Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

"That's enough."

Uchiha Fugaku's voice wasn't loud, but it acted like a bucket of cold water poured over the heated meeting hall.

The noise gradually died down.

Someone was still speaking, but halfway through, the person next to them tugged at their sleeve, forcing them to swallow their words.

The last few people whispering among themselves also shut their mouths, and everyone's eyes focused on the main seat.

Uchiha Fugaku's expression was incredibly stern.

He sat there, hands folded in front of him, his gaze sweeping across the faces of everyone present.

There was no anger in that sternness, but rather a heavy, oppressive solemnity.

"Let me ask you all a question."

His voice was steady.

"You're all sitting here celebrating, but do you really think Taiga will definitely help the Uchiha?"

The meeting hall fell into dead silence.

No one spoke.

Someone opened their mouth, only to close it again.

Someone frowned, seemingly pondering what this question actually meant.

Others, whose excitement hadn't completely faded, were choked by the question, leaving comical expressions on their faces.

It was a difficult question to answer, especially for those who instinctively lowered their heads upon hearing it.

After a moment, someone spoke up.

"Taiga is a genius of the Uchiha. Why wouldn't he help us?"

The speaker was Uchiha Inabi, who was roughly the same age as Uchiha Taiga. Being able to awaken the Sharingan at this age meant his talent was considered quite good within the Uchiha clan.

His words represented the thoughts of a portion of the people present and immediately drew agreement from several others.

"Yeah, no matter what, Taiga is still a member of the Uchiha."

"We've never denied his identity. He is an Uchiha, and that's an unchangeable fact."

"His capabilities are a blessing to the entire clan. Didn't Lord Madara also fight for the Uchiha back in the day?"

"Taiga's strength represents the Uchiha's strength. What is there to question?"

Several people chimed in one after another, feeling more and more justified as they spoke.

Clearly, just as their words suggested, this was exactly what they believed.

These types of people were the most common in the Uchiha clan—the ones who constantly kept glory and pride on their lips, and they made up the majority.

But there were also those who remained silent.

Uchiha Hadai sat in the corner, having not participated in the heated discussion from start to finish.

He had thought a lot over the past few days, from the Nine-Tails incident up to the present, from Uchiha Taiga's attitude to the village's reaction. The more he thought about it, the more he realized things weren't that simple.

He looked up at the clansmen who were still rambling on.

"Then do you think the things you value matter to Taiga?"

His voice wasn't loud, but the meeting hall was so quiet that everyone heard him clearly.

The voices of those who were just speaking abruptly halted.

"Or rather, do you think he even cares about the Uchiha clan at all?"

After saying this, Uchiha Hadai didn't speak again.

But no one could deny his words. Many people's expressions changed as they instinctively looked at the people next to them, and then at Uchiha Fugaku in the main seat.

It dawned on them.

Thinking about Uchiha Taiga's past actions, it was obvious he was someone with little to no sense of belonging to the clan.

He rejected the clan's arrangements when he was very young, and now he refused to move into the new compound, choosing to live alone in the old compound without interacting with anyone.

They used to think this was rebellion, capriciousness, and immaturity.

But looking back now, it was clearly apathy.

From the very beginning, he never cared what the Uchiha thought.

The atmosphere in the room instantly shifted.

The previous excitement and fervor seemed to have been drained away, replaced by an indescribable sense of oppression.

Some lowered their heads, some looked away, and others turned pale, their lips trembling slightly.

Watching these changes, Uchiha Fugaku felt a bit of relief.

At least there were still some clear-headed people in the clan.

"Hadai is right."

He spoke, his voice even heavier than before.

"Throughout Taiga's growth, he has never received any favors from the clan. Everything he has, he earned himself. You should all know in your hearts whether he feels any sense of belonging to this family."

No one replied.

Uchiha Fugaku paused before continuing, "Furthermore, have you forgotten? Among the clansmen who have awakened the Sharingan, which one of them hasn't experienced life-and-death struggles and immense pain?"

His gaze swept over everyone present once more.

"So, for him to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, what kind of pain did he experience?"

This question felt almost too brutally raw. Especially since everyone present was an Uchiha who had awakened their eyes. When they thought about the pain they had personally endured and compared it to Uchiha Taiga, a chill ran down their spines.

The pain required to awaken even the most basic one-tomoe Sharingan was already something they didn't want to recall. So what about Uchiha Taiga, who had awakened the Mangekyo?

What exactly had he gone through?

Uchiha Fugaku's words continued.

"He hasn't had any enemies growing up. He didn't need to go to the battlefield, didn't need to execute dangerous missions, and didn't even need to leave the village. So where did his pain come from?"

Uchiha Fugaku's voice was terrifyingly calm.

"If we're talking about pain... what could possibly bring him more pain than this very clan?"

The air in the meeting hall seemed to freeze.

Some people's expressions changed drastically, as if they had been struck in a vital spot.

Some clenched their fists, their knuckles turning white.

Others opened their mouths but couldn't make a sound.

They remembered.

They remembered the clan's attitude toward Uchiha Taiga over the years.

The cold glares, the ostracization, the verbal insults. Some had even said things like "Who do you think you are?" right to his face.

They had thought it was justified because he was disobedient, aloof, and refused to follow the clan's arrangements.

But looking back now, what was that?

That was blatant bullying.

A child, treated like that by his own clansmen since he was just a few years old.

The environment he grew up in wasn't a battlefield or an enemy nation, but his own home.

The pain inflicted upon him wasn't caused by enemies, but by his own people.

So what triggered his awakening?

And what pushed him to awaken the Mangekyo?

Who exactly were his enemies?

The more they thought about it, the more the people present shuddered.

It was possible... that they were the ones who brought Uchiha Taiga the pain that catalyzed his Sharingan's awakening, and subsequently, his Mangekyo.

Uchiha Hadai closed his eyes, unable to bear looking at the expressions of those present any longer.

Silence.

A long silence.

No one spoke; no one dared to speak.

Those who had been loudly voicing their opinions just moments ago now kept their heads down, staring at the tatami mats in front of them as if there was something worth studying there.

Uchiha Fugaku sighed softly.

"From now on, no one in the clan is to disturb him."

His voice was soft but clear.

"Some things take time to mend."

At this point, no one objected. No one present was a fool. There were some things they hadn't wanted to think deeply about before, but now, a little thought made everything clear.

The fact that Uchiha Taiga hadn't developed a hatred for them after awakening the Mangekyo was actually something to be incredibly thankful for.

If they went and provoked him now, the outcome would be absolutely disastrous.

Some thought even further ahead: Did the way Uchiha Taiga treated the clan already make his stance clear?

No one else spoke in the meeting hall.

...

...

The old compound.

For the next two days, Uchiha Taiga lived a very leisurely life.

No one came looking for him, neither from the Uchiha clan nor the village. Even the Police Force patrols deliberately bypassed the area around the old compound.

He knew this was Uchiha Fugaku's arrangement, but he didn't know if those clansmen had finally figured some things out.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't care.

What he cared about was something else: his ninjutsu training couldn't stop.

With his current talent, not putting it to use would be a massive waste.

His original training ground had been completely destroyed during his battle with Obito. It was now a massive pile of rubble and completely unusable, so he had to find a new spot.

Today, the weather was fine.

Uchiha Taiga changed into clean clothes, bringing only the ninja sword gifted by Uchiha Fugaku, and walked out of the old compound.

The old compound was as desolate as ever, without a single soul in sight. Just as he reached the main gate, he stopped in his tracks.

A figure stood outside the compound gates, leaning against a tree. His posture was somewhat stiff, clearly having waited for a long time.

White hair, a mask covering the lower half of his face.

Hatake Kakashi.

Hearing the footsteps, he looked up, and his single exposed eye met Uchiha Taiga's gaze.

Uchiha Taiga sighed inwardly.

He didn't know how long Hatake Kakashi had been waiting there, but it clearly hadn't been a short time.

*'Is this the so-called bond of the ninja world?'* he wondered. *'How is it any different from superficial street-level brotherhood?'*