Chapter 68: “Child of Destiny”?
After a long pause.
Hikari Uchiha shook her head, her expression one of boredom.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's theoretical spiel was even weaker than she'd expected.
Utterly flimsy.
This so-called "Will of Fire" had been preached since Konoha's founding, yet after generations, it amounted to little more than a handful of pretty slogans with barely any tangible progress. And when you stacked those lofty words against the dirty laundry of Konoha's past few decades—some of which hadn't even happened yet—the irony was almost laughable.
"Anything else to say?"
Hikari locked eyes with the two men across from her, breaking the silence. "If not, you can go. Don't expect me to walk you out."
…
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya left Naruto's place with the same awkward air they'd arrived with.
But before they went, they left something behind.
"Minato Namikaze's property deed… This thing still exists?"
Hikari eyed the stack of papers on the coffee table, a bit surprised.
She knew the cramped apartment Naruto lived in wasn't the home Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had shared—obviously, no Hokage would live in a tiny 40-square-meter flat. From her hazy recollection of the Naruto storyline and the address listed on the deed, the Namikaze residence wasn't far from here: a two-and-a-half-story villa.
Hikari had assumed that after the Nine-Tails incident, Minato and Kushina's property would've been liquidated, much like the Uchiha compound was repossessed by Konoha after the clan's massacre in the original timeline. But apparently, it had been preserved. And now, Hiruzen choosing this moment to return the deed, asking her to handle it as "a friend Minato trusted"…
What was his angle?
Was he worried that if she moved back to the Uchiha compound, she'd start siding with the clan and turn against Konoha, so he was using this to keep her tethered?
Hmm… Pretty likely.
Hikari didn't dwell on it. She tucked the deed away, planning to ask Minato's opinion in the group chat later.
As she turned, she caught sight of Naruto standing at the kitchen doorway, head bowed, looking a bit downcast.
"Hikari-nee, are you… really moving out?"
"?"
Hikari paused, then gave a small smirk. "You overheard us talking? Yeah, I'm thinking about it, but it's for personal reasons—not because I'm sick of you. Don't worry, I'll swing by to check on you, and you can come find me… if I'm in the village, that is."
—Though a place like the Uchiha compound? Naruto probably wouldn't get past the gate. Anbu would step in, and if some Uchiha hothead attacked the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, it'd be a mess.
"…"
Naruto kept his head down, silent.
Hikari ruffled his bright blonde hair and let out a soft sigh. "Come on, why's a kid like you getting all mopey? You weren't like this before. I'm heading out for a bit. If I'm back before the afternoon, I'll take you shopping."
At that, Naruto perked up and nodded. "Okay… I'll wait here!"
After a quick word, Hikari threw on her jacket and stepped outside.
She leaped from the second-floor hallway, heading straight for the Police Force headquarters.
…
Meanwhile.
In the Hokage's office.
"What's your take, Jiraiya?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who'd been silent the whole walk back, settled behind his desk, took a heavy drag from his pipe, and looked up at the man beside him.
"…"
Jiraiya, equally quiet until now, stood with his arms crossed. He didn't answer right away, instead giving Hiruzen a complicated look. "Old man, all that intel you gave me about her—it's legit, right?"
"…You mean?"
"That stuff about this girl hailing from the Warring States era over a hundred years ago, raised as a weapon by the Uchiha clan and sealed away by the Senju back then…"
Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "It was my first time meeting her, but she gives off… a unique vibe. Doesn't feel like an Uchiha at all. Especially not one born over a century ago who was enslaved by her own clan."
Jiraiya was born after Konoha's founding.
Hiruzen was a bit older, from the tail end of the Warring States period.
Their knowledge of that era came mostly from fragmented records in old scrolls and stories passed down by family elders—particularly a certain unnamed Senju Hokage. From those sources, they could roughly sketch the Uchiha clan's profile:
Sensitive, extreme, unhinged, defiant…
But in Hikari Uchiha? Defiance was the only trait that stood out. The rest… maybe faint traces, but so diluted they barely counted as traits.
Her looks, though, were pure Uchiha—gorgeous, with a refined air that added to her charm… but that wasn't exactly relevant to the discussion.
Overall, she seemed more normal than most Konoha villagers born in the last twenty years.
Especially her comments about the "Will of Fire"…
Those words had shaken Hiruzen to his core.
Thinking back on Konoha's history—the tragedies of White Fang, Nawaki, Orochimaru, Hizashi Hyuga, Danzo… and the Uchiha, who were practically a recurring nightmare…
Could the "Will of Fire" really have gone astray?
If so, what had he been protecting all these decades?
Hiruzen's grip tightened, unwilling to let his thoughts spiral further.
Jiraiya was deep in thought, too.
To him, Minato Namikaze wasn't just a brilliant student but the "Child of Prophecy" he'd spent decades searching for, the one he'd believed would change the world—until the Nine-Tails incident four years ago shattered that dream. But now…
If Hikari Uchiha knew Minato, could her ideas today have been shaped by his influence?
Or…
What if the Great Toad Sage's prophecy—the one about a figure who'd revolutionize the ninja world—wasn't about Minato at all, but this Warring States-era Uchiha girl, recently unearthed from her seal?
But with his seniority, he couldn't exactly take her as a student, could he?
Plus, shouldn't it be a "Daughter of Destiny" or something…?
Jiraiya scratched his head, wondering if he should make a quick trip to Mount Myoboku to ask.
After a moment of silence, Hiruzen spoke again. "Jiraiya, back at Naruto's place, did you sense anything like Minato's Flying Thunder God chakra?"
(End of Chapter)