Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Uchiha Taiga watched Nagato's Rinnegan contract slightly, the smirk on his lips remaining unchanged.

"What do you mean by that?"

Nagato asked again. The emotion in his voice was palpable, as if he were suppressing something.

"Nagato!"

Konan's voice was urgent, as though trying to stop something from happening.

Her lips were pressed tightly together. She raised her hand, fingers trembling slightly. The paper bombs floating around her rustled loudly, like a gust of wind sweeping through a forest.

Ignoring Konan's reaction, Uchiha Taiga kept his eyes on Nagato. "Do you really think the Rinnegan are your own eyes?"

Nagato fell silent.

He did not answer, but his silence was an answer in itself.

Of course, he had thought about this question before.

By now, how could he not know that he was a descendant of the Uzumaki clan? The Uzumaki clan was renowned for their immense life force and Sealing Jutsu; they had never produced any kind of visual prowess Kekkei Genkai.

How could a pure-blooded Uzumaki like him possess the Rinnegan?

He had asked himself this question countless times, but he had suppressed it every single time.

Because he didn't want to think about it. He didn't dare to think about it.

If these eyes weren't his, then what was he? What was the point of everything he had done over the years?

Konan took a step forward, standing beside Nagato and placing a hand on his arm.

"Nagato, don't listen to him."

Her voice was soft but firm. "He's trying to shake your resolve."

Uchiha Taiga ignored them both and continued.

"Perhaps you aren't aware of the Rinnegan's origins? Let me tell you. The predecessor to the Rinnegan is the Mangekyo Sharingan."

He pointed at his own eyes, and the two white orbs began to change. A blood-red background surfaced, and black patterns spread outward from the center of his pupils. Six arcs connected to the pupils, forming a complex pattern.

The Mangekyo Sharingan.

In the dim tree hollow, the crimson glow of those eyes was exceptionally piercing.

"Members of the Uchiha clan awaken the Sharingan after experiencing emotional trauma. If a Three-Tomoe Sharingan is subjected to an even stronger stimulus, it has the potential to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan—just like mine."

He paused and lowered his hand.

"When the Mangekyo of blood relatives are combined, they evolve into an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Building upon that, if one possesses the ultimate Yang Style chakra, the combination of the two yields the Creation of All Things, and the Rinnegan will manifest."

After finishing his explanation, he looked at Nagato, the smile on his lips unwavering.

Nagato looked up. His Rinnegan fixed on Uchiha Taiga's Mangekyo Sharingan, his pupils dilating slightly.

Konan's expression changed.

"That's impossible."

Her voice grew louder, her tone more frantic. "You're making up lies! You're trying to deceive Nagato!"

Her fingers tightened their grip on her hand seals. The paper bombs were no longer just floating; they began to swirl, emitting a loud whooshing sound. The white paper throughout the entire valley trembled, like a slumbering beast on the verge of awakening.

Uchiha Taiga chuckled softly and pointed at Nagato's hair.

"Look at your hair. You should be able to guess it yourself. How could an Uzumaki like you possess the Sharingan? And how could you possibly evolve it into the Rinnegan?"

The logic behind it was simple—so simple that anyone could figure it out.

But precisely because it was so simple, Nagato had never thought about it. Or rather, he had refused to think about it.

Konan's lips trembled.

"Nagato, this can't be true."

Nagato didn't look at her.

His eyes remained locked on Uchiha Taiga, staring intently at those Mangekyo Sharingan.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. His chest heaved, and his shoulders slumped slightly, as if he were making a decision.

"Konan."

He spoke, his voice very soft.

"Let him finish."

Konan opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again.

Uchiha Taiga's smile remained. "I am a pure-blooded Uchiha."

He spoke casually, but his words carried immense weight. "Even in my case, it's not guaranteed that I can evolve the Rinnegan. Think about it yourself—isn't the appearance of your eyes incredibly suspicious?"

Nagato closed his eyes once more. No one knew what he was thinking.

His face was devoid of expression, but his eyelids twitched slightly. The long black rods pierced into his body swayed with his breathing, making faint noises.

The tree hollow fell silent for a long time.

Konan stood there, watching Nagato, her fingers tightly gripping the hem of her clothes.

The paper bombs were still floating, but they had stopped swirling, hanging quietly in midair.

Uchiha Taiga stood before the two of them, his hands stuffed in his pockets. His expression was relaxed, as if waiting for an answer that wouldn't be hard to get.

After a moment, Nagato still hadn't opened his eyes.

Seeing this, Uchiha Taiga decided to be even more blunt.

"As far as I know, if there is anyone in the entire ninja world who could evolve their eyes into the Rinnegan, only one person is capable of doing so."

He looked at Nagato's tightly shut eyes, his tone flat.

"I believe you can guess who it is."

Nagato's eyelids twitched. He remained silent for a few seconds before opening his eyes and uttering that name.

"Uchiha Madara."

His voice was soft, but he enunciated every syllable clearly.

Uchiha Taiga nodded.

"Smart."

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"So under these circumstances, when I say you're being manipulated, how can you refute it?"

He looked at Nagato, his tone shifting from flat to slightly more serious.

"No matter what ideas or dreams you have, they are impossible to achieve."

Nagato's eyes contracted slightly.

"But I can."

Those three words were spoken very softly.

Nagato stared at him.

Konan stared at him too.

The tree hollow was so quiet that only the rustling of the wind blowing past the numerous paper bombs could be heard.

Nagato looked at him for a long time before slowly speaking, the heaviness in his voice even thicker than before.

"How can you prove it?"

His Rinnegan stared straight at Uchiha Taiga. The purple ripple patterns in his pupils seemed dimmer than before, resembling a bottomless well.

"Prove that everything you've said is true. Prove that my eyes belong to Uchiha Madara, prove that I am being manipulated, and prove that you have the power to achieve what I cannot."

His voice was still weak, but the underlying strength beneath that weakness was no longer suppressed.

"How can you prove it?"

He asked again, his gaze as hard as iron.

Uchiha Taiga looked at him, not answering immediately.

Their gazes clashed in the dim tree hollow. There were no sparks, no sounds—only silence.

...

Over a hundred miles away in Kusagakure.

Rasa had not been back in the village for long. He led his team through the main street at the village entrance, bypassing his quarters to directly seek out Yugito Nii.

Yugito Nii was sitting in the courtyard. The red-haired woman holding her child was leaning against the pillar behind her, already fast asleep.

The child was asleep as well, their little face flushed and breathing steady.

Seeing Rasa approach, Yugito Nii stood up.

"He asked me to tell you that he will be back soon."

Rasa skipped the pleasantries and delivered the message directly.

Yugito Nii nodded, her expression unchanging.

"I know."

Rasa stood there and waited a moment longer, seemingly expecting Yugito Nii to say something else.

But after waiting, he received nothing.

"Do you need any help?" he offered proactively.

"There's nothing we need help with," Yugito Nii shook her head.

Rasa fell silent for a second, nodded, and then turned around, preparing to leave.

He was somewhat disappointed.

He had thought he might glean some information here, or at least find out exactly who Uchiha Taiga's enemy was.

But Yugito Nii said nothing, and it wasn't his place to ask directly.

He took a few steps forward.

Right at that moment, the distant horizon lit up.

It wasn't a quick flash, but a sustained glow rising from below the horizon. It looked as if something had been ignited beneath the earth, the light seeping through the cracks and turning the distant clouds stark white.

The light grew brighter and brighter, soon forming a blinding sphere that rose above the horizon, like a miniature sun climbing up from the distant ground.

Rasa's footsteps halted.

He stood at the courtyard entrance, facing that direction with narrowed eyes.

The light wasn't overwhelmingly bright due to the sheer distance, but the fact that it could reach them and still be slightly blinding spoke volumes.

He stared in that direction, watching the sphere of light gradually expand, his mouth falling slightly open.

Yugito Nii stood up as well. She walked to the center of the courtyard, shielding her eyes with her hand as she looked toward the horizon.

The sphere of light persisted for about a dozen seconds before slowly beginning to shrink.

As the sphere shrank, the distant clouds shifted from white to gray, and then from gray to a dark crimson.

Rasa stared in that direction, his eyelids twitching.

His mouth remained slightly ajar, his breathing slowing down.

A long while later, a rumbling sound finally reached them from that direction.

The sound was deep and low, as if echoing from beneath the earth, or like thunder rolling in from far, far away.

It wasn't loud, but it possessed a penetrating force that seemed to make one's very bones tremble.

Rasa stood in the courtyard, feeling the faint tremors in the ground beneath his feet and the resonance of the sound in his chest.

He looked in that direction, then at Yugito Nii, and then back at the horizon.

His voice was a little dry.

"What kind of Ninjutsu packs that much power?"

He paused, as if confirming the distance.

"It's at least a hundred miles away, yet it still caused such a massive disturbance."