Uchiha Hikaru slowly and stiffly turned his head.
Just moments ago, Uzumaki Mito had been giving a speech—but now, at some point, she had appeared behind him, staring at him with a blank expression.
Hikaru let out a dry laugh and swallowed nervously.
"Grandma Mito, you looked so cool just now—ow!"
Before he could finish, Uzumaki Mito had already whacked him on the head.
Hikaru wasn't angry about being hit.
In fact, Mito hadn't even hit him that hard—he only pretended to cry out in pain.
He rubbed the spot on his head and let out a goofy laugh, trying to play it off.
Uzumaki Mito rolled her eyes at him and said:
"Alright, quit the act. Let me repeat what I just said. This time, make sure you listen."
"Uchiha Ang came to see me earlier. They want you to go visit the clan."
"Of course, if you don't want to, I can refuse on your behalf."
Hearing her shift to serious matters, Hikaru straightened up.
He wasn't particularly surprised to hear that the Uchiha Clan wanted to see him.
After all, he had attacked Hiruzen Sarutobi before. Others might not have picked up on the Mangekyō Sharingan, but there was no way the Uchiha missed it.
Even the Hyuga might have sensed something was off.
But the Hyuga Clan had one redeeming quality—they didn't meddle in things that weren't their business.
As for the future, when the Hyuga would call themselves the "First Clan of Konoha," that only happened after the Senju vanished and the Uchiha were pushed out.
Still, there was something that puzzled Hikaru.
Why had the Uchiha waited this long before sending Mito to deliver the message?
That was what didn't sit right with him.
And there was something else he needed to keep in mind.
Madara had assigned White Zetsu to monitor the Uchiha. Hikaru didn't know exactly when it started, but there was no doubt that Zetsu had infiltrated the clan.
He also knew that this surveillance was likely less intense than it would be in the future.
After all, with Uzumaki Mito—the walking radar—still in Konoha, even White Zetsu would give her a wide berth.
But secrets stopped being secrets the moment more than one person knew.
There had been quite a few Uchiha present at that meeting, so news of his Mangekyō activation had likely spread.
He had to prepare for the worst. Being targeted by Madara was now a very real possibility.
A Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan made for an excellent pawn.
Still, Hikaru wasn't afraid of Madara—not right now.
Madara hadn't awakened the Rinnegan yet, which meant he had to expend a lot of chakra just to nurture it.
Coupled with his age, Madara was far from his prime.
He didn't have Mito's Yin Seal either.
A ninja's peak didn't last forever. With age came inevitable decline.
Even Madara wasn't exempt from that.
Hikaru, already at Kage-level, wasn't confident he could beat Madara in a head-on fight—but escaping? That he could manage.
And if Madara really did show up, Hikaru wouldn't hesitate to work with Uzumaki Mito to bury him for good.
Still, he had something more important to do before heading to the Uchiha compound.
"Grandma Mito, I have something for you—think of it as a gift to celebrate your inauguration as Hokage."
As he spoke, Hikaru pulled out a stack of talisman-like papers from seemingly nowhere and handed them to her.
Mito looked at the densely packed sealing script on the tags, and as a master of fūinjutsu, her interest was piqued.
She examined them carefully. At first glance, they resembled Explosive Tags.
Then something clicked. Her hand trembled slightly as she looked at Hikaru in disbelief.
"These… are they sealed jutsu?"
Hikaru grinned and gave her a look of mock admiration. "As expected of a sealing arts expert—right on the money."
"That's right, these are jutsu scrolls. But not just any scrolls—they're Healing Palm Jutsu scrolls."
"To use them, just activate them with chakra and stick the tag onto the injured area. The jutsu will activate automatically."
Mito gazed at the tag in awe.
Something this revolutionary—created by a six-year-old—was enough to make her feel like she was dreaming.
But after the initial amazement, she suddenly thought of something.
Holding up one of the tags, she asked, "Hikaru, are these hard to make?"
He shook his head and replied with a smile:
"Not really. It's about as hard as making Explosive Tags. You just need a Medical Ninja who can use the Healing Palm Jutsu."
At that, Mito could no longer contain her excitement.
"With something like this, the death rate during missions will drop significantly. Hikaru, this is an incredible gift!"
She showered him with praise, rapid-fire compliments that left even Hikaru a little overwhelmed.
After a while, Mito took both Hikaru and Tsunade by the hand and turned to Chinatsu.
"Little Chinatsu, go notify the director of the Konoha Hospital and the head of the Sealing Division. Tell them I need to see them."
"Oh, and have them come this afternoon—I'm a bit tied up at the moment."
With that, Mito whisked the two kids off toward the Hokage building in a hurry.
Hikaru was full of question marks.
A tool like this Healing Tag could greatly boost Konoha's strength and reduce casualties. Shouldn't that be the top priority?
But his confusion vanished when they arrived.
The Daimyō was already waiting.
"Mito-nee, long time no see. You're still as youthful as ever. Ninja life—how enviable."
Mito smiled slightly, choosing not to respond to the implication.
After all, what could she even say?
Ninjas weren't immortal, and her youthful appearance was all thanks to the Yin Seal.
Instead, she pulled Hikaru and Tsunade forward and said:
"You flatter me. You're as charismatic as ever since the last time we met."
"These two are my granddaughter Tsunade and my grandson Uchiha Hikaru. I've brought them today because there's something I need your approval on."
The Daimyō opened his eyes slightly and gave the two of them a cursory glance, then chuckled softly.
"I wonder what sort of matter requires my attention, Mito-nee?"
Mito retrieved a contract from her robes and handed it over, speaking slowly:
"Back when Hashirama founded Konoha, he made an agreement with your father: Konoha would be established in the Land of Fire and would defend you against foreign invasions."
"But in return, when we do defend the land, the Daimyō must reimburse Konoha's losses in full."
"Now that the Shinobi World War is nearing its end, I wonder—when exactly will those reimbursements arrive?"