Chapter 67: Just Because It’s Always Been That Way, Does That Make It Right? 

Uchiha Hikari, of course, didn't know Flying Thunder God. 

But from a ninja's perspective, the "world-hopping" function of the chat group did feel a bit like Flying Thunder God. 

And besides… 

She had learned one of Namikaze Minato's signature techniques not too long ago— 

"This jutsu… you guys shouldn't find it too unfamiliar, right?" 

As she spoke, Hikari raised her right hand. Chakra swirled, and a small spinning ball began to form in her palm, emitting a faint buzzing sound. 

"Rasengan!?" 

"Minato taught you that technique too?!" 

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock, instinctively glancing at the man beside him. 

Jiraiya's expression was even graver. 

Having witnessed the entire development of the Rasengan and being the only person in the ninja world who could currently use it, he was the most qualified to judge whether the technique before them was the real deal. 

"It's actually the Rasengan…" 

"Minato, is he really still…" 

Jiraiya trailed off mid-sentence, unable to find the right word. 

What exactly was the state of someone sealed in the belly of the Shinigami? 

"…I don't know how you met Minato, Uchiha Hikari-san, but if he trusted you enough to teach you those two techniques, he must have had great faith in you. In that case, I won't say much more. I only hope, for the sake of that friendship, you'll look out for Naruto and keep him from going down the wrong path." 

After a long pause, Jiraiya spoke slowly, his tone solemn. 

"Hm?" 

Hiruzen whipped his head around to stare at Jiraiya—that wasn't what they'd discussed! 

Hikari, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you guys didn't come here to take back Naruto's guardianship? Well, whatever. I'm planning to move out of here soon anyway." 

This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. 

When Hikari first arrived in Konoha, she had nowhere else to go, so she stayed at Naruto's place as part of her deal with the Fourth Hokage. 

But now? 

She was pretty well-off, and her trips across worlds had netted her plenty of new gadgets. Staying in this cramped apartment, constantly under Anbu surveillance, was starting to feel inconvenient. 

"Move out?" 

Hiruzen glanced toward the kitchen, hesitating. "What about Naruto…?" 

"Naruto's capable enough to take care of himself now. Even without me, he can manage just fine." 

Hikari paused for a moment, then narrowed her eyes at Hiruzen. "But I'd suggest you don't try to force your vague, half-baked ideals on him—especially that 'Will of Fire' nonsense." 

"…" 

Hiruzen opened his mouth a few times, finally unable to hold back. "Hikari-san, do you have some kind of grudge against the Will of Fire?" 

"Pfft—" 

Hikari couldn't help but laugh. "Grudge?" 

"Sarutobi, kid, let me ask you this. If I had never shown up in Konoha, what were you planning to do about the Uchiha clan?" 

"Well…" 

Hiruzen wasn't sure where this question was going. "That scenario didn't happen, but if it had, Konoha's leadership would've focused on de-escalation, trying to resolve things peacefully through negotiation…" 

"Oh?" 

Hikari's smile grew sharper. "De-escalation? You mean setting the Anbu to watch their every move, letting the Root stir up trouble behind the scenes, and pretending you don't see any of it from your comfy office? 

With the Uchiha unable to clear their name from the Nine-Tails incident and fed up with their unfair treatment, what do you think a clan like theirs would do? And when that time came, how would you respond?" 

In truth, at this point in time, the tensions between the Uchiha clan and Konoha were already razor-thin. 

If Hikari hadn't appeared… 

Within a few months, those tensions would've boiled over. Shisui would've been forced to reveal his "Kotoamatsukami" to Konoha's leadership, catching Danzo's attention. Danzo would've stolen his eye, leaving him to die in the river, derailing the Uchiha's rebellion plans. Then, two years later, Itachi and Obito, the ultimate double-crossers, would've teamed up to wipe out the clan. 

Others might not know the details. 

But as the Hokage, who'd been ordering the Anbu to closely monitor the Uchiha for years, Hiruzen should've known better than anyone. 

"This…" 

Hiruzen was sweating buckets now. 

In front of this Uchiha clan "grandma," there were things he didn't dare say too plainly. 

After stammering for a while, he tried to phrase it delicately. "If the Uchiha clan truly stood against Konoha, the leadership might've urged Fugaku to punish the key instigators. After all, their actions would've undeniably threatened the village's safety…" 

"Oh." 

"So a baseless accusation is enough to justify wiping out an entire clan? Simply wanting fair treatment is somehow a threat to village security? 

If the one who triggered the Nine-Tails incident had been someone with Hashirama's cells, or someone with a Byakugan stolen from the Hyuga, would the Senju, Hyuga, or even the Nara-Shika-Cho or Sarutobi clans have ended up 'standing against Konoha' too?" 

Hikari's tone grew colder. "Let's cut to the chase. In your eyes, what is Konoha? The people who make up this village, or the village itself? What's the 'Will of Fire' really about—protecting Konoha, or putting Konoha above everything else? This village was founded to protect the people we care about, so when did it become about sacrificing those people to preserve the village's interests? Without its people, can you even call it a village?" 

"…" 

Hiruzen opened his mouth, stunned by the barrage of questions. "But… that's how it's always been. The other ninja villages are the same…" 

"Just because it's always been that way, does that make it right?" 

Hikari cut him off sharply. "If everything's still the same as it was during the village's founding or the Warring States period, then what was the point of creating Konoha in the first place?" 

"Whether it's Naruto or anyone else, they're people first—before they're Konoha villagers, ninjas, or anything else. They weren't born into this world to be kindling for your fire!" 

"…" 

Hiruzen wanted to call it sophistry. 

But for the life of him, he couldn't find a counterargument. 

The "Will of Fire" he'd preached countless times—to the ninja academy, the Anbu, the jonin, and Konoha's villagers—suddenly felt hollow. 

Jiraiya, meanwhile, stared at Hikari with wide eyes, a rare seriousness in his gaze, as if he were seeing her for the first time.