After the investigation ended, Hikaru was left in a state that felt almost like being forgotten.
Strictly speaking, his injuries weren't serious at all—he wasn't even truly "wounded." The real issue had been exhaustion from that battle, and for him, that kind of depletion wasn't worth mentioning. By the night of the same day, he was already mostly recovered.
And yet, he was still staying in the hospital.
No one had told him to leave.
No one had even hinted at it.
But Hikaru wasn't bothered. His condition during the mission hadn't been "full," mainly because the sealing-type seed was simply too tempting. And with beginner-level seeds, growth speed was fast—fast enough that even with so many planted, the pace still held steady.
When he was younger, he'd planted a lot of seeds. Back then, he didn't think too deeply—he planted only basic attribute seeds. Interestingly, those basic seeds didn't have "beginner/intermediate/advanced" tiers like chakra level or chakra nature did.
He still remembered his most reckless stunt: eight seeds at once.
Four reaction-speed seeds, two speed seeds, two strength seeds.
That single decision made him wait more than a year—almost two—before they bore fruit. At that age, his chakra reserves were pathetic, his usable output even worse, so the delay wasn't surprising.
It was just him being stupid.
Now, though, he was restrained. As his body grew, his usable chakra was still scarce—but not so miserable it turned planting into self-torture.
Sometimes Hikaru wondered: if he didn't plant seeds at all, how large would his chakra reserves become?
But the thought barely surfaced before he cut it off.
Without this "cheat," surviving five years in ANBU might have been impossible.
Hikaru stretched, shifting into a more comfortable position on the bed.
Staying in the hospital wasn't bad. It gave him time to wait for his seed to mature.
And another thing pleased him: the people who had been monitoring him had gradually withdrawn.
"So… my performance wasn't bad."
He smiled.
Having read the original story, Hikaru understood the kind of man Sarutobi Hiruzen was. Hiruzen really did prioritize Konoha—his decisions made sense from his position and logic. Of course he had selfishness too; he'd done plenty for his clan, and his stance shifted with the world situation and Konoha's needs.
In wartime, you couldn't go around preaching "bonds" and "abandoning missions for comrades." You'd die—very quickly and very painfully.
But now, things were slightly better. The war wasn't fully over—Kumogakure still hadn't formally settled things with Konoha—but Kumo had its own agenda: avenging the Third Raikage and focusing on Iwagakure.
Of course, Hikaru also remembered that Kumo and Iwa didn't truly erupt into full-scale war. Even if there were clashes, they never matched the scale of what had happened against Konoha.
He guessed the Fourth Raikage was consolidating power internally. The Raikage's temperament was obvious: he wasn't the type to "forgive," but as a Kage he had to learn restraint. If the village wasn't unified, orders didn't flow—and without obedience, revenge was meaningless.
Better to stabilize first.
And using the idea of war as a distraction—internally and externally—was useful.
Thinking of that, Hikaru couldn't help but chuckle.
Hiruzen had taken a huge loss.
He'd ended the war with Iwa at what was basically a cheap price—not just because Konoha couldn't continue fighting, but because he likely hoped Iwa and Kumo would collide, buying Konoha time to recover.
To do that, he signed terms that were borderline "selling the village," stepped down from the front, pushed a more obedient figure upward, and even—effectively—helped Iwa by returning prisoners without demanding much.
Then, in the end…
Those two villages didn't truly fight.
So what he'd done amounted to wasted sacrifice.
"But whether they fight or not, Konoha's still recovering. And my behavior—completing the mission while protecting comrades—should match his current values."
Hikaru's smile deepened slightly.
In what he had told Yamanaka Inoichi, he'd deliberately emphasized "clan" and "village," and he'd highlighted his "dream of becoming Hokage."
At this stage, nothing was more politically correct than that.
He had even borrowed a page from Uchiha Itachi's thought pattern—clan versus village.
Naïve? Sure.
But it fit the "age" Hikaru wanted the world to believe.
Still… this wasn't enough.
Hiruzen noticing him now was partly because of his surname, partly because of the strength he'd displayed, and partly because of his faint connection with Namikaze Minato.
But if he wanted Hiruzen to truly move, this still wasn't enough.
What mattered most was the vacant seat:
ANBU Third Division Captain.
Only by taking that position—becoming a real holder of power inside ANBU—could Hikaru step onto a higher stage and earn genuine attention.
"When my sealing fruit comes out… I'll need to see Minato again."
With sealing as a foundation—and with the intel he'd provided last time presumably verified—it would be time to ask for something in return.
The future looked bright.
At least, under Hikaru's step-by-step plan, it was bright enough.
Then—
Knock, knock, knock.
The door to his hospital room was tapped again.
Hikaru snapped out of his thoughts immediately.
His sensing ability flared out—
And his expression turned strange.
"…Why are they here?"
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