taiga let out a soft chuckle.

“Go fetch a branch from the God Tree right now, and you’ll see.”

His voice was perfectly calm, as if giving the simplest of instructions.

Nagato looked at him and nodded.

“Alright. I’ll go right now.”

His tone was steady.

He turned around and headed for the door.

His pace was brisk, his footsteps gradually fading down the hallway.

Taiga stood in the laboratory, watching Nagato leave, the smirk still lingering on his lips.

His behavior, of course, wasn’t born out of any actual resentment toward Nagato.

In truth, their current relationship stemmed from an agreement they made ten years ago. Back then, Taiga had fought Nagato and found the guy fascinating—naive yet deeply idealistic—which sparked his desire to recruit him.

But at the time, Nagato was drowning in the tragic grief of Yahiko’s death. Naturally, he rejected Taiga’s recruitment, though he remained deeply wary of him.

It was then that Taiga revealed the secret of the Rinnegan to Nagato, which ultimately led to their pact.

The agreement was quite simple. Nagato, upholding Yahiko’s ideals, demanded that Taiga refrain from arbitrarily destroying the current state of the ninja world.

Taiga agreed, mostly because he had zero interest in it anyway. The political landscape of the ninja world and whether it was at peace had absolutely nothing to do with him.

Thus, Taiga conveniently settled down in the Land of Rain and began his various research projects.

Since he already had plans for developing the God Tree, he needed a stable rear base, and the Land of Rain and Amegakure fit the bill perfectly.

Now, Nagato was clearly the one trying to break their agreement. To Taiga, it didn’t matter either way, but it served as a good opportunity to make Nagato face reality.

For Uchiha Taiga, the whole situation was actually quite amusing.