Honestly...
Even Uchiha Hikari herself was a bit shocked by the power of that Great Fire Annihilation.
She had personally "witnessed" the battles of the Warring States Era—
—in the memories of her past self.
As a human weapon meticulously crafted by the Uchiha clan, her body had undergone intense training. Whether in ninjutsu or taijutsu, her skills far surpassed those of her peers. And with the Mangekyō Sharingan, her genjutsu capabilities were naturally formidable as well.
But the problem was—she was only thirteen.
And a girl, at that.
So her physical stamina was limited, and her chakra reserves had their shortcomings—though those shortcomings were only relative to high-tier combatants. Compared to someone like Kakashi, whose chakra was famously lacking, she was still in another league. Back then, it was precisely because of these limitations that she had been worn down and eventually sealed by the opposing Senju and other clans through sheer numbers.
But now...
That weakness seemed to have been compensated for.
Though her body remained the same, the fusion of two souls had granted Uchiha Hikari unprecedented mental strength, significantly enhancing both her chakra capacity and ocular prowess. This Great Fire Annihilation was far more terrifying than she remembered—it even carried a hint of the grandeur Madara Uchiha displayed when he faced the Allied Shinobi Forces!
"N-No way!"
"This level of chakra… Is she really just a kid?!"
"Quick, fire the signal flare for backup!"
Amid the frantic shouts, a red flare streaked into the sky, bursting like fireworks.
A second later, flames surged forward, engulfing the ANBU operatives. Their fates remained unknown.
Suddenly—
Clang!!
A long sword pierced through the smoke, lunging from the side—its hilt gripped tightly by a burning ANBU operative. His burns were severe—enough to kill an ordinary person—but his speed and force remained fierce, making Uchiha Hikari tense slightly.
Snap!
With the heightened perception of the Sharingan, Hikari sidestepped the strike, narrowly avoiding it. She struck his wrist with a knifehand blow, disarming him, then followed up with a spinning kick that sent him flying.
Midair, the ANBU operative hurled his sword with all his strength!
But before it could reach her, Hikari caught it effortlessly, twirled it once, and gripped it tightly.
"So eager to kill me?"
She narrowed her eyes, walking toward the spot where the ANBU had crashed.
He had rolled across the ground in a desperate attempt to put out the flames, but his body was already charred black, with barely any unburned skin left. Gasping weakly, he still struggled to rise.
Hikari used the sword's tip to flick off his mask, revealing a scarred face.
It looked familiar.
"Ibiki… Morino?"
Was that his name?
Wasn't this guy part of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force?
After a moment's thought, it clicked—"Captain of Interrogation" was his title during the Chūnin Exams when Team 7 took part. But this timeline was years earlier. He was likely still with the ANBU, steadily climbing the ranks.
To keep fighting despite being burned alive... this guy's willpower was seriously on another level.
Hikari hesitated, then dismissed the thought of finishing him off.
Her earlier actions had been self-defense.
Now that the ANBU operatives were incapacitated, there was no need for a final blow. Killing them all would mean permanently severing ties with Konoha—and that would complicate her mission to deliver Minato's message to Naruto.
Besides...
The modern half of her soul wasn't yet desensitized to the act of taking lives.
"Who… are you… really?"
Ibiki's voice was faint.
"Me?"
"Just a wandering ghost from the Warring States Era."
With that indifferent remark, Uchiha Hikari turned and walked away—without so much as a glance back at the raging flames behind her.
---
Half an hour later.
Uchiha Hikari stopped in the depths of the forest, looking up at the sky.
"Seriously… this world doesn't even have the Big Dipper?"
"Which way is south? Which way's north? Which direction did I even come from?"
It was... a little embarrassing.
The girl who had just cosplayed Madara Uchiha was now lost in Konoha's forests.
Not entirely her fault, though.
Konoha was huge. Beyond the central residential district lay vast forests and training grounds that spanned dozens of kilometers. The "Forest of Death" used in the Chūnin Exams took three to four days to cross. And Konoha had at least dozens of similar zones.
Without GPS, navigating an endless, unfamiliar forest wasn't exactly easy.
"Should've asked Bulma for a compass…"
"Whatever. I'll just find a high point and scout. It's almost dawn—if I can spot the Hokage Rock, I'll know where I am."
With a sigh, she started searching for higher ground.
---
Meanwhile.
Back at the explosion site.
Another squad of ANBU arrived, stunned by the devastation.
"What the hell happened here? This level of destruction… did a Kage attack?!"
"If it were a Kage, it'd be way worse than this."
The leader of the squad—his spiky white hair standing out—remained calm as he issued orders.
"Hawk, get the wounded to Konoha Hospital with the medics. Sparrow, notify the ANBU Commander… and bring the Sealing Team. There's something here they need to examine."
"The Sealing Team?"
"Yeah. There are sealing traces in this crater. Might be a clue to the intruder's identity. Let them investigate."
"Understood."
The two named operatives took off.
Once they were gone, the white-haired leader walked to the crater's edge, stood silently for a moment, then removed his mask—revealing the familiar black face mask beneath.
He pulled down the cloth over his left eye:
Sharingan.
As his left eye opened, crimson tomoe spun in his pupil, allowing him to see the details more clearly: scattered debris, remnants of the coffin's sealing formulas… and a strange chakra signature that sent a shiver of unease through Hatake Kakashi.
"Feels like something big's about to happen…"
"Really hope I'm wrong."