In the morning, Uchiha Hikaru rose from the bed and glanced at Tsunade and Shizune, who were still fast asleep beside him. He was just about to wake them when the memory of last night's intense and relentless "battle" crossed his mind.
A four-way game of mahjong that had somehow lasted until the early hours of the morning.
He instinctively reached for his waist with a grimace.
Even with a body enhanced by dragon vein chakra, this kind of abuse felt like too much.
Truthfully, Tsunade and Shizune alone were already more than enough to exhaust anyone.
But Sword was also there.
Sword's physical resilience far exceeded that of the others—her entire existence was forged from Uchiha Hikaru's chakra. As a manifestation of his Mangekyō Sharingan ability, she was untiring. Boundless.
Trying to make Sword yield through sheer stamina was foolish. Not unless he recovered the kind of power he had during the peak of his former strength—back when even the Rinnegan bowed to him.
But unfortunately, he hadn't even rediscovered the way to stabilize his current chakra pathways yet, let alone recover the lost heights of his true power.
So, Uchiha Hikaru got dressed, grabbed a huge sack of bread from the fridge, and bolted out across Konoha's rooftops, headed for the Hokage Building.
He figured he'd take care of the morning paperwork for Tsunade and Shizune, so the two of them could continue sleeping peacefully.
As for the Konoha Police Force, Uchiha Hikaru wasn't the chief—only a deputy. Lately, Konoha had been flooded with foreign shinobi, many unfamiliar with the village's laws. Some had already been "invited for tea" more than once. Let Fugaku handle it. He had no intention of wasting time on trivial nonsense.
The Police Force reminded him—wasn't the Raikage's son still rotting away in one of their holding cells?
He should find time to… negotiate. Maybe bring Brother A a few jars of his private reserve and discuss diplomacy over drinks. (¬‿¬)
Seated now in the Hokage's office chair, Uchiha Hikaru looked out over the village bathed in morning sun before turning to the mountain of documents.
A few days ago, he'd already spoken with the other Kage about the formation of the Ninja Association. Once the Chunin Exams concluded, Konoha would begin laying the groundwork.
These bureaucratic forms were part of that.
And so time slipped by. Before long, it was already noon.
Glancing at the wall clock, Uchiha Hikaru leaned back with a sigh.
By now, the person who usually delivered meals to Tsunade and Shizune should have arrived.
At that moment, down at the foot of the Hokage Building, a woman in a white nun's habit arrived gracefully. Beneath her veil, soft brown hair peeked out, her demeanor calm and reserved.
The two shinobi guarding the entrance stiffened at the sight of her. Though she exuded a quiet kindness and sacred air, both recognized her instantly—and swallowed hard.
They had served in ANBU. They knew exactly who she was.
Yakushi Nono — The Walking Witch.
She was polite and soft-spoken… until the killing began. Then, blood flowed without a trace left behind.
"Good day. I'm Yakushi Nono, director of the orphanage. I have urgent information to report to the Hokage."
After verifying her ID, the guards immediately stepped aside.
Nono climbed the stairs slowly, a basket in hand, until she reached the Hokage's office door.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Lord Hokage, it's time for lunch."
"Come in."
The voice was male—not Tsunade's. But it was familiar.
So he was here.
Nono entered, closed the door behind her, and set the lunchbox from her basket on the desk in front of Uchiha Hikaru.
"It's been a while, Assistant-sama," she said with a faint smile. "Handling Godaime-sama's documents today?"
It was a casual question.
But Hikaru looked up at her and asked in return, "Then let me ask you—why is the orphanage director delivering food today?"
Nono smiled softly and met his gaze.
"Well… funding's been tight lately."
"After that last attack, we took in another forty-two war orphans. We're running out of space—kids are sleeping on mats, crammed together."
"I'd like to expand the yard. And buy some basic essentials for them."
Uchiha Hikaru didn't respond at once. He thought for a moment, then pulled out a blank form, picked up a pen, and began writing.
A few minutes later, he pressed the Hokage's seal onto the page and handed it to her.
"Here. Use it to get what the kids need. Books, toys… whatever gives them a shred of normalcy."
"They've already lost their parents to war. The least the village can do is make sure they're not robbed of their childhood too."
His voice was calm, but the weight in it was unmistakable.
This was war. Peace was still a long way off. Even then, tragedy would never vanish—it was part of being human. They couldn't stop it, only soften its blow.
Nono looked at the slip in her hand.
…Thirty million ryo.
She blinked. In the past, the entire orphanage's annual budget was only a few million. This was ten times that.
She could sense no falsehood in his words either. No pretense. Just quiet, heavy sincerity.
She turned and walked to the door. But before she stepped out, she paused, looked back over her shoulder, and smiled warmly.
"Lord Hikaru… a lot of the kids at the orphanage still talk about you. They really like you."
"If you ever have time, come see them. You haven't visited in a while."
Then she stepped into the stairwell. The soft tapping of her nun's heels echoed gently with each step down, and her mood lightened just a little.
Yes. It was exactly as the rumors said.
Assistant-sama and Tsunade-sama… and even the Hokage's secretary—he had all their scents on him.
But she didn't really mind.
At first, she hadn't thought much of Uchiha Hikaru. Even after accepting the glasses he gave her, she knew her place, knew how to control her emotions.
But age wears down resolve. And ever since his last visit, the children had taken to saying the most ridiculous things…
"Dean Nono is our mom, so Assistant-sama must be our dad!"
No matter how many times she scolded them, the words echoed in her head more and more often.
The man who pulled the orphanage out of the fire… and reached out to her when she was buried in the shadows of Root…
Even someone like her—so trained to be cold and rational—could only suppress her heart for so long.
After all, she was still human.
( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)
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