Haneori, Who Is She? (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Haori was excellent at telling people what they wanted to hear, whether they were saints or devils.

Facing an old geezer like Uchiha Setsuna, Haori naturally knew how to play along with empty pleasantries.

His mission requirements dictated that he had to eliminate this old man, and at the same time, he also needed to make a move against the clan head.

So, why not find a way to make them tear each other apart, and then seize the opportunity to bury them both in the end?

Some things require patience, and I also need to possess my own Mangekyo Sharingan to control the situation.

Although Uchiha Hikari possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, this girl was far too extreme.

Heaven knows when she might have a mental breakdown, and he would be the one to suffer for it.

As the saying goes, a tall building rises from the ground, and one must rely on oneself for the ups and downs of life; Haori naturally preferred to rely on his own efforts!

However, there were some gains today.

He had planted a seed in Uchiha Setsuna's mind today, though he wasn't sure what the effect would be.

In truth, the reason why this matter passed so easily in the original story was likely due to the rumors of a change in the Hokage position.

Uchiha Fugaku wanted to run for the position himself, which was how he suppressed those dissenting voices.

Although Namikaze Minato 'accidentally' took the position in the end, he was, after all, Kakashi's teacher!

I'm afraid there are already some rumors now; I don't know what the effect will be since I spoke up in advance.

Haori hadn't been in Konoha recently, so he didn't have a particularly deep understanding of the current situation in the village.

However, tomorrow's funeral might provide some answers.

After all, in his memory, it seemed the first time Uchiha Fugaku revealed his aspirations for the Hokage position was during a funeral.

Lost in thought, Haori arrived at his home.

However, as soon as he entered, he found Uchiha Hikari sitting on the floor, looking drowsy and dim-witted.

But Hikari was very alert; she immediately lifted her head, and when she saw that the person arriving was Haori, that vigilance dissipated quite a bit.

"Back so soon?"

She forced herself to perk up and sit straight before asking.

"Yeah."

Haori nodded, closing the door behind him before speaking.

"If you're tired, get some rest."

Uchiha Hikari hadn't participated in any combat these past few days, but her nerves had been constantly on edge; any slight movement or sound would wake her up.

On top of that, she had only just been unearthed, and the wilderness didn't offer the conditions for her to fully recover; it could be said that her state had been terrible the whole time.

Not to mention her, even Haori himself had been guarding against her suddenly having an episode, not daring to rest properly at all.

However, after these few days, he had confirmed that although this girl was quite extreme and a bit crazy, fortunately, she hadn't reached the point of being completely unreasonable.

Still, what exactly did the Uchiha of a hundred years ago do to her?

Haori had always been curious about this; she had mentioned some of her past, but she had mostly glossed over it with a light touch.

This left Haori feeling somewhat helpless, but he didn't press the issue; forcibly picking at old scars was never a good thing.

Perhaps in the future, she would tell him when she felt like it.

"I'm fine," Uchiha Hikari shook her head. "This situation is nothing to me."

"I said, if you're tired, get some rest."

Before she could finish her sentence, she was directly interrupted by Haori.

"What can you do in this state? I'm afraid you can't do anything at all."

Haori's words made her purse her lips; she didn't speak, but she looked up and met his gaze.

Her expression left Haori feeling a mix of amusement and frustration, and in the end, he could only speak with a serious tone.

"I know, you probably don't trust me, and you trust the current environment even less.

But I've said it before, you are no longer in the darkness, and I've also said that you can just set your mind at ease and live here.

You are chasing the footsteps of light; why not let yourself truly feel that 'light'?"

Having said this, Haori paused.

Seeing the flicker in Hikari's eyes, he knew his words had been taken to heart.

He felt a bit helpless, though—why did this feel like coaxing a child?

Fortunately, his 'Talk no Jutsu' had always been decent; otherwise, he wouldn't have had so many friends, or at least, superficial brothers.

"So, rest assured, with me here, you can be at ease."

Haori crouched down, thought for a moment, and tentatively placed his hand on Hikari's shoulder. Seeing that she didn't resist, he continued.

"I know, trust isn't easily built, and becoming comrades is even harder.

But why don't we try to understand each other? That way, we can at least start as friends, can't we?"

Hearing Haori's words, Uchiha Hikari's gaze became even more complex for a moment, and it was quite a while before she murmured in a low voice.

"Friends, huh?"

--

Early the next morning, Haori walked out of the Uchiha clan compound dressed in black.

Attending a funeral required the necessary preparations, and black attire appeared more solemn.

He looked up at the sky; it was gray and overcast, and it might even rain later.

However, this kind of weather was actually quite fitting for holding funeral ceremonies.

Fortunately, Haori's mood wasn't too bad, even though he had been forced to sleep on the floor last night.

"I really didn't expect that even after coming home, I'd end up in the same situation as I was on the battlefield or out in the field."

His "Talk no Jutsu" performance yesterday had been decent; perhaps one of his sentences had struck a chord in Uchiha Hikari's heart.

She had indeed lowered her guard afterward, though that also caused her to quickly fall into a deep sleep.

Watching the sleeping girl, Haori had no choice but to leave her on the bed while he set up a pallet on the floor nearby.

"Forget it, I'll just endure it for now and buy another bed later."

Although his home had limited space, he might be able to manage squeezing in another bed if he tried.

Muttering to himself, he slowly walked toward the cemetery, encountering many ninjas dressed in black along the way.

When they saw Haori, some nodded politely, while others merely glanced at him before hurrying away.

Haori didn't mind these things, and soon he spotted some acquaintances.

"Haori, over here, over here!"

Might Guy saw Haori from afar and waved at him.

His voice also drew the attention of Kakashi, Aoba, and Nohara Rin, who were standing nearby.

"You guys came too."

Haori walked over and greeted them with a smile; they were all classmates, so he naturally felt much more relaxed around them.

"I never thought that a guy like you, who wasn't much in school, would change so drastically after hitting the battlefield."

Asuma looked Haori up and down with curiosity, his face showing a hint of disbelief.

Although he was the second son in his family and had a somewhat restless personality, as the son of the Hokage, he was also a top student.

He had a decent relationship with Haori back in school, though he could be considered one of Haori's "fair-weather friends."

"Haori is very strong. If it weren't for Haori's rescue, I'm afraid it would have been very difficult for us to return."

Rin walked to Haori's side and said with a smile, while Kakashi nodded in agreement from the side.

Kurenai and Anko also gathered around, looking at Haori with curious expressions.

"It was just good luck. If it weren't for the fact that the jonin Minato arrived in time, I'm afraid..."

It felt great to be praised by these future pillars of Konoha, but Haori still maintained the necessary humility.

Being too low-key might lead to being looked down upon, but being too arrogant would only invite resentment.

"Haori, I haven't seen you these past few days. What have you been up to?"

Might Guy asked with a curious look; he hadn't seen Haori for a while.

"He went out on a mission."

Before Haori could speak, Anko spoke up first.

She was also quite familiar with Haori, having been on the same team for a mission back in the Land of Whirlpools.

"And he even ran into Jiraiya-sama; they came back together."

Asuma was clearly well-informed, and he shrugged his shoulders as he added this.

"Seriously, why didn't you call me?"

Upon hearing this, Might Guy couldn't help but exclaim, and Aoba, who hadn't spoken yet, also turned his gaze toward him.

"Give me a break, he was on a mission with a girl from his clan; how could he possibly have gone with you?"

Asuma said with a careless laugh, but as soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that everyone had gone quiet.

Because Might Guy, Kakashi, Aoba, and Rin were all staring at Haori.

After a long moment, Rin finally revealed a smile and asked.

"Haori, who is she? Is she not coming today?"

Preparations must be made for Madara and Obito, and at the same time, the protagonist needs to awaken his eyes.

It's just that I'm having a headache over what the protagonist's Mangekyo Sharingan ability should be.

As a newbie, I humbly beg for your continued reading; the current follow-up rate determines everything for a book, and "nurturing" a book by not reading it often leads to its death.

Thank you to all the big bosses. Onz