Chapter 23: Uchiha Hikari
Night.
The silent girl sat alone, hugging her knees, looking at the flickering bonfire in the distance.
A neatly folded blanket lay beside her.
Five hundred years.
Uchiha Mumei felt alienated by everything around her.
She knew she had been in the darkness for a long time, but she didn't know how long.
Maybe a day, maybe a month, maybe a summer...
She looked up.
Her dark eyes fixed on the moon hanging high in the sky, a sight that had never changed.
Only the moon was the familiar one from her memory.
The white-haired boy stepped out of the shadows of the trees and sat down beside her, completely at ease.
"I spoke with Jiraiya-sama. We can take you back to Konoha, but we will have to place a Five-Elements Sealing Method on you. It will only be removed once we confirm you pose no threat to the village."
This was the final compromise Kakashi had fought for.
Even though Kakashi felt indifferent toward the Uchiha clan, they were still allies, at least outwardly.
So, this was the best possible outcome.
The Five-Elements Sealing Method would restrict the user's chakra, preventing them from using jutsu normally. A jutsu that could usually unleash ten parts of power would only be able to use half, or even less.
"..."
Uchiha Mumei remained silent, as if having the seal placed on her didn't matter at all.
"...I will be your guardian during this period."
"You cannot leave my sensory range."
Kakashi continued to explain, picking up a small stick by the fire to poke the embers.
As Kakashi poked it, the fire shot out sparks and crackled. He dug two dark objects out of the flames.
Two roasted sweet potatoes.
Knowing that Uchiha Mumei hadn't eaten in ages, Kakashi had dug them up nearby.
He took a kunai from his ninja pouch, carefully sliced off the charred skin, revealing the golden-yellow flesh, and pushed it toward Uchiha Mumei.
Mumei stared silently at the sweet potato in front of her.
After a long silence, her voice finally came out, hoarse:
"That white-haired man said the Uzumaki clan was destroyed?"
Kakashi nodded.
"That is correct. They were jointly annihilated by Kumogakure and Kirigakure during the Second Shinobi World War, decades ago."
Mumei didn't know what Kumogakure or Kirigakure were, but she registered the "Second Shinobi World War." She continued to ask:
"What about the Senju clan?"
Hearing her question, Kakashi replied:
"The Senju clan, led by the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, disbanded their clan and abandoned their surname to integrate into Konoha."
They had merged into Konoha's medical, educational, and administrative systems.
Considering this Uchiha 'Great-Grandma' was 500 years old, she probably wouldn't understand the nuance of the last sentence, so Kakashi left it unsaid.
"They... gave up the Senju name?"
Compared to the destruction of the Uzumaki clan, the Senju clan voluntarily abandoning their name seemed to touch Uchiha Mumei more deeply.
[Emotional Fluctuation from Uchiha Mumei +1]
[Chakra +1%]
[Current Chakra: 200%]
Following Obito Uchiha, Uchiha Mumei had provided Kakashi with almost a full unit of chakra the moment she woke up and saw him.
The five centuries in darkness, followed by the first sight of light—that intense emotion had made Kakashi's 'cheat' ability trigger repeatedly.
Including this new 1%, Kakashi's chakra reserves had now reached four Kakashi-units of chakra.
He had successfully reached the chakra level of Naruto when suppressed by Yamato's Wood Style seal.
Though, without Yamato's suppression, Naruto has 100 Kakashi-units of chakra.
"And the Uchiha clan?"
Finally, Mumei asked the most important question.
Kakashi hesitated, but eventually answered:
"They are in Konoha."
Silence.
Silence once more.
"Want to eat something?"
Kakashi nudged the roasted sweet potato toward Uchiha Mumei.
The girl stared at the sweet potato, remaining speechless for a long time.
Sweet.
A sweet fragrance.
Even without eating it, the scent reached her nostrils.
Finally...
Uchiha Mumei moved.
In Kakashi's sight, she reached out and grabbed the sweet potato.
She carefully peeled off a piece of the golden flesh and slowly brought it to her mouth.
A burst of sweetness exploded on her tongue. The taste buds, which hadn't encountered food in so long, relentlessly stimulated her nerves.
But the girl remained motionless.
Even though her body's hunger, suppressed for hundreds of years, was urging her to eat quickly, Uchiha Mumei froze.
Kakashi watched her, thinking he might have burnt it, and she found it inedible.
But two clear streams of tears fell down her cheeks.
The tears, shining in the firelight, flowed down her face, dripping from her chin onto the ground and the sweet potato in her hand.
Five hundred years.
Five hundred years.
Father is dead. Mother is dead.
Only she... is alive.
Even the enemies, the Uchiha clan, who caused her such pain and suffering...
Even they were dead.
This world is so strange. Too strange.
So strange... that she didn't recognize it at all.
Kakashi quietly watched the silent, crying girl, offering no comfort.
He just watched her cry, then ate the sweet potato in his hand, almost as if in retaliation for the salt of her tears.
"Your name?"
Swallowing the sweet potato quickly, her face smudged with ash, Uchiha Mumei finally looked at Kakashi and asked his name.
"Kakashi."
"Hatake Kakashi." 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 and extended his hand, his eyes curving into crescents.
"..."
Uchiha Hikari looked at his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally placed her hand, stained with sweet potato ash, in Kakashi's.
Kakashi looked at the girl and understood her thoughts.
Facing this strange world alone, she just needed anyone... anyone to take her along.
She didn't want to be alone anymore.
This was Uchiha Hikari's deepest desire.
This was probably why Mu-ro-tsu was able to easily manipulate her decades later.