Naruto: This Uchiha is too innocent.

As autumn's chill sets in, the villagers of Konoha don their autumn attire, and ancient songs echo through the golden wheat fields.

Maple leaves turn a deep red, and fallen leaves drift down...

The vision gradually cleared from chaos, but everything in front of me seemed to be through a thin veil, blurry and indistinct.

In the dim light, he saw a figure ahead baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, resembling a demon. Upon seeing this, Uchiha Sora unleashed a bolt of lightning without hesitation, blasting it straight towards the "demon."

"Heh, Uchiha Sora, is this how a so-called genius repays his savior?" A sinister voice rang out, and a snake shadow precisely blocked the lightning strike. Then, the "demon" slowly spoke.

Upon hearing this chilling voice, Uchiha Sora frowned slightly, realizing that the person before him was not a demon, but Orochimaru. It was only because Orochimaru was wearing a hideous demon mask, coupled with his bizarre and exaggerated dancing movements, and because Uchiha Sora's eyesight had significantly deteriorated, that he had mistaken him for a monster.

Just as he was about to apologize, an indescribable feeling of weakness washed over him like a tidal wave. He felt utterly exhausted, and aches and pains spread throughout every part of his body. In the damp air around him, there was a faint, pungent, and nauseating stench, with a hint of rat-like odor.

In this unbearable state, Uchiha Sora suddenly regained his senses, realizing that he had truly returned from that pure land. Only in the real world could he truly feel pain, while in that pure land, he was completely unaware of whether his body was weak or exhausted.

"Take it easy. Although you usually have glucose to maintain your basic vital signs, you've been lying in bed for six months. Most of your muscles have atrophied. Right now, your body is no different from that of a useless person." Orochimaru's deep voice, tinged with a hint of mockery, drifted over.

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sora's face was filled with astonishment. Six months? He had actually been unconscious for a full six months?

During his time in the Pure Land, he was mostly in a daze, like a zombie, wandering aimlessly for an unknown period of time until he finally came to his senses not long ago. He couldn't believe that six months had already passed in the real world.

In other words, it is already autumn now, and time has quietly slipped away, making him feel a sense of disbelief and unreality.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze falling on Orochimaru, who had removed his mask. A surge of emotion welled up within him. The Sage of Six Paths had told him in the Pure Land that there was a prodigy in the real world who could save him; now it seemed that this so-called prodigy was none other than Orochimaru.

Hmm... Thinking about it carefully, considering Orochimaru's subsequent actions—human research, alternative immortality, the Sage Body—it's not surprising to call him a genius. After all, he's a ruthless character who snatched the Konoha F4 back from the Grim Reaper's grasp. Retrieving a soul from that void of the Pure Land seems... quite reasonable to him.

Just then, Uchiha Sora seemed to sense something and glanced sideways. Although his vision was still blurry, he used his keen intuition to tell that there was a corpse lying next to him.

"You killed him?"

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue, licked his lips lightly, and revealed a strange smile on his face. "If you want to pull your soul back from the Pure Land, you naturally have to pay the price with a soul. This poor wretch is a bit unlucky; he just happened to be chosen by me."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sora fell silent, speechless for a moment. He couldn't very well bluntly say that such behavior was wrong, could he? Orochimaru had genuinely saved his life; in other words, he was half to blame for the death of the person next to him.

"What, do you think I'm too cruel?" Orochimaru narrowed his long, narrow eyes slightly.

Uchiha Sora shook his head slightly, his expression calm. "No, it's reasonable to exchange one life for another. I owe you a favor."

Just then, Orochimaru suddenly moved. He walked straight to the cabinet next to him, took out three syringes that were as thick as a finger, and then slowly walked towards Uchiha Sora.

Upon seeing this, Uchiha Sora's eyelids twitched violently. This familiar action reminded him of the terrifying memories of getting injections as a child. "What are you going to do?"

Orochimaru grinned, revealing his signature eerie smile, and gently shook the syringe in his hand. "Obviously, I'm going to draw your blood."

Uchiha Sora frowned deeply. "You didn't have a seizure when I was bedridden for two months, but now of all times?"

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, a glint of longing in his eyes, and said slowly, "Who said I didn't draw blood before? I drew a lot of your blood while you were lying there. But unfortunately, it seems that because you lacked a soul at the time, your blood activity was pitifully low. Although it was barely usable, the effect was really not good."

Uchiha Sora opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back. Oh well, after all, the other person saved his life, so drawing a little blood didn't seem like a big deal.

"What do you want my blood for?"

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru became as excited as a child who had received a precious toy, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism. He chuckled, "Heh heh, you're truly extraordinary! I've discovered that your blood has absolutely no reaction to chakra. You're like a complete chakra insulator. In the past, I've taken blood from countless people, but even the most ordinary person's cells would react to chakra to some extent. Yet you, who can clearly use ninjutsu, show absolutely no reaction to chakra. This is incredible!"

"You're like a rooster that lays eggs."

At this point, a hint of madness flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. He leaned closer to Uchiha Sora and lowered his voice, saying, "To be honest, I really want to cut you up and study you properly. It's a pity those guys won't agree, otherwise I would have done it already."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sora seemed to be deep in thought. He was like a pool filled with water, but without a tap. The water in the pool was filled by others bucket by bucket.

He was aware of this situation; the chakra in his body was all given to him by the system's missions, and he could not cultivate chakra on his own.

He had never understood it before, but now, after all these events, he had a general idea. He figured it was all the dog system's fault. The inability to automatically cultivate chakra meant that his strength was forcibly bestowed by the system, with very little truly originating from himself. In other words, his strength had always been under the system's control.

He ignored Orochimaru and quietly waited for the blood draw to finish. After Orochimaru finished drawing blood, he asked, "What method did you use to bring my soul back from the Pure Land?"

"Pure Land? So the place where your soul went is called Pure Land?" Orochimaru's eyes flashed with surprise.

"You don't even know what the Pure Land is, so how would you know how to save me?"

Orochimaru fell silent, his eyes flickering, and slowly said, "Actually, I'm not sure if I can save you either."

"...What do you mean by that?"

"Because the ninjutsu I used to save you suddenly appeared on my table." Orochimaru spread his hands, looking helpless.

"I just tried it out once."

Uchiha Sora narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. Someone had given Orochimaru ninjutsu? The first person who came to his mind was the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage of Six Paths had spent a long time in the Pure Land; perhaps no one in this world understood the people of the Pure Land better than him. During his casual conversation with Uzuki Kaze, the Sage of Six Paths had come to the real world, and it was very likely that it was then that the Sage of Six Paths bestowed the Pure Land ninjutsu upon Orochimaru. Unfortunately, he could no longer return to the Pure Land and could not confirm this conjecture.

"You're incredibly bold to use some unknown ninjutsu to save me. Have you considered the consequences if I die from this?"

Orochimaru laughed, a laugh tinged with madness. "Those guys outside are helpless against you. Agreeing to this is just a desperate measure. As for killing you... heh, since I have a plan, I've already considered the consequences. For me, this is a high-stakes gamble. I've been studying human anatomy for a long time, and now that I finally have a chance to peer into the soul, how could I give it up? Clearly, I've won this gamble."

Uchiha Sora looked at the almost insane scientist in front of him and felt a chill run down his spine. Without a doubt, Orochimaru was a complete madman who would stop at nothing and disregard everything in pursuit of so-called truth and power.

He stared at Orochimaru for a long while, then sighed, "Take me back."

After six months in a coma, plus two months in Kusagakure, he hadn't seen his family for eight months. Now that he's awake, he suddenly longs to see them again.

"Tsk tsk, you've only just woken up and you're already abandoning me?"

"There's nothing to talk about between us."

Orochimaru feigned sadness, "I thought that after this experience, I had changed my mind."

"What?"

"Of course, you'll become my apprentice. You've already died once, so how about it, are you interested in becoming my apprentice?"

This is the second time Orochimaru has invited Uchiha Sora.

"Forget it, I'm afraid I'll wake up one day and find that I'm missing a part."

"Hehe, you make me sound like some kind of devil. I'm very kind to my disciples. Speaking of which, you have a friend who's now my disciple."

"partner?"

"Red Bean, come in," Orochimaru said.

Soon, a young girl pushed open the door and entered, respectfully calling out "Teacher," before looking at Uchiha Sora.

Seeing this long-haired girl, Uchiha Sora was filled with emotion. He had completely forgotten about it. Not long after the Chunin Exams, Mitarashi Anko became Orochimaru's apprentice.

The girl in front of them was none other than Mitarashi Anko, who hadn't changed in a long time.

"Sora, it's been a long time." Mitarashi Anko looked at Uchiha Sora with a complicated expression.

"Long time no see," Uchiha Sora replied.

"Would you like some time to catch up?" Orochimaru asked, seemingly asking, but actually pushing open the door and leaving the two behind.

After an awkward silence, the two reminisced, and Mitarashi Anko poured Uchiha Sora a cup of hot tea.

"Speaking of which, it's been almost two years since we last met, hasn't it?" Mitarashi Anko said with a sigh as she sat down next to Uchiha Sora.

Uchiha Sora thought for a moment, "Hmm, it should be about right after the New Year."

After he joined the Anbu, he hadn't heard from Mitarashi Anko, and now she's been in a coma for more than half a year. Things have changed.

In his memory, Mitarashi Anko was a mischievous girl, but now, he sensed a shadow of gloom emanating from her.

Mitarashi Anko became Orochimaru's apprentice most likely for the sake of power, and now he can sense that her strength has reached the level of a top-tier Chunin.

To gain power from Orochimaru, one must have endured much suffering. Spending all day with snakes was just the most basic thing. He didn't know what Anko had gone through, or why her lively spirit had vanished.

"Speaking of which, I was quite startled when I saw you being brought here by the teacher. I thought you were going to be dissected," Mitarashi Anko said with a smile, as if remembering something.

"What would you do if Orochimaru dissected me?" Uchiha Sora asked for some reason.

As expected, Mitarashi Anko was taken aback, then fell silent. After a while, she sighed, "I might end up assisting you, sir."

Uchiha Sora chuckled, "That's true, maybe we can even get a piece of my flesh that way."

Human effort can influence outcomes, but one's actions are not always within one's control.

Uchiha Sora wouldn't hold a grudge against Mitarashi Anko for what she said. If it were him, and if Uzuki Kazunari wanted to kill Mitarashi Anko, he wouldn't stop her, but he wouldn't intervene either.

There aren't that many right and wrong answers in the world. Depending on your perspective, what you consider right and wrong will be completely different in the eyes of others.

"By the way, how is Kurenai doing now?" Mitarashi Anko asked.

"Huh? You haven't seen her before?"

"No, ever since I started following my teacher, I've cut myself off from the outside world. The last time I saw Hong was about a year and a half ago."

"I see..." Uchiha Sora pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I haven't seen Kurenai for more than half a year either. To be honest, I'm also curious about how she is doing."

"Really? That's a shame, but I bet she'll cry her eyes out because of you."

"Um."

"And Rin, she'll be sad because of you. Obito... he'll probably feel a little sad too. Don't let his dislike of you fool you; as a fellow clansman, he's always wanted to catch up with you, Kakashi..."

Mitarashi Anko seemed to have not had a proper conversation with anyone in a long time. Once she started talking, she began to chatter on and on. Uchiha Sora did not get impatient and listened quietly.

At this moment, Mitarashi Anko seemed to have returned to the days when she was the big sister.

Time is truly terrifying; it beautifies those who exist in our memories until they are flawless. Perhaps this is the truth behind why the white moonlight cannot be replaced.

In Mitarashi Anko's memory, those friends were her best friends, and she was proud of them.

Uchiha Sora silently watched the girl...

"Red Bean, if you had another chance, would you agree to become Orochimaru's disciple?"

Mitarashi Anko fell silent, staring blankly in the direction of the gate, and pursed her lips.

"Yes."

Uchiha Sora smiled slightly. If he were to decide again whether or not to kill Hanzo, his answer would still be affirmative.

There are always some things that are above all else.