She Shone Like the Stars, So From Now On, I Belonged to You

"Is it possible that the Second Personality can devour the Main Personality?" Naruto asked.

Orochimaru: "."

"Ahem, I was just asking casually." He coughed awkwardly. "So, is there a way? I'm more inclined to suggest a way that preserves the Second Personality."

"It's highly unlikely, even if there are exceptions." Orochimaru looked up at him. "Without a thorough diagnosis, there's no way to be certain."

Naruto frowned, not even considering involving Orochimaru. He simply wanted to get a direction from Orochimaru; perhaps he had a more reliable and better method.

In this situation, whether Orochimaru's soul exists or not is entirely up to Naruto, so there's no need for him to hide anything or not tell the truth.

Moreover, Orochimaru's primary concern is immortality; the Dual Personality was likely just an unexpected discovery during his research. It held little significance for Orochimaru, so he wouldn't delve into it in detail.

Orochimaru's conclusion can now be viewed from two perspectives.

First, the number of people with congenital Dual Personality is extremely rare, making it impossible to obtain an accurate result. Only by cooperating with Orochimaru and having him examine them can a more accurate result be obtained.

Secondly, Orochimaru discovered Dual Personality, distinct from innate and acquired ones. However, he wasn't very interested in this, and only roughly pieced together a Sakon and Ukon stopping the experiment.

After a brief moment of thought, Naruto decisively chose the latter.

He didn't trust Orochimaru, and he wouldn't hand Sakura over to Orochimaru. He always felt that even if the hope was slim, he shouldn't rush into anything.

Even if, as Orochimaru said, the Second Personality eventually fades away, at least Sakura won't be dragged down with her, even if he prefers the Black Sakura.

Ideally, the two personalities could be separated, and a new body would be easily obtained. Even if they couldn't be separated, they could at least coexist peacefully in one body.

Even if Sakura is on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Black Sakura is on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, alternating on Sundays would be fine.

If only one personality can exist in the end, Naruto would choose Black Sakura without hesitation, provided he was confident in his choice.

But she has no choice now, and the Main Personality will eventually devour Black Sakura. One day, she will have to return the body and retreat into the corner.

Since Orochimaru wasn't confident and didn't even have a clue, he didn't want to drag Sakura into it.

The discussion ended there.

Naruto paused, then controlled the Death Reaper to open its mouth and spit out the souls of Orochimaru's hands, thus fulfilling his promise.

Orochimaru regained his hands, which had been severed by the Third Hokage using Forbidden Jutsu; his golden left and right hands were back. He glanced down at himself in his soul form; at least he was whole again.

"I've told you everything I know, if you want," Orochimaru said calmly.

"I didn't mean to, I was just asking casually." Naruto changed his expression, abandoning all his nonchalance, and his entire demeanor shifted as he stared at Orochimaru from afar.

"Even if you don't answer, I will return your hand to you. Now, let's get down to business."

Orochimaru, in his spirit form, changed his expression upon hearing Naruto use the word "return." The souls in his hands had been severed by the Third Hokage and taken away by the Death Reaper.

Now Naruto says, give it back to him.

In Orochimaru's original plan, there were more than one way to reclaim his hands. But the word "return" is quite ambiguous. He's coming to return them.

Have we reached the point where we can freely manipulate Death Reaper?

Although Forbidden Jutsu like the Reaper Death Seal and the Impure World Reincarnation are related to the Second, they are ultimately Sealing Jutsu of the Uzumaki Clan; the Death Reaper are theirs.

This is quite interesting. For example, the Uchiha never say they are Konohagakure's Uchiha. But the Hinata call themselves Konohagakure's Hinata and are proud of it.

When a family, individual, or ninja symbol transcends the village symbol itself, the meaning it represents becomes entirely different.

So, is the current Naruto Konohagakure Naruto, or Naruto Uzumaki?

"Important business? What important business?"

"About a concept, a concept that everyone has imagined." Naruto's gaze never left Orochimaru's face as he uttered those words.

"Eternal life."

"Eternal life?"

"Yes, immortality, you should be interested in that."

"Hmm." Orochimaru smiled, his expression unreadable, as if to say, "What do you know about immortality?"

You don't believe me?

"No, on the contrary, I'm very interested." Orochimaru looked up and gestured to the ghostly figure of the Death Reaper behind him, a sight that only the two of them, who had used the Reaper Death Seal, could see.

"You can command the phantom of Death Reaper, so I have no reason not to be interested. Even if you are young, I believe there are indeed geniuses in this world."

"Like Sasuke Uchiha?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Sasuke Uchiha is indeed a genius." Orochimaru smiled. "I will go find him and take back what is rightfully mine."

Upon hearing this, Naruto wanted to advise against going to him, lest he be crippled by the brother-obsessed Itachi Uchiha. But then he remembered Orochimaru's immortality and swallowed his thoughts.

"A container? Even the most perfect container has flaws," Naruto said. "Orochimaru, I don't deny your decades of research."

"But have you ever considered that your soul itself is flawed, or that all ninja souls are flawed?"

"A flaw?" Orochimaru stared at Naruto with his vertical pupils, a hint of interest in his eyes. "That's an interesting way to put it. My soul has a flaw?"

"You're just constantly trying out new bodies. Even if you successfully possess Sasuke Uchiha, all sorts of problems will still arise."

"But it didn't work." Perhaps it was because he had done too much research, or perhaps he was being taken advantage of. Even though Naruto directly denied his research, Orochimaru remained remarkably calm.

"Of course it won't work. There's no such thing as a good or bad vessel. If there's a problem with the soul, there's nothing that can be done." Naruto patiently explained, "The soul may have been diluted like Kekkei Genkai through generations of reproduction."

"Ninjas can't just appear out of thin air, Chakra also has a source. Perhaps the source of ninjas is the secret to immortality."

Orochimaru smiled. "Is this the important matter you mentioned?"

He didn't seem to believe Naruto's words; without direct and compelling evidence, all claims were merely baseless speculation. Orochimaru preferred to try reclaiming Sasuke's body, which rightfully belonged to him—at least that would be beneficial to him.

What if, by some miracle, it works?

Naruto didn't care whether he could persuade Orochimaru; he was just telling him. As for evidence, even if Orochimaru could produce it, he wouldn't do it—it would be too ulterior motive.

No amount of effort can compare to saying, "Snake Aunt! I also want to join the glorious Eternal Evolution!"

Of course, he never thought about immortality.

"Yeah, that's all. Let's go." Naruto released the Reaper Death Seal, didn't even glance at Orochimaru, and turned to carry the unconscious Anko on his back.

Orochimaru: "."

All the prepared remarks were useless. Orochimaru stood there, slightly stunned, watching Naruto walk away.

That's it?

Naruto wasn't worried about not finding Orochimaru, nor did he want to say too much; there would be other opportunities to meet in the future. As he always said, the truth is the best weapon.

There's no need to worry about Orochimaru not being interested; he'll come looking for him sooner or later.

Carrying Anko on his back, Naruto quickly headed away towards the Land of Fire. He didn't intend to take Anko with him on his mission to the Land of Rain; her mission was already complete.

Thanks to his skillful use of the Reaper Death Seal, the meeting with Orochimaru went much more smoothly than expected, which was an unexpected surprise for Naruto.

He never expected to be able to command Death Reaper; the moment his consciousness connected, he could control it as easily as an arm.

During the journey, Anko woke up groggily.

"Am I going to die?"

The foolish woman spoke with an air of ignorance, her voice soft and hesitant, her questions sounding like those of a idiot.

"Dead." Naruto replied crisply to the person on his back, "I'm carrying your body back to the village for burial now. I plan to cremate you and make a small box for you."

"What? What happened to the grand funeral we were promised?" Anko panicked and instantly snapped back to reality.

He groggily turned his head a few times, then nuzzled Naruto's neck, thinking, "It's warm." So... he's not dead? He's not dead! That's great!

"I'll bury you when we get back, you old woman. Did you forget your brain at home?" Naruto said sarcastically as he walked, completely disregarding Anko's feelings.

Anko, however, didn't care. She laughed twice, seemingly relieved. Then, with a soft "plop," she kissed Naruto on the left cheek and said...

"He's still alive! That's great!"

Foolish people always have a specific reason for their happiness, and their joy, when it's grounded in reality, lasts a long time. Such people are easily happy; even if they cry alone in bed at night, they'll still laugh out loud in the morning at the thought of having a delicious breakfast.

Because people like them are good at enduring and have a tenacious will to live. Even when they are in darkness, after crying, they will still try to find a way out.

"You stupid woman, don't just kiss me like that! Damn it!" Naruto kept complaining. "I'm warning you, don't think you can do whatever you want."

"I want it! We're not friends anymore anyway!" Anko wrapped her arms around his neck, leaned closer, and asked in a sticky voice, "Want me to *you again?"

With a whoosh, Naruto was running through the forest, lost his footing and fell to the ground with Anko on his back.

At the critical moment, he pulled out a kunai and plunged it fiercely into the huge tree trunk. With a tearing sound, their descent slowed slightly until they came to a complete stop.

"Cough cough cough, I still have a mission to carry out." Naruto reached behind Anko and lifted her up, then said seriously, "Go back by yourself. You're injured, so you don't need to do this mission."

"What do you mean?" Anko asked in surprise. "You want me to go back first?"

"You're too weak and you're getting in my way," Naruto said, naturally not mentioning that he was going to Tanzaku Town to see an old friend and that bringing her along would be a hindrance.

As for the mission in the Land of Rain, he could indeed handle it alone. If he couldn't, in a place like the Land of Rain, filled with ancient battlefields, he could easily summon a whole bunch of Impure World Reincarnation with a snap of his fingers.

In terms of practicality, Anko are far inferior.

"What are you saying! Am I, a Jonin, so weak!" Anko couldn't stand it and punched him a few times, but he didn't change his mind, so she pouted.

"I'm sorry, I'm too weak and can't help you at all. Apart from ****, I don't seem to be of any use to you."

Anko is a foolish woman, so even her anger is just a facade. Naruto said nothing, pinned her against the tree, and kissed her repeatedly, making Anko instantly embarrassed.

After being released, Anko blushed deeply and said shyly.

"I won't go then. Just be careful. You can leave here. The mission is more important. Anyway, there's still a little thing to do, just a tiny little thing."

"In the last second before I lost consciousness, I was thinking, if I really died by accident, would you be sad for me for a little while, and shed some tears or something?"

"At that time, I suddenly really wanted to know how so many things could have been thought about in such a short time. Haha, the human brain is truly amazing. I've never seen you sad before, but I really want to know if you could feel even a little bit sad for me if I were to die someday."

"Oops, I've gotten so verbose without even realizing it."

Naruto stood there quietly, listening to Anko's foolish explanations in a flustered manner, his face expressionless, and her voice seemed to grow increasingly distant.

Nikko filtered through the woods, falling like silken threads onto their shoulders.

Watching the foolish woman awkwardly express herself, and listening to her touching words, he felt only a slight stirring in his heart. He wanted to say something in response, but suddenly felt a profound emptiness in his life.

He suddenly recalled his state when he first came into this world and felt the malice he had experienced: cold and numb, smiling outside but with a poker face at home.

To him, the village and its inhabitants were merely tools for survival. Their lives and deaths were insignificant, and their existence was as meaningless as that of ants.

How did things gradually get better? It was Tayuya, Ino, and Hinata who slowly gave him a glimmer of hope. The feelings of being moved came together, and life finally became a little brighter.

Whether it was Tsunade, Temari, or Kazahana Koyuki, in the beginning he only saw them as useful tools. The only difference was the degree of their usefulness; the process was not important.

As long as I can achieve my goal, I don't care what anyone else does.

But he was indeed affected later and gradually made changes. This change even enabled him to patiently and proactively get involved in trouble and do his best to solve it.

But now he suddenly realized what he truly cared about: stripping away false emotions and naked desires, what remained was the real thing.

Hinata is a gentle and pure girl, Ino is half of her soul, and Ino has the upper hand. A charming and beautiful girl, whose pure love shines like stars.

Pure love slowly seeped into his heart, making his blood boil. Like Natsuhi wildfire, it burned and reached the sky.

"I've forgotten what I wanted to say, and although it sounds a bit strange, but..." Anko's voice slowly became clearer again.

Naruto gradually came to his senses, looked at Anko, and a smile appeared in his eyes.

"But what?"

"But... by the way, were you listening to me just now?" Anko suddenly changed the subject.

"I listened," he said. "What's wrong? You said a whole bunch of stuff, so...?"

"What do you mean by 'saying a lot'? I was just nervous and didn't know what to say," Anko explained. "Anyway, just don't listen to everything."

"Hmm? Do you want to hear what you're saying?" Naruto resumed his lazy demeanor, raising an eyebrow at her. "As expected of a foolish woman."

"I... I was just afraid I wouldn't be able to explain it clearly, wasn't I?" After thinking for a moment, she stared at Naruto for a few moments, then suddenly leaned close to his ear and whispered in a sticky, intimate voice.

"From now on, I'm yours!"

This is a repost from yesterday. There was one more chapter, but something came up and I had to delay. There will be three chapters tomorrow.