"Um... maybe it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing."
Uchiha Hikari gave an ambiguous answer.
"But I'm a monster that everyone hates. No one in the village ever wanted to speak up for me, and no one ever wanted to hold my hand..."
As he spoke, Naruto lowered his head—then suddenly noticed something. He began to pull his hand back from Hikari's grip. "Sis, my hand is really dirty... it's covered in blood and dust. It'll get on you."
Hikari was momentarily stunned by Naruto's reaction, then chuckled softly. She hadn't expected Naruto, at this age, to be so deeply insecure and sensitive that even the tiniest act of kindness would leave him flustered and unsure.
"It's fine."
Hikari kept holding Naruto's hand as they walked a few more steps, stopping in front of a two-story apartment building at the end of the street. "Your home should be up there, right? Mind inviting me up for a look?"
"Huh? Sis, how did you know I live here...?"
"You guess."
—This wasn't the apartment building Minato had mentioned in the chat group. It was probably the new residence Hiruzen had arranged for Naruto after the Nine-Tails incident. But it wasn't hard to find—it wasn't far from the shopping street, and its appearance was very distinctive. Hikari had seen it countless times in the anime.
Four-year-old Naruto wasn't particularly sharp. Though he'd been puzzled a second ago, he grinned the next moment. "Of course I don't mind! Other than the old man, no one's ever visited my home before! Sis, come on—I'll take you up right now..."
Up the stairs.
Open the door.
Step inside.
The sight that greeted her was a simple, messy scene: slightly yellowed walls, a chipped coffee table and chairs, a dining table cluttered with cup noodles, a water kettle, and milk cartons. Probably because the broth had been slurped down to the last drop, there wasn't much of a smell in the air.
"Ah, I forgot to clean up today..."
Naruto glanced at Hikari with embarrassment and immediately rushed to tidy up. "Sis, just wait a sec. The room's a mess—I'll clean it right away!"
The sound of chair legs scraping echoed through the small apartment.
Hikari watched Naruto's flustered movements, then casually walked over, picked up a half-empty milk carton, and checked the date.
Hmm. As expected.
"Was this milk already expired when you got it?"
"Huh?"
Naruto froze for a moment, then mimicked her action, glancing at the label. After that, he downed the rest in one gulp. "I don't really get the whole 'expired' thing... I got this milk from the bins behind the stores. If I go inside, they chase me out..."
As he spoke, Naruto dragged over a chair. "Sis, this one's clean now—I wiped it! Sit here! I'll boil some water. The old man taught me how to use the kettle..."
"Thanks."
Hikari thanked him and sat down, turning her attention to the chat group.
[Nameless: Fourth Hokage, have you decided what you want to say to him? I can pass it along for you.]
A brief silence.
[Yellow Flash: Miss Hikari, could you please not reveal my existence to Naruto just yet?]
[Nameless: ?]
[Yellow Flash: I might... not have been a very good father.]
"True."
From Hikari's perspective, Namikaze Minato wasn't exactly a model father—far from the kind of man he was as a shinobi or a husband.
[Yellow Flash: Even now, I don't regret sealing the Nine-Tails inside Naruto. It was the best choice at the time. What I regret is not being able to stay by Naruto's side as a father—to watch him grow up... The Nine-Tails attack cost too many villagers their lives. They needed an outlet for their emotions. But the one who should have borne that burden was me—not Naruto, who knew nothing about any of it.]
[Yellow Flash: Miss Hikari, could I ask you for another favor? In return, I can teach you all the ninjutsu I've mastered, including the techniques that made me famous.]
[Nameless: ...Let me correct you—the best choice would've been sealing the Nine-Tails back into Kushina. A jinchūriki does indeed hover at death's door after losing their tailed beast, but if it's resealed immediately, they can still survive. Especially in clans like the Senju and Uzumaki, whose vitality is exceptionally strong.]
[Yellow Flash: ?!]
It... could have been done that way?
Hikari didn't linger on the topic and continued typing with calm focus:
[Nameless: Back to the main point—what do you want me to do?]
[Nameless: Let me be clear—I can look after Naruto for a while, but I can't stay by his side forever.]
She was genuinely interested in Minato's ninjutsu.
As the renowned "Yellow Flash" of the shinobi world, his signature Flying Thunder God Technique was a bug-level space-time jutsu, comparable in power to Obito's Kamui.
However, the technique she truly wanted to learn wasn't Flying Thunder God.
Space-time jutsu was among the most talent-dependent of all techniques. Mastering Flying Thunder God required exceptional chakra control and lightning-fast reflexes. The former could be trained—the latter was largely innate. People like Tobirama and Minato were one in a million. Hikari didn't think she had that kind of raw talent.
But another technique was different—
Sealing jutsu!
As Kushina's husband, Minato was one of the most knowledgeable sealing masters in the shinobi world. Aside from bloodline-limited techniques like Adamantine Sealing Chains, he likely had access to every other sealing art out there. That was the knowledge Hikari was after.
Of course, sealing jutsu was much more valuable than the Flying Thunder God or the Rasengan. Minato might be willing to teach her those... but sealing jutsu? That might require some persuasion.
Still, Hikari could sweeten the deal.
Minato was trapped inside the Shinigami. Any action he wanted to take required her help. If she went above and beyond their original agreement, Minato would likely feel indebted to her—and he'd want to repay that debt.
In a sense, it was emotional blackmail.
Given the Fourth Hokage's personality, he wouldn't feel comfortable letting her efforts go unrewarded.
Even if she couldn't learn all his sealing jutsu, Hikari could at least use the opportunity to imprint Naruto with the Yashagoro mark—allowing her to borrow his chakra when needed.
And—
She wanted to imprint someone else as well.
Someone very likely to appear today.
In the chat, Minato shook off his reverie about the "best choice" and continued with mixed feelings.
[Yellow Flash: I understand. I wouldn't ask for something so unreasonable. I just want to ask you, Miss Hikari... to speak with the Third Hokage.]
...
Gurgle, gurgle—
The kettle in the kitchen began to whistle.
Hikari helped Naruto turn off the stove and was just about to pour herself a cup of water when hurried footsteps echoed from the hallway outside.
Then came a knock at the door.
"Naruto, are you home? Grandpa's here to see you. Open the door for Grandpa, will you?"