Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

It was no wonder Uchiha Taiga thought this way. Over the past few years, Orochimaru had kept an incredibly low profile, especially after Namikaze Minato took power. Normally, Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen in the village, and later on, news of him had vanished completely.

Taiga had even wondered if the village elders were intentionally covering up the news of Orochimaru's defection.

Looking at it now, that wasn't the case at all.

After all, Orochimaru was standing right there in the crowd, showing absolutely no signs of defecting.

'Right, at this point in time, this guy should be colluding with Shimura Danzo. The changes in Danzo's body are definitely related to him.'

Despite these thoughts, Taiga didn't care much. He merely glanced over before looking away.

The farewell ceremony for the Fourth Hokage and his wife continued in a solemn and silent atmosphere. After laying his flower, Taiga retreated into the Uchiha clan's formation.

The entire ceremony lasted for over half an hour. Toward the end, Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward.

Today was not just about bidding farewell to the Fourth Hokage and his wife; Hiruzen stepping forward was also a declaration that he would be reclaiming power.

Of course, the official public statement was that he was only acting as a temporary substitute, promising to fully retire once a Fifth Hokage was chosen.

The villagers were naturally moved. Hiruzen's return to power quickly calmed the restless anxiety that had gripped the village since the Nine-Tails attack.

After all, Hiruzen had served as Hokage for decades, leading them through the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars and successfully maintaining Konoha's stability.

The villagers were used to the days when Hiruzen was Hokage. Seeing him step up again made them feel that this was the most logical outcome.

As for the Fourth Hokage...

He was a hero, but unfortunately, he was gone.

The villagers' desires were simple; they only wanted stability and a sense of security.

Taiga watched Hiruzen preach about the Will of Fire, his expression remaining completely unchanged.

He actually believed that Hiruzen's return to power wasn't driven by a lust for authority. Otherwise, Minato's ascension to the position wouldn't have gone so smoothly back then.

However, none of this had anything to do with him, and he simply didn't care.

Watching the emotionally charged crowd with cold detachment, Taiga's thoughts drifted elsewhere. He reflected on the jutsu he had learned over the past two days and began conceptualizing new ones in his mind.

Of course, it was merely conceptualization; he wasn't quite at the stage of actual development yet.

Taiga knew he was still a ways off from that step. His most pressing priority was to learn all the jutsu available in his home, then find ways to master even more. Only by building a solid foundation could he begin developing his own ninjutsu.

In short, knowledge was essential.

By the time he snapped out of his thoughts, the farewell ceremony had ended, and people were leaving in twos and threes.

The members of the Uchiha clan also began to withdraw. Taiga didn't join them, choosing to leave on his own instead.

His very existence was already conspicuous. It was fine during the ceremony, but seeing him ignore everyone as usual, the other Uchiha naturally began to whisper and gossip.

"That guy is at it again."

"Hmph, what a disgrace to the Uchiha. He clearly has innate talent, yet he refuses to contribute to the clan's glory. He's an absolute embarrassment."

"Yeah, I can't believe a guy like that still has the nerve to stay in the clan compound."

"Stay away from him. That guy isn't right in the head."

The whispers weren't loud, but with Taiga's heightened senses, he could hear them perfectly clearly.

He had heard this kind of talk plenty of times. In the beginning, it used to anger him, but after he taught them a lesson one by one, no one dared to say it to his face anymore.

Still, it had to be said—the Uchiha were incredibly stubborn. They didn't have the guts to say it to his face, but they certainly had the nerve to gossip behind his back.

He cast a glance in their direction, his eyes perfectly calm.

The few Uchiha who were whispering immediately froze, looking as if an invisible hand had clamped down on their throats.

Taiga raised his hand and dragged his thumb across his throat from left to right in a clear, threatening gesture.

The corners of his mouth curled up into a cold, mocking smile.

At that, the group's faces instantly paled.

"Stop scaring them."

A woman's voice came from behind him. It was Uchiha Mikoto.

She had watched the entire exchange and naturally saw Taiga intimidating the group.

While others might not understand Taiga, she certainly did. No one knew the true personality hiding beneath this boy's cold exterior better than she did.

Taiga turned his head to see Mikoto dressed in plain black mourning clothes. The slightly fitted fabric accentuated her slender yet soft waist, while the slightly draped collar revealed a stretch of pale, delicate neck.

Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, and she wore a look of mild reproach. With her shoulders slightly drawn, she exuded a gentle elegance unique to a married woman.

Truth be told, even though she was already a mother of two, she was even more charming than before.

Especially now, dressed entirely in somber black, she carried a certain widow-like allure. Even with Taiga's usual composure, he couldn't help but take a few extra glances, openly looking her up and down.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

"I'm looking at a beauty."

As they spoke, Mikoto stepped up beside him, and they began walking together.

Hearing his words, Mikoto shot him an exasperated glare.

"Don't talk nonsense. Mind the occasion."

Taiga caught a whiff of a unique fragrance—something akin to a faint floral scent mixed with musk—and absentmindedly blurted out what was on his mind.

"Did you breastfeed Sasuke right before you came?"

Mikoto's face instantly flushed red, and she hurriedly swatted him on the back of the head.

Taiga could only lament that he was still too young; there were so many things he couldn't do yet, which was truly a pity.

"Where is he?"

Taiga took the initiative to change the subject.

Mikoto naturally knew who he was referring to. She lowered her eyes slightly. "He stayed behind to discuss matters with the clansmen."

"Heh, he sure is eager. Isn't he completely ignoring your feelings, Sister Mikoto?"

"Don't say that. Fugaku has a lot of responsibilities."

Taiga curled his lip and said bluntly, "If you ask me, you should just leave him and come stay with me. I kind of miss the feeling of hugging you to sleep like when I was a kid."

Mikoto swatted him again. "Stop spouting nonsense. You're a big kid now."

"So what if I'm a big kid? Are big kids not kids anymore? Big kids need comfort too, and big kids have moments of weakness as well."

Taiga fired off the three excuses in rapid succession.

"Ahem."

Suddenly, someone coughed heavily from behind them.

Taiga glanced over. It was Uchiha Fugaku.

He was accompanied by several of the clan's elites. However, Fugaku's expression at the moment was far from pleasant—it was dark and rather hostile.

"Tch."

Taiga scoffed and waved a hand at Mikoto. "I'm leaving."

Seeing this, Mikoto hesitated, looking as though she wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent, simply watching him walk away.

Fugaku stepped forward with a dark scowl. "This is the 'good kid' you were talking about? Does he look even the slightest bit mature to you?"

"He..."

Mikoto wanted to offer some sort of explanation, but the words failed her.

She knew her husband had a problem with Taiga, just as she knew Taiga looked down on Fugaku.

In the past, she hadn't thought much of it, always believing she could mediate between them. But as Taiga grew older, she realized how naive her previous thoughts had been.

It wasn't just Fugaku that Taiga looked down on; he looked down on the entire Uchiha clan.

This left her feeling deeply troubled, completely unsure of how to change Taiga's perception of their family.

...

Taiga naturally couldn't care less about Fugaku's opinion of him. By now, he had already arrived at his usual training ground and begun his daily practice.

However, it wasn't long before he stopped. Standing perfectly still, he spoke without turning his head.

"Since you're here, how long are you going to keep hiding? Lord Orochimaru."

He then turned around, looking toward a distant tree.

A figure stepped out from behind the trunk. It was Orochimaru, dressed entirely in black.

"It has been a long time, Taiga. You truly surprised me today. It seems you are finally able to master ninjutsu."

Taiga didn't answer the question directly. Instead, he asked, "Did you come all the way out here just to ask me that, Lord Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru licked his lips, his unnaturally long tongue looking rather grotesque.

"Of course not. I simply came to see you, Taiga."

Taiga remained silent, just quietly staring at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru kept a smile on his face as he met the boy's gaze.

The atmosphere fell into a heavy silence.