Uzumaki Kana

Two days later.

Hyuga Ao sat outside the wooden cabin, watching Uzumaki Kana work, and couldn't help sighing.

Back then, during the catastrophe in the Land of Whirlpools, the ship carrying refugees had been destroyed by ninjutsu. Uzumaki Kana had clung to a broken plank and drifted with the current.

Luckily, the enemies searching along the way never found her, and she eventually came ashore in the Land of Hot Water.

Still terrified, she couldn't stop to rest. She ran blindly inland, eating whatever she could find whenever she grew hungry or thirsty.

Relying on the Uzumaki Clan's constitution, she forced herself onward until she lost her footing while climbing over a mountain and fell.

When she slowly awoke, she found herself in the valley where she now lived.

The valley was surrounded on all sides by steep cliffs, making it difficult for ordinary people to enter.

For water, she usually relied on the stream flowing down from the mountain and the small pool formed where it gathered.

She survived on the fish in the pool and the wild vegetables she grew herself.

Kana had fallen from the mountain into this valley. Since she hadn't died, she resigned herself to her fate and decided to live there. Whatever happened next no longer mattered.

And so, Kana lived a self-sufficient life in this little valley. Strangely enough, although the valley wasn't large, it had a little of everything, so Kana hadn't left it once in all these years.

"Come to think of it, this place really is like Heartless Valley." Hyuga Ao tried to raise her right arm, but couldn't feel anything at all. She couldn't help laughing bitterly. "What does that make me? Hyuga Longnu?"

Hyuga Ao's right arm had been eroded by Four-Tails Chakra that day. Because it hadn't been treated in time, the erosion had grown increasingly severe.

Fortunately, she had met Kana here. Kana had used Sealing Jutsu to seal away the Four-Tails Chakra, but Hyuga Ao's arm was still seriously injured.

Thankfully, after the most troublesome tailed-beast chakra had been removed, the injury to her arm was no longer a major problem.

"Hey, Kana. After all these years, have you never thought about leaving?"

Kana's hand paused as she picked vegetables. She raised her head, tucked the loose hair from her forehead behind her ear, thought for a moment, and said:

"I have. Many times."

"Did you ever leave?" Hyuga Ao pressed.

"No." Kana stopped what she was doing and smiled at Hyuga Ao, her smile utterly calm. "Countless times, I wanted to walk out and find out what had happened to everyone in the Land of Whirlpools—to the clan leader, Princess Kushina, and the others. But I was afraid. I didn't want to face reality, so I chose not to leave and would rather grow old here."

Hyuga Ao fell silent.

Seeing her expression, Kana smiled faintly.

"Don't look at me like that. I already know what happened to the Land of Whirlpools. Besides, after all these years, I've grown used to this kind of life."

"Then do you want to come back to Konoha with me?"

"Forget it." Kana shook her head. "Besides, there's a war going on outside, isn't there? I hate war. Life in the valley is pretty good. Rather than talk about that, tell me about Kushina."

What?!

Seeing Hyuga Ao's astonished expression, Kana couldn't help smiling. "When I first met you, you called me that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have saved you."

So that's how it was. Hyuga Ao looked at Kana's sly expression. Who would've thought you were such a scheming girl?

"But the moment you heard the word 'Uzumaki,' you went completely blank." Hyuga Ao ruthlessly pointed out.

Kana's face flushed, and she stammered:

"Isn't this a case of thinking about something and having it happen? I've always been afraid that the people from back then would come after me. At the time, I connected you with them."

"Can you tell me about what happened in the Land of Whirlpools?" Hyuga Ao asked seriously.

Hyuga Ao's words stirred up Kana's memories. Her expression shifted as she shook her head.

"Tell me about Kushina first."

"I see." Hyuga Ao adjusted herself into a more comfortable position. "That... is a long story."

Kana hugged her knees and listened in profile as Hyuga Ao recounted everything.

Her face was filled with envy.

"That sounds wonderful," she sighed.

"To have someone who loves you, two or three close friends, enough food and clothing, and a life free from danger and worry."

Kana sighed with satisfaction. Hearing that her old friends were safe filled her with emotion.

Kana rose and stretched, as though a great weight had been lifted from her heart. Then she turned and went back inside to cook.

Knock, knock, knock.

Hyuga Ao struggled to eat with her left hand. Fortunately, after becoming a one-armed hero, she had received Kana's pity, and Kana had made her a wooden spoon. Otherwise, she would have had to eat with her hands.

One fish, a plate of greens, and a plate of unidentifiable mushrooms.

That was their dinner for the day.

The valley was short on supplies and had mostly vegetarian food, which was very bad for Hyuga Ao's recovery. That was why the two of them had been discussing leaving these past few days.

Back then, Xiao Longnu had been trapped in Heartless Valley and unable to climb out, but Hyuga Ao and Kana were both ninja. They could make it up.

Kana had simply been trapped in her heart all these years, unable to step outside her comfort zone.

After learning about the outside world, Kana felt that it might be worth taking a look.

"Let's check your right arm after we eat," Kana said.

"Okay." Hyuga Ao nodded.

She slowly untied the silk garment serving as a bandage, revealing an arm blackened by burns.

The delicate arm she had once possessed was long gone. Under the Four-Tails' high-temperature chakra, it had been burned completely black.

If Hyuga Ao hadn't been lucky enough to meet Kana, she might have lost the arm.

Two rays of light flickered over the arm. Kana had sealed away most of the tailed-beast chakra earlier, but a small amount still remained because of the time that had passed.

So Kana suppressed it while Hyuga Ao treated the injury, slowly healing the arm.

During breaks from treating herself, Hyuga Ao could even spare a moment to observe Kana's serious profile.

This deal wasn't a loss.

Hyuga Ao was still alive because of that deal.

When Hyuga Ao had been exhausted and floating in the air, she had been hazily pulled into some unknown place.

There, she had struck a deal with Planet's Consciousness.

She was to shatter the image of the Sage of Six Paths in people's hearts—or, in simple terms, ruin his reputation.

The ninja world had originally possessed a planetary consciousness, back before chakra appeared.

But later, the Otsutsuki came from the heavens, slaughtered the native powerhouses, severely wounded Planet's Consciousness, and planted the God Tree in its body.

When Hyuga Ao received the Golden Finger, she was infused with some kind of immense power, which also awakened Planet's Consciousness.

Before that, it had exhausted its final shred of strength to let Otsutsuki Kaguya become pregnant naturally, then sent someone to guide Hamura all the way to sealing Kaguya.

The matter should have ended there. With chakra now present, the ninja world would have developed naturally.

But Planet's Consciousness hadn't expected chakra to be so wondrous. Over the years, the Sage of Six Paths' chakra had drifted through the ninja world, controlling its overall course.

It had even gradually begun replacing Planet's Consciousness, seeking to become the new master of the planet.

So it asked Hyuga Ao to tear away the Otsutsuki's hypocritical facade when everything was finally settled, allowing everyone in the ninja world to learn the truth and breaking the faith that the Six Paths Ninja Sect had spread for so many years.

That faith—or perhaps the people's longing—was what sustained Hamura's existence.

Hyuga Ao agreed because she had wanted to make everything public anyway. Besides, if no one had helped her at the time, she would have drifted down naturally, either to her death or into the hands of someone else.

That would have led into another worldline, which wasn't the story this novel intended to tell.

While the fighting outside raged fiercely, Hyuga Ao was quietly recovering in this little valley.

She enjoyed the leisurely days of watching flowers bloom and wither before the courtyard and clouds gather and disperse across the sky.