Orochimaru

Uchiha Sou had no reason to refuse Orochimaru's summons.

Though he was pained that a big shot like Orochimaru had taken notice of a mere Chunin like him, he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

After all, who could blame him for having a Sharingan?

He knew all too well that he was probably going to be sent out on another mission.

After all, the fighting was drawing ever closer to its historical conclusion, and Kirigakure's actions could no longer be described as merely crazy.

Besides, as a shinobi in wartime, he naturally had to be ready at any moment to head to the battlefield and risk his life against the enemy.

And as a Uchiha shinobi with a Sharingan who had also displayed impressive combat ability, no commander would leave him out.

In truth, Uchiha Sou had considered whether he should lie low and avoid revealing his Sharingan at all costs.

But after thinking it over, he felt that while doing so might have some benefits—for instance, he might not end up on Konoha's "blacklist"—the price would be steep.

For example, the clan probably wouldn't train him, much less protect him.

In that case, he might not even make it to the battlefield at ten. He'd probably become a glorious cannon fodder at six or seven.

After all, not everyone was the chosen one, Uchiha Obito. Even as a dead last, he had managed to stay off the battlefield until he was a Chunin, and then he'd ended up under Namikaze Minato.

When the war began, Konoha was fighting four enemies at once. Sunagakure might have been weak and surrendered quickly, but the other battlefronts were packed with powerhouses.

Konoha's shinobi were already stretched thin. On top of that, they'd brought disaster on themselves by sabotaging the White Fang of the Leaf, Hatake Sakumo. Now they could only try to make up the difference with sheer numbers.

"You're late, Sou."

Lost in thought, Uchiha Sou had arrived at Orochimaru's office. Before he could say a word, a hoarse, low voice rang out.

He looked toward the voice and saw Orochimaru sitting behind his desk.

His long hair fell over his shoulders. A faint smile played on his sickly pale face, and his snake-like eyes gleamed with an unmistakable, chilling light.

That gaze made Uchiha Sou deeply uncomfortable, and he certainly didn't think he was late.

But considering the gap between their strength and status, he could only bow slightly and say, "Sorry, Lord Orochimaru."

"Pay more attention next time. The situation here is far more complicated than you imagine."

Orochimaru licked his lips, then gave him a meaningful smile.

"Especially since you're a Uchiha prodigy. That's an advantage, but sometimes it can also be a disadvantage."

Uchiha Sou didn't know what to say. That was how this man spoke: he'd tell you half of what he meant and leave you to figure out the rest.

Sou could roughly guess whether Orochimaru was talking about this battle against Kirigakure or the Uchiha Clan's position in Konoha.

Either way, it wasn't good news for him.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." Uchiha Sou nodded helplessly. There wasn't much he could do when Orochimaru spoke in riddles.

"I hope you really understand, instead of pretending you do." Orochimaru tapped the desk lightly, fixing his hoarse voice and gaze on Uchiha Sou as if trying to confirm something.

This only confused Uchiha Sou further. He'd been in the Land of Whirlpools for three years and had interacted with Orochimaru many times.

Orochimaru had always seemed eccentric and strangely cold to him, but this was unlike anything he'd seen before.

"All right, enough nonsense. Let's get down to business." Before Sou could think much more about it, Orochimaru withdrew his gaze and returned to his usual manner.

He licked his lips, took out a scroll, and handed it to Uchiha Sou.

"This is your next mission. It won't be easy, and I'd hate for such a promising young man not to come back."

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." Uchiha Sou put his thoughts aside and dutifully accepted the scroll.

He could puzzle out what he didn't understand later. Still, he made a mental note of Orochimaru's unusual behavior; it had to mean something.

"This time, you'll be assigned to Team 6. One of their members was injured, and you'll be the captain."

After explaining the situation, Orochimaru waved at Uchiha Sou, indicating that he could leave.

"Go on. Get ready and set out."

"Team 6? Understood." Uchiha Sou nodded at once. "I'll take my leave, Lord Orochimaru."

With that, he turned and left the office. After he was gone, Orochimaru slowly raised his head.

"Is it Uchiha pride? You won't even ask?"

Watching Uchiha Sou's figure disappear outside the window, he licked his lips again. On his desk lay a document Danzo had sent him.

"I hope you really understand what I mean."

He looked back at the document. It contained only two points, the most important being that his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was considering recommending a new Hokage—

"What's with Orochimaru's expression? Strange."

After leaving the office, Uchiha Sou headed straight for Konoha's camp, still pondering Orochimaru's behavior as he walked.

He knew very well that the future wouldn't be kind to Orochimaru. For instance, after the war with Kirigakure ended and he returned to Konoha, his experiments would be exposed.

As for who did it, that was a matter of perspective. Someone always ended up taking the blame, after all.

Then, over the issue of those experiments, the Third Hokage would put righteousness above family and decide that Orochimaru couldn't become the Fourth Hokage, allowing Namikaze Minato to ascend to the position instead.

That would also lead Orochimaru to deliver one of his famous lines in the anime: the Third Hokage's real intention had been to make Minato a puppet and control Konoha together.

After that, Namikaze Minato would pass away, the Third Hokage would take up the old job again, and Orochimaru would expose himself completely after giving a "six," then flee Konoha in disgrace.

But none of that had happened yet. He hadn't fallen out with Sarutobi Hiruzen, either. That was why Uchiha Sou couldn't figure out what one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, was thinking.

"Forget it. I should go see how Team 6 is doing."

Though Uchiha Sou had a lot on his mind, he'd already reached the camp. Now he needed to find Team 6, give them their orders, and get ready to set out.

As it happened, Uchiha Sou had never had a permanent team.

The reason was simple: if you went by the timeline, his first teammates were probably almost three years old by now.

So he'd spent all this time drifting between different teams, filling in wherever they were short-handed. This time was clearly no different.

"But I'm only a Chunin. What have I done to deserve being captain?"

With that thought in mind, Uchiha Sou soon found the person in charge of the camp, and together they located Team 6.

The moment he saw its members, his expression changed. He also understood why he'd been made captain.