As if to answer Jiraiya's desperate roar—and shatter the final illusion clung to by those present—the dark figure who had stood basking in sunlight finally moved.
Uchiha Hikari tilted her head slightly. Her long black hair shifted with the motion.
She did not turn fully at first. Instead, she cast a sideways glance over her shoulder, her gaze sweeping across the shinobi who had formed a half-circle around her.
That single look was enough.
Her features were delicate, still bearing the softness of youth. But her eyes—
Even from that angle, one could sense the depth within them. Calm. Detached. Far older than her apparent age.
And her face—
It matched the "Light" from the Heavenly Curtain with terrifying precision.
The last shred of denial collapsed.
"Uchiha… Hikari."
Tsunade drew a slow breath, forcing herself to remain composed. If there was any room for dialogue left, she had to try.
"You may not realize it, but this shinobi world is no longer the same as it was during the Warring States Period. We—"
"Enough."
Hikari turned fully.
Her voice was clear, crisp—and utterly cold.
She cut Tsunade off without hesitation. Her black eyes met the Hokage's directly. There was no curiosity in them. No agitation. Only still water—and faint annoyance.
"I don't want to hear your explanation."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Even though I was sealed. Even though I had no awareness—like a living corpse."
She paused.
"When the Heavenly Curtain appeared… I could still 'watch.'"
Her tone was flat, stating a simple fact.
"So everything I needed to know… I know."
The impact of that statement rivaled the revelation of her identity.
Even those sealed in deep unconsciousness had witnessed the Heavenly Curtain?
What kind of omnipresent phenomenon was that?
Which meant—
Hikari had not awakened ignorant.
She had seen her future self.
Her powers.
Her hatred.
The Toy Kingdom.
The world's fear of her.
She understood exactly why they were standing ready to kill her.
Any attempt at deception or persuasion had just been rendered meaningless.
Tsunade's heart sank.
The final window for negotiation had closed.
"So," Tsunade said at last, her voice turning equally cold, "what do you want, Uchiha Hikari?"
Hikari's gaze swept across the assembled Kage and elite shinobi. It lingered briefly on the distant horizon.
For the first time, an unmistakable emotion surfaced on her face—
Longing.
Resolve.
And something like exhaustion.
"Freedom."
Two simple syllables.
Heavy as mountains.
For someone who had been used as a weapon, sealed for centuries, and had just witnessed a future in which she might once again be entangled in manipulation—
Freedom was perhaps her only genuine desire.
But to the Five Kage—
It sounded like a declaration of war.
Freedom?
Release a being who knew the future.
Who possessed terrifying potential.
Who harbored deep resentment.
Allow her to grow into the Toy Queen shown in the Heavenly Curtain?
Impossible.
Tsunade fell silent.
The negotiation was over.
"Hmph! Enough talk!" A clenched his massive fists, Lightning Release chakra crackling violently around him. "Let's see how strong this so-called future 'Toy Queen' really is right now!"
Blunt—but accurate.
They could not allow her to walk away and become a future calamity.
Either she would be neutralized—
Or controlled again.
Ōnoki rose into the air, hands glowing with the faint light of Dust Release. His aged face was grim.
"The Raikage may be crude, but he's right. Letting you leave would be irresponsible."
Golden sand flowed around Rasa in silent currents, forming barriers.
Mei formed hand seals as mist and acidic vapor began to gather.
For the first time since arriving—
The Five Kage were in absolute agreement.
Hikari would not be allowed to go.
Hikari watched the silent consensus with no surprise. If anything, a faint mocking smile tugged at her lips.
She had expected this.
"Amaterasu."
No warning.
No wasted words.
Her eyes sharpened instantly.
The tomoe within her pupils spun violently—
Then reshaped into intricate, sinister patterns.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
Black flames erupted into existence without fuel or spark—cursed fire born from her gaze.
Her first target—
Ōnoki.
She had seen the Heavenly Curtain. She knew who posed the greatest large-scale threat.
"What?!"
Ōnoki reacted instantly. The moment her eyes changed, he moved. His body twisted midair with astonishing agility, splitting into multiple rock clones as he shifted position.
The black flames devoured several clones in an instant, reducing them to ash.
But the real Ōnoki narrowly escaped.
"Mangekyō Sharingan?!" His voice trembled with fury. "At her age?! No wonder she was sealed as a 'dangerous weapon'!"
Hikari did not pursue.
She had no intention of prolonged engagement.
Her objective was clear—
Break through.
Escape.
Using the brief chaos caused by Amaterasu and the instinctive hesitation triggered by the Mangekyō Sharingan, she moved.
Her body became a streak of black light, darting toward the thinnest point of the encirclement.
Her speed far exceeded that of an ordinary shinobi.
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