That is Konoha... Uchiha Hikari gazed at the Konoha gate ahead, looking at the bustling pedestrians and the rectangular boxes with four wheels she had never seen before.
"Konoha is magnificent, isn't it? There's even more magnificent stuff in the Village!"
Tsunade saw Uchiha Hikari staring blankly at the Konoha gate and said with a smile. After two days of rest, she had fully recovered.
"Let's go."
Orochimaru took Uchiha Hikari's hand and walked towards the Konoha gate.
"Wait for me!"
Tsunade quickly caught up.
"Orochimaru-sama, you're back."
The two guards greeted him warmly.
Orochimaru-sama... Uchiha Hikari watched the two guards' respectful and enthusiastic demeanor towards Orochimaru.
His status in the Village must be very high, right?
"Yes," Orochimaru said with a slight smile, writing his and Tsunade's information on the registration form, and finally Uchiha Hikari's information.
Walking down the street, Uchiha Hikari looked at everything around her with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. From a window of a house, she saw something rectangular with people moving inside.
A Sealing Technique?
Uchiha Hikari, like a startled rabbit, darted behind Orochimaru.
"What's wrong?" Orochimaru asked, looking at Uchiha Hikari in confusion. What could have scared her so much?
What could have scared her so much?
Tsunade was also very puzzled.
"Inside that rectangular thing, there were people moving… Is it, is it a Sealing Technique?"
Having been sealed underground for a hundred years, Uchiha Hikari was terrified of Sealing Techniques, her small body trembling slightly.
"Rectangular thing…" Tsunade walked to the window of that house and saw what Uchiha Hikari had just seen. Suppressing a laugh, she said, "Hikari, what you saw was a television. That's not a Sealing Technique."
"Television?" Uchiha Hikari had never heard of such a thing.
"That's right, a television is a household appliance. There are many things you can see on a television, for example…" Tsunade walked beside Uchiha Hikari, introducing her to what a television was.
Uchiha Hikari responded dazedly, not understanding at all, but she did realize that a television was not a Sealing Technique, and the people inside were not sealed there.
Ninja not from Konoha were detected by the barrier the moment they entered Konoha. Soon, ANBU Ninja arrived. Seeing that it was the Uchiha girl beside Orochimaru who triggered the barrier, they exchanged glances, unsure whether to approach.
"What should we do?"
"Should we inform Hokage-sama first?"
The ANBU Ninja quickly made a decision; they didn't want to offend Orochimaru.
You're just leaving?
Orochimaru had wanted the ANBU Ninja to help pass on a message, but he didn't expect them to just look and leave. That was too irresponsible.
Walking to the street closest to the Hokage Rock, Tsunade knew it was time to go home. She hugged Orochimaru and reluctantly said, "Orochimaru, I'm going home now."
Taking the scroll in the box without permission to go treasure hunting, she couldn't get away without a good explanation to her grandmother. She might even be scolded by her grandmother… If Uchiha Hikari hadn't been with Orochimaru, she would have dragged Orochimaru with her to get scolded.
Getting scolded together was better than getting scolded alone, and Orochimaru could help her share the burden, so her grandmother wouldn't just focus on scolding her.
Orochimaru looked at Tsunade's unwilling face, guessed why she didn't want to go home, and smiled, saying, "Perfect, I need to take Hikari to the Hokage Building. Her identity issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible."
If she didn't need to sort out Hikari's identity, and she was also responsible for this matter, she would naturally have to go with her to be scolded. But now, Hikari's identity issue was more important.
Konoha, Hokage Building.
"Hiruzen-sensei." Orochimaru pushed open the door to the Hokage Office, holding Uchiha Hikari's small hand and giving her a reassuring smile.
"Orochimaru, is this the girl you brought back from outside?" Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the documents in his hand and examined the girl beside Orochimaru. From her appearance and attire, it was clear at a glance that she was a standard Uchiha girl.
Konoha's Hokage… Uchiha Hikari held Orochimaru's arm with both hands, observing the seemingly easygoing uncle sitting there. In two days, she had learned how the Ninja village system was born, and why the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan were able to shake hands and establish a Ninja village.
The world-destroying war between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara made her feel even more incredible. Was that something humans could achieve?
Was Susanoo really that powerful?
Just using Susanoo in that form was already a great burden on the body, so she couldn't imagine how much more of a burden further advancement would bring.
On the leisurely way back to Konoha, Orochimaru and Tsunade told Uchiha Hikari what had happened in the Ninja World after she was sealed, as well as some common knowledge, so she wouldn't be completely clueless.
"When Tsunade and I met this child, she was living alone in a small house in the forest, which used to be the Uchiha Clan's territory. She should be a descendant of those Uchiha Clan members who didn't join Konoha when the Uchiha Clan and Senju Clan established Konoha in the past."
Orochimaru came up with a reason that wouldn't affect the Uchiha Clan's reputation.
No matter how prone the Uchiha Clan was to producing fanatics, the current Uchiha Clan had a good relationship with her.
Orochimaru's hand rested on Uchiha Hikari's head, stroking her hair. She somewhat understood why those people always liked to pat her head when she was little; this feeling was indeed quite addictive.
"I see… So, should this child be sent to the Uchiha Clan?" Hiruzen Sarutobi could feel that Orochimaru valued this child greatly, so he probably wouldn't send her to the Uchiha Clan. The reason he asked was just a formality, and to find out what Orochimaru was thinking.
Resistance… Hiruzen Sarutobi saw Uchiha Hikari show obvious resistance when he said "send her to the Uchiha Clan." She held Orochimaru's arm tightly, as if afraid the person beside her would abandon her.
What exactly did this child go through?
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought that this child might have lived alone for a long time and might have encountered something terrible, and a trace of pity appeared in his eyes.
"Hiruzen-sensei, this child has no relatives in the Uchiha Clan. Instead of sending her to the Uchiha, it would be better for her to stay with me."
Orochimaru would never send Uchiha Hikari to the Uchiha Clan. Not to mention her physical problems, even if her body was fine, she couldn't send her there. She had the Eye Sealing Curse Mark she placed on her forehead.
If the Uchiha Clan discovered this, it would be troublesome.
Friendship is one thing, but a Sealing Technique that could affect the Sharingan would definitely cause an uproar in the Uchiha Clan. What if someone extreme emerged?
Soon after, Orochimaru left the Hokage Building with Uchiha Hikari. After registering her information, she was officially a Konoha villager.
"Orochimaru, where are we going?" Uchiha Hikari held Orochimaru's hand and looked up at her.
"To my home. From now on, it will be your home too." Orochimaru met her large black eyes and smiled slightly.
"Mm!" Uchiha Hikari was stunned for a moment, then a happy smile appeared on her face.
Orochimaru wanted to use the Flying Thunder God Technique, but considering Uchiha Hikari wasn't very familiar with Konoha yet, she took her on foot, also buying groceries along the way.
Given Uchiha Hikari's condition, Orochimaru didn't want her to become a Ninja, at least not now. Later, it would depend on her own choices.
"Orochimaru, the people of Konoha respect you very much…" Uchiha Hikari helped carry a bag of groceries. Along the way, she saw many people calling Orochimaru "Orochimaru-sama" with great respect.
Orochimaru paused, then chuckled and said, "They don't respect me; they respect my research achievements."
"Research achievements?" Uchiha Hikari looked at Orochimaru's back and quickened her pace to catch up.
Ding-dong, ding-dong—!
Hyuga Mio heard the doorbell, went to the door, and opened it. She saw a smile appear on Orochimaru's usually expressionless face. When she saw Uchiha Hikari behind her, she was slightly startled. She looked at Orochimaru, then at Uchiha Hikari, and tilted her head slightly.
How did she go out treasure hunting and come back with a child?
"Mio, I found this child when I was out treasure hunting." Orochimaru cleared her throat and introduced, "Her name is Uchiha Hikari. You can call her Hikari. She'll be living here from now on. Hikari, this is Hyuga Mio. You can call her Mio or Mio-neechan, she's also a member of this family."
The thought of Uchiha Hikari calling Hyuga Mio "Mio-neechan" brought a mischievous idea to Orochimaru's mind.
She wondered what Mio's reaction would be when she found out this child was from the Warring States Period.
A member of this family… Hyuga Mio's eyes widened as she looked at Orochimaru.
No, no, Orochimaru doesn't have that kind of thought… She just genuinely considers me a member of this family.
Hyuga Mio's pale cheeks flushed a faint red, and she controlled her excited emotions.
"H-hello…" Uchiha Hikari looked at Hyuga Mio's unique Byakugan. For some reason, she felt as if her inner thoughts would be seen through.
"Welcome, Hikari." Hyuga Mio's expression softened considerably, and she took the groceries Uchiha Hikari was holding.
This child's body… After a brief contact, Hyuga Mio noticed that Uchiha Hikari's body felt a little off.
"Excuse me." Hyuga Mio's veins bulged around her eyes as she used her Byakugan to examine Uchiha Hikari's body, her face showing horror.
"This… Orochimaru, this child's body… What exactly did she go through?" Hyuga Mio's horror turned into anger. She saw multiple traces of modification on this child's body, and her eyes emitted different colors, which were very difficult to discern from her outward appearance.
"Mio, calm down. I'll tell you." Seeing Hyuga Mio's intense reaction, Orochimaru realized that Uchiha Hikari's physical condition was even more severe than she had imagined.
"Orochimaru, this child needs a comprehensive examination." Hyuga Mio pressed her hands on Orochimaru's shoulders. She couldn't imagine what kind of person could do such a crazy thing to such a young child.
"That's for later." Orochimaru's hand covered Hyuga Mio's, patting it gently.
"Is my condition… very troublesome?" Uchiha Hikari looked up at Orochimaru and Hyuga Mio, her dark, large black eyes showing no emotion.
Bang—!
Orochimaru flicked Uchiha Hikari's forehead and said, feigning anger, "What are you thinking? I told you, you'll be fine."
"But…" Uchiha Hikari looked at Hyuga Mio.
"With Orochimaru's skill, you'll be fine." Hyuga Mio had absolute confidence in Orochimaru's skill. She calmed her emotions and said, "I was a little too anxious just now."
Even if Uchiha Hikari had only one breath left, Orochimaru could bring her back to life.
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