Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

The atmosphere suddenly became rather strange.

Uchiha Sasuke's mouth hung slightly open, his eyes flickering.

'Another defection?'

A myriad of emotions surged through his mind at that moment.

Uchiha Taiga defected from the village, and his older brother defected from the village. Going further back, he had heard of that name—Uchiha Madara, one of the founders of Konoha, who also eventually defected.

'Why does every generation of the Uchiha produce rogue ninjas?'

Sasuke's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but it felt like something was blocking his throat, and no sound came out.

Seeing his dazed expression, Hatake Kakashi assumed he was simply shocked by the news. He picked up his teacup, took another lightning-fast sip, set it down, and spoke.

"You don't need to overthink it."

His tone was casual, as if comforting a child who was letting his imagination run wild.

"Actually, Uchiha Taiga's departure wasn't exactly considered a defection at the time. The Third Hokage never officially classified him as a rogue ninja. On paper, Uchiha Taiga is still a shinobi of Konoha."

Sasuke looked up at Kakashi, his brows furrowed, clear confusion in his eyes.

"You can't wrap your head around it, can you?"

Kakashi looked at him and sighed.

"It's because the Uchiha Taiga of that time was too strong. So strong that it brought a sense of despair."

He paused, as if recalling something from the past.

"And back then, Konoha had just recently survived the Third Great Ninja War. The village couldn't afford any more devastating losses."

He spread his hands, flipping his palms upward in the air.

"That's all there is to it."

Sasuke's brow relaxed, the confusion in his eyes shifting into understanding.

He nodded. "Then where did he go?"

Kakashi shook his head, the movement slight and subtle.

"I don't know. Perhaps the village elders know, but I'm not privy to the details."

His tone was firm, not sounding like an evasion.

Sasuke stared at him for a couple of seconds before looking away.

He knew this was probably all the information he was going to get out of this trip.

Kakashi had told him what he could and what he knew. Prying further wouldn't yield any more answers.

Sasuke decided to leave. He was just that straightforward.

With that thought, he stood up, gave Kakashi a slight bow, and prepared to say his goodbyes.

But the moment he raised his head, his gaze fell on Kakashi's left eye.

That eye was covered by his forehead protector, hidden from sight.

But Sasuke knew exactly what lay beneath it.

It was a Sharingan. A Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Sasuke asked instinctively, "Kakashi-sensei, who was the original owner of your Sharingan?"

Kakashi's expression shifted. The corner of his eye twitched slightly, and his lips pressed into a tight line, visible even through his mask.

He set down his teacup with a soft clink.

"His name was Uchiha Obito."

His voice lowered, but by speaking the name, it was clear he had no intention of hiding it.

"He was once my teammate."

Kakashi paused, then added one more sentence.

"Later on, he also became a rogue ninja."

Sasuke was left speechless.

He stood there, his mouth slightly ajar.

He was utterly at a loss for words, not knowing what he should say or what he even could say.

Uchiha Taiga was a rogue ninja. Uchiha Itachi was a rogue ninja. Uchiha Madara was a rogue ninja. And now, add Uchiha Obito to the list.

"How could this be?" Sasuke asked subconsciously.

Kakashi looked at him strangely, his right eye narrowing slightly.

The meaning in his gaze was obvious: *Isn't it completely normal for the Uchiha to produce rogue ninjas?*

Sasuke didn't get an answer, nor did he press the issue. He bowed to Kakashi once more, turned around, and walked over to the window.

He had jumped in through the window, and he fully intended to jump back out the same way.

"Please make sure to use the front door."

Sasuke paused just as he stepped onto the windowsill. He nodded and silently headed downstairs.

Kakashi sat by the low table, staring at the open window in silence for a moment before letting out a sigh.

After leaving Kakashi's house, Sasuke walked back toward the Uchiha compound.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, completely different from the hurried strides he had taken on his way there. Right now, his mind was busy digesting everything he had just heard, piecing the fragments together.

He had learned quite a bit from Kakashi, but the resulting doubts and curiosity only multiplied.

Uchiha Taiga... what exactly did this name represent?

Why was he so strong?

Why did he defect from the village?

And... where was he now?

Sasuke resolved to get to the bottom of these questions.

He quickened his pace, weaving through main streets and narrow alleys until he returned to the compound. He walked down the empty streets, passing vacant houses and overgrown courtyards.

Until he reached the deepest part of the compound.

There stood a shrine.

The shrine wasn't large. It was a wooden structure with gray roof tiles and white walls. The Uchiha clan crest was carved into the door pillars.

The doors were closed. The wooden panels bore numerous scratches—some deep, some shallow, some fresh, and some old.

The stone steps in front were covered in moss, feeling soft and slippery underfoot.

Sasuke pushed the doors open.

The hinges let out a soft creak. It wasn't loud, but in the quiet shrine, it echoed clearly.

Inside was a modest hall. The lighting was dim, illuminated only by the rays filtering in through the doorway and windows.

In the center of the hall sat an altar housing several memorial tablets dedicated to the fallen ancestors of the Uchiha clan.

Beside the altar stood a row of wooden shelves lined with scrolls and bound books.

The clan's genealogy records were kept here.

As the youngest son of the clan head, Sasuke had no trouble accessing the records.

He walked up to the shelves, his gaze sweeping over the collection before he reached out and pulled down a thick tome.

The cover was black, bearing the three characters for Uchiha.

Holding the book, he walked over to a nearby table and sat down.

The wooden table was old, its surface marred by scratches and stains, yet it had been wiped completely clean.

Just then, an old man emerged from a small door behind the altar.

The man was incredibly old. The wrinkles on his face looked as if they had been carved with a knife, deep enough to pinch a needle. His skin resembled crumpled paper, hanging loosely over his bones.

He was as thin as a bamboo pole, looking as though a strong gust of wind might blow him over. His back was hunched, his head bowed. He wore gray clothes that were far too loose, draping over his frail frame like a robe.

The old man walked very slowly, as if carefully measuring the distance of every step.

In his hand, he held a gray rag. It was old and frayed at the edges. He shuffled over to the shelves and began wiping down the scrolls and books. His movements were slow and meticulous, as if performing a sacred ritual.

Sasuke glanced at him, then lowered his head and opened the genealogy book.

His fingers turned the pages, flipping through them one by one, reading line by line.

He flipped from the beginning to the middle, and from the middle to the end. His eyes scanned the names—some he knew, some he didn't; some he had heard of, and others he had never encountered before.

Following the bloodlines, he searched meticulously.

Then, he found it.

Uchiha Taiga.

The name was written on a page somewhere in the middle. Tracing the lineage upward, he discovered that this person belonged to the same branch as his father, Uchiha Fugaku. By generation, Taiga was his distant uncle.

Sasuke's finger stopped on the name.

He stared at those characters for a long time.

Beside the name was a line of small text detailing basic information: gender, date of birth, and parents' names.

That was it. Nothing more.

Sasuke felt a wave of disappointment.

He had thought he would find more in the clan records—like when Taiga awakened his Sharingan, what deeds he had accomplished, or why he had defected from the village.

But there was nothing. Just a few dry lines of text devoid of any real substance.

Sasuke furrowed his brow, his lips pressed tight as he tapped his finger lightly against the page.

"Is Young Master Sasuke looking for information on Uchiha Taiga?"

The voice came from beside him. It was incredibly hoarse, like two stones grinding against each other. Every word seemed squeezed from the depths of his throat, carrying a heavy rasp that sounded as if it might give out at any moment.

Sasuke looked up at the old man.

Without Sasuke noticing, the old man had moved from the shelves to his side. He stood there, hunched over with his head bowed, his cloudy eyes fixed on the open genealogy book in Sasuke's hands.

He had seen the page and the name.

The old man broke into a grin. He had few teeth left, and when he smiled, his dark gums were exposed.

It wasn't a pretty smile, but it was genuine—the kind of smile an old man gets when reminiscing about the past.

"Now that was an extraordinary brat."

His voice was still just as hoarse, but his tone carried something entirely different.

Sasuke's eyes lit up.

"You know Uchiha Taiga?"

His voice was tight, laced with an irrepressible urgency.

The old man grinned again.

"Of course. I even crossed paths with that brat back in the day."

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