Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Konoha Year 51, early autumn.

The early autumn night shrouded Hidden Leaf Village. The moon shone brightly against a sparse scattering of stars, its light casting deep, jagged shadows across the Hokage Monument.

Less than a year after the war's end, Konoha had already regained its former prosperity. This peaceful night seemed no different from any other. Warm light spilled from scattered houses, adding a touch of life to the quiet darkness. Occasionally, the silhouettes of patrolling ninjas darted across the treetops, instantly melting back into the night.

Few people wandered the late-night streets. A drunken villager stumbled along, but upon catching a casual glimpse of a certain figure passing by, he sobered up immediately and hurried away, muttering under his breath.

"Just my luck, running into that guy here."

The drunkard's words drifted into the figure's ears on the wind, but he acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, his steady pace never faltering.

On a nearby rooftop, two patrolling ninjas paused. They looked down at the somewhat slender silhouette of the boy, their faces grave under the moonlight.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah, that's him. The Uchiha freak."

"It's so late. Should we go down and ask why an Uchiha kid is still wandering around?"

"Are you crazy? Don't you know how terrifying that guy is?"

"Uh..."

"Mind your own business. From now on, if you see him, just pretend you didn't. Don't ask for trouble."

"Understood."

With that, the two patrolling ninjas quickly flickered away.

From the looks of it, they were extremely reluctant to face the boy below.

The boy was now the only one left on the street. Although the two ninjas had spoken softly, he had heard every word clearly.

Under the moonlight, the boy looked up.

He appeared to be around thirteen or fourteen. He was lean and stood tall, his black hair tied loosely behind his head with a few stray strands falling over his smooth forehead.

His face was exceptionally handsome, featuring sharp eyebrows and a high nose bridge. His pupils were a deep, profound black, yet as calm as a completely still lake.

The boy's name was Uchiha Taiga. An orphan of the Uchiha clan, he had known since childhood that he was different.

This was because he possessed memories of his past life. In other words, he was a reincarnator who knew exactly what world he had crossed into.

An orphan in his previous life as well, he had actually been born into a happy family this time around. Unfortunately, all of that was ruthlessly stripped away from him when he was six years old.

That was in Konoha Year 43. The Second Shinobi World War had been over for a few years. His parents in this life went out on a mission together, but only their corpses returned.

From then on, Uchiha Taiga knew that his connection to this world had been severed.

To him, this world was nothing more than a playground.

The ninja world, Konoha, shinobi...

These concepts were somewhat novel, but given his unique nature since childhood, they weren't particularly surprising, nor did he care much about them.

He simply went through the motions of everyday life, feeling neither joy nor sorrow.

It was just ordinary.

Sometimes, on a whim, he would do something a little different. Just like tonight—he wanted a late-night snack, so he went out to buy some ingredients and was currently walking back with a basket of groceries.

Uchiha Taiga glanced at the moon, silently marveling at how beautiful it was. It was a perfect night for moon-gazing.

He then looked toward a certain direction in the village. Taking into account the extra patrol ninjas tonight, he had already guessed what was about to happen.

'Is the Child of Prophecy about to be born?'

He shook his head.

'Whatever. It has nothing to do with me.'

Uchiha Taiga quickened his pace. With a mere thought, a glowing screen that only he could see appeared before his eyes.

It was a very simple system panel, one he had possessed since birth.

Its function was equally simple: a lottery system that allowed him to draw various abilities from the ninja world.

Things like the Sage Body, the Sharingan, the seven chakra natures, and so on. He received one draw every year.

Uchiha Taiga's current array of abilities had all been obtained through this lottery, which was exactly why he had been so extraordinary since childhood.

At just one year old, he had drawn the Sage Body. Furthermore, it was an SS-rank Sage Body, equivalent to that of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo.

Just imagine, what would happen if a one-year-old child possessed a physique of that caliber?

From then on, natural energy surged into Uchiha Taiga's body every waking moment, as if it were completely free.

However, Uchiha Taiga was only a year old. His body was in the earliest stages of development, making it entirely impossible for him to digest—let alone control—such a massive amount of natural energy.

But the abilities granted by the system were absolute.

This meant that while the one-year-old child couldn't fully control the natural energy, once it entered his body, it couldn't leave either.

The result was a massive accumulation.

Yet, the system's absolute power ensured that this stockpiled natural energy wouldn't harm Uchiha Taiga, its host. Moreover, as he grew and developed, he would gradually gain control over it.

This process should have been smooth, but as everyone knows, human growth takes time, whereas the accumulated natural energy increased by the day.

Consequently, the amount of natural energy stored within Uchiha Taiga reached an absurd level.

Yet, because his body wasn't fully developed, he couldn't activate Sage Mode to vent this energy.

This continued until Uchiha Taiga was six years old. His parents had passed away, and he had reached the age to enroll in the Ninja Academy.

At the entrance ceremony, after the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, finished his speech on the Will of Fire, he taught the incoming students their very first lesson as Hokage: chakra refinement.

Uchiha Taiga attempted it for the first time.

And then, he exploded.

Literally exploded.

Realizing something was wrong, Uchiha Taiga barely managed to channel his chaotic natural energy high into the sky at the critical moment.

On that day, a second sun appeared in Konoha, and its name was Uchiha Taiga.

On that day, the Ninja Academy—which had stood in Konoha for decades since shortly after the village's founding—was completely obliterated.

On that day, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage's advisors, the many Konoha ninjas dropping their children off, and even the escorting Anbu, all lost their minds.

After that, Uchiha Taiga was expelled.

Fortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen was still in his prime and reacted quickly.

It also helped that Konoha's Yellow Flash had already begun to make a name for himself, and there were many powerful ninjas present.

In short, there were no casualties, but the Academy's buildings had to be entirely rebuilt.

But from that moment on, everyone in Konoha knew the name Uchiha Taiga.

Of course, his expulsion wasn't without its twists and turns.

With the Academy destroyed, Sarutobi Hiruzen, acting as Hokage, offered an old compound belonging to the Sarutobi clan to serve as a temporary campus.

On the first day of class, Sarutobi Hiruzen and a group of village elders were present. Once again, it was chakra refinement. Once again, it was Uchiha Taiga. And once again, an explosion!

The people of Konoha witnessed a sun for the second time. It wasn't as exaggerated as the first, but it still reduced the old Sarutobi compound to ruins.

The Konoha elders were utterly shocked. Some were thrilled, some were uneasy, and others were terrified, but they all needed to figure out why this was happening.

Thus, after several more consecutive explosions, the Konoha higher-ups finally understood the cause.

Uchiha Taiga was born with the ability to absorb natural energy but couldn't use it. The moment he tried to refine chakra, his internal natural energy would spiral out of control, triggering an explosion.

This revelation left both the Konoha elders and the Uchiha clan feeling incredibly helpless.

Ultimately, for the safety of the Academy students, Uchiha Taiga had to be expelled. He was sent back to the Uchiha compound to self-study.

It was also since then that Uchiha Taiga grew increasingly averse to interacting with others.

Recalling all this, Uchiha Taiga didn't feel much of anything. His pace was swift but steady as he walked toward the Uchiha compound.

The night was perfectly still, and Konoha grew even more tranquil under its cover.

But in the very next moment, a deafening roar exploded within Konoha, accompanied by a sweeping gale.

Simultaneously, a resounding, thunderous beastly howl echoed through the air.

"Roar!"

*Rumble!*

Like a passing hurricane, countless buildings in the southern sector of Konoha were instantly obliterated.

Countless sleeping villagers were jolted awake, consumed by absolute terror.

A colossal beast howled at the sky. As the nine tails behind it thrashed, the ground quaked violently!