Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

A heavy atmosphere weighed on everyone present.

The smile on Orochimaru's face froze for a fraction of a second, but it quickly returned to normal. The corners of his mouth curled up again as the tip of his tongue slowly licked across his lips, leaving a moist trail.

He licked his lips and chuckled softly. "Taiga-kun, I believe you won't endanger the safety of the ninja world."

He then added, "Everything that just happened was merely a misunderstanding."

As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the youth walking down from the pile of rubble in the distance. His pupils contracted slightly, and though the smile on his lips didn't change, his fingers curled slightly inside his sleeves.

Uchiha Taiga walked down from the rubble, stepping over the shattered stones and splintered wood, making his way toward the city gates step by step.

With every step he took, his Susanoo gradually retracted. He looked a bit disheveled at the moment, but an awe-inspiring aura lingered around his entire body.

The other Kage watched the youth approach step by step. Feeling the oppressive aura bearing down on them from afar, their expressions turned grim.

Raikage A clenched his fists. His Lightning Style chakra unconsciously coated his entire body, blue electricity crackling around him. He stared at Uchiha Taiga, his pupils shrinking slightly, but his feet remained planted.

He had dealt with Uchiha Taiga before, even fighting him directly. Because of that, he knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful the youth was.

If they could avoid a fight, it was best not to fight at all.

On Yagura Karatachi's young face, his expression was incredibly stern. His brows were furrowed as if he were trying to think of a countermeasure.

Rasa took a deep breath. At this point, he had no idea how to even try and persuade the boy.

He could tell that Uchiha Taiga was currently harboring a lot of pent-up anger. As long as they let him vent that anger, everything would be fine.

But as for how he was going to vent it... just thinking about it gave Rasa a massive headache.

Onoki floated in mid-air, a white light glowing faintly in his palms, flickering on and off.

With the people below watching, he had no choice but to brace himself and put up a strong front.

Mifune rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. The samurai standing behind him kept their backs perfectly straight, but Mifune's own fingers were trembling slightly.

This was an existence capable of single-handedly suppressing the God of Shinobi and the Asura of the Ninja World. If he truly went berserk, who here could possibly stop him?

Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama stood on either side of Orochimaru, motionless as two statues.

Their eyes were open, but devoid of any light. Their pupils were unfocused, like two lifeless glass beads, and their faces lacked any trace of emotion.

Uchiha Taiga walked up to the city gates and stopped.

He stood before the city wall, looking at the crowd in front of him. His gaze lingered on Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama for a moment. Seeing their current emotionless state, he raised an eyebrow.

He was a bit surprised.

Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama were by no means weak. As the God of Shinobi and the fastest shinobi in the ninja world, these two men had left behind countless legends in history. Their strength had been tested and proven in countless battles.

Yet, two such legendary figures were actually being controlled by the Reanimation Jutsu.

No, to be precise, they were being controlled by Orochimaru. The implications behind this were worth pondering.

He had looked into the Reanimation Jutsu before.

The caster needed to place a curse mark on the sacrifice and use it to control their actions.

However, if the sacrifice's willpower was strong enough, they could break free from the control.

Was Senju Hashirama's willpower not strong enough? Was Senju Tobirama's willpower lacking?

Impossible.

Then how did Orochimaru manage to do it?

Thinking of this, his gaze shifted away from Hashirama and Tobirama, landing on Orochimaru.

Orochimaru still maintained that smiling facade, the corners of his mouth curled up, the tip of his tongue slightly exposed as if he were tasting something delicious.

Uchiha Taiga withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward, closing the distance between himself and the crowd. With every step he took, an oppressive aura seemed to gather and build.

He drew closer and closer.

Finally, someone couldn't hold back anymore.

Onoki descended from mid-air, landing right in front of Uchiha Taiga and blocking the youth's path. The Particle Style jutsu was still glowing in his palms, its white light illuminating his heavily wrinkled face, making it look pale.

"Uchiha Taiga!"

His voice was loud, yet it carried an unsuppressible tension.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Uchiha Taiga stopped in his tracks.

He looked at Onoki and grinned.

"Nothing much."

His voice was incredibly casual. He raised a hand and beckoned to the crowd with his fingers. "Come, come, let's have a little sparring session together."

His tone carried an unsuppressible excitement.

Onoki's face twitched. If he had a choice, he really didn't want to face Uchiha Taiga alone right now.

To be honest, the battle just now had reminded him of the time when Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara joined forces to suppress the ninja world. But the youth standing before him had single-handedly overpowered both of those legends. Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.

The faces of the other Kage twitched as well.

Hearing Uchiha Taiga's words, Rasa's expression turned rather strange. His lips moved for a moment before he finally spoke.

"Taiga-kun."

His voice wasn't loud, but he spoke very clearly.

"Doing this isn't a good idea."

His tone was earnest, sounding like he was trying to talk a friend out of doing something foolish.

Uchiha Taiga turned his head and looked at Rasa.

He smiled.

"Relax, I won't do anything drastic to you all."

His tone remained just as casual and relaxed.

"As long as I get to have my fun, that's all that matters."

The moment he finished speaking, his body moved.

A flash of golden light.

His figure vanished from in front of Onoki, disappearing from everyone's sight. They could only see a streak of pale golden light tearing through the air. Before the faster shinobi could even react, the light extended straight from Onoki to Rasa.

The golden light stopped.

Uchiha Taiga appeared right in front of Rasa.

Rasa's eyes widened drastically.

He stared at Uchiha Taiga standing before him, his mind going completely blank for a second. Only one thought spun wildly in his head: *Wait, no! Why are you coming after me first?! You should be taking this out on Konoha!*

And then, Uchiha Taiga's foot lashed out.

The speed of the kick was blindingly fast—so fast that Rasa's eyes couldn't even track it. He only saw a flash of pale golden light at his abdomen before his entire body was sent flying backward.

His body skipped through the air like a skipped stone, tracing an arc before crashing heavily into the ground in the distance.

The impact smashed a crater into the earth. Shattered rocks flew from the edges of the pit, and a cloud of dust and smoke rose, obscuring his body.

Uchiha Taiga stood right where Rasa had been standing just a moment ago. He tilted his head back and laughed.

"Hahaha!!!"

His laughter boomed, and everyone could hear the sheer exhilaration in it.

"Fighting is just too thrilling!"

His voice rang out amidst the laughter, carrying an indescribable underlying meaning.

Suddenly, Uchiha Taiga's smile vanished. He swept his gaze over everyone present.

Everyone stared back at him. No one uttered a single word.

"The Senju brothers said I was a threat to the safety of the ninja world."

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"I don't care about any of that."

"But right now, if you all fail to satisfy me, then I really don't mind becoming a true threat to the ninja world."

His gaze swept across every single face. His eyes were calm, but it was a chilling calmness that made their blood run cold.

"Everyone, you should know what to do, right?"

No one spoke. The area in front of the city gates was as silent as a graveyard.

Uchiha Taiga looked at their silent faces. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he slapped his forehead.

"Oh, right."

His tone lightened up a bit, as if he were merely adding an unimportant detail.

"You guys aren't Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, after all. Your abilities are somewhat lacking."

He paused and tilted his head.

"So, I'll promise you in advance—I won't kill you."

His tone was completely serious, as if he were making a very solemn vow.

"At most, you'll suffer some injuries. Once I've had my fun, I'll leave immediately without dragging things out."

After saying that, the corners of his mouth split open again, revealing a wide grin.

That smile held anticipation, excitement, and an absolute resolve that this was exactly how things were going to go down.

In the distant ruins, Rasa pushed the rubble off his body with a loud clatter.

He stood up from the crater, dusting off his clothes, his face twisted in anger.

"Fine, fine, fine."

His voice was equally loud.

"Then what else is there to say? I'll go first!"

Gold Dust surged from beneath his feet, swirling around his body and emitting a loud whistling sound. Then, his body lifted out of the crater and flew straight toward the city wall.

But in the exact moment he flew over, he secretly shot Uchiha Taiga a raised eyebrow.

There was a hidden message in that gesture, and the meaning couldn't be more obvious: *After you beat them up, you can't beat me up again, alright?*

Seeing that raised eyebrow, Uchiha Taiga returned a smile, finding the whole situation quite amusing.

The reason he was doing all of this was actually very simple.

After being called out by Senju Hashirama like that, these people would definitely start harboring their own thoughts and suspicions. Whether he was actually a threat to the ninja world or not, he needed to make them recognize reality first.

And what was that reality?

*I am the one who decides the safety of the ninja world!*

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