Old Woman

After returning from that suffocating underground chamber to the tent reserved for tools, Hikari felt as if all her strength had been drained away. She sank limply onto a wooden crate.

Her face was pale as paper, cold sweat covered her forehead, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

Even as the wielder of the Mangekyo, forcing a little girl's body to bear the resentment and ocular power of more than a dozen people was an exceptionally cruel ordeal.

Just as she closed her eyes, preparing to silently endure the familiar pain of her mind being torn apart, a familiar, irritating "commotion" sounded in her ear once again.

"Clang!"

A chipped, coarse porcelain bowl that Yue had snatched from somewhere a month ago was slammed down on the crate beside Hikari.

Inside lay two roasted sweet potatoes, steaming and giving off a faintly sweet aroma.

"Eat!"

Yue sat down across from her, bold and carefree. He peeled the skin off a sweet potato as he grumbled between bites. "That was disgusting. They poured that cold, vile chakra into people's bodies, and my stomach's still churning. Eat something hot and settle your nerves."

Hikari slowly opened her eyes. She stared blankly at the roasted sweet potatoes, their syrupy insides oozing out, then looked at Yue, his mouth smudged with soot as he blew on his sweet potato.

That usually cold, expressionless face of hers once again took on the silly, bewildered look unique to a little girl.

"Weapons... don't need to eat sweet things like this."

"Just shut it already! Keep talking and I'll knock you on the head again!"

Yue cut her off without a shred of courtesy, picked up a sweet potato, and forced it into Hikari's cold hands.

At the mention of getting her head knocked, Hikari's eyes flickered.

She shouldn't have been afraid of pain anymore, but hearing that he might knock her on the head stirred a hint of fear inside her.

Was she afraid of this other tool knocking her on the head?

What's wrong with me?

"Eat it."

There was a gentle firmness in Yue's eyes that left no room for refusal. "Fill your stomach. Once your body warms up, the cold resentment you absorbed down there will dissipate."

Hikari stared blankly at Yue, cradling the piping-hot sweet potato in her hands.

After an unknown stretch of time, she finally lowered her head and cautiously took a small bite, like a wary kitten.

The sweet, soft taste burst across her tongue. A warm current slid down her throat and into her stomach, miraculously suppressing the chilling chakra that had been roiling inside her ever since she absorbed the Spring of Returning Light.

"Phew..."

The hot sweet potato made Hikari breathe out a little puff of warmth. The corners of her eyes reddened slightly, whether from the heat or something else.

Why isn't he making noise anymore? It feels a little strange.

She turned her head and found that the noisy Yue had fallen asleep.

The Warring States encampment still reeked of blood and damp earth in the early morning.

The days of continuous rain had finally stopped. Pale sunlight filtered through the thick clouds and fell stingily upon this blood-soaked land.

Inside the drafty tent, Yue yawned widely and stretched without a shred of dignity. His bones cracked loudly.

"Sleeping on this lousy wooden crate nearly broke my back... Hey, little girl, even if you don't need to sleep, you didn't have to stare at me like a wooden post all night, did you?"

Yue rubbed his sore neck and sat up. As soon as he opened his remaining right eye, he met Hikari's utterly impassive black gaze.

She still sat in the same position she'd been in after eating the sweet potato the night before. The chipped porcelain bowl in her hands, though, had been licked perfectly clean—not a trace of syrup remained.

At Yue's complaint, Hikari looked like a kitten caught doing something wrong. She awkwardly looked away and hid the broken bowl behind her.

"Weapons... don't need sleep. They only need to stay alert at all times."

Her voice was still cold, but if one listened closely, there was a faint trace of life amid its dead-still monotony.

Yue rolled his eyes in exasperation and pretended he was going to knock her on the head, making Hikari take a step back.

Yue didn't notice the gesture. He was still taking stock of the changes in his eyes.

After a night of recovery, the pure ocular power he'd absorbed from the Spring of Returning Light the day before had stopped his left eye from feeling dry and bleeding. He could even feel the faintest warmth as it began to recover.

He was still a little way from fully regaining his sight and using Yagokoro Omoikane, but at least things were improving.

The method he'd used was thoroughly disgraceful, and even made him feel sick. Still, the method—or the idea behind it—was worth learning from.

If he ever got the chance to go back, he might be able to develop a way to replenish ocular power without such cruelty.

Just as Yue was about to pull Hikari along to wash up and clear their heads, a series of light, steady footsteps sounded outside the tent.

Unlike the guards who usually kept watch and often shouted at them, these footsteps carried none of the nauseating bloodlust or arrogance.

"Swish."

The tent flap was gently lifted.

A hunched figure walked in, silhouetted against the pale morning light.

The visitor was an elderly female Uchiha ninja.

She wore relatively fitted white loungewear, and her hair was cut quite short, giving her a capable, neat appearance.

What stood out most were her eyes.

They were an exceptionally rare pair, filled with an indescribable gentleness and compassion. They were entirely unlike the eyes of the Uchiha clansmen in this camp, which brimmed with madness, greed, and bloodlust.

"You both seem to have recovered well."

The kunoichi looked at Yue and Hikari, her voice as gentle as a breeze passing over a battlefield.

She set the food box she was carrying on the wooden crate. "There are clean rice balls and some dried meat inside. They're better than the military ration pills they hand out at camp. Come outside when you've finished eating. I'll teach you a few things."

There are kindhearted people in the Uchiha Clan?

Yue's alarm bells rang. Could this be some kind of scheme?

He opened the food box and checked the contents to make sure they weren't poisoned. Then he grabbed a rice ball and stuffed it into his mouth, before shoving the rest into Hikari's arms.

"Eat. Once you're full, we'll go see what she's really after."

In an open area behind the camp, towering trees blocked the view from all sides.

The kunoichi stood quietly, waiting for the two of them to arrive.

"A ninja's battles can't rely on Kekkei Genkai alone. Changes in the nature of chakra are our most reliable shield and spear on the battlefield."

Facing Yue and Hikari, the kunoichi began forming hand seals with precise, fluid movements.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A vast, blazing torrent of fire surged from her mouth, instantly forming a giant fireball more than five meters in diameter. It scorched the open ground ahead until it was blackened.

A wave of heat washed over them, stirring Hikari's disheveled hair.

"The Uchiha Clan is naturally suited to fire-style chakra. This is the most basic Great Fireball Technique. There are also Phoenix Sage Fire and Dragon Fire Technique. You must learn to cause the greatest damage with the least chakra, instead of opening the Mangekyo at every turn."

The kunoichi turned to look at them. "Hikari, you've probably learned most of this already, so watch from the side for now. Yue, you try it. I'll see how solid your fundamentals are."