Uchiha Hikari opened her eyes. A man stood before her, gleaming with golden light.
She instinctively reached for her waist. Finding no weapon there, she shifted her eyes into their Mangekyō form.
She watched Naruto warily.
This man had the ocular power of the Sharingan. Was he an Uchiha?
But why was he glowing gold all over?
With his left hand, Naruto drew a scroll inscribed in advance with a sealing jutsu from the ninja tool pouch at his waist, then slowly stepped forward.
"Amaterasu!"
Seeing Naruto approach, she activated her Sharingan and immediately unleashed Amaterasu.
Black flames sprang into existence directly on Naruto's body.
Naruto raised his hand. The Fire Sealing Method: Flame Seal on the scroll activated, drawing in the Amaterasu flames covering him.
Uchiha Hikari was startled when Naruto dispelled Amaterasu so easily. She quickly formed hand seals and unleashed the Dragon Flame Song Technique.
The Fire Sealing Method: Flame Seal swallowed that up as well.
And people said sealing jutsu wasn't sneaky?
Naruto did not approach any farther. Instead, he stopped and looked her up and down.
There was no greed in his gaze, none of the cold appraisal of someone inspecting merchandise. It was more like... observation tinged with complicated emotions.
She wore a simple blue dress made of ordinary fabric, badly damaged in the battle before Hikari was sealed away.
Scars, old and new, covered her exposed skin.
Some had been left by blades, others by ninjutsu, bearing witness to the cruelty she had endured.
Somewhat worn bandages wrapped halfway up her calves and continued downward, covering two-thirds of her feet. Only her pale toes and a small part of her heels remained exposed as she stood on the cold ground.
Naruto's gaze finally settled on her face and lingered there.
Her delicate face