Naruto: This Uchiha is too innocent.

The wind is surging.

The year was September of Konoha 49.

In the past six months, Uchiha Sora has made great strides in the Anbu, and his strength has improved significantly. At present, he is able to fight on par with special Jonin.

Within six months, the fighting on the front lines intensified, with many wounded every day. In particular, the Land of Fire was engaged in multi-front warfare. Now, apart from the ninjas stationed in Konoha, there were almost no Chunin left in the village, as they were all out on missions.

This also meant that the Dark Division was never able to keep up with their missions. They would finish one mission each day and before they could even sit down, they would immediately move on to the next one. It was as if the Dark Division was being used like camels.

Under intense missions, the strength of the members of the Dark Division improved rapidly, but at the same time, casualties were also considerable.

Just like today, Uchiha Sora attended the tiger's funeral.

A biting wind swept across the grass, swirling up withered leaves and making a rustling sound. The chill of late autumn seemed even more intense than in previous years, penetrating the heavy black dress I was wearing.

Uchiha Sora stood alone before a newly built grave, the fabric of his black tuxedo fluttering slightly in the wind, making his face appear even more somber.

The stone tablet was brand new and polished smooth. The tablet was simply engraved with four characters: "Tiger's Tomb". There were no dates of birth or death, not even a real name. All that was left was a code name.

Uchiha Sora stared at the two characters "Tiger" on the stone tablet. A complex emotion surged within him, not sorrow, but self-mockery.

Tiger gave his life for Konoha, but after his death he didn't even have a proper funeral, and the only guests were a few members of his team.

His gaze lingered on the tombstone for a moment before shifting to the silent figure of Uzuki Kaze in front of him.

The latter had no expression, but looked inexplicably pitiful.

During this mission, they encountered a Jonin from an enemy country. Tiger stayed behind to cover their retreat, which allowed them to escape. Otherwise, the casualties would not have been limited to just Tiger.

Shinnosuke wasn't there at the time, and it was Uzuki Kazunari who gave the order to cover the retreat... In other words, in a sense, it was Uzuki Kazunari who pushed the tiger into the abyss of death.

So... what are you thinking about?

Uchiha Sora lowered his eyelids, staring intently at the desolate figure in the wind.

……

Thick dark clouds shrouded the bright moon, making the entire Konoha Village much darker than usual, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets.

Iron Blood Residence

Uchiha Sora walked into the store, ordered a pot of fruit wine from the owner, and then looked around the store. Sure enough, in that familiar corner, he saw a familiar person.

He's always like this; when he encounters something bitter, he drowns his sorrows in alcohol. As long as he doesn't die from drinking, he drinks until he's dead. For the past six months, Uchiha Sora has often been able to find him at the Iron Blood Residence.

Little did they know that drinking to drown their sorrows only made them worse.

Uchiha Sora sat opposite Uzuki Kaze, reaching out to press down on the hand that wanted to continue drinking.

"Stop drinking."

Uzuki Kaze glanced up at him, her eyes unfocused, and smiled. "Sora, you've come at the right time. Come, have a drink with me."

Uchiha Sora frowned, took the sake bottle from his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Tiger's death is not your fault. At that time, we were all injured. Only if Tiger stayed could we escape with the best chance."

He took a sip of his drink in the wind, then realized he had nothing in his hand. He gave a self-deprecating laugh.

"Do you know how many teammates I've seen die since I joined the Dark Division? Whether they were seniors, peers, or juniors, they're all dead. Tiger was the person I spent the most time with besides the captain, and now, he's gone too."

You don't understand, you can't comprehend the heart-wrenching pain I felt when I gave that doomed mission. Tiger knew he would die, yet he foolishly stayed behind to cover the retreat.

Uchiha Sora frowned. "You're drunk."

"Yes!" Uzuki Kaze suddenly roared, straightening up and staring intently at Uchiha Sora. "I'm drunk," he pointed to his heart, "but I'm experiencing an incredibly real pain here!"

"I've truly had enough of living! Time and time again, I look at those familiar names on those tombstones, and I feel such heartache! Such helplessness!"

"I don't want..." He slumped into a chair, burying his face in his hands and weeping, "I don't want to see your name on my tombstone again..."

Uchiha Sora silently watched Uzuki Kazunari's emotional outburst, offering no words of comfort. He couldn't empathize with her because he lacked the experience to understand her perspective.

The owner brought over the ramen, gently patted Uchiha Sora's shoulder, and sighed.

"He always manages to survive a mission; I don't know if it's good luck or tragedy..."

Uchiha Sora ate ramen and drank fruit wine, silently keeping Uzuki Kazunari company. It was the first time he had seen Uzuki Kazunari cry so sadly. He was clearly a thirty-year-old man, but he cried like a child.

After a while, he asked the owner to take care of the sleeping Maoyue Fengzhong. The Iron Blood Residence has guest rooms, which cost five hundred taels of silver per night. It's a bit expensive, but the place is quiet enough to allow Maoyue Fengzhong to get a good night's sleep.

After leaving the Iron Blood Residence, he encountered an unexpected person, a cold-faced man.

He raised an eyebrow, surprised to find the eagle there as well.

Yes, the person in front of me is Eagle from the team. We've been working together in the Dark Division for almost a year now, and we all know each other.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Eagle shrugged. "I needed to talk to Monkey, and the captain told me to try my luck here."

"You saw it?"

"What are you referring to? A monkey crying like a child?"

Uchiha Sora looked at the eagle with a complicated expression, and gently exhaled, "You are calmer than I expected."

Eagle chuckled, took a drag of his cigarette, and said, "Not everyone is like a monkey. You know, in our line of work, feelings are the most useless thing."

Did you know that with the monkey's talent, he would have been promoted to squad leader five years ago, but he remained a member for another five years?

Can you guess why?

Uchiha Sora remained silent. He had the answer in his heart, because Uzuki Kazunari would bring her personal emotions into the mission, which was something the Anbu would never allow.

The Dark Division, as its name suggests, is best characterized by having darkness in one's heart; being sentimental is fatal.

Therefore, Shinnosuke was not saddened by the tiger's death, nor was the eagle, and he didn't feel anything at all. Only Uzuki Kaze... was very sad.

I remember when I first met Kazunari Uzuki, I thought she was a very cold person. Who knew she would turn out to be the most affectionate person in the group.

The eagle stubbed out his cigarette with his fingers, shrugged, and said, "Looks like my hopes of finding the monkey are dashed today. Oh well, I'll try again tomorrow."

He glanced at Uchiha Sora and smiled.

"Qi, don't be like a monkey, always thinking of others. It'll get you killed."

Uchiha Sora lowered his eyes and remained silent...