I Am Uzumaki Menma

"Wow! So spicy! So spicy!" Natsuhi completely disregarded her elegant demeanor, gasping loudly as she grabbed the glass of water on the table and drained it in one go. The other two lightly injured Hoshigakure's Ninjas cautiously picked up their spoons and took a bite.

Instantly, their faces turned red, and they stuck out their tongues, overwhelmed by the heat.

In stark contrast was Hikari.

The girl's cheeks were slightly flushed, and fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, yet she continued eating with obvious relish.

Sansho stood kindly in the kitchen, preparing some lemon water for everyone.

"The essence of Curry of Life lies in its spiciness… it awakens dormant cells and revitalizes the body." Sansho explained, "However, it's rare to see someone who can finish an entire plate without flinching."

"Another serving, please!" Hikari handed her empty plate to Sansho, clearly wanting more.

Sansho looked at the girl, whose cheeks flushed, forehead glistening with sweat, and a single grain of rice still clinging to the corner of her mouth, and smiled warmly as she took the plate. "It seems today I've finally met one."

After lunch, Hikari rented a few guest rooms to settle the injured. Natsuhi stayed behind to treat the two wounded Hoshigakure's Ninjas.

The next morning, Hikari arrived at the Kurosuki Clan's village stronghold in the Katabami Gold Mine.

At the village entrance, dozens of Kurosuki Clan's members were packing their belongings, preparing for a full-scale relocation.

Many of them had uneasy expressions. They had only recently followed their leader, Kurosuki Raiga, in defecting from Kirigakure. Now that Kurosuki Raiga was dead, they were being forced to move to an unknown land.

Hotarubi was overseeing the relocation with several Hoshigakure's Ninjas.

"Nanashi-sama, the Kurosuki Clan's relocation preparations are complete." Hotarubi reported as he approached Uchiha Hikari.

"Kurosuki Buntaro greets you, my lady." A Ninja from the Kurosuki Clan came with Hotarubi.

His forehead bore a Kirigakure forehead protector with a horizontal slash through it, and his features bore some resemblance to Raiga's.

The newly appointed head of the Kurotsuchi Clan knelt on one knee, "My lady, I humbly request mercy for Kurosuki Raiga's wife and child."

"Kurosuki Raiga had a wife and child??" Hikari crossed her arms and glanced toward the gathered Kurotsuchi Clan's members.

"Yes." Buntaro replied, pointing at a woman in the early stages of pregnancy nearby, "His wife is only a few weeks along."

Hikari waved her hand dismissively: "I have no interest in tormenting women and children."

A pregnant woman and an unborn child… the pride of the Uchiha Clan in her wouldn't allow Hikari to stoop to such pettiness.

"Thank you, my lady!" Buntaro exhaled in relief.

He then proceeded to report the clan's situation in detail, "My lady, the Kurosuki Clan consists of fifty-eight members in total. Including myself, we have one Jonin, one Special Jonin, four Chunin, and six Genin."

There were twelve Ninjas in total, and the others were either women and elderly people, who had no fighting ability, or children.

The Kurosuki Clan wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't small either.

After all, not every clan was like the Uchiha Clan, capable of casually fielding ten Jonin and dozens of Chunin.

A clan like the Uchiha Clan was already the largest in the entire Ninja World, capable of effortlessly annihilating small to mid-sized nations with their strength alone.

The only clan that could compare to them nowadays was the Hyuga Clan.

The relocation of the Kurosuki Clan is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Having defected from Kirigakure just over three months ago, they had traveled light and didn't have much heavy equipment to begin with.

Under Hotarubi's arrangements, the Kurosuki Clan disguised themselves as a merchant convoy transporting ore and set off toward the border of the Land of Wind. From there, they would travel northward, eventually entering the Land of Stars.

"Nanashi-sama, won't you be traveling with us?" Natsuhi, who had already entrusted the injured Hoshigakure's Ninjas to the merchant convoy, asked softly as they stood atop Katabami Gold Mine's peak.

"No, I have some matters to attend to. You all go ahead." Hikari replied, her gaze fixed firmly eastward.

"As you wish, Nanashi-sama!" Natsuhi bowed slightly before withdrawing.

After half a year of working together, she had come to understand that this young girl possessed power far beyond that of ordinary Jonin, second only to Shura in the entire Hoshigakure.

Moreover, her ambiguous relationship with Shura had led the Hoshigakure's Ninjas to regard her as their lady.

Once Natsuhi had left, Hikari glanced in the direction where the Kurosuki Clan, disguised as a merchant convoy, had departed before turning east herself.

Traveling at full speed, she crossed into the Land of Fire in less than a day.

Following her memories, she first made her way to the Uchiha Clan's old ancestral lands.

After Konoha's founding, the entire Uchiha Clan had relocated to the village, leaving these ruins not far from Konoha completely abandoned.

Wandering among the broken walls and shattered pillars, Hikari paused before a collapsed section covered in ivy, where the Uchiha Clan's crest was still faintly visible. Her eyes lowered, her expression calm yet pensive.

"The Uchiha clan-"

During her centuries of imprisonment, her feelings toward the Uchiha had been complicated.

After her parents' deaths, she had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Uchiha Clan were her only remaining blood relatives, and as a child, she had yearned to be accepted by them… yet at the same time, she despised being treated like a weapon.

For hundreds of years sealed away, she had hoped, time and again, that her clansmen would discover her prison and rescue her.

But no one came.

Not until that man released her seal and told her that the Uchiha Clan had long since abandoned their feud with the Senju and Uzumaki Clans… the very clans that had sealed her away.

The betrayal, the abandonment… those feelings still lingered, unresolved.

"Meow?"

A sudden sound snapped Hikari out of her thoughts.

She turned to see an orange tabby perched atop a half-collapsed building, watching her curiously… as if trying to recall whether they had met before.

"A Ninneko...?"

Hikari remembered that the Uchiha clan had long maintained deep ties with the Ninneko Clan. Many of the Uchiha Clan's weapons had been procured through them.

As if sensing something, the orange cat leaped down from the ruins and padded over to Hikari, sniffing at her cautiously.

Seeing this, Hikari stretched out his hand and placed it in front of the orange cat.

After a while, the orange cat pressed its head into Hikari's palm, rubbing against it affectionately.

Petting the cat's head, Hikari felt some of her melancholy lift.

Cradling the tabby in her arms, she gazed toward Konoha in the distance.

"It's time to go to Konoha Village."

At the same time, she encouraged herself internally: 'I'm not going to see the Uchiha Clan… I'm just going to see Menma!'

…

At the same time-

In Ichiraku Ramen in Konoha Village.

Naruto stared in amazement as Hinata beside him finished her tenth bowl of ramen.

Menma, who had been sipping his broth, suddenly shuddered, feeling an inexplicable chill run down his spine.

'Is there something sinister?' Instinctively, he activated his Mind's Eye of the Kagura, scanning their surroundings warily.

'No White Zetsu around either...?'