Hearing Takeshi's words, Nanashi suddenly turned her head. Her gaze carried a chill and hatred, the Mangekyō patterns in her eyes slowly rotating under the surge of emotion.
Takeshi stared back at her without the slightest hint of fear.
If he didn't untie the knot in her heart, she would become an extremely unstable ticking time bomb.
However, Takeshi's inner feelings were far less firm than what he showed on the surface.
After all, the other party possessed Tsukuyomi. If Nanashi ever found him displeasing and decided to treat him to the same "combo meal" that Kakashi once endured, that would be brutal…
Fortunately, Nanashi showed no signs of activating her dōjutsu. Seeing that Takeshi had no intention of looking away, she lowered her gaze first, her voice carrying a touch of helplessness.
"You're trying to persuade me to let go of my hatred, aren't you?"
Takeshi shook his head, quickly composing his reply.
"Only saints and hopelessly naïve people try to tell others to let go of hatred without experiencing it themselves."
He paused, and when he noticed Nanashi wasn't rejecting the conversation, he continued.
"But the Uchiha clan members of back then are already dead. Too much time has passed. Your story is now nothing more than a few lines in an old record."
"Rather than trapping yourself in the past, why not experience the shinobi world as it is today? Of course, if you really want to kill a few Uchiha to vent your anger, I could have some brought out of prison for you."
The first few sentences sounded fine, but the later part became increasingly outrageous.
What did he mean, "kill a few to vent your anger"?
Was she really that casual of a person?
Nanashi shot Takeshi a glare, her heavy mood replaced by exasperated speechlessness.
"In any case, the first thing you should do is reclaim your own name. If you want to say goodbye to the past, you need to rid yourself of the identity of a mere weapon."
Takeshi leaned a little closer, crouching at the edge of the roof while carefully observing Nanashi's micro-expressions.
Her own name…
Watching the sun sink completely behind the mountains, the last traces of light vanishing, Nanashi began to recall the faces of her parents.
"Hikari…"
"Hm? What did you say?" Takeshi hadn't heard clearly.
"I said my name is Hikari. Uchiha Hikari. But I'd rather you leave out the surname." Nanashi—no, Uchiha Hikari—was still deeply averse to her clan.
Takeshi understood and nodded in agreement.
"Alright, Hikari. Welcome to Konoha."
Now it was Hikari's turn to be speechless.
"When did I ever say I was joining Konoha?"
"Not joining? That's such a pity. I went out of my way to reserve a table at Konoha's most famous restaurant. Sigh, they say the chef was once commended by a daimyō…"
As he spoke, Takeshi straightened up, preparing to enjoy the feast alone. But then he felt his sleeve being tugged.
"Ahem, joining isn't entirely out of the question, it's just that…" Hikari's cheeks turned slightly red, as if she had something difficult to say.
"I get it, I get it—meals will be on the administrative budget." After spending several days together, Takeshi could immediately tell what she meant.
Watching her leap from a streetlamp onto the same rooftop, Takeshi, still unconvinced, pressed further.
"Are you really sure you don't want to kill a few Uchiha to ease your mood? I've even got Hyūga prisoners you could choose from."
Hikari was dumbfounded.
Seriously, who was the weapon here—you or her? And for a Hokage to offer up his own clansmen's lives just to please someone else, was that really okay?
"Are you truly the kage of a village? Throwing people out to be killed so casually?"
Takeshi shrugged.
"They don't listen to me anyway. How could they still be considered people of the village?"
"You nasty little kid."
"I'm an adult!"
"Kid!"
"Adult!"
...
Sunagakure. At the canyon entrance of "One Line Sky."
Rasa led the village's upper echelon, enduring the sting of windblown sand against their faces as they stood respectfully on either side of the road.
"They're here."
Someone whispered, and at once the weary group straightened their posture, spirits tightening.
The first to appear were armored samurai. Following them were servants carrying the banner of the Land of Fire along with an unfamiliar family crest.
As they neared Rasa, a lavish palanquin borne by eight men finally came into view.
Beside the palanquin walked a tall man and a petite young girl. Their faces were concealed behind black veils, but even from afar, the aura they exuded was enough to make ordinary shinobi wary.
Once the samurai lined up neatly along the road, the palanquin carried by the servants slowly stopped before Rasa.
With the tall man's permission, Rasa immediately gestured for his council to step forward in greeting.
"Welcome, Fujiwara-sama, and thank you for gracing us with your presence. If our hospitality falls short, we beg your pardon."
The council members bowed deeply. After a brief silence, a crisp youthful voice came from within the palanquin.
"Sunagakure… it's even poorer than I imagined."
At those words, Rasa's brow twitched violently. Baki's expression darkened instantly, and the official delivering greetings nearly lost his balance while bowing.
"And there's so much sand. I can feel my whole face becoming rougher already. No wonder you people all wear those strange veils."
The youthful, sharp tone continued relentlessly, each word striking Rasa like a heavy blow.
"If it weren't for my cousin insisting on investing here, I would never have come to this place."
The palanquin's curtain lifted slightly, revealing an arm draped in white gauze. From the exposed skin, one could see how pale and well-maintained it was—a sign of meticulous care.
Though the boy's face remained hidden in shadow, just from the hand alone one could guess it belonged to a face of exquisite refinement.
"Enough. I can't be bothered arguing with you shinobi. Just take us to our lodgings quickly—I can't stand this sandstorm any longer."
With that, the boy motioned for the tall man at his side, whispering a few words before letting the curtain fall back down.
Such an arrogant attitude—yet it fit Rasa's impression of the nobility perfectly.
At the same time, he felt relieved that he himself hadn't been the one to step forward for greetings. Otherwise, he might truly have been unable to stop himself from striking the boy across the face.
At the tall man's command, the samurai re-formed their ranks. Under the guidance of Sunagakure shinobi, the grand procession marched deeper into One Line Sky.
Originally, according to Rasa's plan, he intended to have someone introduce the canyon's scenery to their esteemed guest. But judging from the boy's attitude, it was clear he had no interest in lingering here, so Rasa omitted that part entirely.
The tall man then produced a notebook from his robes, handing it to the same council member who had greeted them earlier, before following the palanquin into Sunagakure.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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