Chapter 290: Patting the Head
"Was he originally... from Hidden Leaf Village?"
Hikari asked.
She recalled Naruto's familiarity with Obito's information, especially extremely specific details like his Ninja Registration Number; this was by no means the usual level of understanding one had of an external enemy.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded, his gaze still locked on the direction where Obito had disappeared.
"Uchiha Obito. He was once a Hidden Leaf Village Ninja and a Disciple of the Fourth Hokage."
The Fourth Hokage—wasn't that Naruto's father?
Naruto continued in a calm tone as if narrating past events, "I heard that guy was originally a bit clumsy and liked to be late, but he wasn't bad at heart. He liked helping old ladies cross the street. In the Uchiha Clan, he was considered... an outlier."
An Uchiha who liked helping old ladies cross the street?
Hikari frowned slightly. This image was truly difficult to reconcile with the Uchiha Clan in her memories, or with the Obito from just now, who had half a hideous Face, cold eyes, and ruthless strikes.
"But later, he took another path."
Naruto tilted his head slightly. "Moreover, on the night of the Nine-Tails Attack, he personally caused the deaths of my parents."
He spoke these words very softly, but the weight and coldness contained within them seemed to make the surrounding air freeze for a moment.
Hikari understood immediately.
Naruto had told her before that he was an orphan. It turned out that one of the sources of his tragedy was the very enemy they had just faced.
"So, next time if there's a chance to aim for his head, use Amaterasu."
Naruto withdrew his gaze and looked at Hikari beside him.
In Hikari's eyes, Naruto had a faint smile on his Face, looking like a bright and cheerful boy, but the words he spoke were not so sunny.
"I'm curious. He could decisively sever his arm this time..."
"Next time, will he be able to harden his heart to'sever his head to survive'?"
Hearing this, Hikari couldn't help but curl her lip, her expression a bit speechless.
Severing one's head to survive? How is that possible? How can a person live without a head?
Amaterasu burns the point of attachment. If the head is ignited, it's either instantly incinerated, or like just now, the ignited part must be discarded... but how do you discard a head?
However, she didn't dwell on this.
She clearly felt Naruto's pure killing intent toward Obito.
As a companion, she only needed to remember: if they fought again, the priority target was to attack the opponent's head.
The sand cushion glided steadily through the night sky, and the forests and mountains below receded rapidly. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy because of the previous topic.
Naruto was the first to break the silence. He adjusted his breathing, and his tone became lighthearted again, as if he were just discussing a somewhat unpleasant chance encounter.
"Hard work today. Your reaction was very fast."
He turned his head and smiled at Hikari, the night wind blowing the blond hair on his forehead.
"When we reach the Land of Earth, I'll find a place to treat you to a good meal."
"I've heard that Iwagakure's Stone-Roasted Meat and some mountain delicacies have a unique flavor."
"Good food?"
Hikari's eyes lit up immediately.
Her interest in food had always been direct and enthusiastic.
Immediately after, she remembered an important matter.
"Um... my Extra-Spicy Sauce is all gone."
She carried the special sauce Naruto had made last time with her; it was a necessity of life for her.
She would even add some when eating plain rice. Naruto had replenished it once before, but it was finished again.
Naruto laughed and shook his head. "Got it. I'll make you more later."
Hikari nodded slightly in satisfaction, but clearly felt that just a spicy sauce compensation wasn't enough of a "reward."
She blinked and added, "I also want to eat beef. Big chunks of it."
Naruto deliberately put on a stern Face and waved two fingers in front of her. "Hey, that's two requests now."
"Tsk."
Hikari clicked her tongue softly and turned her Face away to look at the scenery below, but the slight pursing of her lips revealed a hint of minor dissatisfaction.
She knew Naruto wanted to tease her again.
Seeing her act indifferent while actually caring quite a bit, the "seriousness" on Naruto's Face instantly broke. A smile reappeared, carrying a coaxing tone.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. How about this: I'll make you beef spicy sauce. Using beef, I'll make a Savory and Spicy Beef Sauce that you can have with rice, noodles, or just eat directly. Two wishes, one solution. How's that?"
Only then did Hikari turn her head back and look at Naruto seriously, as if evaluating the sincerity of this "merged proposal."
She tilted her head slightly in thought, and then, almost imperceptibly, nodded. Her voice was still flat, but her speaking speed was a tiny bit faster.
"Okay."
She paused for a moment.
"Then... I'll give it a try."
On the surface, she looked like she was saying, "I'll give you some Face then," but in reality, she was likely already a little expectant. Her awkward way of maintaining a cold, aloof posture made Naruto feel amused.
As if possessed, he almost subconsciously raised his right hand, fingers slightly spread, his target being the top of Hikari's head, which looked like it would feel quite nice to the touch.
Just as his hand rose, it paused for a moment, and then he unnaturally changed the trajectory of his movement. Instead, he casually waved his hand toward the forest below, which had been turned upside down by his "Wood Soldier Technique," leaving behind over a dozen wooden wreckage and battle traces.
The giant wooden figures standing silently below, along with the forest land that had been altered beyond recognition, began to rapidly soften, decompose, and shrink as if time were flowing backward.
The thick wooden structures turned back into flexible twigs and roots, the twisted trees returned to their original forms, and the overturned soil seemed to be smoothed over by an invisible hand.
In a few breaths, that patch of forest returned to the lushness and tranquility it had before the great battle. Only the faint lingering Chakra fluctuations in the air proved that everything that had just happened was not a hallucination.
Having done all this, Naruto turned back and stopped looking at Hikari.
"Alright, little interlude over. Let's go."
With a thought, the gold dust particles were immediately drawn by the Magnet Release, quickly gathering and rising once more. They condensed back into that stable and wide golden sand cushion beneath their feet, lifting the two of them steadily as they prepared to continue their flight.
At this moment, Hikari reached out her hand, stood on her tiptoes, and rubbed Naruto's head.
"If you won't rub it, then I will."
After rubbing it, she withdrew her hand like lightning, as if she had touched something scalding hot.
Almost at the same time, she suddenly covered her own head with both hands to prevent Naruto from counterattacking. Her originally fair ears and neck flushed with a layer of crimson like the sunset at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Like a startled cat, she quickly and completely turned her back, leaving Naruto with only a stiff, straight silhouette that seemed to radiate bashfulness and confusion even through the tips of her hair.
The sand cushion was silent.
Naruto looked back at the figure beside him, whose very back of the head seemed to say "I'm very shy but I won't say it." The corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch, finally settling into a smile.
He shook his head and said nothing, only raising his hand to tidy up his hair that had been rubbed into a mess.
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