Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Shimura Danzo's expression instantly darkened.

He really didn't want to hear the word "Hokage" right now. Just hearing it triggered unpleasant associations, and the regret in his heart was unstoppable.

If only back then...

What a pity...

"This is none of your business!"

Danzo's tone was rigid as he glared fixedly at Orochimaru. "Don't get any unnecessary ideas. This is part of our deal."

Orochimaru chuckled softly. "Of course I will honor our deal. But Danzo-sama, have you forgotten something? You are no longer the leader of Root. Transplanting Hashirama cells is no small matter. It will consume a considerable amount of resources, and to ensure its safety... you should know what kind of price that entails."

Danzo's face twitched. He took a deep breath, his voice turning hoarse.

"That is not something you need to worry about."

Orochimaru's smile remained unchanged. He licked his lips before replying, "In that case, I have no objections. However, before we proceed, you will need to wait a few days."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't misunderstand, Danzo-sama."

Orochimaru shrugged the shoulder of his severed arm. "You surely don't expect me to perform the transplant in this condition, do you?"

Danzo took a deep breath. "How long do you need?"

"Not long, just a few days. Please don't underestimate my skills, Danzo-sama."

"Hmph! It better be."

Ignoring Danzo's attitude, Orochimaru turned and walked toward the exit, calling back, "Then, please make your preparations early, Danzo-sama."

Danzo didn't try to stop Orochimaru from leaving. Or rather, in his current state, he didn't trust anyone.

Watching Orochimaru's retreating back, a flash of venomous resentment crossed Danzo's eyes.

'Just you wait, Hiruzen, and that brat too. I will take back what rightfully belongs to me.'

The reconstruction of Konoha had reached its sixth day.

The morning sunlight pierced through the partially repaired outer walls, spilling onto the rubble-strewn streets.

Several ninjas stood at high vantage points, directing Earth Style users to compact the foundations, while Wind Style users swept away the dust to clear the air.

Ordinary villagers carried various supplies on their shoulders and backs, hurrying back and forth through the ruins.

With people constantly coming and going, the entirety of Konoha resembled a massive construction site. Voices boiled over, and the sounds of hammering and rumbling echoed between the buildings, creating an incredibly noisy atmosphere.

Yet, the people were accustomed to it. In fact, this very noise brought them a sense of reassurance.

The villagers possessed more than enough enthusiasm for rebuilding their homes, and all of Konoha was currently in an uplifting, positive state.

Uchiha Taiga stood on the roof of his house, gazing at the scene from afar.

His house hadn't suffered severe damage. There were only a few cracks in the courtyard walls, some shattered roof tiles, and a few skewed furnishings in the yard.

He hadn't participated in the reconstruction. Over the past few days, all his energy had been consumed by the scroll Orochimaru left behind.

Retracting his gaze, he prepared something to eat as usual. After finishing his meal, he returned inside, sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, and unrolled the scroll.

The scroll was densely packed with nearly a hundred different ninjutsu, ranging from C-rank to A-rank, encompassing all five chakra natures.

He traced his finger across the parchment. It didn't just contain the hand seals and chakra pathways for each jutsu; it also included Orochimaru's personal annotations.

Those insights were concise yet profound, bringing him sudden moments of clarity in certain areas.

It had to be said, Orochimaru truly lived up to his title as one of the Sannin. He was the most well-rounded of the three in terms of ninjutsu, having mastered all five chakra natures—a fact easily proven just by reading the notes on the scroll.

And this was exactly what Uchiha Taiga needed right now.

For obvious reasons, Taiga had never gone to school. That's right, he had never attended the Ninja Academy.

Therefore, compared to other Academy students, while Taiga might have a high degree of mastery over chakra nature and shape transformation, he was actually lacking in some of the fundamentals.

Well, "lacking" might not be the right word.

In short, he had simply never systematically organized these foundational concepts.

He might be able to operate from a high vantage point and quickly master a jutsu, but the process of exploring from the ground up was often what truly allowed someone to build their own learning methodology.

And now, this scroll was filling in that exact shortcoming.

Because the annotations for the jutsu within the scroll—whether C-rank or A-rank—progressed from shallow to deep, from basic to advanced. It was entirely a record of Orochimaru's own learning experiences.

Reading through this scroll even gave Taiga a strange sensation.

It felt as if he were standing right beside Orochimaru, watching him start from the lowest Three Basic Jutsu, gradually mastering more ninjutsu knowledge, slowly enriching his foundation, and understanding the unique characteristics of each technique.

It was basically the notebook of a top-tier genius.

Because of this, Taiga had been completely engrossed over the past few days, acting as if he were entirely deaf to the outside world.

Fortunately, no one came to bother him.

The village was rebuilding, and the Uchiha compound was rebuilding as well.

Although the Nine-Tails hadn't charged into the Uchiha compound that night, the area had still been somewhat affected. Certain places required repairs, and most of the Uchiha clan members were participating in the effort.

Knock, knock, knock!

Taiga was deeply immersed in the knowledge of the ninjutsu scroll when the knocking at the door interrupted his thoughts.

Setting the scroll down and hiding it away, he frowned, stood up, and crossed the courtyard to the front gate.

Opening the door, he found a middle-aged man standing outside.

The man was Uchiha Hadai. He looked to be around thirty-three or thirty-four, with short brown hair, narrow eyes, and high cheekbones, giving him a lean and wiry appearance.

"What is it?" Taiga asked.

Uchiha Hadai didn't waste any words, directly stating his purpose.

"At eight o'clock tonight, a clan meeting will be held at the clan's shrine. All clan members who have awakened their eyes are required to attend. The Clan Head asked me to notify you."

Taiga raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

He initially wanted to refuse, but after a moment of thought, he nodded instead.

"Understood."

With that said, he shut the door directly, not giving Uchiha Hadai a chance to speak further.

Outside the door, Uchiha Hadai's fingers twitched slightly, but he took a deep breath, suppressing his displeasure, and turned to leave.

Behind the door, Taiga turned and walked back toward his room, his mind racing.

'Calling a clan meeting at a time like this... I'm afraid this is no small matter.'

He had clearly thought of something. The corners of his mouth curled up, and he began to feel a sense of anticipation for tonight's meeting.

Returning to his room, Taiga once again focused his attention on the ninjutsu scroll.

He knew very well that his weakness was the short amount of time he had spent learning ninjutsu, so he naturally needed to focus on catching up in this area.

When Naruto and Sasuke were fifteen or sixteen, they were already fighting Uchiha Madara and Otsutsuki Kaguya.

Looking at himself, on the other hand, he had only fought the Nine-Tails.

The gap was quite large; he needed to work harder.

When a person is fully invested in something, time always seems to fly by. In the blink of an eye, the sun was already setting in the west.

Taiga put away the scroll, stretched his body, and after hiding the scroll securely, he cooked a few side dishes for himself and ate comfortably.

It was still early, so he wasn't in a rush.

It wasn't until the sky turned completely dark that he finished cleaning up. Still wearing his usual short sleeves and cropped pants, he finally headed out.

Within the compound, clan members walked in groups of twos and threes, heading toward the clan's shrine.

Taiga's appearance was naturally noticed by the others, and for a moment, many eyes fell upon him.

In the dark of the night, pairs of scarlet eyes gleamed with an eerie light under the moonlight.

As the center of attention, Taiga's expression remained unchanged. He seemed completely unbothered, ignoring them entirely as he walked toward the shrine on his own.

Seeing him act this way, the crowd was already used to it.

Animosity was inevitable, but no one wanted to provoke Taiga at a time like this, so the journey remained very silent.

Enduring the stares of numerous red eyes, Taiga arrived at the shrine, walked straight in, and casually found a corner to sit down.

More and more people gathered, yet the atmosphere remained silent. No one knew the purpose of this clan meeting, and they were all waiting for Uchiha Fugaku's arrival.

Uchiha Fugaku didn't keep them waiting long. He soon emerged from the back hall of the shrine and took his seat at the head of the room.

His gaze swept over everyone present. When he saw Taiga sitting in the corner, his eyes paused for a fraction of a second before moving away as if nothing had happened.

"Everyone, this clan meeting has been called to discuss an important matter."