Naruto: This Uchiha is too innocent.

In the thick, inky darkness, two voices quietly intertwined...

"Please." A woman's voice spoke with a chilling apology.

"Have you thought it through? Is it worth saving them?" Another voice asked weakly.

"Hmm... It's worth it. The key to breaking the deadlock lies with him." The first voice paused slightly, then spoke with certainty.

"Since you've made up your mind, then I will take action."

"……Feel sorry."

There's no need for us to say these things.

……

A piercing pain surged through him like a tidal wave, as if countless sharp needles were relentlessly piercing every inch of Uchiha Sora's skin. His thoughts were in complete disarray, as if being violently stirred by a rough stirring stick. His body felt as if it had been mercilessly crushed by a heavy wheel, every bone and muscle aching unbearably, as if it were about to fall apart.

Uchiha Sora struggled to open his eyes, his gaze falling upon a yellowish-brown stone ceiling, its rough texture particularly clear in the dim light. After a while, his body gradually adjusted to the aches and pains, and he began to look around.

"A cave?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, he was shocked to find that his throat was as dry as the earth scorched by the blazing sun, as if it were about to steam.

"Water...I must drink water!" he murmured, struggling to get up to find a water source.

However, the next moment, a cool hand gently rested on his shoulder, steadily pressing him back down. Then, an ethereal voice rang in his ear: "You've only just woken up, and you're already making such a fuss?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Uchiha Sora was startled and slowly turned his head to meet a pair of purple eyes.

"Konan?! What are you doing here—cough! cough cough!" Uchiha Sora's pupils shrank, and before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a violent cough.

Konan gazed at him quietly, her eyes calm and undisturbed. With a gentle wave of her hand, a clear paper cup of water flew steadily to Uchiha Sora's front.

"Drink first."

Upon seeing the glass of water in front of him, Uchiha Sora felt as if a fire had ignited in his throat, leaving him parched and unbearably thirsty.

He reached out his hand, but it came up empty.

Xiao Nan looked at the hand, which was a good ten centimeters off-center from the water glass, and asked in surprise, "Your eyes..."

Uchiha Sora remained silent, then made his move again. This time, he grabbed the water glass and, without thinking, swallowed hard and began to gulp down the water.

Only then did those temporarily forgotten memories flood back into his mind like a tide… the death of Hyuga Ame, the battle with Hanzo… His body trembled involuntarily, and he stood frozen in place as if under a spell. The paper cup in his hand slipped lightly from his daze and fell to the ground with a particularly lonely sound.

"Hi... Xiang Yu..." Uchiha Sora felt a suffocating sensation. He grabbed his collar and gasped for breath, his rapid breathing echoing in the silent cave.

Xiao Nan stood quietly behind him, taking in everything. She didn't say anything, just silently watched the slightly trembling body in front of her.

This boy had grown a lot since she first met him. A year ago, she could still keep him firmly under her control, but in just one year, he had grown to the point where she had to take him seriously.

Only after Uchiha Sora gradually calmed down and his emotions were no longer so agitated did Konan speak calmly: "That girl, she's not dead."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sora's body trembled. He instantly stood up, grabbed Konan's shoulders, and crushed her bones with his grip. He stared intently at Konan, his eyes bloodshot. "Impossible! She died right in front of me, stabbed through the heart!"

Despite his brutal behavior, Konan remained unmoved, her expression indifferent, as if Uchiha Sora's anger and agitation had nothing to do with her. She spoke slowly, her voice still calm and without a ripple: "That girl's heart was on the right side. She was lucky, and thus escaped unscathed."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sora was stunned. Hyuga Ame's heart was on the right side? He truly had never known this. If that were true, then Hyuga Ame might actually still be alive.

"When I arrived, the girl's heart was still beating. I don't know why you thought she was dead," Konan continued, looking calmly at Uchiha Sora, stating a perfectly ordinary fact.

Uchiha Sora fell silent. At that time, the poison had entered his body, and he was in a daze. His perception of the outside world was very blurry. Coupled with Hanzo's words, he did not notice that Hyuga Ame still had a heartbeat.

"Poison? Right, where's the poison I was given?" Uchiha Sora realized with a start, looking at Konan in front of him, his voice very soft: "Konan, what exactly happened?"

He tried to recall the last scene before he fainted, which was still the battle with Hanzo. But when he woke up, he found himself in this unfamiliar place.

"Since I'm still alive, could it be that I've already killed Hanzo? But why is Konan here? Was she attracted by the commotion of the battle?" Uchiha Sora's thoughts were a jumbled mess, and his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Konan stood there quietly, calmly watching Uchiha Sora, her face devoid of any warmth, like a cold statue. Uchiha Sora had changed drastically in the past year, and so had she. Perhaps she had once harbored the thoughts and dreams of a young girl, but now, those beautiful aspirations had been crushed by cruel reality, leaving only hatred.

"I noticed that you two had entered the valley, so I came to investigate your purpose. When I arrived, I found you were fighting fiercely with Hanzo. I found an opportunity to rescue you both," Konan said calmly, as if she were recounting a trivial matter.

Uchiha Sora stared at Konan, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Konan spoke seemingly casually, but he knew in his heart that rescuing someone from a powerful figure like Hanzo was no small feat.

However, seeing that Konan didn't seem willing to say more, Uchiha Sora didn't press the issue. He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret that Hanzo hadn't died. Then, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and asked seriously, "Why did you save us? Our relationship isn't enough for you to do this."

It's important to understand that the battle back then was an earth-shattering clash between the tengu and the salamander, its intensity beyond imagination. It's safe to say that even a Jonin who rashly intervened risked their life. Although he and Konan had some past ties, their relationship became strained, even arguably broken, after Danzo's intervention in Kusagakure's affairs. Normally, Konan would be an enemy of Konoha, yet she had now intervened to save him, a member of Konoha, something Uchiha Sora found utterly incomprehensible.

"The reason? You'll find out soon enough. Come with me." With that, Xiao Nan turned and walked into the darkness behind her...

……

Soon, Uchiha Sora, led by Konan, slowly stepped into the deepest part of the cave.

The cave was deep and silent, filled with a repressive atmosphere. Uchiha Sora's gaze swept across the cave, and the next moment, his eyes were firmly drawn to the figure sitting cross-legged in the center. The figure was as thin as a rake, as if a gust of wind could blow it over, and half of its long, bright red hair, as vibrant as flames, was dyed a glaring white.

"I never expected to see Nagato in this way." Uchiha Sora stared at the figure, his heart like a calm lake tossed with a pebble, creating subtle and complex ripples.

The man before them was arguably the only being in the entire ninja world to possess the power of the Six Paths. This should have been a glorious and imposing thing, but on this man, there was no trace of glory or honor, only endless weariness and regret. His hunched figure had absolutely nothing to do with the word "glory."

At that moment, Uchiha Sora finally understood where the poison that had seeped deep into his bones had gone. Without a doubt, it was Nagato who had saved him and Hyuga Ame. Nagato, possessing the Rinnegan, had extremely powerful healing abilities.

"You don't seem surprised by my presence?"

Suddenly, a chilling voice came from the man in front of them, sending shivers down their spines. Nagato slowly raised his head, a scrutinizing expression appearing on his sickly face. His Rinnegan gleamed with an eerie and profound light, as if it could see through a person's soul.

The instant his eyes met that Rinnegan, Uchiha Sora felt as if his soul were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand, about to be drawn into that endless vortex. Startled, he bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain bringing him back to his senses. He glanced sideways, no longer meeting the Rinnegan's gaze.

"I've heard of the Akatsuki organization."

"The Akatsuki?" Nagato sneered, his laughter filled with self-mockery. "Now it's nothing but a shell of its former self."

"Why did you save us?" Uchiha Sora asked in a deep voice.

Nagato stared silently at Uchiha Sora for a long time without looking away. His gaze held both scrutiny and admiration. "For your age, to possess such courage is truly remarkable. If I had been like you back then, perhaps..."

His voice trailed off again. He said no more, slowly turned his head, and looked at Xiao Nan beside him. His expression was calm. "I acknowledge his courage. However, I don't see him having enough strength to help us break this deadlock."

Upon hearing this, Konan moved gracefully to stand before Uchiha Sora. She tilted her head slightly and asked in a deep voice, "How many more times can you use that power?"

Uchiha Sora was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized. So these two were after his Mangekyou Sharingan power; no wonder he'd intervened to save them. He shook his head helplessly, smiling wryly, and said, "I don't know either."

He truly didn't know how many more times he could use the power of the kaleidoscope. At this moment, his eyes were on the verge of blindness, as evidenced by his inability to even hold a paper cup. The world before him was a blur; he could barely make out Nagato's face.

"I don't know?" Xiao Nan murmured softly, her brows furrowing slightly. After a moment's thought, she continued, "So, it can be used at least once more, right?"

"Hmm...it's also possible that it will run out halfway through."

"That's enough."

Then, Konan looked at Nagato and said, "As long as he can still use that power, together with us, we have a very high chance of killing Hanzo."

After saying that, she looked at Uchiha Sora and said, "I need you to join us in killing Hanzo. At the crucial moment, we'll need you to use that purple armor."

Uchiha understood. In the current situation, the only thing Nagato and Konan were thinking about was revenge.

Nagato's current weakened state meant he lacked the ability to kill Hanzo alone, and with Hanzo relentlessly pursuing him, Nagato and Konan ended up hiding in the valley.

However, he had a better way to train with Nagato to kill Hanzo than to force him to fight desperately.

He walked step by step toward Nagato. Konan, seeing this, immediately became alert and tried to stop him from getting closer to Nagato, but Nagato stopped her, saying, "Let him come over."

Uchiha Sora stopped less than half a meter away from Nagato. At this distance, he could finally see Nagato's face clearly.

"You look so haggard..." he sighed. "Nagato, how far have you developed your Rinnegan?"

Nagato's pupils contracted slightly. Many people had seen his eyes, but even he himself didn't know what they were called. Yet the boy in front of him had mentioned the term "Rinnegan."

In his shock, he even forgot why Uchiha Sora could call him by name. After a moment, he narrowed his eyes and asked, "You recognize these eyes?"

"It's more than just knowing each other." Uchiha Sora smiled slightly, turning his head to look at Konan. "Konan, since you've seen me use the Karasu Tengu, you must have seen the Mangekyou Sharingan, right?"

"So those eyes are called the Mangekyou Sharingan?" Konan replied, staring at Uchiha Sora, waiting for him to continue.

When Uchiha Sora opened his eyes again, he already had the two-tomoe Sharingan. He pointed to his eyes and said, word by word, "Nagato, your Rinnegan is the final form of these eyes of mine."

Nagato remained silent for a long time before finally saying softly, "I am not from the Uchiha clan, so how could these eyes be the final form of the Sharingan?"

"Huh? You were born with those eyes?"

"Otherwise—" Nagato's words came to an abrupt halt. He had possessed these terrifying eyes since he could remember, but what about before he could remember? Had he been born with these eyes?

His silence made Uchiha Sora chuckle. "Never mind, the origin of your eyes isn't important. What's important is that I know how to make you use these eyes to the fullest extent."

Silence is Cambridge at this moment.

Nagato's expression was uncertain, as if he was weighing the pros and cons.

To be honest, it's not very convincing for this young man in front of me to say that he knows how to teach him how to use his eyes.

As Uchiha Sora said, he knew how to use the Rinnegan.

How could Nagato know if this was a trap? After all, it seems that Uchiha Sora understands those eyes better than he does.

Uchiha Sora had more information, so he could deceive him however he wanted.

Seeing his silence, Uchiha Sora said quietly:

"Don't worry, I mean no harm. I just... want Hanzo dead, that's all."