Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

As it turned out, there were some matters where bystanders were far more proactive than the people actually involved.

Take Uchiha Fugaku, for example.

Even though he had major grievances with Uchiha Taiga, he surprisingly compromised when it came to his eldest son.

Well, 'compromise' might not be the right word.

Rather, he fully supported the idea of his eldest son becoming Taiga's student—to the point of personally escorting the boy to Taiga's doorstep.

Considering their current relationship, the two practically despised the sight of each other.

Fugaku could sense that Taiga looked down on him. While Taiga didn't belittle him at every turn, he clearly didn't view Fugaku as a competent clan head.

After interacting with him for a few years, Fugaku knew this all too well.

On the flip side, Taiga was perfectly aware of Fugaku's attitude toward him.

The man wanted him to become a "true" Uchiha—someone who put the clan above all else and dedicated his strength to its prosperity.

But after realizing Taiga's utter lack of interest and witnessing his various antics, Fugaku had given up on that hope. In fact, Taiga's recent actions only made Fugaku find him even more of an eyesore.

That was the dynamic between them. It was fine when they didn't cross paths, but whenever they met, nothing good ever came of it.

It usually involved Taiga launching a point-blank mocking remark, followed by Fugaku snapping back with a stern reprimand.

Give or take, that was the usual routine.

But this time was different. As Fugaku brought Uchiha Itachi before Taiga, he still wore a stoic expression, but the slight upward twitch of his lips showed he was trying his absolute best to look pleasant.

Uchiha Mikoto stood beside them, smiling warmly as she led Itachi forward.

Taiga was equally expressionless, but upon seeing the four- or five-year-old Itachi, he managed to force a smile.

"Taiga-kun, we brought Itachi over to meet you today. We'll be leaving him in your care from now on," Mikoto said.

Taiga nodded, his gaze landing on Itachi.

Truth be told, at four or five years old, Uchiha Itachi was quite an adorable little kid. He had delicate, refined features.

It was hard to imagine that this very child would go on to commit such horrific acts just a few years down the line. It was downright terrifying.

"Yeah," Taiga acknowledged.

Itachi looked up, meeting Taiga's eyes, his small face filled with immense confusion.

He was supposed to be at home looking after his newborn baby brother like usual, but today, his father and mother had brought him here.

At his age, he couldn't comprehend too much, but he knew this was the clan compound—the old compound. He thought they wouldn't return after moving, yet here they were so soon.

He had seen the man standing before him before. However, in the past, this man was always arguing with his father, infuriating him every single time.

They clearly disliked each other, so why were they standing together now?

He didn't understand.

But he wanted to figure out exactly what was going on.

"I am Uchiha Itachi. I look forward to your guidance."

Itachi bowed respectfully, displaying excellent manners.

Taiga replied, "My name is Uchiha Taiga. I am the teacher your parents found for you."

"Teacher?"

Itachi turned his head to look at his parents.

His mother's eyes held encouragement, while his father wore a stern expression.

Accustomed to this dynamic, he looked back at Taiga and asked, "So, what do I need to do?"

Taiga glanced at Fugaku and Mikoto. Seeing that neither of them spoke up, he thought for a moment before answering, "You don't need to do anything special. Just remember the things I teach you from now on."

"Yes, sir."

Itachi replied respectfully.

At this point, Fugaku finally spoke up. "Taiga-kun, I leave Itachi in your hands."

For once, he wasn't giving Taiga a sour look.

Taiga first glanced at Mikoto before nodding, his expression casual. "Yeah, I got it. But let's get one thing straight—my own abilities are what they are. I can't guarantee what he'll actually manage to learn from me."

Sure enough, Fugaku's brow furrowed at those words, but it quickly smoothed out.

"I can sense that you now possess stable chakra. In other words, you have mastered ninjutsu."

Taiga didn't deny it. It wasn't something he could hide anyway.

His constitution was unique. Thanks to the system, in the eyes of others, he possessed an innate Sage Body.

Because his body was still developing, his Sage Body had been incomplete prior to this. This caused his body to be entirely dominated by natural energy, meaning any attempt to refine chakra would result in an explosive backlash.

And the prerequisite for becoming a ninja was the ability to refine chakra and thereby master ninjutsu.

There were many types of ninjas in the ninja world. Some excelled in ninjutsu, some in sealing jutsu, some in taijutsu, and naturally, some in sensory skills.

But even a ninja with the weakest sensory abilities would always be sensitive to chakra.

Now that Taiga's Sage Body had stabilized, he could naturally refine chakra without issue. And with a Sage Body, his chakra reserves were growing exponentially by the day.

While he might not compare to true chakra monsters in the short term, his reserves already far exceeded those of an average ninja.

Under these circumstances, it was perfectly normal for Fugaku to sense his chakra.

A person who was originally unable to use chakra and master ninjutsu now possessed it, which naturally meant he could use ninjutsu.

It was a simple deduction.

In Taiga's view, this was probably the exact reason Fugaku was willing to send his eldest son over.

Fugaku continued, "With your talent, learning ninjutsu shouldn't be difficult. Although I've had many disagreements with you in the past, I cannot deny one thing: your perspective and understanding of the world have surpassed the confines of the clan. I hope Itachi can learn that from you, so he doesn't limit himself solely to the clan."

Hearing this, Taiga's expression turned a bit strange.

"Aren't you afraid he'll end up just like me?"

Unsurprisingly, Fugaku was still the clan head at his core; his face darkened instantly at the remark.

Fortunately, Mikoto stepped in to smooth things over. "You and Fugaku simply have different ideals. Besides, I trust you won't lead Itachi astray."

"Lead him astray, huh?"

Taiga chuckled, choosing not to dwell on the issue. He nodded. "Alright, I understand."

With that, he held his hand out toward Fugaku.

Fugaku looked confused. "What?"

It was obvious Taiga was asking for something.

Mikoto seemed to realize what it was but kept quiet.

"Pay up. You didn't think I was doing this out of charity, did you?"

Fugaku's eye twitched. He desperately wanted to ask if that chakra blade wasn't enough.

But in the end, he swallowed his words.

Actually, he wasn't too surprised by Taiga's behavior. Based on what he knew of the boy, this was exactly the kind of stunt Taiga would pull.

"I'll have Itachi bring it next time."

Taiga nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it."

No one ever complained about having too much money.

Especially when teaching the young master of the clan—there was absolutely no need to save them any money.

As the head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku was naturally quite wealthy. Since he had agreed, the payment next time certainly wouldn't be small.

Taiga had full confidence in that.

"Itachi, remember this first lesson."

Taiga looked at Itachi, who was completely lost. "I... I don't understand. What first lesson?"

Taiga smiled.

"Your first lesson is this: as a ninja, if you put in the effort, you must get a return. That is the fundamental basis of a ninja's existence."

Itachi's tiny brows furrowed as he tried to process the statement, before voicing his doubt.

"But Father says ninjas are tools."

Taiga's smile didn't waver. "Tools have value."

Itachi fell deep into thought again. However, Fugaku was now frowning, looking as though he badly wanted to refute Taiga's words.

"What's wrong, Lord Clan Head? Do you think I'm wrong?" Taiga asked.

Fugaku kept frowning but ultimately said nothing more.

At that moment, he felt a twinge of regret for bringing Itachi here.

Still, he maintained his composure and said, "In three days, Lord Third will leave the village to report to the Daimyo. I will have Itachi come over then."

With that, he gave a polite, formal nod and turned to leave.

Taiga couldn't care less about his attitude. He looked at Mikoto. "You don't think there was a problem with what I just said either, do you?"

His tone carried a hint of anticipation, as if eager to hear her answer.

But Mikoto knew him far too well. She merely offered a gentle smile. "You have your own reasons for teaching him this way. We won't interfere too much."

At that, Taiga could only give her a thumbs-up.

"You guys are really something. Talk about open-minded."

He looked down at Itachi and grinned. "Then I won't hold back."

He was starting to think that molding Uchiha Itachi into his own image might actually be quite fun.