Chapter 125
Uchiha Hikaru Konoha
Chapter 125 Uchiha Returns to Konoha
"Wow! So spicy! So spicy!" Xia Ri completely disregarded her image as a beautiful woman, exhaling heavily as she grabbed the water glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp.
The other two lightly injured Star Ninjas carefully picked up their spoons and took a bite.
He was immediately so spicy that he stuck out his tongue and his face turned bright red.
In stark contrast to them was Uchiha Hikaru.
The girl's cheeks were flushed, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, but she still ate with relish.
Grandma Sansho stood in the kitchen with a kind expression, preparing some lemonade for everyone.
"The secret to life curry lies in its spiciness; it can awaken dormant cells and rejuvenate the body," Grandma Sansho said. "However, it's rare to find someone who can finish a whole serving without batting an eye."
"Another one, please!" Uchiha Hikaru handed the empty plate to Granny Sansho, still wanting more.
Grandma Sansho looked at the girl with flushed cheeks and beads of sweat, a grain of rice still stuck to the corner of her mouth, with some surprise, and took the plate with a smile: "Looks like I've met one today."
After lunch, Uchiha Hikaru rented several guest rooms to house the wounded, while Natsumi stayed behind to treat two injured Hoshi ninja.
The following morning, Uchiha Hikaru arrived at the Kurosu family's village stronghold in the Oxalis Gold Mountain.
At the village entrance, dozens of members of the Heichu clan were packing their belongings, preparing for the clan's relocation.
Many members of the Kurosuki clan looked worried. They had only recently defected from Kirigakure with their clan leader, Kurosuki Raiga, and now that Raiga was dead, they were forced to relocate to an unknown place.
Hotaru was supervising the Kurosu family's relocation with several Star Ninja.
"My lord, the relocation of the Kurosu family is ready," Hotaru reported to Uchiha Hikaru.
"Kurosu Buntaro greets you, sir." Accompanying Hotaru was a ninja from the Kurosu clan.
He wore a Kirigakure headband with a horizontal line drawn across his forehead, and his appearance bore a resemblance to Raiga Kurosuki.
The newly elected chieftain of the Kurosuki clan knelt on one knee: "My lord, I humbly request that you forgive Kurosuki Raiga's wife and children."
"Does Raiga Kurosuki have a wife and children?" Hikaru Uchiha crossed his arms and looked at the Kurosuki clan members.
“Yes.” Kurosuki Buntaro pointed to a woman not far away whose figure was showing early signs of pregnancy and explained, “His wife is only a few weeks pregnant.”
Uchiha Hikaru waved his hand dismissively: "I wouldn't stoop to making things difficult for women and children."
A woman, an unborn child—the pride of the Uchiha clan made her disdain doing such a thing.
"Thank you, sir!" Kurosuki Buntaro breathed a sigh of relief.
He then proactively reported the clan's situation to Uchiha Hikaru in detail: "My lord, our Kurosuki clan has a total of fifty-eight members, including myself, one Jonin, one Special Jonin, four Chunin, and six Genin."
There were a total of twelve ninjas; the others were either women and elderly people who were not capable of fighting, or children.
The Kurosuki ninja clan is not large, but it is not small either.
After all, not every ninja clan is like the Uchiha, who can easily produce ten Jonin and dozens of Chunin.
The Uchiha clan was already the largest ninja clan in the entire ninja world; the power of one clan could easily wipe out a small to medium-sized country.
The only ones that can compare to them now are the Hyuga clan.
The relocation of the Kurozuki ninja clan is proceeding in an orderly manner.
They had just escaped from Kirigakure more than three months ago, so they were traveling light and didn't have any particularly heavy supplies.
Under Firefly's arrangement, the Black Hoe family disguised themselves as a caravan transporting ore and set off towards the border of the Wind Kingdom, intending to migrate north along the border and eventually enter the territory of the Star Kingdom.
"My lord, aren't you coming with us?" At the summit of the Alpinia Grass Mountain, having already entrusted the injured Star Ninja to the caravan, Summer asked softly. "No need. I have some matters to attend to. You all go back first," Uchiha Hikaru replied, gazing eastward with unwavering resolve.
"Yes, sir!" Xia Ri bowed slightly and withdrew.
After spending the past six months together, she had come to realize that this young girl possessed power far exceeding that of ordinary Jonin like them, second only to Lord Shura in the entire Star Ninja Village.
Moreover, her ambiguous relationship with Lord Shura led the ninjas of Xingren Village to treat her as their matriarch.
After summer had passed, Uchiha Hikaru glanced in the direction the Kurosuki clan, disguised as a merchant caravan, had gone, and then headed east as well.
Traveling at full speed, she entered the Land of Fire in less than a day.
Following the general direction from his memory, Uchiha Hikaru arrived at the old clan territory of the Uchiha clan.
After the establishment of Konoha, the entire Uchiha clan moved to the village, and this former clan territory, not far from Konoha, has become a ruin.
Uchiha Hikari wandered among the ruins, stopping in front of a collapsed wall covered with the clan crest, which made her lower her gaze and look serene.
"The Uchiha clan..." During the hundreds of years she was sealed away, her feelings for the Uchiha were very complicated.
After her parents passed away, she awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. The Uchiha clan members were her only blood relatives. Young Uchiha Hikari both longed to be accepted by her clan members and deeply resented being treated like a weapon.
During the hundreds of years she was sealed away, she hoped countless times that her people would discover the traces of her seal and rescue her.
But it wasn't until that man broke her seal and told her that the Uchiha clan had let go of their hatred for the Senju and Uzumaki clans who had sealed her away.
This feeling of betrayal and being forgotten lingered in her mind for a long time.
Meow?
Suddenly, a meow interrupted Uchiha Hikaru's thoughts.
She turned her head and saw an orange cat sitting on a half-collapsed building, curiously looking at Uchiha Hikaru.
It seemed as if it was trying to recall if it had been seen somewhere before.
“Ninja cats…” Uchiha Hikaru remembered that the Uchiha clan and the ninja cat clan had a long-standing and deep cooperation, and many of the Uchiha’s weapons were purchased from the ninja cat clan.
Seemingly sensing something, the orange cat jumped off the ruins and walked over to Uchiha Hikaru, sniffing his scent.
Uchiha Hikaru also stretched out his hand and placed it in front of the orange cat.
After a while, the orange cat stretched its head into Uchiha Hikari's palm and rubbed against her palm affectionately.
Stroking the cat's head, Uchiha Hikaru's melancholy mood improved considerably.
She picked up the orange cat and gazed towards Konoha.
"It's time to go to Konoha."
At the same time, she mentally encouraged herself: 'I'm not going to see the Uchiha clan in Konoha, I'm just going to see Menma!'
at the same time.
At Ichiraku Ramen in Konoha Village.
Naruto stared in disbelief as Hinata ate her tenth bowl of ramen.
While drinking soup, Mianma suddenly shivered and felt a chill down her spine.
'Is there something dirty?' Menma activated Kagura's Mind Eye and looked around warily.
'We haven't found any White Zetsu either?'
(End of this chapter)