A dull ache throbbed in her head, her neck stiff and sore. The crackling of burning branches in a campfire filled her ears…
When Uchiha Hikari opened her eyes, her first instinct was to assess her situation with sharp caution.
They captured her and didn't even bother to tie her up?
Without making a sound, she cracked her eyes open, clearly observing the four brats gathered around the campfire, roasting food.
What a careless bunch of kids. Probably some spoiled noble offspring, clueless about the dangers of the world.
Well, they can't blame me for what happens next!
"Born wicked, you Uchiha brat. I'll deal with you myself!"
Uchiha Hikari sprang to her feet, hands flashing through seals as she prepared to channel chakra. But a wave of weakness surged through her, and she collapsed to one knee, gasping.
"My… my chakra…"
Her body felt limp, powerless. Almost instinctively, Uchiha Hikari sensed the chakra within her. It was faint, barely enough to sustain her life.
If this state persisted, it wouldn't be long before she perished in the wilderness.
"Huh? She's awake!" Naruto exclaimed, spotting Uchiha Hikari half-kneeling on the ground.
"We've got eyes, idiot!" Karin snapped at him.
"How are you feeling?" Sakura Haruno asked kindly, stepping toward Uchiha Hikari.
Gritting her teeth, Hikari looked up at Sakura, her gaze locking onto the Yin Seal on Sakura's forehead. Through clenched teeth, she hissed, "Arrogant Senju brat…"
Sakura: ???
Hikari's eyes then shifted to Karin, burning with resentment. "Born idiot, you Uzumaki brat!"
Karin: ???!!!
Why am I the idiot?!
Naruto scratched his head in confusion. Wait, I'm the Uzumaki here! Why does everyone keep calling Karin an Uzumaki? First Orochimaru, now this girl!
"Uh, I think you're not quite grasping the situation," Sakura said, addressing Hikari, whose mindset seemed stuck centuries in the past. "Let me explain."
"Explain what?" Hikari sneered. "Kill me or let me go, do as you please! I just never imagined an Uchiha would be mixed up with Senju and Uzumaki scum."
Her cold smirk landed on Sasuke, who stood behind Sakura, looking like he wanted to say something but held back.
Sakura, unfazed by the defiant Uchiha ready to face death, pulled Hikari toward the campfire. She plucked a roasted fish from the flames and handed it to the ancient Uchiha.
???
Hikari stared at the fish in her hand, then glared warily at Sakura. "What's your game, arrogant Senju brat?"
"You've misunderstood something," Sakura said calmly. "I'm not a Senju. And as for the Senju clan, there's only one old maiden left. You could say they're basically extinct."
Sakura didn't mind Hikari's suspicion. In the Warring States era centuries ago, paranoia was a survival trait—let your guard down, and you were dead.
"You expect me to believe that nonsense?" Hikari scoffed, dismissing Sakura's words as a flimsy lie.
The Senju clan, the mightiest in the shinobi world, rivaled even by the Uchiha, extinct? Impossible.
"Uh, to be honest, the Uzumaki clan's pretty much gone too," Karin added hesitantly. After all, she was likely the only active Uzumaki left, having fought in the Land of Frost's battlefield.
Sakura didn't comment on Karin's words. Naruto, Karin, Nagato—those three were all that remained of the Uzumaki clan. Calling it extinct wasn't far off.
"The Uchiha clan is gone too," Sasuke said softly, meeting Hikari's mocking gaze as she refused to believe Sakura and Karin.
"You expect me to buy such a blatant lie?" Hikari retorted. "These three great clans, renowned across the shinobi world, extinct? Ridiculous!"
Sakura remained calm. "It's been centuries since your time. Isn't it natural for great clans to fade into history? This isn't the era of warring clans anymore."
Hikari froze at Sakura's words.
If they were lying, they wouldn't bother with such an easily debunked story. But their claims were so outrageous that Hikari couldn't bring herself to believe them.
Sealed away, asleep for a while, and suddenly centuries had passed? Who could accept that?
"If these three clans are truly gone," Hikari challenged, pointing at Sakura's forehead, "how do you explain that Yin Seal? And that red-haired Uzumaki idiot over there!"
Karin: I really want to punch someone.
"And this one…" Hikari's gaze shifted to Sasuke, who had been watching her with an odd expression. "You reek of Uchiha. Even if you buried yourself in dirt, I'd smell that infuriating scent!"
Sakura gave an awkward smile. This Uchiha ancestor's hostility toward her own clan was something else.
"This," Sakura said, tapping her Yin Seal, "is because I'm a disciple of that 'old Senju maiden.' Is it so strange that I'd know the Yin Seal?"
Hikari pursed her lips, falling silent, then turned her attention to Sasuke. As for Karin? Talking to an "Uzumaki idiot" would only make her dumber.
Karin: I feel personally attacked.
"Seven years ago, the Uchiha clan was wiped out by a single person," Sasuke said, his voice heavy. "And I… I'm the one who survived."
The air seemed to freeze. Hikari stared at the four of them.
"My name is Uchiha Hikari," she said quietly, then fell silent.
She couldn't comprehend it, couldn't imagine it.
Unsealed by these four, what was she supposed to do now? Their words were too absurd, yet absurd enough that a simple walk outside could expose any lies. All she'd need to do was ask around to confirm whether Sakura and the others were deceiving her.
But the sheer absurdity of their claims meant they had no reason to lie so extravagantly.
The Senju clan, gone. The Uzumaki clan, gone. The Uchiha clan, gone.
The one who sealed her was long dead. Even the flames of vengeance she'd harbored for the Uchiha had been snuffed out.
Where was she supposed to go from here?
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