Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Neither of them spoke again; the atmosphere gradually shifted from silent to tense.

Uchiha Taiga's expression remained unchanged. He stood there loosely, looking completely relaxed.

After all, he had only been at the training ground for a short while; the bit of practice he just did couldn't even be considered a warm-up.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, wore a smile.

Time ticked by, minute by minute...

"Heh."

Finally, Orochimaru was the first to break, letting out a soft chuckle.

"It seems Taiga-kun is not surprised by my arrival."

Uchiha Taiga's expression remained indifferent. Hearing this, he scoffed instead, "Are you here just to mess with me?"

"How could I be."

Orochimaru's smile didn't waver as his long tongue darted out again, licking his chin.

"I saw your actions that night, Taiga-kun. I must say, as expected of an innate Sage Body, to actually be able to suppress the Nine-Tails... truly impressive."

Faced with Orochimaru's praise, Uchiha Taiga merely raised an eyebrow.

'As expected, how could someone like him remain indifferent to the appearance of the Nine-Tails.'

'I even suspect this guy was hiding in the shadows that night. If the Nine-Tails had appeared anywhere other than the village, he might have already made a move.'

'After all, for someone like Orochimaru, how could he possibly pass up a research subject like a Tailed Beast.'

"So, Lord Orochimaru, what business do you have with me?" Uchiha Taiga asked in return.

"Hehehe, I am naturally here to invite you, Taiga-kun."

Uchiha Taiga tilted his head slightly, not responding, signaling him to continue.

Orochimaru didn't mind his attitude. Instead, he took a step toward him and spoke.

"What do you think of the current Konoha, Taiga-kun?"

Uchiha Taiga thought for a moment and gave a fair assessment. "It's not bad. The situation is stable, and the villagers' happiness is much better than in other villages."

Orochimaru's footsteps paused, seemingly not expecting him to say that.

"Do you truly think so, Taiga-kun?"

Uchiha Taiga nodded. This was his true thought, so he said, "I really do. After all, this is a world where everyone is just racing to the bottom. Compared to the other ninja villages, Konoha is indeed much better."

Thinking for a moment, he added, "I can't just say the village is bad because I'm an Uchiha and the village's higher-ups are secretly targeting us. Compared to the amateurish setups of other ninja villages, Konoha can indeed be considered pretty good."

This completely threw Orochimaru off.

'No, wait.'

'If you say that, what am I supposed to say?'

'It makes it hard for me to follow my script.'

Seeing him like this, Uchiha Taiga actually laughed.

"What, does Lord Orochimaru not think so?"

He turned to face Orochimaru, resting a hand on his chin and tapping his fingers lightly in a thoughtful manner.

"Let me think. Could it be that Lord Orochimaru feels targeted by the village? No, no. During the Third Great Ninja War a few years ago, you were the supreme commander of the western front in the early stages. But ever since the Fourth Hokage began to make his mark, you seemed to have been pulled back from the front lines."

Uchiha Taiga paced slightly, as if talking to himself.

"That's right. Since then, Namikaze Minato completely outshone everyone, earning the title of the Yellow Flash. He directly repelled Iwagakure and Kumogakure, thoroughly establishing his prestige. When the war ended, it was only natural for him to become the Fourth Hokage. But I remember that before all that, Lord Orochimaru was the most popular candidate for the position."

Uchiha Taiga nodded, confirming this point. "It seems Lord Orochimaru must have seen the potential in his junior, Namikaze Minato, and deliberately stepped aside for him. How... noble of you."

Orochimaru stopped in his tracks. Although he still wore a smile, it looked somewhat stiff no matter how one looked at it.

At this moment, Uchiha Taiga looked up, staring straight at Orochimaru, and asked in an inquiring tone, "Lord Orochimaru, is my guess accurate?"

"Hehehehe..."

Orochimaru's laughter sounded hoarse. The disguised smile on his face shattered with the laughter, replaced by an inexplicably eerie aura.

"Truly extraordinary, Taiga-kun. Are you trying to anger me with this method?"

Uchiha Taiga shook his head, his smile unchanged. "How could I? You are one of the Sannin, Lord Orochimaru, renowned throughout the ninja world. I am just an ordinary Uchiha. How would I dare to anger you?"

With that, his smile grew even brighter. "I'm just purely curious. Why didn't Lord Orochimaru become the Fourth Hokage? Did you simply not want it?"

Orochimaru's smile faded.

"You seem to harbor a lot of hostility toward me, Taiga-kun?"

Uchiha Taiga shook his head. "I wouldn't call it hostility. It's just that you seem to harbor ill intentions toward me, Lord Orochimaru."

'As for why Orochimaru came here, I might not know the exact reason, but even an idiot could guess it has something to do with my innate Sage Body.'

'After all, in the original storyline, this guy created the Curse Mark based on the Sage Body. There's no way he wouldn't be tempted after learning the village had someone with an innate Sage Body.'

'The only reason Orochimaru hasn't made a move yet is simply that he hasn't defected, and the village can still provide him with conveniences.'

'Now that Shimura Danzo is highly likely to be punished, the support the village higher-ups can give Orochimaru will definitely decrease. That's not a good thing for his research.'

"So, are you planning to defect from the village?"

Uchiha Taiga didn't give Orochimaru a chance to spout any more nonsense and directly asked what was on his mind. He was quite curious about this.

At this, Orochimaru completely lost his ability to smile.

His narrow, slightly squinted eyes involuntarily widened a fraction.

"Looks like I guessed right."

Uchiha Taiga nodded to himself and spoke as if muttering under his breath.

"Although I don't know why you came here at this time, I do know a bit about you. From what I understand, you seem to be very afraid of death and wish to pursue eternity. Is that right?"

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue once again. This time it extended even further, looking rather disgusting.

"You truly understand me well, Taiga-kun."

Since he was just reciting the standard answers from the plot, Uchiha Taiga naturally knew Orochimaru's mindset, so he stated flatly, "In other words, you've set your sights on me."

Orochimaru seemingly had no intention of pretending anymore. He took another step forward, closing in on Uchiha Taiga.

"So, aren't you afraid, Taiga-kun?"

Uchiha Taiga didn't respond directly, seemingly indifferent to Orochimaru's approach.

"I wouldn't say I'm afraid, just that being targeted by you feels a bit disgusting. So, do you have your eyes on my body?"

"Hehehe..."

Orochimaru didn't answer directly, but his meaning was self-evident.

"Understood."

Uchiha Taiga sighed. "What a headache. I just want to live a peaceful life, so why does trouble always find me?"

His response was a snake that suddenly darted out from the shadows beside him, snapping its jaws at his neck.

At the same time, Orochimaru's figure abruptly vanished.

Uchiha Taiga's eyes instantly turned crimson. His figure also vanished at that exact moment, dodging the venomous snake's bite and reappearing on a tree over ten meters away.

Orochimaru landed right where he had just been standing.

"What a fast Body Flicker Technique, Taiga-kun."

Orochimaru didn't seem surprised that his sneak attack had failed. He looked up at Uchiha Taiga.

"Since you made the first move, you can't blame me for what happens next."

Uchiha Taiga broke into a smile.

It was perfect timing. He had been planning to properly test out the jutsu he had mastered over the past two days.

Without a doubt, Orochimaru was an excellent opponent.

Because he was strong enough.

And despite it only being two days, Uchiha Taiga had actually mastered quite a few jutsu in that time. He had basically learned every ninjutsu available in his home.

Although those jutsu couldn't be considered particularly powerful, having an expert like Orochimaru act as a sparring partner would allow him to gain a lot of combat experience.