Naruto: This Uchiha is too innocent.

Chapter 143 It's always good for people to be a little selfish.

Orochimaru's underground laboratory was really cold, as cold as a morgue. This low temperature did not make Orochimaru uncomfortable; on the contrary, it was a comfortable temperature.

But the cold wind lashed against Uchiha Sora's face, and he felt a chill seep through the top of his head, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

His talent was extremely poor; in the parlance of the ninja world, he was utterly incapable of becoming a ninja because he couldn't cultivate chakra.

Unable to cultivate chakra, he should have been just an ordinary person, living a mundane life.

However, the system's appearance changed his original life trajectory. Almost every one or two days, the system would issue some very simple tasks, such as doing one hundred push-ups, and the reward for these tasks was chakra.

Over the years, he has lost count of how many of these simple tasks he has completed. The chakra rewarded by the system has accumulated to an incredible level in his body, making him a humanoid tailed beast, probably only slightly less than Naruto.

However, he mostly used the scrolls rewarded by the system, and the chakra required to use the scrolls was fixed. Therefore, the power of the scrolls he used was the same each time, which is why his abundant chakra was not reflected.

If chakra were flammable, setting it ablaze would likely cause a fire large enough to burn down Konoha.

He never thought about the principle behind using the secret scroll, because he never felt anything when he used it, nor did he feel the chakra flow that comes with ninjutsu. He never thought there was anything special about it.

But now, Orochimaru took his blood and made him realize that even if he didn't actively gather chakra, the chakra was still active in his blood—no, it should be said that it was active throughout his entire body; his flesh, bones, and spinal cord were probably all filled with active chakra.

This is also why his body did not decay after his soul went to the Pure Land; the chakra stored in his body ensured the vitality of his body.

The reason he doesn't feel anything when using the scrolls is because these active chakras spontaneously assemble the scrolls he wants to use, without needing his guidance.

"So that's how it is—" he murmured. Rather than saying that his body was made up of cells, it was more accurate to say that it was made up of chakra. Every single one of his cells was filled with chakra.

Chakra dissipates after leaving the host, but the chakra in his body never dissipated. Does that mean that this chakra is still under the control of the system?

When he left Kusagakure, he received system punishment. Did the system directly harm him through his chakra?

This probability is as high as 99%!

His body was subjectively controlled by Uchiha Sora, but objectively, the system controlled his body through chakra.

The evidence was that Uchiha Sora lowered his eyelids, lightly cut his skin with his fingertip, and immediately a large drop of blood gushed out. He felt the active chakra in his blood and his mind stirred.

The chakra remained unchanged.

"hehe----"

A bitter, desolate smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He understood that he indeed couldn't actively dispel this chakra. If the chakra bestowed by the system truly belonged to him, then it should be able to dissipate according to his will.

However, the reality is that he cannot control the chakra flowing through his body!

"If I had refused the system's binding back then, would I have been able to intervene in the plot?" He pondered bitterly, a wave of indescribable sorrow washing over him.

Although this was just his conjecture, the inability to gather chakra and the rejection of his soul by the Pure Land were enough to confirm his guess.

In his youth, the boy naively believed that God had bestowed upon him a golden key, but little did he know that this golden finger would become his shackles.

However, even after understanding the reason, Uchiha Sora still couldn't find a way to change the situation. The chakra given to him by the system had been deeply integrated into his body and could not be separated from him at all.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, staring at the disheartened Uchiha Sora, his heart filled with doubt. From his perspective, Uchiha Sora's emotions inexplicably shifted from shock to despair. He didn't understand what had happened, nor could he know what Uchiha Sora was thinking.

"Uchiha Sora, you seem to be trapped in a desperate predicament." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes.

Uchiha Sora slowly raised his head, glanced at him blankly, and then fell silent again.

"Hehe, I'm much older than you, and I've experienced far more hardships than you. In some ways, I could be considered a pretty good psychologist. Why not have a chat with me? Perhaps I can help you untangle the knot in your heart," Orochimaru said.

Uchiha Sora's lips were slightly pale, clearly indicating that he was disturbed and had no intention of talking.

"Is that so?" Orochimaru murmured softly, seemingly sensing Uchiha Sora's resistance. "Although I don't know what happened to you, you don't seem to have any desire to communicate right now. But that's alright, I have plenty of time. You can calm down first, and I'll come back later."

After saying that, he slowly turned and left the laboratory, gently closing the door behind him.

Uchiha Sora slowly slid down the wall and sat on the ground, his eyes vacant and unfocused.

At the front lines, a Konoha squad unfortunately walked into an ambush set by Iwagakure ninja.

In the blink of an eye, in just one exchange, the two were sent flying, their fates unknown. Squad leader Gangmen was slashed on the arm by a kunai from an enemy Iwagakure ninja. In excruciating pain, he was kicked away, his body arcing through the air before crashing heavily several meters away.

Steel Door struggled to his feet, but before he could even stand properly, he heard two muffled thuds. He looked down and saw two cold corpses lying beside him. His pupils contracted sharply, and he cried out in shock, "Door! Xiaoyu!"

These two corpses were his companions.

"Damn it!" Steel Gate's eyes widened in fury as he stared intently at the three Iwagakure ninjas in front of him, as if he wanted to devour them alive.

"Oh, are you angry?" one of the Iwagakure ninjas teased. "Do you really want to kill me? Come on, come and kill me!" As he spoke, he stretched his head forward.

The steel door clenched its teeth so tightly they almost broke, a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of its mouth, and its joints creaked.

"Haha, look at that angry look in his eyes, it's funny."

"Oh dear, I'm so scared~" several Iwagakure ninjas laughed.

"Konoha will avenge us." Steel Gate's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse.

The leader of the Iwagakure ninja sneered, his eyes full of contempt. He stomped on the back of the steel door, grabbed the man's hair, and lifted him up. "I don't know if Konoha will take revenge, but I know that you are destined to die here today."

"If you have someone to blame, blame yourself for being a Konoha ninja, blame this damned war."

"A Chunin squad leader should be worth a lot of money," he muttered to himself.

Having said that, he raised the kunai in his hand, preparing to cut off the steel door's head and take it back to claim the reward.

The steel door closed its eyes in despair, awaiting death.

The next moment, the Iwagakure ninja only saw a blur before a person wearing a fox mask appeared in front of him.

With a loud bang, before he could even react, the man struck him squarely in the abdomen, sending a surge of energy through him.

I'm hungry!

The Iwagakure ninja was struck hard by the palm, and his whole body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string. He crashed heavily to the ground, twitched twice, and then fell still. His life or death was uncertain.

"Damn it, it's Konoha's Anbu!" The remaining two Iwagakure ninja reacted extremely quickly, without the slightest hesitation. They swiftly threw out several hidden weapons and turned to flee.

However, she easily dodged the incoming projectiles, then moved with lightning speed, chasing after the two. Before long, accompanied by two screams, she swiftly killed the two Iwagakure ninjas.

She dragged the two corpses back, tossed them aside casually, and the bodies landed heavily on the ground. She walked to the steel door, her expression indifferent, and asked only one question: "Can you get up?"

As Gangmen looked at the three corpses, his eyes welled up with tears. He quickly replied, "I can get up, I can get up." He clutched his chest, struggled to his feet, and said gratefully, "Thank you for avenging me."

The man merely glanced at him indifferently and said coldly, "Go back yourself." With that, he turned and left, leaving only his back view.

Steel Gate gazed at the swiftly moving members of the Dark Guard and whispered, "Thank you—" Then, he approached his comrade's body, slowly knelt down, and choked out, "I'm sorry, I failed to protect you—"

With tears in his eyes, he buried his companion's body on the spot and then hurriedly headed towards the camp.

As the sun sets, its afterglow spills across the land, adding a touch of desolation to the battlefield.

After a long day of arduous tasks, Hinata returned to the camp. She took off her signature fox mask and carefully wiped the blood off her body with a wet towel.

After doing all this, she sat blankly in the cramped tent that could only fit one person, clutching the fox mask in her hand, her eyes somewhat vacant. She had been at the front lines for a week, repeating the same thing every day—providing support to various locations. Compared to the assassination missions of others, her mission was not complicated.

However, this mission was extremely dangerous, requiring her to constantly walk on the edge of peril, with the constant possibility of encountering powerful enemies. This afternoon, she encountered a Jonin and struggled to escape, sustaining a knife wound to her back in the process.

After sitting in the tent for a long time, she slowly got up, put her mask back on, walked out of the tent, and headed towards a larger tent.

Upon entering the tent, there were already two people inside: Eagle and Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke, seeing the visitor, asked, "White Fox, how was today?"

"I saved five people," Hinata Ame replied calmly.

"Hmm, not bad. Are you hurt?"

"Minor injury."

"Fine then." Shinnosuke was already used to her cold attitude and shook his head helplessly.

"Eagle, what about you?" he asked again. Eagle replied in a deep voice, "The situation is terrible. The Iwagakure army has issued a bounty system. Anyone who kills a Konoha ninja can receive a very high reward. Because of this, the Iwagakure ninja are all full of fighting spirit."

"A bounty system, huh? Heh, Iwagakure has gone mad. Do they want to start a decisive battle right away?" A cold glint flashed in Shinnosuke's eyes. Under this system, the battle would only become more and more intense.

"Konoha has suffered heavy casualties and is severely lacking in combat power. If this continues, we will probably lose." Shinnosuke narrowed his eyes, feeling uneasy. Konoha was fighting on multiple fronts and simply didn't have enough manpower. If this continued, they would probably lose.

"I'm going to see the Hokage," he said to the two of them, and then left.

Only Eagle and Hinata Rain remained.

The eagle glanced sideways at the absent-minded Hyuga Ame, its sharp, eagle-like eyes narrowing slightly. Hyuga Ame was always like this, seemingly indifferent to everything around him. When there was a mission, he would carry it out; when there was no mission, he would just sit alone, lost in his own world.

"Are you thinking about Qi?" Eagle asked calmly, breaking the silence in the tent.

Hinata Yu was slightly taken aback, and it took her a while to realize that the eagle was asking her a question. "Seven?" After a brief thought, she remembered that Seven was Uchiha Sora's code name.

After a moment of silence, she nodded slightly and replied:

It had been a long time since she had seen Uchiha Sora, and she missed him. She didn't want to do anything; she just wanted to see his face, nothing more.

"That's true. You've always partnered with Qi on missions, and now you're suddenly going to be on a solo mission. It's understandable that you miss him," Eagle said to himself, but received no response from Hinata Ame. He clicked his tongue and continued, "I advise you to be a little selfish. In the Anbu, only selfishness can make you more comfortable."

"If you continue to be so sentimental, what if Qi dies one day—" His words stopped abruptly, because the sudden chill emanating from Hinata Amane's eyes made him shiver.

"Fine, fine, I surrender." Eagle raised his hands, looking helpless and nonchalant, then changed his tune, "Have you thought about what would happen to Qi if you died?"

Hinata Ame was stunned; she had never thought about this question before. What would happen to Sora if she died?

The scene of her shielding Uchiha Sora from a knife flashed through her mind. At that moment, she thought she was surely dead, but fortune had smiled upon her. And the expression on Sora's face then—

She must be heartbroken, right? Thinking this, a strange pang of sorrow welled up inside her. She pursed her lips, and for some reason, remembering Uchiha Sora's eyes back then, she felt a pang of heartache.

The eagle continued talking to itself, as if expressing its own sentiments: "The Dark Guard is a place that devours people without spitting out the bones. The people are always the same, but the number of bones they spit out keeps increasing. I wonder when I'll become one of those bones—"

"So, having no attachments is the best. When others die, I won't be sad. When I die, no one will grieve for me—" His voice echoed softly in the tent—

Hinata Yu looked at him quietly. Although the eagle's expression was hidden by the mask and she couldn't see anything, she was still touched by his words.

She thought that this senior, who had been in the Dark Division for who knows how many years, must have lost something to say such heartless words.

"It's always good for people to be a little selfish—" the eagle said obsessively.