Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Hearing this, Uchiha Mikoto's cheeks flushed even redder, and she couldn't help but smack Uchiha Taiga again.

This time, she smacked his head, and with a bit of force too, producing a crisp smack.

But Taiga just kept grinning, acting as if he didn't feel any pain at all.

"Just eat your food."

Seeing his cheeky expression, Mikoto huffed in exasperation.

Taiga chuckled dismissively and began to enjoy the breakfast she had brought.

The meal was incredibly hearty, as Mikoto knew exactly how big his appetite was.

"What made you decide to come over today?" Taiga asked.

Truth be told, his relationship with Mikoto was actually much closer than his relationship with Uchiha Fugaku.

To be precise, out of the entire Uchiha clan, Mikoto was the person Taiga was closest to.

This was because she had been old friends with Taiga's mother in this life, and the two women had shared a very close bond.

So, after Taiga's parents passed away, Mikoto took the initiative to care for him for quite a long time, only stopping when he was nearly ten years old.

It was fortunate that Mikoto had been there; otherwise, Taiga might have made up his mind to become a rogue ninja long ago.

After all, the Uchiha clan visibly had no future. They were a sinking ship, and Taiga naturally had no intention of going down with them.

Furthermore, his mindset back then had been quite peculiar—even colder than it was now. He had viewed everyone else in this world as mere NPCs, and possessing a cheat system had made him somewhat unhinged.

Thankfully, Mikoto was an incredibly gentle woman who exuded the aura of a perfect, traditional wife. She had a soothing presence that managed to slightly correct his twisted mentality.

It was just a pity that their age gap was too large. Before Taiga was even ten, Mikoto had already gotten married, forcing him to drop certain thoughts.

He couldn't exactly pursue a much older woman as a kid, after all.

Then again, it wasn't entirely impossible.

Taiga figured that even though he wasn't an adult yet, he could still be considered a top-tier catch.

"Am I not allowed to come here?" Mikoto asked in return.

Taiga smiled and said bluntly, "With such a massive incident happening last night, Fugaku is definitely swamped today, and you still have two sons to take care of..."

He left the rest unsaid, but his meaning was clear enough.

Hearing this, Mikoto's expression froze. Her smile gradually faded, and she seemed a bit downcast.

After a moment of silence, she finally spoke. "Are you blaming me?"

Taiga didn't stop eating. He simply replied, "Not at all. You had your own difficulties, and I was too young back then. I naturally can't blame you."

As for any romantic ambiguity, there wasn't really any between him and Mikoto; his earlier remarks were nothing more than jokes.

It was just that as Taiga grew up and Mikoto got married, the relationship between them had gradually grown distant.

This was intentional on Taiga's part. He didn't want to leave himself with any weaknesses, not even emotional ones.

Because he refused to be threatened by anyone.

No one knew better than him just how treacherous the waters of the ninja world truly were.

Taiga was genuinely grateful for the care Mikoto had shown him during his childhood, so he would never stand by and watch her fall into danger in the future.

But, that was about the extent of it.

Others were not included in this protection.

Thus, Taiga deliberately maintained their current dynamic—neither too distant nor too close, keeping her at arm's length.

Mikoto seemed to recall something, her eyes turning slightly red. She pursed her lips gently before saying, "I'm sorry, Taiga. I should have cared for you more back then."

Taiga's smile remained unchanged. "You're overthinking it, Sister Mikoto. I've never blamed you. Besides, you had no obligation to take care of me back then. You did it purely out of your friendship with my mother. Honestly, I'm quite grateful."

That was the truth.

The only reason Mikoto had married Uchiha Fugaku was to forge an alliance between two factions within the Uchiha clan.

Since Mikoto's lineage belonged to the moderate faction of the Uchiha, they naturally wanted to influence the entire clan by swaying Fugaku, the clan head.

Therefore, it was destined that Mikoto's marriage would not be her own to decide.

There was nothing much to say about it; such things were commonplace among ninja clans.

However, looking at it now, her marriage to Fugaku hadn't allowed the moderates to influence the Uchiha clan all that much.

Because even today, the hardliners still made up the vast majority of the Uchiha clan.

"Alright, Sister Mikoto, let's talk about why you actually came over today."

Taiga changed the subject.

Mikoto gently wiped away the tears gathering in her eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at him earnestly.

"Taiga, please don't blame Fugaku, okay?"

Taiga paused his eating, looking surprised.

"Why would I blame that guy?"

Mikoto's hands, resting on the table, clenched slightly as if she were struggling with something.

"He promised Lord Third that he wouldn't pursue the matter of Shimura Danzo possessing a Sharingan."

Taiga, however, just laughed.

"Is that so? Did he get anything out of the Third in exchange?"

Mikoto fell silent, seemingly unsure of how to answer.

Seeing this, Taiga knew exactly what had happened.

He had to hand it to Fugaku—to actually swallow his pride and endure it in a situation like this. What a spineless coward.

"So, he agreed on my behalf?"

Mikoto remained silent once more.

Taiga set down his chopsticks, poured himself a cup of sake, and downed it. Ignoring her surprised look at his action, he said, "I don't care about the Sharingan. It wasn't my eye anyway, and I'm not the clan head. He can handle it however he wants, as long as he can convince the rest of the clan."

"But..."

Taiga stared at Mikoto, his tone calm. "If he thinks he can make me drop the matter with Shimura Danzo, then he's going to be sorely disappointed."

Seeing that Mikoto seemed to want to say something, Taiga smiled again.

"Sister Mikoto, this is between me and Shimura Danzo. It has nothing to do with the clan, and Fugaku has no authority over me."

Mikoto naturally knew Taiga's personality; he always meant what he said. Since he had spoken those words, there was no changing his mind.

Not even Fugaku could change that.

It wasn't as if the two men hadn't clashed over certain issues in the past, but every single time, it was Fugaku, the clan head, who had to back down.

As always, Taiga was simply too unique an existence within the Uchiha clan—so unique that even Fugaku had no effective way to deal with him.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Sister Mikoto. It was as delicious as always."

Clearly, Taiga had no intention of continuing this conversation.

Moreover, he wasn't in the mood to chat with her any longer. He wanted to start practicing ninjutsu as soon as possible. This was something he had looked forward to for over a decade, making it far more important.

However, in Mikoto's eyes, it seemed as though Taiga's attitude had suddenly turned cold.

The person she had always viewed as a younger brother was now actively distancing himself from her.

Feeling an inexplicable ache in her heart, Mikoto lowered her head. Her hair fell forward, obscuring most of her face, and her voice sounded muffled.

"I understand. I'm sorry. I won't bother you anymore."

Taiga looked surprised. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Mikoto was also taken aback. "Don't you... not want to see me anymore?"

"When did I ever say that?"

"Then..."

Taiga gave her an odd look. "After all these years, haven't you figured it out yet, Sister Mikoto? The two of you might be married, but to me, you are you, and he is he."

With a chuckle, he added, "What I meant was, I'm done eating breakfast. It's that simple."

"Really?"

A glimmer of hope appeared in Mikoto's eyes.

Taiga nodded.

"Would I lie to you? But next time you come over, Sister Mikoto, could you change your outfit? That mesh shirt and short skirt you used to wear back when you were an active ninja was pretty nice. It felt great to the touch."

Mikoto's cheeks inexplicably flushed red.

Back in her youth, she had been quite bold, and her clothing was naturally much more revealing than it was now.

But at her current age and with her current status, if she were to wear an outfit like that again...

She didn't even dare to imagine the scene it would cause.

It would be far too embarrassing.