Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Early spring in the Land of Hot Water offered beautiful scenery.

The trees in the mountains sprouted tender green buds, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the branches, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Numerous wild flowers bloomed along the roadside—white, yellow, and purple—scattered loosely among the grass and swaying gently in the wind. The air was filled with the scent of dirt and fresh grass, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort.

Uchiha Taiga walked in front, his pace leisurely as if he were taking a stroll.

With his backpack slung over his shoulders and three ninja swords hanging at his left waist, the scabbards clinked softly with every step. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, his eyes half-closed, and his expression completely relaxed.

Yugito Nii followed about three steps behind him.

She had changed out of her torn ninja attire into a dark travel kimono, worn under a light-colored haori, with her hair braided down to her waist.

However, her complexion was poor. Her lips were pressed tightly together, her brows slightly furrowed, and her eyes carried an indescribable emotion.

Incidentally, she despised her current outfit because it hindered her ability to fight.

But Uchiha Taiga insisted he liked the look. In his words: "If I don't dress you up nicely, how am I supposed to get a good price for you from Kumogakure?"

And so, this was the result.

Several days had passed since they left the hot spring town. They had stayed there for five days because Taiga said he was waiting for someone, but not a single Kumogakure ninja had shown up.

The three survivors he had released to deliver his message seemed to have vanished into thin air, returning with absolutely no news.

Taiga expressed great disappointment at this.

"You're really not worth much, huh," he remarked without looking back, his tone dripping with obvious mockery.

"I even let them go back to report this, yet no one came to save you. I originally planned to sell you for a good price, but now it looks like I'm stuck with dead weight."

Yugito kept a dark face and remained silent.

She had heard plenty of similar remarks along the journey.

When she first heard them, she was genuinely furious and indignant. She was the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, the elite of the elites in her village. When had she ever been mocked like this?

She wanted nothing more than to jump up and slap him, to show Uchiha Taiga exactly what she was capable of.

But she soon realized she simply couldn't do it.

The reason was simple: she couldn't defeat him.

Over this period, her minor injuries had long since healed. Taiga had also lifted his Sealing Jutsu on her, fully restoring her chakra and the power of her Tailed Beast. He didn't seem to have his guard up around her at all.

Under these circumstances, it wasn't that she hadn't tried to escape.

The first time, she took advantage of Taiga washing his face by the river to suddenly erupt with Tailed Beast chakra and dash into the woods.

Her speed was astonishing, covering hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye.

But before she could even make it out of the forest, a hand reached out from behind, grabbed her by the back of her collar, and lifted her entirely off the ground.

Taiga's voice drifted down from above. "Why are you running? I haven't even had breakfast yet."

Then she was carried back and received two slaps on her backside that left a stinging pain.

The second time, she wised up and waited until midnight to make her move.

She slipped out of all her restraints, quietly crept to the window, flipped outside, and hopped along the eaves to the inn's roof.

Crouching on the roof, she observed for a moment to ensure Taiga hadn't chased after her before sprinting out of the village.

This time she ran faster and farther, covering over a dozen miles until she entered a dense forest.

She thought she had succeeded.

Then Taiga's voice echoed from a branch right above her head. "You run pretty fast, but you picked the wrong direction. North leads to Kumogakure. Did you really think I wouldn't guard against that?"

She looked up to see the boy sitting on the branch, holding an apple and munching on it with loud crunches.

The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time...

Every single time, she was caught and given a beating.

Furthermore, this bastard Taiga always aimed for the same spot, specifically targeting the fleshiest part of her body.

The strikes weren't too heavy or too light, and they didn't break any bones—they were just incredibly humiliating.

Now, whenever Yugito thought about where she had been hit, her face would burn hot with a furious blush.

She never ran again.

Not because she didn't want to, but because she didn't dare.

She knew Taiga must have left some hidden trick on her body that she simply couldn't detect.

Every time she fled, he noticed immediately and pinpointed her exact location.

Against someone like that, running away a hundred times would be useless.

So, she accepted her fate.

"Not talking?"

Taiga glanced back at her and smiled.

"Fine, be that way. I'm hungry, go cook. I want roast meat."

Yugito stopped with a dark expression and began untying the bundle on her back.

This was the routine they had established over the past few days: he chose the direction, and she did the cooking.

Her culinary skills were actually quite average, but Taiga wasn't a picky eater; he ate whatever was made.

Crouching by the roadside, Yugito took a small pot and some ingredients from her bundle and started a fire. Her movements were practiced—lighting the fire, setting up the pot, heating the oil—all done in one smooth motion.

She had inadvertently picked up a bit of domestic virtue, all entirely trained into her by Taiga.

She even seemed immersed in this state, though she was somewhat oblivious to it herself.

Yugito's gaze swept over their surroundings as if searching for something, before pausing on an inconspicuous corner.

It was a tree.

The tree wasn't large. A small patch of bark had been peeled off its trunk, revealing the white wood underneath, looking weathered by the elements.

There were a few shallow carvings on the wood that looked naturally formed. However, the shape and arrangement of those marks were the exclusive communication codes used by Kumogakure's ANBU.

Her pupils shrank slightly.

But she quickly looked away and continued her tasks, acting as if everything was normal.

Her hands were steady, her movements didn't pause, and her facial expression remained unchanged. Yet, her heartbeat quickened. The message conveyed by those marks was simple: people from her village were hiding nearby.

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind.

Who had come?

How many of them were there?

Were they here to rescue her, or to execute another mission?

If they were here to save her, why didn't they make a move when she was alone? Was it because they feared Taiga's strength?

Her thoughts churned, but her face betrayed no emotion.

"By the way,"

Taiga's voice suddenly came from behind her.

"You're acting a bit weird right now."

Yugito's hands paused for a second.

"You're strangely quiet, considering how feisty you were before."

He walked over to her side, crouched down, and looked at the pot.

"Did you see the marks at the base of that tree?"

Yugito's body stiffened.

"Hmm, looks like that must be your Kumogakure contact signal."

Taiga stood up and glanced in a certain direction.

"No wonder there are so many people hiding twelve kilometers away."

His tone was completely casual.

Yugito's expression, however, changed drastically.

Twelve kilometers?

He could see things twelve kilometers away?

She knew the Byakugan possessed clairvoyant abilities, but twelve kilometers? Was there anyone in the Hyuga clan whose Byakugan could reach that far?

Taiga didn't say anything else.

Bright yellow chakra surged from his body, gathering and condensing just outside his skin.

Ribs, a spine, and arms—a skeletal upper body formed in the blink of an eye. Then, flesh, meridians, and skin grew over the skeleton, manifesting an armored half-body giant amidst the mountain forest.

Susanoo.

The giant raised its right hand, palm facing upward.

Chakra gathered in its palm, spinning rapidly and emitting a sharp, whining hum.

Natural energy flooded in from all directions, merging and compressing with the chakra. The color shifted from bright yellow to purplish-red, and its volume expanded from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a head, then a bucket, and finally the size of a millstone.

Susanoo Tailed Beast Bomb.

Yugito's pupils contracted violently.

As a Jinchuriki, she knew all too well what the object in Taiga's hand meant.

"Don't!"

She cried out instinctively, her voice laced with panic.

Taiga grinned. "When guests arrive, you have to say hello. After all, there's quite an impressive guy among them, and it looks like they've even set up an ambush in advance. I have to give some kind of response. It's just basic manners."

With that, the hand supporting the purplish-red sphere gave a fierce heave.

"Off you go!"

The purplish-red sphere shot out from his palm, flying toward the location twelve kilometers away.

Its speed was incredible, tracing a beautiful arc through the air with a loud whistle. It looked like a meteor rising from the forest, plummeting toward the distant hills.

But in Yugito's eyes, this entire scene was filled with the aura of absolute destruction.

"No!"

Without a second thought, Yugito activated and drew upon her Tailed Beast chakra, entering her Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.

Smack!

Taiga simply delivered a sharp slap to her backside. She instantly felt all the strength drain from her body, forcing her right out of the Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.

"Stay out of the way for now. I'll deal with you later."