Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

The group crossed from the Land of Rivers into the borders of the Land of Wind. The journey had taken them nearly half a month.

Upon entering the Land of Wind, the scenery changed completely.

Greenery gradually vanished from their sight, replaced by an endless expanse of yellow sand. The earth looked as though it had been scorched by a massive fire, completely barren of life. Only occasionally could they spot a few withered shrubs standing lonely atop the dunes, their branches and leaves polished white by the wind and sand, resembling bones that had been weathered for years.

The sky was high and blue, with the sun hanging directly overhead. It glared like a giant fireball, mercilessly pouring down its light and heat. The air was baked to a scorching temperature; with every breath, they could feel the heatwave rushing through their nasal passages and into their lungs, like swallowing a mouthful of boiling water.

The sand was fine and soft underfoot, causing them to sink with every step.

Fierce winds blew from the depths of the desert, carrying fine grains of sand that stung their faces.

The Sunagakure shinobi, however, were quite accustomed to this weather. They wrapped their faces tightly in cloth, leaving only their eyes exposed, and walked without any visible strain.

Yugito Nii, on the other hand, was battered by the sand so badly she could barely keep her eyes open. It wasn't until Maki handed her a piece of cloth that she could manage to trudge along.

After walking for another four or five days, a vast expanse of sandstone terrain finally appeared at the edge of their vision.

Red rock formations jutted out from the yellow sand, stretching across the desert like giant scars.

Maki pointed at the distant red rocky area. "Once we cross those rock formations, we'll be within Sunagakure's territory."

As he spoke, a sense of relief washed over him.

Uchiha Taiga narrowed his eyes at the rock formations, nodded, and continued walking forward.

The closer they got to Sunagakure, the better the environment became, though it still paled in comparison to other regions in the ninja world.

This was the Land of Wind—desolate and cruel.

Fortunately, the atmosphere along the journey was no longer as tense as it had been initially. After nearly half a month together, the thirty-plus Sunagakure shinobi had gradually grown familiar with Uchiha Taiga.

In the beginning, these people hadn't even dared to speak to him. They would take detours just to avoid him, their eyes filled with awe and anxiety, terrified that a single misstep might anger this ruthless figure.

But as they spent more time together, they surprisingly found the young man to be unexpectedly approachable.

Uchiha Taiga never put on airs of superiority around them. His tone was casual, his attitude peaceful—more like an ordinary traveler than a legendary figure who had defeated Uchiha Madara.

He didn't act arrogant or throw his weight around. Occasionally, he would even initiate casual conversations.

The topics were mundane: what to eat today, which route to take tomorrow, the environment of the Land of Wind, and so on.

What surprised the Sunagakure shinobi the most was that Uchiha Taiga would actually offer them guidance during their breaks.

It started like this.

On the evening of their fourth day of travel, the group stopped to set up camp. A few restless young Sunagakure shinobi began practicing taijutsu near the edge of the campsite.

Their movements weren't bad, but they weren't exceptional either—just standard, with nothing particularly outstanding.

Sitting by the campfire, Uchiha Taiga watched for a while before suddenly speaking up. "Your center of gravity is too far forward. You aren't using your core when you kick, which cuts your striking power by at least half."

The practicing Sunagakure shinobi froze and looked at Uchiha Taiga with a blank expression.

Uchiha Taiga stood up, walked over to him, and motioned for him to repeat the move.

The man hesitated for a moment but complied.

After observing, Uchiha Taiga directly demonstrated the technique himself. His movements weren't fast, but every detail was executed flawlessly, leaving the surrounding Sunagakure shinobi staring with wide eyes.

Once he finished the demonstration, Uchiha Taiga clapped his hands. "Just like that. Practice it yourself," he said, before returning to the campfire to continue shaking his jar.

From that day on, people gradually began approaching Uchiha Taiga for advice during their breaks.

Some asked about taijutsu, others had questions regarding Ninjutsu, and some sought advice on handling specific details in combat.

Uchiha Taiga turned no one away. As long as someone asked, he would answer. He didn't say much, but every word hit the mark, often pinpointing the root of the problem in just a few sentences.

After a few instances of this, the Sunagakure shinobi's attitude toward him underwent a noticeable shift.

Their fear diminished. The awe remained, but it was no longer born of pure terror; instead, it was mixed with genuine respect.

"This lord... he doesn't seem that terrifying after all."

Someone muttered this in private.

The person next to them nodded in agreement, offering no rebuttal.

Maki took all of this in.

On the surface, he remained impassive. A smile stayed plastered on his face, and his demeanor was as respectful and polite as ever. He addressed Taiga as 'lord' when appropriate and handed him water when needed, acting as if everything was perfectly normal.

Internally, however, he was burning with anxiety.

If this continued, all thirty of these men would likely be won over by Uchiha Taiga.

It had to be noted that these thirty individuals had been meticulously handpicked by him for this mission. Among them were young men hailed as 'geniuses' within the village, and the rest held respectable standings—they were either Jonin, Special Jonin, or elites from prominent clans.

If these people returned to the village and started singing Uchiha Taiga's praises everywhere, the number of people they could influence would be substantial.

Maki knew very well that a person's perception of a village wasn't often changed by grand philosophies, but rather by the gradual, subtle influence of those around them.

If these thirty men went back and spoke highly of Uchiha Taiga, the village's hostility toward him would decrease. Once that hostility waned, it would be incredibly difficult to unite everyone against him should anything happen later.

For Sunagakure, this was absolutely not a good thing.

But what could he do?

He could only fret.

The only thing he could manage was to secretly compile information every day and report it back using the Summoning Jutsu.

The daily itinerary, the daily conversations, every seemingly casual remark Uchiha Taiga made—he recorded it all verbatim and sent it back to Sunagakure via a Ninja Cat.

This intelligence would be delivered to Rasa's desk, personally reviewed by him, and used to make judgments.

Maki didn't know what Rasa was thinking after reading these reports, but he knew that Lord Kazekage was definitely formulating a countermeasure.

On this day, the group was finally nearing Sunagakure.

After crossing the red rock formations, the terrain flattened out somewhat. In the distance, the outer defensive fortifications of Sunagakure were already visible. A few low-lying buildings poked out from the yellow sand, looking like half-buried stones.

At their current pace, they would reach Sunagakure's main gates in less than half a day.

Maki looked at the road ahead, then glanced back at the group behind him, calculating something in his mind.

He walked up to Uchiha Taiga's side and said with a smile, "Lord, I'll take a few men to scout ahead over there."

His tone was casual and his expression natural, just like he had done every day on this journey—finding an excuse to slip away for a moment to a secluded spot and send a message back to the village.

Uchiha Taiga's footsteps paused for a moment.

He turned his head, looked at Maki, and curled his lip.

"Alright, we're already here. Drop the act."

His tone was flat, as if he were stating the most ordinary fact in the world.

Maki froze.

"Huh?"

His expression went blank, and he leaned his head forward slightly, as if he hadn't heard Uchiha Taiga clearly.

Uchiha Taiga looked at him and spoke in an exasperated tone.

"You used the Summoning Jutsu to send intelligence back to Sunagakure on the very first day, and you've done it every day since. We're practically at the gates, and you're still pulling this? Do you think my Byakugan is blind? I've been tolerating you this entire trip, haven't you realized that yet?"

Maki was speechless.

The expression on his face was quite a sight to behold.

He wanted to say something, but the words died in his throat.

Meanwhile, the surrounding Sunagakure shinobi all turned their heads away, pretending they hadn't heard a thing.

But their ears were perked up, not missing a single word.

The atmosphere instantly became incredibly awkward.

Fortunately, a commotion arose from ahead.

The sound of footsteps approached from the distance, mixed with the crunch of sand being trampled underfoot. There were quite a few people—at least several dozen.

Maki looked forward, and his face immediately lit up with joy.

A spark returned to his eyes, and the awkwardness on his face was instantly replaced by a look of profound relief.

"Lord Kazekage is here!"

Sure enough, a group of people appeared on the main road ahead.

Walking at the very front was a man in his thirties. He wasn't particularly tall, but he stood perfectly straight.

He was wearing white Hokage robes and a Kazekage hat on his head. The white cloth draped from the brim of the hat obscured his face, revealing only his chin, exuding the calm composure of someone who had long held a position of high authority.

Behind him followed a large group of people—at least fifty or sixty of them.

The chakra fluctuations of those walking at the front were noticeably a tier higher than those in the back.

These were the top-tier combatants of Sunagakure.

The man leading them was, naturally, the Fourth Kazekage... Rasa.

As the two groups drew closer, Rasa's gaze pierced through the cloth of his hat and landed on Uchiha Taiga.

He was sizing Uchiha Taiga up.

And Uchiha Taiga was similarly observing Rasa—the unfortunate soul who had been killed by Orochimaru in the original storyline.

The distance between the two sides continued to close.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

Rasa stopped in his tracks and raised a hand to remove the hat from his head.

The face beneath the hat was more ordinary than Uchiha Taiga had imagined. His features were neat but not particularly handsome. His skin was somewhat rough, weathered by the wind and sand, with a few shallow wrinkles on his forehead. His lips were thin, pressed into a tight line.

His eyes were calm—as calm as a pool of stagnant water—but the dark circles under them were heavy.

He looked at Uchiha Taiga and was the first to speak.

"Welcome, guest from afar. On behalf of Sunagakure, I welcome your arrival."

His tone was perfectly polite—not so overly enthusiastic as to appear subservient, nor so cold as to seem rude.

Maki stared in disbelief from the sidelines. He never would have imagined that the usually domineering Lord Kazekage would take the initiative to say such words.

Before Lord Kazekage spoke, Maki had harbored some disapproval regarding the Kazekage's decision to personally leave the village to welcome Uchiha Taiga.

In his eyes, for the dignified Kage of a village to personally come outside to greet an outsider was, in itself, a display of weakness.

But after the Kazekage spoke, Maki understood.

'Sometimes, showing weakness is more effective than being forceful...'

So that was what it meant.

Before understanding, he had been dismissive; after understanding, he analyzed every word.

Maki sighed in admiration in his heart. 'As expected of Lord Kazekage.'