Chapter 26 026: Too Clear-Headed
To most people in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen was perhaps a good person, or perhaps a good Hokage.
But to Uchiha Taiga, he was no different from any other politician.
Politicians were inherently corrupt; that was a universal truth in any world.
One couldn't just assume he was a good person based on his amiable facade; some things needed to be viewed objectively.
Without Sarutobi Hiruzen's indulgence, Shimura Danzo's darkness wouldn't exist. And without Danzo's darkness, the ninja world wouldn't have suffered so many subsequent tragedies.
Even without Shimura Danzo, the Great Ninja Wars would still have been fought, and tragedies would still have occurred.
However, Danzo's particular brand of evil was the most atrocious of them all.
And all of it stemmed from the Hokage standing right in front of him.
"Taiga, I know you are a good child. I hope you can consider the village's perspective a bit more."
Sensing the young man's resistance, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't get angry. Instead, he spoke with earnest persuasion.
He continued, "You fought the Nine-Tails, so you know the reason behind its appearance. The one who released the Nine-Tails and killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife was an Uchiha. That is undeniable. Under these circumstances, we must give the rest of the village an explanation."
"If possible, I wish none of this had ever happened. But the Uchiha must pay the price for it, and that is something the majority of the village agrees upon."
Uchiha Taiga's expression remained perfectly calm, listening as if none of this had anything to do with him.
"So what? The Uchiha just get driven out of the village to the outskirts, and that makes it all okay?" he asked.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "This decision is actually a form of protection for the Uchiha. At the very least, it serves to cool tensions."
Uchiha Taiga nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Feeling a slight sense of relief, Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "In that case, you agree with this, right?"
Uchiha Taiga replied, "Yeah, I agree. It's great."
Seeing Hiruzen's expression visibly relax, Taiga immediately followed up, "But that has nothing to do with me. My surname is Uchiha simply because my parents named me Uchiha. The Uchiha clan is the Uchiha clan, and I am me. So, however you higher-ups decide to punish the Uchiha has absolutely nothing to do with me."
Having said his piece, he lost all interest in arguing with the old man and walked toward his front door.
"Punish them however you like, just don't drag me into it."
The ANBU operatives beside Sarutobi Hiruzen closed in, surrounding Uchiha Taiga. Some already had their hands on the hilts of their blades, while others lowered their stances, ready to strike.
But Uchiha Taiga simply walked right past Sarutobi Hiruzen, continuing to speak without missing a beat.
"You higher-ups have been targeting the Uchiha ever since the Second Hokage's era, and that ideology has been inherited by the current leadership. I can already foresee that if this continues, the Uchiha's future is doomed to destruction. So, before they get wiped out, stop coming here to disgust me."
At those words, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression changed drastically.
He never expected to hear such words from a youth like Uchiha Taiga.
Those words directly pierced through the facade the higher-ups had maintained for so long. The terrifying part was that the person saying them wasn't even fourteen years old.
"Uchiha Taiga!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen took on a rare tone of absolute seriousness. He turned around, staring directly at the boy's back, and said deeply, "Words like that shouldn't be coming from someone your age. So... who taught you this? Was it Uchiha Fugaku?"
Uchiha Taiga stopped in his tracks and turned around as well, completely ignoring the ANBU operatives surrounding him.
"Uchiha Fugaku?"
Uchiha Taiga scoffed.
"Don't make me laugh. If a guy like him could say something like this, the Uchiha wouldn't be in the pathetic state they are now."
"What, does the Third Hokage think someone my age shouldn't have this kind of insight?"
"Or do you think I should just be one of those Konoha ninjas who mindlessly believes in the Will of Fire, dedicating myself entirely to the village and becoming a willing tool for the higher-ups?"
He chuckled and added, "Or is it that an anomaly like me, who doesn't fit the mold of a normal Uchiha, makes you higher-ups feel threatened?"
"Come on, Third Hokage, tell me. What should I do? Is it so hard for you to accept that I haven't been brainwashed by you?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen met his gaze, seemingly trying to read something in the boy's eyes, but all he saw was absolute tranquility.
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally realized just how unique the boy standing before him truly was.
For better or for worse.
On the positive side, the youth's insight far surpassed that of an ordinary person. He wasn't limited by clan loyalty and viewed problems with extreme clarity.
On the negative side, not only did he lack any affection for the Uchiha, but he felt the same way about the village's higher-ups. He didn't identify with the Will of Fire in the slightest.
He was a complete and utter anomaly—not just to the Uchiha clan, but to the village as well.
And the latter was especially obvious.
This made things very difficult.
According to Sarutobi Hiruzen's original plan, he had hoped to use communication to turn this Uchiha anomaly into a bridge between the village and the clan.
This would help prevent further divisions—and potentially even conflict—between the Uchiha and the village.
During this process, it would have been even better if he could sway the boy's heart toward the village.
After all, an innate Sage Body was truly extraordinary. If they could pull him over to the village's side, Konoha would undoubtedly gain a powerful asset for the future.
But looking at it now, that plan seemed impossible to execute.
Because the youth before him had his own deeply ingrained worldview, and it was impossible to change.
Just as Hiruzen was organizing his words, trying to figure out how to prevent the boy from developing even more resistance, the youth spoke again.
"Didn't the ANBU from earlier pass on my message? I am not a ninja. I have no obligation to obey the orders of the village's higher-ups, especially yours. If the others want to move, that's their business. This is my home. My house was left to me by my parents, and the property rights belong to me."
He smiled as he spoke.
"So, if you want me to relocate like the rest of the Uchiha, it's very simple. Go find the Daimyo and have him issue the order."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this.
In that moment, he deeply felt just how troublesome Uchiha Taiga really was.
Because his words directly exposed the fundamental limits of the Hokage's power.
If Sarutobi Hiruzen and the village's higher-ups forced Uchiha Taiga to move, they would have no legal standing. Since Taiga wasn't a ninja, he was classified as an ordinary villager. They had no right to order him around, nor did they have the right to coerce him.
If they actually did so and the matter blew up, it would inevitably breed resentment among the ordinary villagers and cause the other ninja clans to draw negative conclusions.
After all, the vast majority of people within the major ninja clans were still ordinary individuals without any talent for ninjutsu.
But if they actually went to the Daimyo to request an order, as Taiga suggested, Sarutobi Hiruzen's reputation as Hokage would undoubtedly take a massive hit in the Daimyo's eyes.
If you can't even handle a single Uchiha brat, how can you be Hokage? How could the Daimyo trust you with the safety of the entire Land of Fire?
Having said all this, Uchiha Taiga ignored Sarutobi Hiruzen's ugly expression. He turned around and directly shoved aside the two ANBU operatives blocking his path.
"What the hell are you posturing for? Get out of my way. If you're really so capable, then make a move, you trash."
Then, he walked away without looking back.
He opened his door, stepped inside, and slammed it shut without another word, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others standing outside.
At this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was incredibly grim. Only now did he truly grasp how thorny Uchiha Taiga was.
Inexplicably, he actually felt a bit of sympathy for Uchiha Fugaku right now.
With someone like this around, Uchiha Fugaku must have lost quite a bit of hair dealing with him on a daily basis, right?
Shaking his head to toss aside these meaningless thoughts, Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the tightly shut door and frowned.
"Lord Hokage, should we make a move?" an ANBU ninja took the initiative to ask.
The others shared a similar attitude.
Uchiha Taiga's actions just now hadn't left them with a shred of dignity. Even if ninjas were tools, being humiliated to their faces like that still made them angry.