Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

"What did you do to Danzo?" Utatane Koharu stepped forward and demanded sharply.

Uchiha Taiga ignored her.

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not lose his temper over this. Instead, he crouched down to examine the man, his expression suddenly turning grim. "It's natural energy."

Worthy of his reputation as the Professor of Ninjutsu, his vast experience allowed him to quickly connect the dots with Taiga's unique traits and identify what was wrong with Shimura Danzo. With that, he completely understood Taiga's methods.

"Sigh..." Realizing the truth, Hiruzen merely let out a heavy sigh before turning to Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and the others. "Lead the ANBU to find the Fourth Hokage. I will handle things here."

"Hiruzen!" Homura immediately tried to protest, but Hiruzen cut him off. "Do as I say. That is an order."

At that, Homura and Koharu could say no more. Given the extraordinary circumstances—with the Fourth Hokage missing and the village devastated—Hiruzen, as the Third Hokage, naturally had the authority to take charge.

Koharu shot Taiga a heavy, warning glare.

"What are you looking at, old woman?" Taiga said with a smile.

"You..." Koharu flared with anger, wanting to retort, but ultimately swallowed her words. With a cold snort, she and Homura quickly led their men away.

Soon, only Hiruzen, a few ANBU ninjas, and the collapsed Danzo remained in the area.

"Take Danzo and the Root operatives away for medical treatment," Hiruzen ordered, keeping his eyes on Taiga as if worried he might interfere.

However, Taiga made no move to stop them, which surprised Hiruzen slightly.

"Did the Third Hokage really think I was going to kill that old dog Danzo right here?" Taiga asked rhetorically.

Hiruzen sighed again. "Child, I know you harbor resentment toward the village in your heart, but some things are not as simple as you think."

Taiga laughed. "So, Shimura Danzo's actions were under your orders, Third Hokage?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "It was not my instruction." He explained earnestly, "He manages Root, and his duty is to maintain the stability of the village."

Taiga raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that harming my clansmen and targeting me were all necessary?"

"Calm down, child. With your intellect, it shouldn't be hard to see certain truths. The power of the Uchiha clan has always made the village uneasy. Your clan is simply too unique." Hiruzen sighed, the wrinkles on his face seeming to deepen. "Furthermore, I don't need to explain the rift between the Uchiha and the village; living within it, you can feel it yourself. Danzo's methods may be extreme, but they stem from a desire to protect the village."

"Protect?" Taiga's laughter was laced with heavy mockery. "Protect it with the blood of my clansmen?"

"I know you feel wronged, and I know you are angry." Hiruzen's voice carried a deep exhaustion. "But now is not the time for a reckoning. Konoha cannot withstand internal strife, and the Uchiha can withstand it even less."

He looked at Taiga, a pleading look in his eyes. "Give Konoha a chance. I promise you, Danzo will pay the price, and the village will reevaluate its relationship with the Uchiha."

Taiga, however, raised a hand to cut him off. "Stop right there. You shouldn't be saying these things to me." He shook his head with a chuckle, having no desire to argue the point.

After all, he wasn't the head of the Uchiha clan. It wasn't his place to manage these affairs, nor did he want to. His current attitude was merely the result of his personal grudge against Shimura Danzo.

Seeing his reaction, Hiruzen was momentarily left speechless.

A heavy silence fell over the area, but fortunately, it didn't last long. Several figures soon dropped down from above, led by none other than Uchiha Fugaku.

Uchiha Fugaku's expression was quite grim. Such a massive incident had occurred tonight, throwing the entire village into chaos, yet the Uchiha ninjas had been explicitly ordered to stand down. With such obvious discrimination, it would be a miracle if he, as the clan head, was willing to accept it.

Brought over by the ANBU, he immediately spotted Taiga and the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. More importantly, the atmosphere between the two was palpably tense, looking for all the world like a silent standoff.

Fugaku looked at Taiga, shooting him a questioning glance. The latter merely shrugged and looked away, ignoring him.

Fugaku was long accustomed to Taiga's temper and wasn't particularly surprised. Seeing that he wouldn't get any answers from Taiga, Fugaku could only turn to Hiruzen. "Lord Third."

Hiruzen nodded, forcing a strained smile. "Fugaku. I asked you to come under these circumstances because there is an important matter I must inform you of."

Fugaku's expression turned serious at those words. "Please speak."

Hiruzen took a deep breath. "You've seen the Nine-Tails' appearance. This is a disaster for the village. After tonight, there's no telling how immense the village's losses will be."

Fugaku remained silent. He didn't know how to respond, and the resentment he had brought with him was largely dispersed by those words.

However, the next words he heard caused his expression to shift slightly.

"The Nine-Tails' appearance was no accident; it was man-made. The Jinchuriki gave birth tonight. Someone took advantage of her weakened state after childbirth to strike, controlling the Jinchuriki, breaking the seal, and thereby taking control of the Nine-Tails..."

Hiruzen paused there.

Taiga glanced at Hiruzen, then at Fugaku, suddenly finding the situation somewhat comical. Because at this moment, Fugaku was clearly starting to look uneasy.

Sure enough, Hiruzen continued, "The one controlling the Nine-Tails was an Uchiha. Minato saw this with his own eyes, as he fought the perpetrator, though he does not know their true identity. Fugaku, as the head of the Uchiha clan, I believe you understand what this means."

In just a few sentences, Fugaku's complexion had drastically changed. From his initial slight anger, to the subtle shift in expression, and now to a look of outright shock.

It had to be said, worthy of a Hokage who had held power in Konoha for decades, Hiruzen's ability to seize the initiative and put him on the defensive was truly masterful.

Seeing this, Taiga could already guess how Fugaku would respond.

"Lord Third, all the Uchiha ninjas were within the clan compound tonight. Furthermore, an ordinary Sharingan genjutsu is completely incapable of controlling the Nine-Tails," Fugaku hurriedly explained.

The implications of this matter were simply too massive. If handled poorly, the Uchiha clan would face the hostility of the entire village. While he was confident, he wasn't arrogant enough to believe the Uchiha clan alone could stand against the rest of Konoha.

Hiruzen replied, "Naturally, I believe you." He then shifted the topic, adding, "However, earlier, Advisor Danzo had a conflict with young Taiga over the Nine-Tails incident..."

Fugaku quickly interjected, "Lord Third, that is of no consequence."

Taiga's expression turned odd. He couldn't help but cough twice, interrupting their conversation.

He directly tossed the gauze-wrapped eyeball to Fugaku, saying, "Clan Head, you'd better take a look at this before you decide what to say."

Taiga wasn't angry; on the contrary, he found it highly amusing. Seeing Fugaku's desperation up close gave him a new understanding of the man. This was the head of the Uchiha clan? They were truly doomed.

Catching the gauze-wrapped sphere, a terrible suspicion immediately formed in Fugaku's mind. He had seen this kind of thing before. When recovering the eyes of fallen clansmen on the battlefield under crude conditions, they were always handled exactly like this. With the fresh blood still seeping through the gauze, he was all too familiar with it.

Sure enough, upon opening it, he found a Sharingan.

Fugaku's expression drastically changed.

At that moment, Taiga spoke up. "I gouged that out of Shimura Danzo's eye socket."

Fugaku snapped his gaze toward Hiruzen. His previous nervous unease vanished, replaced by a surging fury. "Lord Third, I demand an explanation for this Sharingan."

Hiruzen sighed yet again, this time letting out an exceptionally long breath. "Clan Head Fugaku, I will explain the matter of this Sharingan to you after tonight. But... I also require an explanation regarding the control of the Nine-Tails."

He looked at Fugaku, meeting his gaze, his expression gradually hardening.

At this, Fugaku hesitated.

"Clan Head, you'd better think carefully before you speak," Taiga suddenly chimed in, a smile on his face.