Uchiha Hikari

The battle ended very quickly. Shin'yu skillfully arranged the Hidden Leaf Village ninjas' corpses together, then reduced them to ashes with a single fireball.

A ninja's battles were also battles of intelligence.

Destroying the corpses and erasing all traces could conceal one's own information to the greatest extent. Even from a corpse, ninjas had ways to extract information.

Just then, Madara walked over.

"I watched your battles yesterday and today. Hmph. All I can say is that you rely too much on your ocular techniques."

He offered his assessment, seemingly rather dissatisfied.

"Uh... I'd like to hear the details." Shin'yu immediately became more reserved.

"Whether it's Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, both are far too crude. Not only does that make your fighting inelegant, but you rely solely on an information gap to fight. That will never make you strong!"

Madara shook his head. "With your style of fighting, if you fail to kill your opponent at first sight, you'll definitely suffer badly in the next battle."

Shin'yu felt somewhat ashamed. Madara's critique had hit the nail on the head.

His foundation truly was poor. He had been pushed onto the battlefield after barely training at all, and that fierce, brutal fighting style of his had been honed amid battle.

After Opening the Mangekyo Sharingan, he had taken that life-risking style to its absolute extreme.

In short, while the Mangekyo Sharingan had granted him abilities that could be called divine, allowing him to grow powerful rapidly, it had also led him down the wrong path—he had pursued killing efficiency one-sidedly while neglecting foundational training.

One had to know that truly powerful techniques were accumulated bit by bit through details and hard work.

Take Might Guy from the Original Timeline, for example. Did that astonishing kick that nearly ended the entire story rely only on the Eight Gates Release Formation? No. The Eight Gates Release Formation merely magnified his foundational physical abilities without limit. What was truly powerful was still Guy himself.

If he had not trained painstakingly for decades and tempered his body bit by bit, how could he have gained strength far surpassing the Five Kage after Opening the Eighth Gate? How could Night Guy have possessed the power to kick apart someone at the Six Paths level?

Without accumulating small steps, one could not travel a thousand miles. Without gathering little streams, one could not form rivers and seas.

This principle was useful anywhere.

"Taijutsu isn't won merely by being brave and ruthless. The key lies in controlling the details. Ninjutsu also isn't strengthened simply by blindly unleashing Chakra..."

Madara's critique continued. In the end, he shook his head and said, "Forget it. While you're still young and haven't completely gone astray, I'll give you some guidance."

Shin'yu listened with both shock and delight, his eyes seeming to sparkle with starlight.

"Judging from your fighting style, you're bold yet meticulous. And that Chakra Blade of yours also proves that you have a talent for precise Chakra control. Hmph, you can be considered decent raw material..." Madara raised his chin. "So, are you willing to endure my tempering?"

"I am!" Shin'yu immediately nodded like a pecking chick.

After clearing the battlefield, Shin'yu looked toward the stone wall ahead. What entered his sight were complex and incomprehensible Sealing Jutsu Formulae. He sensibly moved aside and made room for Madara.

Madara placed his fingers against the stone wall and muttered, "Sealing off space-time... I see."

Shin'yu was somewhat excited. He had not expected Lord Madara's attainments in sealing techniques to be this formidable. Just as he watched expectantly to see how Madara would break the seal, a sea-blue gleam suddenly flashed through Madara's eyes.

"Boom!"

Madara Opened the initial form of Susanoo. As its enormous blue fist swung out, the stone wall instantly exploded, and amid the dust rising into the sky, the Sealing Jutsu Formulae scattered into nothingness as well.

"Uh..." Shin'yu stared blankly.

"What are you looking at?" Madara shot Shin'yu a glance, folding his arms. "As long as the vessel is destroyed, even the strongest sealing technique loses its effect."

Earth and stones rained down in rustling torrents. Once the dust settled, a pitch-black Cave Entrance appeared before them.

"Fire Release: Ignite."

Shin'yu snapped his fingers crisply. The air above his fingertips twisted slightly, and a wisp of flame ignited out of thin air, rapidly swelling into a palm-sized fireball.

Under the firelight, the situation inside the cave became clearly visible.

"Oh? You've mastered Fire Release to this degree..." Madara stared at Shin'yu's movements, slightly surprised.

Generally speaking, ninjas could use Hand Seals to control the flow of Chakra, causing it to act inside the body or outside it. This was called a "technique." Indra, the ancestor of the Uchiha, had once created twelve basic hand seals and passed them down through the world, benefiting the entire ninja world immensely.

However, for ninjas proficient in a certain Ninjutsu or a certain nature transformation, their bodies had already become familiar with the circulation of Chakra, allowing them to simplify the hand seal process. Those with extraordinary talent could even cast Ninjutsu instantly without forming seals.

Shin'yu held up the fireball and walked ahead. At the very depths of the Mountain Cave was a spacious open area, where Ink-colored Jutsu Formulae in the shape of a Magic Array were fading away ring by ring.

"It's underground," Madara's voice drifted from behind him.

"Mm." Shin'yu nodded. Seeing that Madara made no move, he sensibly began forming Hand Seals and pressed one hand to the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave."

A strange ripple spread in every direction. Centered on Shin'yu's palm, the ground peeled back inch by inch, earth and stones flowing like a running stream.

Shin'yu's Chakra possessed six attributes: wind, fire, water, earth, lightning, and yin. Although he was not skilled in many Ninjutsu, all of them emphasized practicality—for instance, Fire Release and Lightning Release focused on offense, while Earth Release focused on defense and support. They were essentially all meant for battle and survival.

Very soon, a pit of moderate depth appeared in the ground. Inside, a black-haired girl hugged her knees and curled herself up.

She was small and thin, dressed in ragged black clothes. Her satin-like Long Hair trailed across the ground, like a solitary lily.

Sensing the circulation of air and the faint warmth of the firelight, her body trembled slightly as she slowly raised her head.

"Uchiha Nanashi, from today onward, you are free."

A fair hand reached out toward her.

She looked up, and her dark eyes reflected a refined, gentle face.

"Who... are you? Why? Why are you letting me out?"

She tilted her head in confusion, her voice soft and melodious, like a wind chime swaying in the breeze.

"Like you, I'm someone who was abandoned. As for why I let you go... you can think of it as us seeking warmth in each other's company."

Shin'yu smiled. In the warm firelight, his eyes were as gentle as jade, and the faint smile on his lips seemed to radiate sunshine.

"In any case, you never have to stay in this place without daylight again."

"Unconditionally?" she hesitated. "But why? Why would you save someone like me for no reason...?"

"What, have you accepted your fate?"

Shin'yu stared into her eyes, recalling Boruto's words from the Original Timeline. His voice was filled with conviction. "Don't lose to a fate decided for you by others. Decide it for yourself, create it yourself—that is your fate!"

In an instant, ripples stirred in her eyes, like a pebble falling into a clear lake and sending gentle waves outward.

She stared blankly at the boy before her. Within the lightless seal, she could not even feel the passage of time. The endless emptiness had nearly worn away all her emotions, leaving behind only boundless hatred and layer upon layer of hardened ice piled up within her heart.

But now, that ice was melting away, layer by layer.

As if possessed, Nanashi—or rather, Uchiha Hikari—took Shin'yu's hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

Shin'yu could not help measuring her height with his gaze. She was actually half a head taller than him.

She looked to be around twelve years old, likely frozen at the age when she had been sealed away. Her brows and eyes were picturesque, her clear eyes shimmering like autumn waters. She had a small, soft oval face and perfectly proportioned features. Though she was somewhat filthy, it could not hide her delicate beauty.

Her black clan robes were tattered, exposing her slender, pale bare feet. She had no shoes, only rough bandages wrapped around her ankles.

The moment she stepped out of the Mountain Cave, the glaring sunlight fell upon her pale cheeks. Unaccustomed to it, she could not help narrowing her eyes.

She raised a hand before her forehead and slowly made her way out of the Mountain Cave. It seemed that the last time she had walked beneath the sunlight had been a very, very long time ago.

"So this is Nanashi?" Madara was examining her as well.

After quite a while, she finally adjusted slightly to the light. Her vision gradually focused, and Shin'yu's back became clearer and clearer—until a familiar fan-shaped Clan Emblem entered her sight.