Uchiha Hikari

Looking at the complex seals surrounding them.

Uchiha Naka froze for a moment.

Not well-versed in Sealing Jutsu, he hesitated before speaking.

"Lord Genmei, I'm not very skilled in Sealing Jutsu, and I can't figure out how to break it."

"Don't worry. I have a way." He calmly answered Uchiha Naka's question.

Buzz!

The black Magatama spun.

Golden Divine Aura emerged, and the arm of a gigantic deity rapidly took shape, holding a gourd that overflowed with the scent of wine.

He looked at the gourd, then at the seal.

Uchiha Genmei nodded in satisfaction.

Uchiha Naka, standing nearby, was stunned by the Golden Divine Aura. His eyes widened.

"It's appeared! Lord Genmei's Susanoo!"

He glanced at Uchiha Genmei, who looked like a heavenly deity beneath the divine light.

Lord Genmei was so strong! He could activate Susanoo with just the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Lord Jue had said

that as long as you awakened Susanoo, this guardian deity of the Uchiha could remain in your heart permanently, provided your Yin Release training was good enough.

You didn't need to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. As long as you had enough chakra, you could summon it.

The way Lord Jue talked, you'd think he could spare a thought for himself. This was hardly something anyone could accomplish easily!

Suddenly,

the gigantic deity's arm began to change.

It interrupted his train of thought.

The changes before him made him cry out, "What is this?!"

The giant deity's arm turned into a stream of divine light and spiritual energy, coiling around Uchiha Genmei's arm like a serpent.

In the blink of an eye.

On Uchiha Genmei's hand.

The Tosei-sode, Kote, and Tekko

all manifested one after another.

A golden-armored arm took shape in an instant.

Uchiha Genmei looked at the Wine God Gourd, now smaller in his left hand.

He marveled inwardly.

After he had strengthened the Yasakani no Magatama that day, Susanoo had changed too. It could now transform at will.

When he had shrunk the enormous Susanoo into armor, its mass had been compressed, increasing its defensive power by at least ten times.

No wonder Uchiha Madara rarely used the Mangekyō's ocular techniques. Susanoo was simply too useful.

He was the same. Aside from Amaterasu-Omikami, he hadn't used Amaterasu even once.

He glanced at

Uchiha Naka, who was dumbstruck.

"Be warned, the person we're about to release is dangerous. Stay alert!"

At that,

Uchiha Naka stepped aside

and activated his Sharingan to keep watch.

Uchiha Genmei shouted:

"Divine Wine, sweep across the storm and let everything before you drown in madness!"

A surging torrent of wine swept over all the seals in the area.

In an instant,

the chakra within the sealing runes ran wild.

The Divine Wine swept through, drawing it all in as chakra and pulling it into the gourd.

Without chakra to sustain it,

the seal broke!

In the darkness,

the girl had been trapped in a state of utter stillness.

A glimmer of light appeared.

Light?

Where had it come from?

The bewildered girl opened her eyes.

It was the world!

Compared with the lifeless darkness,

what a vivid world it was.

She staggered, struggling to stand.

The first thing she saw

was a handsome young man with his arms spread wide.

So beautiful!

He smiled at her.

His lips moved.

"Welcome back to the real world."

His gentle voice reached her heart.

A flutter.

She noticed the Gunbai on the young man's clothes.

One of her clan?

She had hated the Uchiha Clan with all her heart, but for some reason, looking at the young man before her, the strange flutter in her heart made it impossible to hate him.

She staggered forward a couple of steps, then quickly regained control of her body with the discipline of a decisive weapon.

She glanced around.

Pushing her turbulent feelings aside,

she fixed her gaze on the handsome young man before her.

She asked outright:

"Did you save me?"

Huh?

It actually worked?

Looking at Uchiha Hikari, who hadn't attacked, Uchiha Genmei was surprised.

He'd planned to start with courtesy and resort to force if necessary once Uchiha Hikari appeared.

If she was receptive to kindness and calmed down, that would be enough.

If not, he'd resort to the Uchiha's traditional talent: going berserk.

Then he'd use force.

Who could've guessed the girl would actually respond to kindness?

Could it be that my handsome face

had earned her favor?

Just then,

a rumbling sound came from the girl's stomach.

He smiled faintly.

"Looks like you need something to eat. Let's go upstairs. I'll explain the situation to you."

Watching the girl wolf down her food,

Uchiha Naka hesitated, wanting to say something.

Seeing this, Uchiha Genmei said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Uchiha Naka walked over to Uchiha Genmei's side

and whispered:

"She really is the Uchiha Clan's decisive weapon? She looks like such a young girl."

The girl, chewing on roasted meat nearby, twitched her ears slightly.

Uchiha Genmei watched it all.

He said calmly, "Wait until she's finished eating. I'll ask her directly, and then you'll know. Also, Naka."

"What is it?"

"She heard you."

"Huh?!"

Uchiha Naka blushed. As someone who took pride in the Uchiha, he found this situation unbearably embarrassing.

Before long,

he watched as the girl finished cleaning up.

Uchiha Genmei said plainly, "My name is Uchiha Genmei. This is my subordinate, Uchiha Naka."

"I'm currently a Konoha Jonin and Police Superintendent of the Police Force. My dream is to live freely."

Hearing that,

the girl tilted her head and asked in confusion:

"What is Konoha? What's the Police Force? Police Superintendent?"

Thinking of how she had lived in an era even farther back than Uchiha Madara's, Uchiha Genmei sighed.

He patiently explained everything.

After hearing his explanation,

the girl found it surreal.

Her eyes widened.

She said in disbelief, "The Uchiha and Senju made peace? They joined forces to create a village? And a bunch of people like the Sarutobi Clan are now running the village?!"

"They were just Senju underlings. How did they end up lording it over the Hyuga, Uchiha, and Senju and becoming the leaders?"

Uchiha Genmei sighed,

and explained with some helplessness:

"Because of the brutality of the Warring States era, the leaders of the Uchiha and Senju set aside their differences and worked together to create peace."

"That's how Konoha came to be."

He considered this for a moment, then continued.

"The Hokage, the leader as you understand it, doesn't necessarily have to be the strongest. The reasons are complicated. You'll gradually understand them."

Hearing this, the black-haired, handsome girl

murmured distractedly, "Because of peace? Is there really peace?"

At that,

Uchiha Genmei didn't answer one way or another.

Instead, he asked:

"Tell me about yourself."

The girl froze.

Her expression turned forlorn.

After hesitating for a moment, she said:

"I don't have a name. Weapons don't need names."

Seeing her dejected expression, Uchiha Genmei said helplessly:

"This isn't the Warring States era, when everything was falling apart. Although I do intend to use your power to achieve certain goals,"

"after we achieve them, you can live however you want. So you still need a name."

"I'll call you Hikari."

"Uchiha Hikari."

The girl was stunned.

Hikari?

In her mind,

a gentle couple said:

"In this age of war, our child must be happy. Hikari is our hope."

"That's your name, Hikari."

They were the parents she had loved so dearly.

Hikari...

An inexplicable grief welled up inside her.

He nodded.

"Okay..."

After they had introduced themselves...

"How can there be such an absurd ocular jutsu? Yachihoko?!" Uchiha Naka exclaimed.

He felt completely stunned by Uchiha Hikari standing before him.

"Then why do you think she's the decisive weapon?" Uchiha Genmei shot a sidelong glance at his astonished subordinate.

Truthfully, he was surprised too. He had still underestimated Yachihoko.

This ocular jutsu absorbed life force along with chakra.

Uchiha Hikari had always fought the Senju, whose Yang Release Chakra had kept replenishing her.

Yet her eyesight hadn't weakened at all.

He shook his head helplessly.

Getting to his feet, he dusted off his backside.

"All right, let's go. Shall we pay Nekomata a visit?"

The girl.

No.

She should be called Uchiha Hikari now. She asked in confusion, "Nekomata's still alive?"

Hearing the girl's question,

Uchiha Genmei replied calmly:

"That's not important."

"What matters is that I have a plan."

"I need her to state her position."