Uchiha Hikari felt as though a vast, warm bolt of lightning had struck her heart.
The ice of despair that had frozen inside her for centuries shattered and melted in an instant. It became a surging warmth that swept through her entire body, bringing sudden heat to her eyes.
It doesn't matter? You're leaving it to me? As long as you can stay with your friends, any world will do?
How free-spirited! How trusting! How certain he is of what gives his life meaning!
He had no fear of being replaced, no dread of a life that might be false, and no need to agonize over which choice was more real or more advantageous.
In his world, the measure of everything was not whether he survived, but whether his companions were safe.
It was worlds apart from the Warring States Period she knew, a time rife with schemes and betrayal, when people would do anything for power and survival. It was just as far removed from her own past, when her worth had been measured as a "weapon."
Boruto stood before her, yet he seemed like a light himself, one that could illuminate the deepest darkness and melt the thickest ice.
"I understand." It took Uchiha Hikari a long while to find her voice. It was a little husky, but held a gentleness and resolve she had never known before.
She drew a deep breath, as if she could keep Boruto's warmth with her forever.
"Then, Boruto, look into my eyes," she said softly. The Mangekyō Sharingan in her eyes began to turn once more, but this time, they were neither cold nor threatening. A soft light flowed through them like a river of stars.
Boruto met her gaze without the slightest hesitation.
In an instant, countless shimmering pathways seemed