From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 25 Light. My name is Uchiha Hikaru.
The nameless girl bit her lower lip tightly: "Are you pitying me?"

He clenched his fist tightly, his nails digging into his skin, drawing drops of bright red blood that splattered onto the soil.

Uchiha Muneki shook his head and slowly took off his outer garment.

He didn't say anything extra, but expressed his thoughts through his actions.

He gently draped his coat over the girl's body, covering her from the glimpse of her exposed skin.

After the fierce battle, the white coat looked somewhat tattered and dirty, but Uchiha Muneki's action undoubtedly brought a ray of dazzling sunlight to the girl's dark inner world.

The nameless girl was startled for a moment, then her eyes became complicated as she slowly lowered her head.

Her slender, fair fingers gripped the sleeves of the coat, which were slightly too big for her, and her delicate nostrils twitched slightly as she caught a whiff of a sweet fragrance.

Seeing the girl's messy hair, Uchiha Munetsuki frowned and reached out to brush a strand of hair from her temple.

"No. I don't need your pity!"

The girl's eyes narrowed, as if she had been violated. She pushed the boy away forcefully, her tone full of threat, staring at him with both vigilance and fear.

Little did she know that, in Uchiha Munezuki's eyes, her actions resembled those of a frightened wildcat, using a blustering display of fur to protect its vulnerable self.

Beneath her messy black hair, her eyes were moist.

Her heart, shrouded in darkness, seemed to have been greatly shocked. Looking into the gentle eyes of the boy in front of her, she felt a long-lost warmth.

"I'm neither advising you to let go of your hatred, nor am I pitying you."

Uchiha Munezuki smiled and took two steps forward, raising his hand to stroke the girl's messy black hair. His voice was gentle and refined: "I cannot understand all the suffering you have endured, so I will not ask you to say that you forgive them. If you want to take revenge on the Uchiha clan, I do not intend to stop you. That is your freedom."

"If you think the world is wrong, then go and fix it yourself."

His voice was calm, but to the girl's ears it was like a resounding bell, striking straight to the depths of her soul.

"Aren't you going to stop me?"

The nameless girl subconsciously bit her lip: "Don't you think... this is cruel of me?"

Why should I stop you?

Uchiha Muneki looked at her and said, "If I advise you to let go of your hatred and forgive those who have caused you pain, who will repay you for the sins that have been sealed in the darkness underground for decades?"

Don't persuade others to be kind to others without suffering.

If it were him, sealed underground by the Uchiha for decades, his thoughts would only be more extreme than the girl's.

"thank you"

The girl lowered her head deeply, her black hair falling loosely, obscuring her expression.

But from her trembling shoulders, one could sense that the girl's heart was far from at peace.

"What are you going to do with me?"

After a moment of emotional turmoil, the girl took a deep breath, looked up at him, and said, "You have already witnessed my power and should understand its value."

Uchiha Muneki smiled and shook his head, saying, "From now on, you are free. No one can decide your future."

"free?"

The word was so unfamiliar to her that the girl was momentarily stunned.

"That's right, you're free."

Looking at the girl's astonished eyes, Uchiha Muneki chuckled and said, "From now on, you can enjoy your future life to the fullest. Whether you choose to take revenge on Konoha and the Uchiha clan, or let go of your hatred, it is your freedom. No one can interfere with your future."

"You're not lying to me?"

The girl's lips parted slightly, her pupils trembled, and her delicate face was filled with disbelief.

"Why would I lie to you?" Uchiha Muneki retorted.

"But... if you let me go, aren't you afraid of me?" The girl's voice stammered, her large, dark eyes glaring. "You've already witnessed my eye technique; it can control a person's thoughts and memories at any time. Aren't you afraid I'll control you?"

She knew all too well the threat her eye technique, 'Eight Thousand Spears,' posed to those people.

That is why the Uchiha clan, fearing her abilities, went so far as to join forces with the Senju and Uzumaki to seal her away in the darkness underground.

"Your eye technique is very powerful, but it's useless against me."

Uchiha Muneki's smile revealed a hint of confidence.

I dare not speak of anything else, but at least on the level of the 'mind,' as an extraordinary being who is merely an observer, even someone hailed as having the strongest eye technique, Kotoamatsukami, could not possibly alter his will. "Am I truly free?"

The girl looked at her hands, and even now, she still couldn't quite believe it.

"Yes, you are free."

Uchiha Muneki, undeterred, repeated himself: "From now on, you can do whatever you want."

"But I don't know what I want to do."

A hint of confusion appeared in the girl's eyes.

Aside from revenge, she never thought about what she should do or what she wanted to do after she was free.

"Well"

After pondering for a moment, Uchiha Muneki suggested, "Perhaps you could take a bath, change into some new clothes, and then try some of the local delicacies."

"Can I really?"

Upon hearing this, the girl seemed somewhat tempted, but still hesitated: "Like you said, is it possible to do anything?"

"of course can."

Uchiha Muneki joked, "If you want, you can even go and have a relationship."

in love
A hint of longing appeared in the girl's eyes.

Perhaps she once lived in darkness, but now she has finally seen the light.

Her eyes were unfocused as she gazed longingly at the boy in front of her.

His handsome face and gentle eyes, like the sun, dispelled the darkness in her heart and gave her a sense of peace.

She could have endured the darkness if she had never seen the light.

Cruelty and coldness were like a thick layer of ice, protecting her fragile heart. Anger and hatred were like hard armor and sharp swords, protecting her fragile self-esteem.

But she still longed for redemption.

The more one is in darkness, the more one longs for light.

It's like a straw placed in front of a drowning person in a turbulent ocean. Even knowing that there is no salvation, they will still desperately grab onto that straw.

The girl's wavering heart finally made up her mind at this moment.

She wanted to grasp at that straw, to grasp at that ray of light.

Like a moth drawn to a flame, even knowing that the end result is being burned to ashes, at least before that, she can feel the warmth brought by the 'flame'.

"Can I come with you?"

The girl clutched at the tattered hem of her clothes and asked timidly.

Her cautious gaze held a hint of expectation, as well as a deep fear, like an abandoned stray cat that both longed to be taken home and was afraid of being rejected again.

Uchiha Muneki gazed at the girl, reading dependence in her eyes.

After a moment, under the increasingly uneasy gaze of the young girl, he smiled and nodded: "Okay."

Everything went exactly as he had predicted.

The more someone yearns for redemption, the more easily they are manipulated and exploited.

Just like a person dying of thirst in the desert, a tiny bit of water can quench their parched soul, and the price to pay is nothing more than cheap 'hope'.

"Light"

The girl mustered her courage, tugged at his sleeve, lowered her head, and whispered.

"what?"

Uchiha Muneki didn't hear her clearly; her voice was too soft, like a mosquito's buzz.

"Light"

The girl raised her head, tears streaming uncontrollably down her delicate face. Her nose twitched, and she sobbed, "My name is Uchiha Hikaru!"

Thank you to Paradox Interactive's "War Criminal: Not Losing Means Not Being a War Criminal" for the donation! I humbly request that all readers pause for a moment, make a small investment, and help me add some more chapters to my reading list. Thank you so much!
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(End of this chapter)