Beneath the deep, dark night sky—so heavy it seemed on the verge of collapse, about to shatter into large chunks of darkness—lay a flat, soft meadow.
The Uchiha girl lay on a sturdy floor mat, covered by another thin blanket, gazing blankly at the dim sky.
No matter how hot it got during the day, the early autumn nights still held a certain chill. The cold night wind blew past, carrying away the last traces of drowsiness from her consciousness.
Memories surged back like a tide.
The seal was broken. The red-haired enemy. The battle. The hand that had gripped her neck. And finally, the liberating darkness.
Her chakra hadn't recovered yet, and her dōjutsu power was greatly diminished.
Although her physical injuries had all been healed by the slug's treatment—almost making the girl think she had died—the stinging pain in her eyes from depleted dojutsu power and the fatigue from heavy consumption of chakra still reminded her that she was still alive in this world.
Mm... my clothes... were changed... and the shackles on my feet... were removed...
Her past brand made the girl check her physical condition at the first moment. Only then did she notice the strange sensation on her skin and the salty aroma of fat lingering in the air.
Having not eaten a single grain of food since the morning's battle, the girl pressed her lips together and slowly pushed her tired body up into a sitting position.
Not far from her side, a campfire with a pot hanging above it burned vigorously, illuminating her small, pale face in a warm red glow.
On the other side of the campfire, the man who had thoroughly defeated her sat on a folding stool, stirring the contents of the pot with a long-handled iron ladle.
High-quality bacon sizzled and popped with oil splattering in the heated cast iron pot. The distinctive aroma of smoked food mixed with the saltiness of cured meats, permeating the air around the fire.
Hii Kōri didn't look at the girl who had sat up. He just went thump, thump, thump with his knife on the cutting board, chopping ingredients, while simultaneously stirring the bacon in the pot.
Seeing that the bacon's fat had been rendered out, he removed the bacon and then cut off a piece of butter, tossing it into the pot.
The milky aroma blended with the scent of bacon, gradually spreading through the air. Then came garlic and rosemary... He removed the spices, added chopped onion and brown mushrooms, and stirred a few times.
While waiting for the onions and mushrooms to release their juice, Hii Kōri took out a water flask from a scroll on his wrist and tossed it over, regardless of whether the girl wanted it or not.
Although her eyes still stung, the girl wasn't so impaired that she couldn't see a thrown object of this level. Somewhat flustered, she caught the flask, turned it over to inspect it, and tentatively unscrewed the lid. A sweet smell with a hint of medicine drifted into her nose.
"It's an energy drink that quickly replenishes stamina."
Looking up at the hesitant girl, Hii Kōri stirred the ingredients in the pot and casually explained. Upon hearing this, the girl immediately tilted her head back and took a sip.
The sweet taste spread through her mouth, leaving her with a lingering desire as she smacked her lips.
"Hmm... Looks like you're much more rational now."
Seeing this reaction, Hii Kōri casually remarked, then added ingredients to the pot one by one.
Ground beef, sausage pieces, roasted pork shoulder, shredded pig heart, sliced button mushrooms—he stirred the ingredients. Then he added shredded chicken breast, pieces of chicken skin, added water, and stirred again.
Then came smoked meat, sliced blood sausage, various other organs, and a large can of white meat (fatty meat) canned food.
Finally, he added high-proof distilled liquor, filling the remaining space in the pot.
Alcohol burning and evaporating would carry away excess odors, and the salt from the sausage and smoked meat was enough for seasoning. After lightly stirring this thick meat stew—improved based on his own energy consumption—Hii Kōri put the lid on the cast iron pot.
Then, he formed a triangle shape with his hands in front of him and looked at the Uchiha girl.
"So, we can have a calm conversation now, right?"
The Uchiha girl remained silent. She sat hugging her knees under the blanket, her long black hair draped down, covering most of her face. The firelight cast a small shadow beneath her downcast eyelashes, making her eyes unreadable.
After several seconds—just as Hii Kōri thought she wouldn't respond—she nodded, almost imperceptibly, with an extremely small range of motion.
"Then... what is your name?"
The girl froze almost imperceptibly.
Ever since she had been modified by her "clan," people had called her "Nameless," "That Thing," or "The Uchiha's Monster." No one had cared about her name anymore.
She raised her head, her black eyes peering through the gaps in her hair, looking dazedly at Hii Kōri, who also seemed a bit confused, as if
wondering whether there was a subtle difference between his accent and that of several hundred years ago.
"...Hikari."
She muttered, offering up that almost unfamiliar name. "Uchiha Hikari... The name my father and mother gave me."
"Hikari, huh? That's a good name. It contains power. Seems like your parents had quite warm expectations for you."
Hii Kōri repeated it, nodding with interest. "Much better than my child's mother, anyway. She almost named our son 'Kao'... Tch. A word meaning 'drifting without anchor, like grass shavings'—how can you give a name like that?"
Although his son had since been renamed to "Rén," Hii Kōri couldn't help but complain every time he thought about it. Then he introduced himself: "My name is Hii Kōri. Jōnin of Sunagakure."
"Hii...? Aren't you from the Uzumaki clan...?"
Uchiha Hikari tilted her head slightly in confusion, questioning his surname. In her understanding, such vivid red hair, such exquisite sealing techniques and barrier techniques—those were the hallmarks of the Uzumaki clan.
"Oh, that. My parents were deserters from the Uzumaki clan. They didn't want to fight anymore, so they faked their deaths during the First Shinobi World War, hid their true names, and fled to other countries."
Hii Kōri poked at the campfire with an iron skewer, explaining casually. "Until the Uzumaki clan was wiped out a couple of years ago, I had barely met any Uzumaki. It's hard to say if there are even a hundred Uzumaki left alive in the world today."
"...And what does 'Sunagakure' mean?"
Hikari processed this information and questioned another unfamiliar term in his speech.
"A ninja village is a new form of ninja organization. You can think of it as many ninja clans and independent ninjas huddling together for warmth. Generally speaking, one country has only one ninja village."
Not finding it particularly strange that this "elder" sealed away for who knew how many years had questions, Hii Kōri—already accustomed to teaching—organized his words and explained without getting tired: "Sunagakure is the ninja village of the Country of Wind. After my parents were killed by passing ninjas, I was adopted by Sunagakure, so I stayed there."
"This system started a little over forty years ago, when the Senju and Uchiha clans reconciled, joined forces to end the Warring States Period, and together with the Sarutobi, Shimura, and other large and small clans, established 'Konohagakure.' Then other countries and clans gradually adopted it..."
"That's impossible!!!"
Hearing this, Hikari suddenly raised her head, cutting him off. Her face looked abnormally pale in the firelight, and her black eyes were filled with unbelievable shock and intense emotions on the verge of collapse.
"The Senju and Uchiha reconciled? They built a village together?! How is that possible?! They were clearly—clearly—"
Her words got stuck in her throat, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
The generational blood feud recorded in the texts, the piles of corpses stacked like mountains on the battlefields—weren't those proof that the Senju and Uchiha were mortal enemies? How could they reconcile?! How could they!
"What reason would I have to lie to you? Books are much cheaper now than in the Warring States period. When we get to a town later, you can just buy a history book and flip through it yourself."
Hii Kōri took off the pot lid, stirred the thick soup with a ladle, tasted it, added a bit more salt, then formed the Tiger seal to increase the heat, intending to let it simmer a few more minutes.
"..."
Hikari nearly lost her voice. Her eyes gradually lost their light. She tightly curled up her frail body, burying her face in her knees, trembling uncontrollably.
"Then... then what I... everything I endured... what was it all for...?"
After a moment, an almost despairing wail fell from the girl's knees, nearly turning into a heart-wrenching cry.
"What was it for? Hmm... If I have to say, I guess you could only say you were unlucky."
Hearing the girl's waiting, Hii Kōri merely shrugged, unconcerned, making this seemingly provocative evaluation.
Hikari suddenly raised her head. Her small face crisscrossed with tear tracks still carried undissolved sorrow, but her eyes, as if deeply wounded by his words, became somewhat fierce and twisted.
"Un... lucky?" She stared intently at Hii Kōri, gritting her teeth, the words squeezed out through clenched teeth. "Just... unlucky?!"
"What else would it be?"
Meeting her sharp gaze, Hii Kōri took out a military mess tin, scooped out a large spoonful of stew from the pot, and quite coldly: "I'm not saying that because there are many people in this world as unfortunate as you, or even responded off, that your experiences don't matter, that your pain should naturally be diluted. But the fact is, that's just how it is."
He lowered his head, stirring the stew in the mess tin while blowing on it to cool it. His gray eyes reflected the light of the campfire, seeming to turn into flowing lava.
"Whether in the Warring States period or now, there's not much difference. Things like this always happen. Even if ninja villages are formed, wars won't stop—they'll just become larger in scale."
"The men who first led those two clans to reconcile and build a village eventually parted ways. Madara Uchiha died at the hands of Hashirama Senju. And after Hashirama Senju died, without those two overwhelming, unprecedented outliers in strength, the First Shinobi World War broke out."
"After Tobirama Senju, who succeeded Konoha's village leadership, died a few years ago, the world entered the Second Shinobi World War. The Uzumaki clan was slaughtered during that time."
"The vast majority of people in this world—even ninjas—cannot resist the waves of the era. Even if you end up in a situation like yours, aside from hating those directly responsible for your tragedy, all you can do is lament your own misfortune."
"After all, the world won't stop turning because of one person's tragedy, and history won't rewrite its course because of an innocent person's blood and tears."
After noisily drinking a large mouthful of the stew with its floating fat droplets, Hii Kōri smacked his lips, looked at Hikari's eyes—which were stubbornly raised to meet his gaze but gradually cooling down—and continued: "You're actually still better off than most. Compared to the vast majority, you still wield immense power in your hands, enough to shake this world even today. But..."
He changed the subject.
"...even so, it's still not enough to completely destroy this twisted world order that created you and countless similar tragedies, is it? If you could do something like that, you wouldn't have been sealed for so long, only to be dug out by me today."
Putting his own stew aside, he took out another mess tin, filled it to the brim with stew, and handed it to Hikari. Then he carefreely spread his free hand. "Me? I was luckier than you. I fortunately survived. I was fortunately adopted by kind-hearted foster parents. I fortunately had some talent. And I fortunately found someone who loves me, whom I love... Although I've also lost a lot, I've found some remedial measures..."
"Most importantly, I know what I want to do. I'm not talking about things like finding the ninja who killed my birth parents—that's something to be done sooner or later. I'm talking about aside from that... how I want to live the rest of my life."
"Tell me, Hikari. What do you want to do? Open a flower shop? Or travel around? Adopt some war orphans like yourself? Since your parents gave you such a warm name, and you now have the power to choose, don't waste that intention."
Holding that warm and cozy box of stew, Hikari felt its warmth spread from her palm all the way into her body.
Don't waste it... Father and Mother's intentions...
Chewing over Hii Kōri's words, the girl who had cried until her face was like a painted cat's sniffled and muttered quietly: "...That's easy for you to say. Are you really willing to just let me go?"
"That can't be helped. Although I can defeat you, it would be hard for anyone else in my organization to gain any advantage over you. I can't possibly keep you locked by my side at all times, and forcibly keeping you here would be a problem, don't you think?"
After noisily drinking his second box of stew, Hii Kōri took out an orange, peeled the skin, and ate a segment. Then his movement paused, and he casually answered Hikari's question.
"How realistic."
"I can't help it. I've put all my dreams into research, so I have to live a bit realistically."
"Hah... Then what is this 'thing you want to do' you mentioned?"
Taking a sip of the greasy, very strong flavored stew, Hikari frowned slightly but had to admit it was good for restoring stamina.
She gulped down two big mouthfuls and, licking her lips, asked Hii Kōri this question.
"Hmm... Rule the world?"
"And you say you live realistically."
Hearing Hii Kōri's words, which sounded like he was fooling a child, Hikari stuck out her tongue at him, but her tone had softened considerably. "Just spouting nonsense to fool me..."
"Heh heh... Is that so?"
Hii Kōri was noncommittal, shaking his head. "So what's your answer?"
"...I don't know."
Hikari was silent for a moment, then raised her chin and added with a tsundere expression, "Until I find the answer, I'll stay with you."
"Okay~ okay~ Little Hikari is so good."
"By age, I'm several hundred years older than you!"
"And yet you're a little girl who, while unconscious, held my arm and called me 'Dad'. "
"Wha— I did not! How could I ever call a bastard like you 'Dad'!"
"Okay, okay, you didn't, you didn't. How about a slice of orange to cool down?"
"Waaah! So sour!"
***
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