Night.
The silent girl sat alone under a tree, hugging her knees as she gazed at the flickering bonfire nearby.
Beside her lay a neatly folded blanket.
Five hundred years.
Uchiha Mumei felt a deep sense of unfamiliarity with everything around her.
She only knew that she had been in darkness for a very long time, though she wasn't sure exactly how long.
Perhaps a day, perhaps a month, perhaps a summer... she just hadn't expected it.
A pair of pitch-black eyes looked up at the moon hanging high in the sky, as if suspended on a curtain, unchanged.
Only the moon remained the familiar one from her memories.
The white-haired young man emerged from the shadows of the forest and sat down beside her without a word.
"I spoke with Jiraiya. We can bring you back to Konoha, but we'll need to place a Five Elements Seal on you. It'll only be removed once we're certain you won't pose a threat to the village."
This was the best outcome Kakashi had managed to secure.
Even though Kakashi felt nothing for the so-called Uchiha Clan, the Uchiha were still allies on the surface.
So, this was already the best result.
The Five Elements Seal restricts the user's chakra, preventing them from using ninjutsu normally. A technique that could originally unleash ten parts of its power would only manage half, or even less.
"..."
However, Uchiha Mumei remained silent, not speaking a word.
It was as if having the Five Elements Seal placed on her didn't matter at all.
"...During this time, I'll be your guardian."
"You can't leave my sensory range."
Kakashi continued, using a small stick from beside the bonfire to poke at the flames.
As he prodded, the bonfire scattered sparks and crackled. Two charred objects tumbled out, revealed by Kakashi's poking.
Two roasted sweet potatoes.
Considering that Uchiha Mumei hadn't eaten in a long time, Kakashi had dug these up nearby.
He pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch and carefully sliced open the charred skin of one sweet potato, exposing the golden-yellow flesh inside. Kakashi pushed it toward Uchiha Mumei.
Uchiha Mumei stared silently at the sweet potato in front of her.
After a long pause, she finally spoke in a hoarse voice:
"That white-haired man just said the Uzumaki Clan was annihilated?"
Kakashi nodded in response.
"That's right. During the Second Ninja World War several decades ago, they were jointly destroyed by the Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Mist Village."
Uchiha Mumei didn't know what the Hidden Cloud Village or Hidden Mist Village were, but she noted the "Second Ninja World War" the other mentioned, then continued to ask:
"What about the Senju Clan?"
Hearing Uchiha Mumei's question, Kakashi went on:
"The Senju Clan, under the leadership of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, disbanded their clan and abandoned their surname to integrate into Konoha."
They merged into Konoha's medical, educational, and administrative systems.
Considering that this Uchiha ancestor from five hundred years ago might not understand the latter part, Kakashi didn't elaborate.
"They... gave up the Senju name?"
Compared to the Uzumaki Clan being annihilated, the Senju Clan voluntarily abandoning their surname seemed to stir Uchiha Mumei's heart more.
[Uchiha Mumei's emotional fluctuation +1]
[Chakra +1%]
[Current Chakra: 200%]
Following Uchiha Obito, the moment Uchiha Mumei awakened and saw Kakashi, she had directly provided him with almost a full unit of chakra.
Five hundred years of darkness, and the instant she finally saw the first ray of light—that intense emotion had caused Kakashi's golden finger to surge.
Including this current 1%, Kakashi's chakra reserves had already reached four units.
He had successfully reached Naruto's chakra level when suppressed by Yamato's Wood Release and the Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique — Kakuan Entering Society With Bliss-Bringing Hands.
Hmm, without Yamato's suppression, Naruto has one hundred units of chakra.
"What about the Uchiha Clan?"
Finally, Uchiha Mumei asked the most important question.
Kakashi hesitated at her words but eventually replied:
"They are in Konoha."
Speechless.
Silence once again.
"Want something to eat?"
Kakashi pushed the roasted sweet potato toward Uchiha Mumei.
The girl's gaze fixed on the roasted sweet potato, remaining silent for a long time.
Sweet.
A sweet fragrance.
Even without putting it in her mouth, the wafting aroma reached her nostrils.
Finally... Uchiha Mumei moved.
In Kakashi's sight, she reached out and grabbed the roasted sweet potato from the ground.
She carefully peeled off a piece of the flesh and slowly brought it to her mouth.
A sweet sensation exploded on her tongue. Her taste buds, dormant for an unknown number of years, were intensely stimulated in that moment.
But the girl remained motionless.
Even though her body's appetite, suppressed for countless years, urged her to eat quickly, eat quickly.
Uchiha Mumei froze in place again.
Kakashi looked at her, wondering if he might have overcooked it and she found it hard to swallow.
However, two clear lines of tears streamed down her cheeks.
The sparkling tears under the bonfire light glided down her face, dropping one by one from her chin onto the ground and onto the sweet potato in her hand.
Five hundred years.
Five hundred years had passed.
Father was dead, Mother was dead.
Only she... was still alive.
Even if she wanted revenge, to avenge the Uchiha Clan's enemies who had caused her such pain and hatred.
But... the enemies were also dead.
This world was so strange, too strange.
So strange... that she didn't recognize it at all.
Kakashi calmly watched the silently weeping girl, with no intention of comforting her.
He just watched her cry, then, as if in revenge, swallow the sweet potato stained with her tears.
"Your name?"
Swallowing large bites of sweet potato, her face smudged with the charred black from the skin, Uchiha Mumei finally looked at Kakashi and asked his name.
"Kakashi."
"Kakashi Hatake."
Kakashi replied.
"My name is... Uchiha Hikari."
Uchiha Mumei... no, Uchiha Hikari said.
"Nice to meet you, Hikari."
"Please take care of me from now on."
Kakashi looked at the girl in front of him, extending his hand, his eyes unconsciously curving into crescent moons.
"..."
Uchiha Hikari looked at the hand in front of her, hesitated for a few moments, and finally placed her hand, smudged with sweet potato ashes, into Kakashi's.
Kakashi looked at the girl in front of him, likely understanding her thoughts.
Because she was facing this strange world alone, anyone would do—just take her... she didn't want to be alone anymore.
This was Uchiha Hikari's deepest thought.
This was probably also why Muritsugu could easily abduct her decades later.
————
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