Hikari

"And so, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara reconciled, and together, they founded Konoha.

This marked the end of the chaotic Warring States period that had lasted for hundreds of years, and the Shinobi World entered the era of hidden villages."

Uchiha Chen, his throat parched, pointed to the forehead protector on his arm. "This is the Konoha ninja forehead protector."

"Mm!"

Uchiha Hikari listened to Uchiha Chen's account of the Warring States history with a blank expression, her demeanor still somewhat dazed.

She truly could not fathom that for her, it had only been a fleeting moment, yet a hundred years had quietly slipped away.

During this time, everything had changed; the Shinobi World was no longer defined by clan-based warfare, but had transformed into a system of hidden villages.

Even the Senju, once their mortal enemies, had reconciled with the Uchiha.

Her heart was filled with confusion, but in truth, she only felt a sense of fear stemming from the unknown regarding all of this; she held no attachment to her clan or the basement that had imprisoned her.

If any other Uchiha had been sealed until now, they might already be thinking about 'creating a world exactly like the one from the past.'

But she was different; she had no Bonds in the world of a hundred years ago.

Now, she was truly free!

This sense of surreal happiness made her feel both immensely joyful and deeply uneasy.

"My name is Uchiha Chen, I am seventeen years old, I live in the Uchiha compound, and I am unmarried. I don't smoke, and I can't drink alcohol because I'm not yet eighteen.

I never go to bed on time at night; I always read an experimental report before sleeping, then close my eyes and recite the experimental data to myself. I can basically sleep until dawn like a baby, never carrying fatigue or stress into the next day.

By the way, after saying all that, I still don't know your name?"

Uchiha Chen, walking side-by-side with the girl, asked a question to which he already knew the answer.

"I don't have a name!" The girl's voice remained cold, but it had gained a touch of humanity.

"A person should always have a name."

A name?

Uchiha Hikari stopped in her tracks and looked up.

Clear sunlight filtered through the treetops, landing on the girl's flawless face, and even the Sharingan, considered an omen of misfortune in the Shinobi World, looked like exquisite rubies under the illumination of the sun.

Deep in her memories, in her childhood, she was indeed not called 'weapon' or 'nameless'; back then, she had another name.

"...Hikari, you can call me that. Hm?"

A sound suddenly came from a pile of rubble not far away. Uchiha Hikari backhanded three Shuriken toward the rubble and pulled out a Kunai, dashing forward with a Body Flicker.

Thud!

The pile of stones was swept away by Uchiha Hikari, and the 'enemy' lurking within had nowhere left to hide. Uchiha Hikari's Kunai stopped precisely at the 'enemy's' forehead.

A half-grown Little White Rabbit, its hind leg mangled and bloody, stared in terror into Uchiha Hikari's eyes. It turned to run, but its severely injured leg couldn't push off the ground.

Uchiha Chen usually didn't laugh, unless he couldn't help it.

"Ahahahahaha!"

Uchiha Hikari pinched the Little White Rabbit by the neck, frowning as she glanced at the laughing Uchiha Chen.

This Uchiha who had saved her from the seal was truly strange.

Shouldn't such hearty laughter be the reaction of a powerhouse who had just killed a Senju, or perhaps when a Sharingan evolved after the death of a loved one?

She really didn't understand.

Uchiha Hikari held the rabbit, looking at its silly, adorable eyes and cute little nose, and suddenly didn't want to treat it as an extra meal like she used to.

Freedom meant doing what she wanted to do, doing things her clansmen had never allowed her to do before.

For example, using precious medicinal herbs on a rabbit.

Uchiha Hikari pressed the Little White Rabbit to the ground with one hand and pulled her hemostatic herbs from her ninja pouch with the other, preparing to apply them to the rabbit's hind leg.

"Goo, goo, goo!" The rabbit struggled even harder.

Not wanting to hurt the Little White Rabbit, Uchiha Hikari gestured back and forth with the herbs, eventually casting a look of help toward Uchiha Chen.

"Sharingan, Genjutsu!"

Uchiha Chen's concise reminder made Uchiha Hikari's eyes light up. With a single glance, she made the Little White Rabbit dream of a rabbit paradise filled with cabbage and carrots, then clumsily began applying the medicine to its hind leg.

After frantically finishing the application, Uchiha Hikari held the rabbit, which was lost in a dream, and her aura suddenly became visibly depressed.

She stared blankly at the Little White Rabbit in her arms, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Hikari, what's wrong?"

Uchiha Chen was somewhat puzzled. Clearly, just a moment ago, although she was cold, her emotions were high and excited; why was she now inexplicably so downcast?

"After I became an orphan, because of the uniqueness of my ocular technique, I was always treated as a weapon by the clan..."

Uchiha Hikari recounted her experiences with a sullen face, then said with red eyes:

"I am free now!

But I have no idea what I should do now that I am free, nor do I know what meaning my life has beyond the fate of being a 'weapon'."

This is getting into the realm of philosophy, and I don't understand that stuff!

Uchiha Chen felt a bit stuck, so he tried to persuade her tentatively:

"You could try some new things you've never done before, or perhaps delve into a craft you enjoy and excel at."

"I excel at killing!" Uchiha Hikari's voice was firm, and as if afraid Uchiha Chen wouldn't believe her, she immediately added:

"Killing members of the Senju Clan!"

Well, that was hard to handle!

Uchiha Chen had no choice but to explain that the Senju Clan had already disbanded, dissolved by Senju Tobirama, the younger brother of Senju Hashirama who had ended the chaotic era, so there was no longer a "Senju Clan."

"Senju Tobirama."

Uchiha Hikari clearly found it difficult to understand this person's actions. She blinked her watery eyes and looked at Uchiha Chen very seriously, saying:

"You said he had red eyes and then disbanded the Senju Clan. Was he an undercover agent sent by the Uchiha?

The Uchiha have wanted to wipe out the Senju Clan for hundreds of years and never managed to do it, yet he actually pulled it off!"

Silence descended upon Dayu Mountain.

Uchiha Tobirama?

Uchiha Chen was speechless, his handsome face twisting into a knot.

Seeing that Uchiha Chen wasn't speaking, Hikari continued:

"I can also kill the Uzumaki Clan, the Hagoromo Clan, and the Hyuga Clan!"

"The first two are even worse off; they've both been wiped out. The Hyuga are currently in Konoha, living in the same village as the Uchiha."

"Oh."

Uchiha Hikari's eyes dimmed slightly. Aside from killing these ninjas, she truly couldn't find anything else she knew how to do or was good at.

Seeing Uchiha Hikari getting stuck in a rut and fearing she might have a breakdown, Uchiha Chen hurriedly said:

"Living itself doesn't need any meaning!"

Uchiha Chen stared into Hikari's dark, shining pupils, where he could clearly see his own reflection.

He firmly repeated his previous words, then said in a slightly hoarse voice:

"As long as we keep living, we will eventually encounter things that can add color to our lives, and that is when our lives will have meaning.

You don't need to dwell on the present; in the future, you will surely encounter more interesting things, just like this Little White Rabbit met you, and you met me."

"I don't understand!"

Having graduated from fetal education, Uchiha Hikari shook her head.

She looked down at the Little White Rabbit, then looked back up at Uchiha Chen. The coldness on her face, like the pristine snow of early winter, melted into the clear, fragrant water of a mountain spring. Her eyes curved, and she smiled softly:

"I suppose that means I should follow you for now and go find the meaning of life?"