Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

The writing on the middle scroll was extremely small and densely packed, stretching from one end of the scroll to the other with almost no blank space.

The handwriting was neat, every stroke clear and precise, as if the writer had been incredibly meticulous, afraid that others might not be able to read it clearly.

The paper had yellowed, its edges slightly curled. The ink had faded in some places, but it was still legible.

Uchiha Sasuke's gaze started from the very first line.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and his fingers gripped the edges of the scroll even tighter.

Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Uchiha Madara.

He knew all three of these names: the God of Shinobi, the Fastest Shinobi in the Ninja World, and the Asura of the Ninja World.

These were three individuals who stood at the absolute pinnacle of ninja history, figures of pure legend.

Uchiha Taiga had defeated all three of them, becoming the new God of Shinobi. Just reading this description made his heart surge with excitement.

His eyes continued down the page.

Sasuke's finger paused slightly.

The Nine-Tails incident. He had heard his father mention it before. It was a massive catastrophe for Konoha, where the Nine-Tails rampaged through the village, resulting in countless deaths.

As for what the Nine-Tails actually was, Sasuke wasn't entirely sure, but considering it caused such immense casualties, it had to be terrifying. And the strength of Uchiha Taiga, who had literally kicked the Nine-Tails out of the village, was beyond unquestionable.

Another Uchiha. Sasuke frowned; he had heard this name from Kakashi-sensei.

Hyuga Neji's eyelid twitched, but he remained silent, simply clenching his hands into fists inside his sleeves.

The Hyuga clan, his own family, had been brutally beaten down by a single person, completely powerless to resist.

Just the thought that the Main House had silently acknowledged their inability to fight back made Neji's breathing grow heavy.

Sasuke's finger paused again, and he instinctively looked up to meet Neji's gaze, just as the older boy looked over.

It was obvious that Neji didn't know who this Shimura Danzo was either, but both of them could roughly guess that he must have been a high-ranking village official at the time.

There were even more records in the scroll. For example, after leaving Konoha, Uchiha Taiga traveled to Kumogakure, sparked a conflict, single-handedly crushed the entire village, and took away the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, Yugito Nii.

He then turned toward Kirigakure, fought the Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, and won with ease.

Next, he detoured to Sunagakure, where he was welcomed by the Kazekage, Rasa.

Finally, when the Tsuchikage convened the Five Kage Summit, Uchiha Taiga accompanied the Sunagakure delegation to the Land of Iron. There, he encountered the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, who had returned from the underworld, along with the similarly resurrected Uchiha Madara. After a massive battle, he emerged completely victorious.

Sasuke's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.

Neji didn't look much better.

Just reading the text of these descriptions was enough to make their minds reel; they could only imagine how utterly shocking the actual events must have been.

Their eyes met once more, both seeing the sheer horror and awe reflected in the other's gaze.

Neji took a deep breath. "Just as I thought."

His voice was slightly hoarse.

"I knew it. The legends about Uchiha Taiga are all true."

He looked at Sasuke, an indescribable emotion swirling in his pale eyes.

"I never imagined he would be this powerful."

Sasuke asked instinctively, "How much do you actually know about him?"

Neji didn't hide anything. "Truthfully, not much."

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts.

"The Hyuga clan issued a gag order long ago. Anything regarding Uchiha Taiga is strictly classified. I only managed to piece together fragments from some of the elders in the Branch House."

His gaze grew distant.

"According to them, Uchiha Taiga is an incredibly terrifying existence."

When he said "terrifying," his tone was heavy, so heavy it felt as if the word itself carried physical weight.

Sasuke asked another question. "So you've been searching for information on him, thinking he can change the Hyuga clan?"

Neji nodded. The movement was slight, but absolute.

"Your brother, Itachi, seemed to harbor the same thought."

He looked at Sasuke, a faint glimmer of light in his white eyes.

Sasuke remained silent, his hand resting on the scroll, fingers gently brushing against the paper.

Pulling his thoughts back, he opened the second scroll.

The second scroll contained basic intelligence on Uchiha Taiga. There were many entries, all incredibly detailed, reading like a comprehensive dossier.

Sasuke's brow twitched. Mastering all five chakra natures was incredibly difficult. An average ninja was considered impressive if they mastered one or two. The only people he had ever heard of who mastered all five were the Third Hokage and the current Hokage, Orochimaru.

Neji's breathing hitched. Possessing and using both the Sharingan and the Byakugan simultaneously—that was something he had never even dared to imagine.

The scroll also detailed his abilities across various fields.

Ninjutsu derived from the Sharingan, Taijutsu derived from the Byakugan, Ninjutsu of all five chakra natures, and several jutsu he had never even heard of.

Beneath each entry were detailed explanations. For example, under the five chakra natures, it listed exactly which jutsu Uchiha Taiga knew—which Fire Style, Water Style, Earth Style, Lightning Style, and Wind Style techniques he had mastered.

Looking at those entries, Neji couldn't help but sigh in awe.

"Too strong. He's simply too strong."

His voice was soft, as if muttering to himself.

"To be this powerful at around our age... it's hard to imagine what level he has reached by now."

Sasuke didn't reply. He just silently stared at the words on the scroll. His finger moved slowly across the page, reading line by line, word by word.

His expression remained unchanged, but the light in his eyes flickered incessantly.

Neji didn't speak either. He walked over to Sasuke's side to read the third scroll together.

The third scroll was larger and thicker than the first two. Sasuke unrolled it, and he and Neji began to read.

This scroll didn't record Uchiha Taiga's deeds, but rather someone else's.

Uchiha Madara.

It started from the founding of Konoha, detailing Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama's friendship, their falling out, and the battle at the Valley of the End. It documented Madara's "death" in that battle.

It recorded his decades of disappearance, his sudden reappearance in Konoha Year 52, his battle with Uchiha Taiga, and his ultimate defeat.

The records were incredibly detailed, so much so that it felt as if the author had witnessed the entire process with their own eyes. In some places, it even listed specific times, locations, combatants, battle progressions, and outcomes, reading like an official combat report.

Reading up to this point, both Sasuke and Neji felt a heavy pressure weighing down on them.

That pressure didn't come from the words on the scroll, but from the sheer existence of the man behind them.

One man had defeated Senju Hashirama, defeated Senju Tobirama, and defeated Uchiha Madara.

One man had shaken the entire ninja world, made all the Kage fear him, and forced Konoha to classify him as an absolute taboo.

Neji took a deep breath.

"I've decided."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was crystal clear.

"I'm leaving the village to find Uchiha Taiga."

Startled, Sasuke instinctively turned his head to look at Neji.

"Your Caged Bird..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but his meaning was obvious.

The Caged Bird curse mark was the absolute shackle of the Hyuga Branch House.

With that curse mark, Neji's body, his eyes, and even his very life were in the hands of the Main House. The Main House could use the seal to control him at any time, or even destroy his brain.

How could he possibly leave the village?

Neji let out a scoff.

He raised his hand and tore off the bandages wrapped around his forehead.

The bandages had been wrapped around his head several times, making a faint rustling sound as they were pulled away. As the strips fell away one by one, his forehead was exposed. There, a green mark sat stark against his skin—the Caged Bird curse mark.

Neji raised his hands and began weaving hand signs, gathering chakra in front of his forehead.

The chakra formed a new runic symbol in front of his brow. The incantation was pale blue, tiny and intricate, looking like thin threads swimming across his forehead.

Finally, the new seal pressed down over the Caged Bird curse mark like a thin film, covering it. The green pattern was still there, but it was mostly obscured by the pale blue runes, rendering parts of it completely unreadable.

Neji lowered his hands.

"Although I can't completely eradicate the Caged Bird, I can still use a Sealing Jutsu to suppress some of its negative effects."

His expression hardened with resolve.

"The scroll says he might be in the Land of Rain. I'm going to find him and ask him to rid me of this Caged Bird curse mark."

He paused.

"This is the hope of everyone in the Branch House."

Neji turned his head and looked at Sasuke.

"What about you?"

Sasuke remained silent. His hands rested on his knees, fingers slightly curled. His gaze fell upon the words on the scroll as countless thoughts raced through his mind.

After a moment of silence, Sasuke suddenly snapped his head up, the Two-Tomoe slowly spinning in both of his eyes.

"Count me in."

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