Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze lingered on the bright yellow Susanoo for a moment.

A trace of solemnity flashed in his eyes before he looked away, sweeping his gaze across the faces of everyone present.

No one answered his question immediately. The ruins were dead silent, save for the crackling of the unextinguished flames.

"Is no one going to tell me?"

Hiruzen's voice darkened.

The scene remained quiet, but Utatane Koharu was the first to break the silence. "Hiruzen, you've arrived just in time."

Her voice was shrill, her words tumbling out rapidly.

"Uchiha Taiga fought someone inside the village, causing this massive scale of destruction, yet he didn't take the initiative to notify the village. I have reason to suspect he is connected to the enemy, and I wouldn't even rule out the possibility that he let them escape on purpose..."

"Koharu!"

Mitokado Homura snapped in a low voice, trying to stop her, but it was too late.

Every single word Koharu said fell clearly into the ears of everyone present.

Uchiha Fugaku's face stiffened, then flushed red, until he finally let out a laugh born of pure anger.

"Ha, 'let them escape on purpose,' you say."

His voice was low, but laced with uncontrollable fury.

"Advisor Koharu is truly an expert at twisting the truth. Taiga was attacked at the training ground, and my eldest son, Itachi, was also present. In a battle of this caliber, he had to divide his attention to protect Itachi. Where would he find the time to notify the village first? It's a miracle he managed to keep Itachi alive, what more do you want from him?"

He took a deep breath and continued, "Furthermore, Taiga was fighting the enemy from beginning to end. It was only when you two advisors stepped in and demanded the village handle it that he stopped. Now that the enemy has escaped, you want to pin the blame on him?"

Fugaku's chest heaved as he finished speaking, clearly enraged to the absolute limit.

In the past, he had many grievances with Uchiha Taiga, but that was due to his responsibilities as the head of the Uchiha clan.

After all, it was only natural for him to be angry when a genius of the clan grew alienated from the family and even held significant prejudice against him, the clan head.

But now, all of that was in the past.

After all, that was the Mangekyo Sharingan.

What more could he possibly ask for?

Hearing this, Hiruzen did not immediately state his position. As the Hokage, he clearly had no intention of blindly trusting either side. Instead, he turned to Mitokado Homura.

"Homura, tell me, what exactly happened here?"

Homura took a deep breath. He knew this was not the time to embellish the truth. If the situation blew out of proportion, it would be impossible to clean up, especially with so many people watching.

"When we heard the commotion and arrived, the battle had already begun. The one fighting Uchiha Taiga was a masked ninja who called himself Uchiha Madara. During the fight, the enemy used Susanoo and Wood Style."

Hiruzen's eyes twitched slightly. Clearly, hearing the name Uchiha Madara meant he wasn't as calm as he appeared on the surface.

Homura paused, as if weighing his words.

"Later, his mask was shattered, revealing his true face. Clan Head Fugaku identified the man as Uchiha Obito, and the man himself confessed to being the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails incident. We ordered his capture, but he used Space-Time Ninjutsu to escape."

Having finished, Homura shut his mouth.

His account was fairly objective, without adding fuel to the fire, but he also conveniently omitted the fact that they had tried to seize control of Obito for the village after seeing him suppressed.

Hiruzen naturally caught the unspoken implications in his words. Years of tacit understanding kept him from exposing it directly; he merely gave a slight nod.

Meanwhile, Hatake Kakashi, standing behind Hiruzen, froze as if struck by lightning the moment he heard that name.

"Impossible."

His voice drifted from behind his mask, laced with disbelief.

"Uchiha Obito is dead. I saw it with my own eyes. At Kannabi Bridge, he was crushed by a boulder and gave his left eye to me... He's already dead. How could it be him?"

Kakashi's voice trembled, his single exposed eye filled with sheer disbelief.

No one answered him.

The silence over the ruins was far crueler than any words could be.

Kakashi looked toward Uchiha Taiga, as if hoping to glean an answer from him.

Just then, a soft sound broke the silence.

The bright yellow chakra receded like the tide, and the skeletal frame of the Susanoo rapidly dissipated.

Uchiha Taiga's figure reappeared before everyone. Acting as if nothing had happened, he turned and walked toward the spot where Uchiha Obito had vanished.

Everyone's eyes followed him.

He walked over to the scorched earth, bent down, and picked up a pitch-black ninja sword.

It was left behind by Uchiha Obito.

Since his left arm had been shattered by the Susanoo's chakra sword, the blade was naturally left behind. Perhaps fearing that Taiga wouldn't let him leave, Obito had departed in such a hurry that he hadn't taken it with him.

The sword's blade was long and slender, slightly curved, with an edge that gleamed with a cold light.

Despite the intense battle, there wasn't a single chip on the blade.

Taiga weighed the sword in his hand and nodded, seemingly quite satisfied.

"Not a bad sword."

Counting this one, he now possessed three ninja swords: the Sword of Kusanagi, the gift from Uchiha Fugaku, and the one currently in his hand.

At this rate, he might just end up cosplaying as the three-sword-wielding Roronoa Zoro in the future.

He didn't put it away. Instead, he casually carried it in his hand, the tip pointing downward, tracing a shallow groove in the ground as he walked.

He stopped, lifted his head, and looked past Hiruzen, his gaze landing squarely on Utatane Koharu.

"Are you done talking?"

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone present heard him loud and clear.

"If you're done, then it's my turn."

He raised his empty left hand, pointed in Koharu's direction, and faced Hiruzen.

"I need an explanation. Why is this old hag targeting me so much?"

Koharu's face instantly flushed a deep, furious purple.

Old hag.

To call her an old hag in front of everyone—it was far too insulting.

Her lips trembled as she tried to speak, but Homura grabbed her sleeve, holding her back.

Hiruzen's expression was far from pleasant.

He looked at Taiga, then at Koharu, and fell silent for a moment.

"Koharu."

He spoke, his voice steady and devoid of emotion.

"Do you have anything to explain?"

Koharu opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

What could she say?

That she merely had reasonable suspicions? That excuse had just been completely shut down.

That she wasn't intentionally targeting him? But everyone had seen it; she was absolutely targeting him.

She stood there in silence, her lips pressed into a thin line.

The surroundings fell silent as well.

The ninjas standing behind the advisors kept their heads bowed; no one spoke up in her defense.

The neutral ninjas from various clans stood their ground—some expressionless, others gently shaking their heads.

Anyone could see that Koharu was entirely in the wrong here.

Her words held no water, her accusations lacked evidence, and her actions were nothing but a blatant attack on Uchiha Taiga.

Hiruzen naturally saw this too. He read a great deal from the silence of the crowd.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

Beside him, Taiga was watching him with a half-smile.

There was no anger, just a mild gaze, as if he were watching a good show.

Hiruzen's fists clenched and unclenched inside his sleeves.

"Utatane Koharu."

His voice wasn't loud, but he enunciated every word clearly.

"Effective immediately, you are suspended from your duties as Hokage Advisor."

Koharu's head snapped up.

Her eyes widened, all the color draining from her face in an instant.

"Hiruzen, you can't..."

Her voice was so shrill it nearly cracked.

"You can't do this to me!"

Hiruzen looked at her, his gaze perfectly calm.

"I am the Hokage."

Just those few words. Nothing more needed to be said.

Koharu's lips trembled violently. She looked at Hiruzen, then at Taiga, and finally swept her gaze across the faces of everyone present.

No one stepped forward to speak for her.

Even Mitokado Homura turned his head away, refusing to look at her.

In that moment, she finally understood how Shimura Danzo used to feel.

"You will regret this, Hiruzen," she said.

Hiruzen took a deep breath. "I am the Hokage."

Taiga's expression immediately turned bizarre.

So the title of 'legitimate rival' had just been passed from Shimura Danzo to Utatane Koharu, huh?