Naruto: This Uchiha is too innocent.

"How could this happen?!"

A vibrant green chakra light shone in Tsunade's palm, its color as rich and intense as the stars in the dark night.

As one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha, Tsunade initially distinguished herself with her superb medical ninjutsu. Later, she found that beating people up was more satisfying than saving them, so she began to cultivate both medical and physical skills, which led to her current renowned reputation in the ninja world.

It's fair to say that her medical ninjutsu has reached the pinnacle of Konoha, and even the entire ninja world. If the person in need of treatment this time wasn't Uchiha Sora, given her status, it wouldn't have been possible to secure her services.

At this moment, Tsunade's face was so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip from it. After receiving the news, she abandoned the mission she was carrying out without hesitation and rushed to the hospital as quickly as possible, just to save Uchiha Sora.

Uchiha Sora was practically a "regular" at the hospital, so Tsunade originally thought the situation was under control. However, when she actually started treating him, she was shocked to find that the matter was extremely troublesome, far beyond her imagination!

"Slug, how's it going on your end?" Tsunade asked anxiously, her face darkening as she stopped what she was doing.

The boy's hospital gown rustled, and then a slug as thick as an arm slowly emerged from it, winding its way up Tsunade's arm and finally landing on her shoulder. "Lady Tsunade, it's the same as before, no injuries have been found."

This is the most troublesome part now.

Tsunade and Katsuyu are a legendary duo in the medical field. Whenever it comes to treating injuries or illnesses, they can easily solve 99% of difficult problems by working together.

All of this treatment is predicated on the patient actually being injured.

But at this moment, their medical procedures conveyed one message: Uchiha Sora was not injured. He seemed to have been completely exhausted, like a battery that had run out of power; all he needed now was a good night's sleep.

If there are no injuries, how can I save her?

If it weren't for the fact that Uchiha Sora's life force resembled that of an old man on his deathbed, about to extinguish at any moment, Tsunade would have even suspected that Uchiha Sora was deliberately joking with her, teasing her.

She gazed silently at Uchiha Sora, who lay on the hospital bed like a "Sleeping Beauty." His unusually pale face added to his broken appearance. Anyone who looked at him for even a moment would feel a pang of heartache for him.

"What about the person who came back with Uchiha Sora?" Tsunade suddenly asked, breaking the brief silence in the operating room.

"Teacher, she's outside." The short-haired girl who had been watching them intently quickly responded. If Uchiha Sora were awake at this moment, he would definitely recognize that the short-haired girl was Shizune.

This period coincided with the time when Shizune had just become Tsunade's apprentice. Shizune had come here with the intention of learning from her teacher, but she never expected that her first "house call" with her teacher would lead to a problem that even her teacher couldn't solve.

"Let her in."

"Yes."

Shizune hurried out of the operating room and was immediately surrounded by a group of people. The three leading the group were none other than Uchiha Sora's family.

"Hello, how is Kong doing now?" Seeing that someone had finally come out of the operating room, Lia hurriedly stepped forward and asked anxiously, her voice trembling.

"Sister, is my brother...is he alright?" Zhi Shui's eyes reddened, and her voice choked with emotion.

Momonosuke appeared more composed compared to the other two, but his slightly trembling hands and the questioning look in his eyes betrayed his inner anxiety.

A little further away, the Uchiha clan members and Uchiha Sora's friends also gathered around. Without exception, they all stared expectantly at Shizune, wanting to know how Uchiha Sora was doing.

Shizune was suddenly surrounded by so many people and became nervous, but fortunately, she had received a lot of training during this time and quickly calmed down.

"Everyone, please be patient and wait. We will notify you as soon as there is any news. Now, I want to find the girl who came back with Uchiha Sora."

This official response immediately dimmed the expectant eyes of Ria and Shisui, while Momonosuke clenched his fists, remaining silent and quietly stepping aside to make way.

Soon, as if by telepathy, everyone stepped back, making way for the girl huddled in the corner.

Shizune glanced at the girl in the corner and was slightly taken aback. She thought to herself, "This child looks like a homeless stray dog. She looks so pitiful."

She gently shook her head, dispelling the distracting thoughts in her mind, and quickly walked up to Hinata Ame, saying softly, "Hello, Lady Tsunade needs to know the whole story."

Hinata Yu slowly raised her head from between her knees, looking utterly pitiful. Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying for a long time. She didn't say a word, silently stood up, and followed Shizune into the operating room.

As soon as she stepped into the operating room, Hinata Ame's gaze was instantly locked on the "corpse" lying quietly on the bed. Looking at that familiar figure, her lips unconsciously pursed into a line, trying hard to hold back the urge to cry.

She slowly shifted her gaze from Uchiha Sora to Tsunade: "Junior Inspector Tsunade, is there anything I can do for you?"

Tsunade looked at the pitiful-looking Hyuga Ame, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. It wasn't surprising that Uchiha Sora had never heard of Hyuga Ame before, after all, the Uchiha clan held a special position in Konoha and there were many things they didn't know. But Tsunade was different; she had heard of this branch family disciple who was trained by the main Hyuga clan.

In her memory, the rumors about Hinata Ame were always cold and impersonal descriptions like "wooden doll," "ice block," and "fighting machine." But the Hinata Ame standing in front of her now was clearly a girl with flesh and blood.

Tsunade gently shook her head, temporarily clearing her mind of these distracting thoughts. She glanced at Shizune beside her, gave her a subtle look, and Shizune understood, silently leaving.

After the operating room door closed gently, Tsunade said solemnly, "Hyuga Ame, tell me everything that happened after you went to Kusagakure."

As she spoke, she stared intently into the girl's eyes and emphasized, word by word, "This is extremely important; it concerns whether I can successfully rescue Kong."

Hinata Yu paused slightly, took a breath, and began to slowly recount her story.

The battle with Hanzo, the appearance of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Hanzo's death, the Akatsuki organization, Uchiha Sora's sudden coma...

Aside from knowing absolutely nothing about what happened during those two months, she recounted every single detail.

Soon, Hinata Ame came out of the operating room. She lowered her head, didn't say a word, and went straight to a corner, curling up into a ball.

Those around saw this and wanted to go forward to ask what was going on, but when they saw Hinata Ame's appearance, they stopped in their tracks, hesitant to speak.

Inside the operating room, Tsunade frowned, lost in deep thought. "Katsuyu, in your opinion, what caused Sora to become like this?"

The slug's round eyes shifted slightly as it slowly said, "Lady Tsunade, if what that girl said is true, I think the most likely explanation is that Hanzo used poison on her."

Tsunade nodded slightly. She thought so too. Of all the possible scenarios, Hanzo's poison was the most likely cause of Uchiha Sora's current condition.

Tsunade had clashed with Hanzo before, and she was very familiar with Hanzo's poison. The terrifying nature of that poison was beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and it was no exaggeration to say that it was the most terrifying poison in the world.

Although she had never heard of Hanzo's poison being able to turn someone into someone like Uchiha Sora, she hadn't faced Hanzo directly for many years, and perhaps Hanzo had developed a new poison during that time.

Thinking of this, Tsunade couldn't help but sigh, saying helplessly, "Alas... although poisoning is a possibility, Hanzo is now dead, and there's no way to verify the truth."

The information provided by Hyuga Ame was useful, but not much, and insufficient to solve the current problem of Uchiha Sora.

The matter of saving Uchiha Sora instantly became a tense situation.

One day, three days, five days...

Time flies like an arrow; in the blink of an eye, a month has passed quietly, and Uchiha Sora has remained lying there quietly, showing no sign of waking up.

Tsunade tried almost every method she could think of. She researched and experimented day and night, and even went to Shikkotsu Forest once, hoping to find a cure for Uchiha Sora there. Unfortunately, she still hasn't found a way to effectively cure Uchiha Sora.

Uchiha Sora's state remained in an extremely delicate balance. He seemed to be on the verge of death, yet he was always hanging on by a thread, in a strange state between life and death.

boom--!

A large hole appeared in the hospital wall; Tsunade could no longer bear such futile efforts!

"Damn it, what's the reason?!"

Her beautiful hair was long gone, and at this moment, it would be more appropriate to describe her as a madwoman. She looked as if she hadn't slept for days and nights, with bulging veins and bloodshot eyes.

"Lady Tsunade, calm down," the slug said at the right moment.

"How can you expect me to stay calm?! He's lying right here, yet I can't find any reason why he's unconscious?!"

Over the past month, news of the Uchiha genius's death had spread throughout Konoha. Some were happy, some were upset, but most were gloating.

The hospital, which was initially overcrowded, had dwindled to just a handful of visitors after a month. Most people felt that the so-called Uchiha genius had vanished.

"Tsunade, Kurenai Yuhi is visiting Sora again." At that moment, Shizune's voice came from outside. Pushing open the door, she was startled to see the large hole in the wall.

"Lady Tsunade, this is...?"

Tsunade waved her hand, finally calming herself down. "Don't worry about it. Let Kurenai go visit Sora."

Among the people who visited Uchiha Sora, there were indeed many that Tsunade remembered. Kurenai Yuhi, for example, came to visit him every day after Uchiha Sora was admitted to the hospital on the second day.

Aside from Uchiha Sora's family, only Hyuga Amane could compare to Kurenai Yuhi. There was also a little girl named Rin who often came, but she always looked exhausted, clearly having just finished a mission.

After Shizune left, Tsunade clenched her fists tightly. After a long while, she slowly relaxed them, weakly clutching her hair as she squatted down and murmured:

"What should I do...?"

The lack of progress over the past month had already broken Tsunade's spirit. She knew in her heart that she couldn't save Uchiha Sora. What sustained her now was the unwillingness in her heart and her feelings for Uchiha Sora as a younger brother.

"How pitiful... my companion."

Suddenly, a sinister voice rang out in the room. Tsunade frowned and turned to look. She saw a pale face with a cold smile on it, right where she had smashed the hole she had just made.

"Orochimaru? What are you doing here?" Tsunade said with a stern face.

"Heh, we're all comrades, there's no need to be so formal, is there?" Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue, looking incredibly strange.

Tsunade remained silent. They had indeed been comrades-in-arms, sharing life and death, but in the past two years, she and Jiraiya had noticed Orochimaru's strangeness. Orochimaru was becoming colder and more ruthless. His eyes seemed to be searching for something, and he was rarely seen throughout the year. It seemed that he no longer regarded them as comrades.

Tsunade shook her head, unsure how to view Orochimaru anymore.

"No one gets up early for nothing. Knowing your personality, you definitely didn't come here because you miss me," she said calmly.

"Tsk tsk, what a heartless woman," Orochimaru said with a laugh.

"If you're just making fun of me, then you can leave now." Tsunade gave him the order to leave.

"To make fun of you? Of course not, I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" Tsunade remained silent. Right now, there was only one thing she needed help with.

"Hehe, hand Uchiha Sora over to me. I can save him, and only I can save him," Orochimaru said without hesitation, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"Impossible." Tsunade refused without hesitation. She had heard a rumor that Orochimaru was conducting inhumane research. Under such circumstances, how could she possibly hand over Uchiha Sora to Orochimaru?

Orochimaru entered the room through the hole and sat on the only chair. "You'll agree, as long as you don't want him to die."

He began to speak to himself, "If I'm not mistaken, isn't Uchiha Sora completely uninjured? Your prized medical skills are utterly useless against him?"

Tsunade's pupils contracted slightly. She had never told anyone this fact; the only people who knew were Uchiha Sora's closest relatives. How would Orochimaru know?!

"What do you know?" After a long silence, Tsunade asked quietly, realizing that Orochimaru knew more about Uchiha Sora's situation than she did.

"You can't save him," Orochimaru said, his vertical eyes gleaming with a cunning that made one very uncomfortable.

Tsunade was displeased. The next moment, her pupils contracted sharply, and a light, airy voice rang in her ear.

"Because the place where that kid was injured... was his soul."