Mahito Never Looks Back at Explosions

Mahito Never Looks Back at Explosions

Honestly...

Even Uchiha Hikari herself was a little surprised by the power of the Great Fire Annihilation before her.

She had once personally "seen" the battles of the Warring States period.

—Through the memories of her previous self.

As a Humanoid Weapon meticulously created by the Uchiha Clan, this body had undergone intense training. Whether in ninjutsu or taijutsu, she far surpassed ordinary people her age. As for genjutsu, with the Mangekyō Sharingan, there was no way she could be weak.

But the problem was, she was only thirteen.

And a girl at that.

Her stamina was limited, and her Chakra reserves had their shortcomings as well—though that weakness was only compared to top-tier fighters. It was nothing like Kakashi, whose Chakra reserves were barely enough for a single card. Back then, this was precisely why she had been defeated and sealed by enemy clans like the Senju Clan through repeated waves of attacks.

But now...

That shortcoming seemed to have been remedied.

Though her body was still the same, Uchiha Hikari's spiritual power had become unprecedentedly powerful after the fusion of two souls. Her total Chakra reserves and Eye Technique abilities had also received enormous boosts. This Great Fire Annihilation was far more imposing than anything in her memories, carrying even a hint of Reanimation Madara's grandeur before the Shinobi Alliance!

"N-No way!"

"That level of Chakra... Is she really just a child?!"

"Fire a flare and call for reinforcements!"

Amid frantic roars, a crimson flare shot skyward and burst into fireworks high above.

The next second, several Anbu were swallowed by the heat wave in the wake of the flames. Their fates were unknown.

Suddenly!

Clang!!

A long blade tore through the smoke and lunged out from an angle, its hilt gripped tightly by an Anbu whose entire body was on fire. His burns were clearly severe enough to kill an ordinary person, yet neither his speed nor strength had diminished in the slightest, making Uchiha Hikari's expression sharpen.

Smack!

With the Sharingan's powerful perception, Uchiha Hikari shifted back half a step and narrowly evaded the thrust. She then struck the attacker's wrist with her fingers held like a blade, knocking the sword from his hand, before delivering a fierce, crisp spinning kick to his chin and sending him flying.

In midair, the Anbu hurled his long blade at her with all his strength!

But before it could touch Uchiha Hikari, she caught it between her palms, casually spun it in a flourish, and held it in her hand.

"You want to kill me that badly?"

Uchiha Hikari narrowed her eyes slightly, looked toward where the Anbu had been kicked, and walked over.

The man had used the last of his strength to roll across the ground and smother the flames, but his body had already been charred black, with hardly any intact flesh left. He lay there gasping weakly, still struggling to rise.

Uchiha Hikari used the tip of her blade to lift his mask, revealing a scar-covered face.

It looked a little familiar.

"Morino... Ibiki?"

That seemed to be his name?

But wasn't this guy from the Hidden Leaf Torture Department?

After giving it some thought, Uchiha Hikari understood—"Head of the Torture Department" was Morino Ibiki's position when Team Seven took the Chunin Exams. This point in time should have been several years earlier, so he was still working in the Anbu and would need a few more years before becoming one of the village's core forces.

To keep fighting through the agony of being engulfed in flames, his willpower truly was extraordinary.

Uchiha Hikari hesitated for a moment, then gave up on the idea of cutting him down.

What she had done earlier was self-defense.

And now, these Anbu had already lost their ability to resist. There was no need to finish them off. After all, she still had to deliver a message to Naruto for Minato Namikaze. If she killed them all, she would completely offend the Hidden Leaf and create plenty of trouble for herself.

Besides...

With half her soul coming from the modern era, Uchiha Hikari had yet to grow accustomed to the feeling of killing and seeing blood.

"Y-You... who exactly are you...?"

Morino Ibiki spoke weakly.

"Me?"

"Just a wandering soul from the Warring States period."

Uchiha Hikari left those words behind, never once looking back at the roaring flames behind her as she strode away.

Half an hour later.

Uchiha Hikari stopped in the dense forest and looked up at the sky.

"No way... This world doesn't even have the Big Dipper?"

"Which way is south? Which way is north? Which direction did I come from just now?"

It was a little embarrassing to admit...

Hikari, who had just finished cosplaying Uchiha Madara, got lost in a forest in Konoha.

It wasn't really her fault.

Konoha was quite large. Aside from the central residential district, it was surrounded by vast forests and training grounds stretching for dozens of kilometers. For instance, the "Forest of Death" training ground used by Naruto and the others during the Chunin Exams took three or four days to cross. And Konoha had at least dozens of such training grounds.

Without phone navigation, accurately finding a way out of an unfamiliar, endless forest was no easy task.

"Should've asked Bulma for a compass..."

"Forget it. I'll find some high ground and take a look. Dawn's almost here. If I can spot Hokage Rock, I should know which way to go."

Uchiha Hikari sighed and began searching for nearby high ground.

Meanwhile.

Before the enormous crater left by the explosion.

Another squad of Anbu wearing animal masks arrived, staring at the scene in stunned disbelief.

"What exactly happened here? Damage on this scale... did a Kage from another village come here?!"

"If it were a Kage, it wouldn't be limited to this level."

The leader of the Anbu squad had spiky white hair. He calmly gave his orders. "Eagle, work with the medical team to carry the wounded away and send them to Hidden Leaf Hospital. Sparrow, notify the minister... Also, bring the Sealing Team over. There are some things here that need their help to confirm."

"The Sealing Team?"

"Yes. There are traces of a Sealing Technique inside this crater. I suspect it may be connected to the intruder's true identity. We need the Sealing Team to assist with the investigation."

"Understood."

The two Anbu addressed by their codenames accepted their orders and departed.

After they left, the white-haired leader walked to the edge of the crater. He stood in silence for a moment, then removed his mask, revealing a face covered by a black mask.

The white-haired leader raised a hand again and pulled aside the covering over his left eye.

"Sharingan!"

As his left eye opened, Scarlet Three Tomoe appeared in his pupil, allowing him to see the things within the crater more clearly. Whether it was the scattered rubble and wood chips, or the Sealing Technique formulas remaining on the coffin lid... among them was an exceptionally unusual Chakra presence that made Kakashi Hatake uneasy.

"I have a feeling something huge is about to happen..."

"Let's hope it's just a feeling."