Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Uchiha Taiga knew exactly what was going to happen next, but he had no intention of getting involved.

The reason was simple: it had nothing to do with him.

Even if Namikaze Minato died—the only Hokage who harbored any goodwill toward the Uchiha—and the clan's situation worsened as a result, Taiga could hardly bring himself to care.

Truth be told, after his parents in this life passed away, Taiga hadn't been completely apathetic toward the Uchiha. He had genuinely entertained the thought of changing the clan for the better.

But... the Uchiha clan was simply too disappointing.

From the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, to the hawkish elder, Uchiha Setsuna, all the way down to the numerous unawakened clansmen—every single one of them possessed a baffling, almost delusional level of confidence and arrogance.

They were fully aware of their precarious situation and the village's hostile attitude, yet they chose to wallow in their own hubris. It left him speechless.

He had offered advice to Uchiha Fugaku a few times, but his words were brushed off as the ramblings of a child and completely ignored.

Since then, Taiga had completely abandoned the idea.

If they wanted to ruin themselves, let them. It was no longer his problem.

At this moment, Konoha was in absolute chaos after the Nine-Tails' rampage. Fires raged everywhere in sight.

The mingling of cries and screams painted a picture of apocalyptic destruction across the village.

Taiga leaped down from a high wall and walked along a street that was damaged beyond recognition. He casually propped up a collapsing wall, pulled out a dust-covered kid from underneath, and pointed toward the Hokage Monument.

"Go shelter over there."

With that, he continued walking without looking back.

He had done similar things several times along the way, saving a handful of people.

Taiga remained indifferent to Namikaze Minato's impending death because it was Minato's own choice, and he respected that. However, he did feel a modicum of sympathy for the ordinary villagers suffering because of the Nine-Tails.

It wasn't that he was overwhelmingly kind-hearted or couldn't bear to see human suffering. It was simply that saving those he happened to cross paths with required minimal effort. It was no skin off his back.

As always, he did it because he felt like it. It was that simple.

"Oh, it's still here."

Returning to the street he had been on earlier, he found his dropped bag in a corner. Surprisingly, the vegetables inside were completely unharmed.

"Saves me the trouble of buying more."

Taiga picked up the bag and prepared to head home.

*Whoosh!*

*Whoosh!*

Right at that moment, several figures landed around him.

The leader was none other than Shimura Danzo. The man seemed to have been keeping tabs on Taiga from the very beginning, showing himself the moment Taiga arrived.

"Are you fucking done?"

Taiga set the bag down and tilted his head slightly, staring at Danzo. His eyes, however, were fixed dead on the man's neck.

Danzo spoke with a gloomy expression, "The appearance of the Nine-Tails is inextricably linked to you Uchiha, and you are out here alone in the village tonight. I have reason to suspect you are involved in this entire incident. Now, you had best come back with me for an investigation."

Taiga clicked his tongue and didn't say another word.

Because in the very next second, his figure vanished from the spot.

No one expected Taiga to be so direct, actually initiating an attack without even bothering to utter a single word in response.

The Root ninjas surrounding him reacted instantly.

Some formed hand seals, some threw kunai at Taiga, and others charged directly at him to block his path.

As Root operatives, protecting their leader was an ingrained instinct.

But Taiga was far too fast. His sprint tore through the night wind.

The moment a net of shuriken thrown by several Root ninjas grazed his clothes, the boy's left foot pushed off the ground. Amidst the exploding fragments of the shattered bluestone pavement, his figure blurred into an afterimage, slipping flawlessly through the gaps in the weapons.

The Root ninja at the very front slashed downward with his blade, only to cut through empty air.

Taiga's figure flickered, turning into a fleeting shadow under the moonlight. His knee smashed into a man's jaw, the sickening crunch of bone echoing simultaneously with the muffled thud of a body crashing through a wall.

Danzo's single eye shrank in shock.

Fast. He was far too fast, so fast that it caught him completely off guard.

Before another Root ninja could finish his hand seals, Taiga spun and delivered a sweeping kick to his neck.

With a sharp pop of displaced air, the body smashed into the ruins like a puppet with its strings cut.

A third ninja rushed in. The moment his blade appeared, his wrist was crushed by a vice-like grip.

Using the momentum, Taiga vaulted into the air, the sole of his shoe stomping down on a fourth Root ninja's skull. The sound of a fracturing cranium erupted from beneath his feet.

Ten meters.

Danzo finally raised his right hand.

A Fireball Jutsu tore through the air, but Taiga defied inertia, dropping straight down mid-flight.

The chakra-infused heat wave grazed the tips of his hair. The moment he landed, his legs exerted a terrifying force, caving in the ground within a three-meter radius into a spiderweb pattern.

Riding the recoil, he smashed through the final two Earth-Style walls like a cannonball.

Five steps.

Danzo's hand seals were violently interrupted by a fist wind blasting into his face.

"Arrogant!"

As Danzo retreated rapidly, a kunai slid from his sleeve to block the strike.

Amidst the whine of straining metal, the steel-forged blade was shattered to pieces by bare knuckles.

Taiga shifted his fist into a claw, swiping at Danzo's throat. Danzo hastily stepped back and deployed a Substitution Jutsu, his real body already forming seals several meters away.

Through the exploding splinters of the wooden log, Taiga pursued relentlessly, gliding low to the ground like a ghost.

"Wind Style: Vacuum—"

Before Danzo could finish naming the jutsu, the boy rebounded off a wall and swept a brutal whip kick toward his temple.

Danzo hurriedly raised his arm to block, but the impact felt like a lightning strike. His arm instantly went numb, feeling as though it had been snapped in two. The immense force sent him staggering backward. Taiga's elbow strike followed like a shadow, slamming into his ribs and producing the crisp sound of cracking bones in Danzo's chest.

A seven-hit combo.

Fists tore through the air, one after another, in an endless, suffocating barrage.

Danzo's blocking forearm grew increasingly numb. Every collision felt like being battered by a siege ram, stripping away all sensation until nothing but agonizing pain remained.

When Taiga spun and brought down a sweeping axe kick, Danzo was finally forced back into a corner.

Dust rained down from the brick wall upon impact. Danzo tasted the metallic tang of blood in his throat, the gloominess in his single eye finally igniting into absolute fury.

"Enough!"

In response to his furious roar came a resounding slap.

*Slap!*

The slap was exceptionally crisp and carried tremendous force, sending Danzo flying backward. His body spun several times in mid-air before crashing heavily into the dirt.

Truth be told, Danzo had brought this upon himself. Perhaps sitting in a position of power for so long had dulled his vigilance, making him assume that everyone would bow to his authority and obey his commands.

He had completely forgotten that the person standing before him was Uchiha Taiga—someone who couldn't care less about Shimura Danzo's status or position.

Ultimately, Danzo had severely underestimated his opponent.

It was true that Taiga couldn't use ninjutsu, but his taijutsu was nothing short of monstrous.

Coupled with his SS-rank Sage Body, he could ruthlessly pummel even the Nine-Tails. Beating up a man like Danzo, who had long since retired from frontline combat, was child's play.

"Stop!"

Just as Taiga was about to rush forward and deliver a few more vicious blows, the sound of rushing wind approached.

The sound was familiar. Taiga didn't even need to turn his head to know who had arrived.

Sarutobi Hiruzen!

But...

Who gave a shit?

Without breaking his stride, Taiga instantly appeared in front of Danzo, grabbed him by the throat, and hoisted him into the air. Only then did he finally take the time to turn around.

The new arrival was indeed Sarutobi Hiruzen. And he wasn't alone; beside him were Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the rest of his generation's inner circle.

In addition to them, there were over a dozen ninjas from various clans in the village—all of them Jonin.

Being stared down by so many elites would naturally make an ordinary person nervous, or at least uneasy.

But Taiga didn't care in the slightest.

*Bam!*

Without a single word, Taiga violently slammed Danzo into the ground. The force was so immense that the earth cracked beneath them.

*Pfft!*

Danzo violently coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Uchiha Taiga, I order you to stop!"

This time, it was Utatane Koharu who spoke, her face contorted with anger.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, on the other hand, merely twitched his cheek at the sight.

Honestly, arriving just in time to see Uchiha Taiga beating the living daylights out of Shimura Danzo... as the Hokage, he found the entire situation utterly absurd.