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"I don't think it's a pity. Maybe this is my destiny. If fate decided this was the only ending I could have, then I can only accept it..." Hikari lowered her eyes.
As soon as she finished speaking, Manji replied in a calm, steady voice.
"I am fate."
"..." Hikari froze. She slowly looked up at him, her eyes shaking.
Of course. How could she forget? The man in front of her was the legendary Sage of Six Paths. He founded Ninshū, shaped the Shinobi world, and decided the fate of every shinobi.
With him, destiny became whatever he decided.
Before Hikari could recover, Manji spoke again. "Come. I will give you a new life."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Rinnegan appeared in his eyes. Purple light shone in his pupils, and a gentle but unstoppable power surrounded Hikari's soul. Manji caught her soul carefully. Then, holding it—he disappeared from the lifeless land.
When Hikari opened her eyes again, the world around her had changed completely.
For a moment, her mind went dark and hazy. Then she smelled fresh grass and trees.
Her eyes flew open.
Tall, old trees surrounded her, their leaves deep green. Pale mist floated in the air, and she could hear frogs calling far away. This place was full of life and peace, so different from the cold stillness of the Pure Land.
"Where... is this?" Hikari looked around, confused. Her hands clenched without her noticing. The strange new place made her feel lost.
As she stood there, unsure of what to do, a calm and graceful figure appeared from the courtyard ahead.
The woman's long hair flowed down her back, and she appeared nearly ethereal.
"Manji, that was fast. You brought her here already." Ōtsutsuki Kaguya looked at Hikari.
Her face, usually cold, softened, and a small smile appeared.
Manji gave a small nod. "It took a little effort, but nothing troublesome."
Then he turned to Hikari, who still seemed confused, and pointed at Kaguya. "From now on, you'll live with her. Settle here in Mount Myōboku."
"..."
Hikari looked up shyly and glanced at Kaguya's calm beauty. She shrank back a bit.
"So this is the girl from the Uchiha Clan?" Kaguya asked. She stepped ahead, leaned down, and looked at the thin girl with surprising gentleness. "Do you have a name?"
Hikari shook her head, her voice as quiet as a mosquito's. "I don't have one. They all called me Nanashi..."
Kaguya glanced at Manji, her eyes silently asking about the girl's real background and name.
Manji's gaze darkened slightly. "She was born into the Uchiha Clan, but her own people used her as a weapon. They even stripped away her original name and called her only 'Nanashi.' But she does have a name of her own."
He paused for a moment.
"Uchiha Hikari."
That was the name Manji recalled from the original story.
When Kaguya heard this, her eyes showed shock, then anger and sympathy. "The Uchiha Clan really is cruel. A sweet little girl like this should have been cared for and loved. Instead, they treated her so badly they even took her name. IT'S AWFUL."
Manji shook his head lightly.
"That was the era..."
"...I remember a time when the Uchiha Clan treated its orphans with rare kindness. Among all the clans in the Shinobi world, they were once the best toward children who had no one."
"But later, as the Uchiha gradually lost ground, those old rules and any warmth they once preserved disappeared with their fortunes."
After he said this, Manji looked at Kaguya seriously. "As I recall, you also once sent girls under the age of twelve to be sacrificed to the God Tree."
He remembered it clearly. Kaguya had once sacrificed Haori.
And Haori had been Hagoromo's first love.
That incident had been one of the reasons Kaguya and Hagoromo finally broke apart.
Kaguya didn't say anything else. She just reached down and gently took Uchiha Hikari's small, cold hand.
Kaguya looked at the girl with soft eyes and said, "From now on, you can call me Sister. You don't have to be Nanashi anymore. Your name is Hikari... Uchiha Hikari. You'll live with me here in Mount Myōboku."
"And if you have any trouble here in Mount Myōboku, you can come to me too," Manji added. His face now showed a bit of warmth.
Uchiha Hikari stood quietly, looking at Kaguya, who was so gentle with her, and then at the Sage of Six Paths, who was respected by everyone in the Shinobi world.
Her nose stung, and her eyes reddened all at once.
For so many years, she had lived in the Uchiha Clan like a tool. No one had cared whether she was cold or hungry. No one had cared whether she was sad, angry, or afraid.
No one had ever given her a name.
No one had ever given her a place to belong.
But now, the Sage of Six Paths had given her a new body and a new life. A kind sister had welcomed her and given her a home. That sudden warmth broke through all the years of loneliness and hidden sadness she had felt.
Tears rolled down her young face.
In that moment, Hikari forgot that the man in front of her was the great Sage of Six Paths. All she felt was gratitude, so strong she couldn't hold it in.
She hurried forward and hugged Manji's waist, pressing her face into his robe.
"THANK YOU," Hikari sobbed, her voice faltering. "THANK YOU SO MUCH."
Manji frowned a little at her sudden hug.
His first instinct was to move away.
After so many years as a leader, he was used to respect and distance. No one came close to him like this anymore.
No one had hugged him like this in centuries...
But when he looked down and saw the thin child shaking against him, her small body shaking with pain she had always hidden, Manji lowered the hand he had almost used to push her away.
He couldn't hurt a heart that had just found kindness.
Hikari was small, barely reaching his chest. Holding onto him, she looked even more fragile.
Kaguya stood nearby, watching Hikari cry into Manji's robe, and pressed her lips together.
After a few seconds, Hikari's sobs faded. Suddenly, she realized what she had done. Fear crossed her face. Her hands froze, and she quickly let go, stepping back as her heart raced.
"Sage, I..." She lifted her head and met Manji's eyes.
He looked at her with a slight trace of amusement. There was no anger in his eyes, but she still felt nervous.
"Please forgive me, Sage!" Hikari cried, her face turning pale as she bowed her head to apologize.
Before she could continue, Manji raised a hand and gently stopped her. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Seeing this, Kaguya stepped forward and took Hikari's hand again.
"All right, Hikari. I'll take you back to the courtyard at Longevity Peak. We'll get you some clean, comfortable clothes, and then you can have a nice bath."
With that, Kaguya led the still-nervous Hikari toward the courtyard.
"..." Manji stood quietly and watched them go, his expression calm and hard to read.
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