Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Uchiha Obito's laughter didn't stop; instead, it grew louder.

He laughed so hard he doubled over, clutching his stomach with his good hand. His entire body shook as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

"Hahahahaha—I can't, this is too funny, hahahahaha."

Truth be told, Obito might have been a fool before awakening his Sharingan, and an absolute fanatic afterward, but that didn't mean he was actually stupid.

The reason for his reaction was that he had noticed the shift in Uchiha Taiga's attitude.

Yes, the moment Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu spoke up to intervene, he immediately understood Taiga's intentions.

Perhaps this was the unspoken understanding between enemies.

Meanwhile, Homura's expression grew increasingly ugly.

He stood rooted to the spot, lips pressed tightly together, the veins on his forehead throbbing.

Koharu's expression was no better. She narrowed her eyes at Obito, her gaze as cold as ice.

Being openly mocked and laughed at by an enemy naturally infuriated the two elders, who had held positions of high authority for years.

Obito finally stopped laughing. He straightened up and wiped the corner of his eye with his remaining hand.

"Sorry, sorry, I really couldn't help myself."

He looked at Homura and Koharu, unable to hide the smirk on his face. "Did you just say Konoha will deal with me? Are you sure you can even handle me?"

Homura ignored his sarcasm. Instead, he turned to the surrounding ninjas and ANBU, speaking in a deep, authoritative voice.

"Uchiha Obito, you defected from Konoha, attacked the Jinchuriki, and controlled the Nine-Tails to assault the village. Your actions led to the deaths of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and his wife, Uzumaki Kushina, along with thousands of villagers. These crimes are absolutely unforgivable!"

His voice echoed across the ruins, every word ringing with absolute conviction.

"All Konoha ninjas, hear my command! Arrest the rogue ninja Uchiha Obito immediately!"

Koharu quickly followed up, "This is a direct order from the village elders! No one is permitted to disobey!"

The implication of her words was obvious; it was aimed entirely at Taiga.

The ninjas and ANBU exchanged glances. Though they felt uneasy, an order was an order.

They tightened their grips on their weapons and began to close in on Obito.

The charges were set in stone.

Defection.

The Nine-Tails incident.

The death of the Fourth Hokage.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, these crimes were firmly pinned on Obito. No matter who he used to be, or what hidden grievances he might have had, from this moment on, he was a sinner of Konoha.

The moral high ground stood firmly with the village.

Watching this unfold, Taiga let out a soft chuckle.

The laugh wasn't loud, but everyone present heard it clearly.

"Alright then, I'll leave this guy to you."

He shrugged, and the bright yellow chakra surrounding him receded like the tide.

The bones, flesh, and meridians of his Susanoo dissipated into the air, as if they had never existed.

He took two steps back, then another two, and finally two more. Seemingly satisfied with the distance, he nodded and stood to the side with his arms crossed.

"I'm washing my hands of this. You guys go ahead."

Seeing this, Homura and Koharu simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

Their biggest fear was that Taiga would disobey orders and continue fighting.

His Susanoo was far too terrifying. If he really threw a tantrum, everyone present probably wouldn't be enough to stop him.

Now that he had voluntarily stepped back, it couldn't be better.

After all, the capture of a Konoha sinner had to be carried out by the village itself.

And Wood Style had to remain in the village's hands.

Uchiha Fugaku's face was dark and grim. He clenched and unclenched his fists repeatedly, but ultimately chose to stay where he was.

He fully understood what the two elders were plotting, but as the head of the Uchiha clan, he absolutely could not make the wrong choice at this critical juncture.

The next moment, Homura raised his hand and swung it down heavily.

"Do it!"

Dozens of ninjas and ANBU charged at Obito simultaneously.

Obito stood his ground, watching the incoming crowd, and grinned.

His right eye began to spin.

Space warped around him. His entire body looked as though it were being crumpled by an invisible hand, starting from his feet and gradually turning into a swirling vortex.

His body was sucked into the center of the vortex bit by bit, from the bottom up, faster and faster.

The charging ninjas grasped at thin air. Kunai and shuriken passed right through his distorted figure, hitting absolutely nothing.

Only Obito's head and shoulders remained.

His final smile lingered in everyone's sight as his voice echoed from the distorted space, dripping with heavy mockery.

"So this is Konoha. Always preaching about the village and the greater good, yet you all know exactly what kind of filthy deeds you commit in the shadows."

His gaze swept over Homura and Koharu.

"Let the village deal with me? As if you're worthy!"

The vortex gradually closed.

Obito looked at Taiga.

The latter was also looking at him. The two exchanged a silent glance.

Taiga was smiling.

Obito was smiling too.

And then, Obito vanished.

The ninjas and ANBU stood frozen, looking at each other in dismay.

Some looked around frantically, while others leaped to higher vantage points to search, but they found nothing.

Obito had evaporated into thin air, leaving not a single trace behind.

Homura's face turned exceptionally ugly.

He whipped his head around, glaring at Taiga, who was still standing to the side with his arms crossed.

"Did you know all along that he had the ability to escape?"

Taiga raised an eyebrow but didn't reply.

Koharu's voice grew even darker. "Why didn't you stop him? With your abilities, you clearly could have—"

"Enough."

Taiga cut her off.

He dropped his arms, took two steps forward, and stared straight at Homura and Koharu.

"What did you just say? I didn't stop him?"

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was crystal clear.

"You two just jumped out, self-righteously declaring that the village would handle him, and ordered me to stop. What, were you just talking to the air?"

Homura opened his mouth to speak.

But Taiga didn't give him the chance.

"Now that he ran away, you come over here to blame me? You just push the responsibility onto me, and suddenly your hands are clean?"

He spat.

The glob of spit landed perfectly on Homura's shoe.

Homura froze completely.

The surrounding ninjas and ANBU were all stunned. The air seemed to solidify.

"You..."

"You what?"

Taiga's voice echoed over the ruins, laced with undisguised mockery.

"It was clearly you two who told me not to act, insisting on taking all the credit for yourselves. Weren't you just scheming to get your hands on Wood Style? Now that he's gone, you want me to take the fall?"

He spread his hands and looked left and right at the ninjas.

"Tell me, aren't they just pure clowns?"

With the spit still hanging on his shoe, Homura trembled with rage, his lips quivering so much he couldn't form a single word.

Koharu stood beside him, her face livid, equally speechless.

"I..."

"I what?"

Taiga completely ignored the setting, sneering continuously.

"What a brilliant plan you had. Now that you've screwed it up, you look like absolute idiots, don't you?"

The ninjas lowered their heads one by one.

Some tried to pretend they hadn't heard, shifting their gazes elsewhere.

Some stared at their toes, as if there was something fascinating to study down there.

Others quietly took a half-step back, seemingly wanting to distance themselves from this mess.

An indescribable sense of secondhand embarrassment spread through the crowd.

They had all heard it.

They had all seen it.

And they all understood that what Taiga said was the absolute truth.

Any normal person could understand the two elders' intentions. They could even sympathize; in their shoes, they might have done the same.

But trying to shift the blame onto someone else after the fact, and doing it in front of everyone, was just too pathetic to watch.

Ignoring the elders' expressions entirely, Taiga walked over to Fugaku, patted him on the shoulder, and sighed dramatically.

"Fugaku, my man. In the past, I was a bit too stubborn and extreme in my views. I didn't appreciate the difficulties you faced. I owe you an apology."

Shaking his head, he sighed, "As the clan head, you actually have to deal with this kind of trash every day. If it were me, I'd have lost my mind. I finally see it now—you really don't have it easy."

These words were so dripping with sarcasm and passive-aggressiveness that Fugaku's face twitched.

If the atmosphere hadn't been so tense, he might have actually burst out laughing.

Perhaps blinded by rage, Koharu shrieked, "Uchiha Taiga, do not forget your place! I now have reason to suspect you let him escape on purpose!"

*Thump!*

Fugaku had been secretly enjoying Taiga's remarks, but upon hearing Koharu's accusation, his heart leaped into his throat. *This is bad,* he thought.

Beside her, Homura's expression also changed, and he instinctively tried to stop Koharu.

But it was too late.

Taiga's smile vanished, replaced by an expressionless mask. He strode toward Koharu, stopping right in front of her to look her dead in the eye.

"Done pretending? Fine. You'd better be ready to take responsibility for your words."