Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Fun fact: in the current ninja world, across all hidden villages, only registered ninjas were actually considered ninjas.

These individuals were the orthodox members of a hidden village, capable of accepting missions and enjoying the many rights granted to ninjas.

Uchiha Taiga was a special case. He had fought the Nine-Tails head-on during its rampage, so in the eyes of ordinary people, he should be incredibly strong, right?

But strictly speaking, he wasn't a ninja at all.

First of all, he had never attended the academy and had received no formal ninja education.

Secondly, he wasn't registered. His status, strictly speaking, still fell under the category of an ordinary villager.

And the relationship between a village and its villagers was even more peculiar in the ninja world.

Here was a counterintuitive fact.

The true ruler of the Land of Fire was the Daimyo, who held the legal right to govern.

Under the "one country, one village" system, the Daimyo managed the people's livelihood while the Hokage controlled the military force. Strictly speaking, although it wasn't a subordinate relationship, it was still essentially an employment relationship.

In other words, the Kage was the leader of a ninja village hired by the Daimyo.

This was also why a village's Kage needed the Daimyo's approval before taking office. Even if this approval was often just a formality, this formality was a necessary condition to ensure the legitimacy of the Daimyo's rule.

And the villagers in a hidden village, strictly speaking, did not fall under the Kage's rule, because the Kage's authority only extended to the village's ninja class. Legally, the villagers were governed by the Daimyo.

Things were just that bizarre.

Therefore, what Uchiha Taiga said to the two ANBU operatives was, strictly speaking, completely flawless.

As his words fell, both ANBU operatives froze.

Obviously, they didn't know how to respond at first, simply because there was absolutely nothing wrong with Taiga's logic.

Seeing Taiga about to walk out, one of the ANBU finally lost his composure.

"Halt!"

With that, he stepped forward and blocked Taiga's path.

The other operative also stepped up, cutting off Taiga's escape route.

"Heh."

Taiga merely chuckled, looking right at them. "Are you going to make a move?"

The man remained silent.

"If you aren't going to attack, then get out of my way. Don't force me to slap you while I'm in a good mood."

He had actually been in a pretty good mood these past few days. It was mainly because he was mastering ninjutsu so quickly, which greatly satisfied all his past expectations regarding ninja arts.

As for the Uchiha clan being relocated, it didn't affect his mood in the slightest.

Taiga had understood a truth very early on: as long as a person didn't have too many attachments, they could actually live a very comfortable life.

Just like he was doing now.

Although his surname was Uchiha, he didn't consider the clan to be his burden at all. He was completely clear-headed about it.

The two operatives clearly hadn't expected Taiga to be so blunt and difficult to deal with. They hesitated for a moment.

"Get lost."

Saying that, Taiga simply shoved the person in front of him aside and walked out.

The two ANBU could only stand in place, watching Taiga leave.

Their orders were merely to deliver the notification; they had no other mission. So strictly speaking, whether Taiga agreed or not, their task was already complete.

The only reason they had acted like that just now was because Taiga's attitude had been too abrasive.

The two exchanged a glance, and the first one said in a deep voice, "Let's go back and report."

...

Taiga didn't take the arrival of those two ANBU to heart at all. Moving? Who could force him to move?

That would be like being chased away like a dog.

Therefore, he continued with his own business, wanting to fully comprehend the ninjutsu on the scroll as quickly as possible.

He had to invest his energy into this; it was arguably the only thing in the entire ninja world worth doing for him.

Meanwhile, the current Uchiha compound was already looking somewhat chaotic.

Because someone had taken the lead, the number of people moving out began to gradually increase.

Those who were unwilling to move were still holding out, but those who knew the matter could no longer be changed had resigned themselves to their fate.

The village had allocated a new plot of land in the west, which was even larger than the current Uchiha compound. There were also many promises made, so moving there wasn't entirely without benefits.

When things couldn't be helped, there would always be people who convinced themselves to accept it.

But those who were still holding out also had their own reasons to convince themselves.

The matter obviously wouldn't end so simply.

However, when Uchiha Fugaku, the Clan Head, also began handling his own family's relocation, those who were still holding out fell into despair.

Regarding this, Uchiha Fugaku naturally had something to say.

"This is a decision made by the entire village. If you all think the Uchiha clan can stand against the whole village, then by all means, continue staying here."

It was evident that Uchiha Fugaku during this period clearly did not want to escalate the conflict between the clan and the village, thus choosing to compromise.

With the Clan Head taking the lead, the persistence of the others naturally seemed ridiculous.

And so, the matter of the Uchiha clan relocating from their compound was completely finalized.

When Uchiha Taiga returned in the evening, he witnessed this exact scene.

A group of people carrying bags of all sizes, driving carriages or pushing carts loaded with various belongings, were heading out of the compound.

Taiga just happened to be walking in from the outside, and the two sides met face-to-face.

These people weren't everyone. After all, the Uchiha clan had a large population, so they had to move in batches.

Taiga didn't feel anything special watching this scene. He just cast a casual glance and planned to head back.

But someone called out to stop him.

"Uchiha Taiga!"

The one speaking was none other than Uchiha Hadai.

His usually squinted eyes were wide open now, looking at Taiga with a face full of solemnity.

"Do you think the clan moving out of the compound is the right thing to do?"

This question was truly a bit surprising.

Taiga pointed at himself. "You're asking me about this?"

Uchiha Hadai nodded, his expression remaining serious.

"You are a genius of the clan. No matter how much you clash with the clan, you are still a member. What is your stance on this matter?"

Taiga was genuinely surprised this time.

Looking at the other Uchiha clansmen, they were all casting glances his way as well, their expressions complex.

Among them were many who originally couldn't stand Taiga, but now they found that he was actually the one holding his ground the firmest. This brought them a considerable ideological shock.

"I don't have a stance. It has nothing to do with me anyway. I'm not moving."

Having said that, Taiga ignored them and walked straight toward his home.

Seeing this, Uchiha Hadai called out to his back, "I understand now. You are a true Uchiha."

Taiga paused his steps and turned around, a bizarre expression on his face.

"Are you sick in the head?"

Looking at the others, they all lowered their heads at this moment.

Taiga's expression grew even weirder.

No, what the hell were you guys so ashamed of?

Looking closely, he could naturally tell that these people were lowering their heads out of shame. Some were even shedding tears, looking completely remorseful.

But, what exactly were they ashamed of?

When Taiga saw a young man in his twenties awaken his Sharingan out of sheer emotional agitation, he really couldn't hold back his disbelief.

He knew that person—a clansman with little ninja talent who was still a Chunin in his twenties and had never awakened his eyes.

But now, to awaken the Sharingan just because of the emotional agitation brought on by a few words... it was hard to judge.

What on earth were these people thinking?

What was the point of being so ashamed?

Taiga really wanted to ask them directly, but looking at their state, they were clearly caught up in a collective emotional wave, having already convinced themselves of something.

In this situation, no matter how he explained it, it would be useless.

"Whatever. As long as you're happy."

This was exactly why people said the Uchiha were a bunch of psychos.

It was precisely because Taiga had seen through this that he didn't want too much involvement with the clan. He was afraid of being influenced himself.

The collective delusion of the group in front of him was proof of that.

Regardless of what these people were actually thinking, it had nothing to do with him anyway. Taiga walked the rest of the way home.

At his doorstep stood several people. The one in the center wore the Hokage robes and a bamboo hat—it was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Taiga-kun has returned. Won't you invite this old man inside for a seat?"

Taiga glanced at him, immediately knowing the purpose of Sarutobi Hiruzen's visit.

"Are you here to persuade me to move too, Third Hokage?" he asked directly.