Chapter 364: Hikari and Izumi at the Training Ground; Mirai and Chimi's Childhood Memories [HN]

Hiruko lay among the rubble, both arms completely shattered, with blood staining his tattered white robe.

The crazed light in his eyes had not completely faded yet, mixed with intense pain, disbelief, and fear.

He stared fixedly at Chiya as he slowly approached, a hoarse wheezing sound escaping his throat like a broken bellows.

Chiya stopped in front of him.

His Rinnegan looked down at him indifferently.

There was no mockery from a victor in his eyes, only the calmness of someone examining an experimental subject.

“The Chimera Technique… Fusing five Kekkei Genkai together is indeed a masterpiece among forbidden techniques.”

Chiya’s voice was calm, yet it carried a chill that pierced the soul.

“Unfortunately, your foundation is unstable. Forcing the fusion only creates a structure built in the air.”

“Your research data is hidden in the encrypted scroll inside the third isolation room of your base, isn’t it?”

Hiruko’s pupils shrank as though he had seen a ghost.

“Y… How could you…”

The structure of his secret base, the progress of his research, and even the exact location where his data was stored were all closely guarded secrets that he had spent countless years concealing.

How could Uchiha Chiya possibly know everything so clearly?

Had he already infiltrated every part of his operation?

Chiya ignored his shock.

Using the Body Flicker Technique, he appeared directly in front of him.

His Rinnegan rotated slightly, and his ocular power instantly erupted.

He directly entered Hiruko’s chaotic mental world and extracted every memory related to the Chimera Technique and his years of research.

This brutal method of reading memories made Hiruko let out a shrill scream, and his mind nearly collapsed.

“The absorption limit of the Dark Release, the energy circuit conflict points of Explosion Release, the application of Chakra Nature Transformation when combining Storm Release with Swift Release… The data is quite detailed.”

Chiya spoke as though he were commenting on an ordinary report.

He then turned to his two daughters.

“Mirai, Chimi.”

“Yes!”

Mirai immediately stood straight.

Although her body was still somewhat exhausted, her eyes were bright and energetic.

Chimi also nodded slightly, her expression focused.

“Go to his base. Bring back all the research materials from the third isolation room and deliver them to the Konoha Scientific Academy. Give them to Orochimaru.”

Chiya gave the order.

“Be careful of traps. Return as quickly as possible.”

“Understood!”

Mirai answered excitedly.

Being able to carry out a mission directly assigned by her father together with her younger sister filled her with energy.

Chimi was more cautious.

“Father, should we keep him alive?”

She glanced at Hiruko.

His spirit was weak, but a trace of resentment still remained deep in his eyes.

“No need.”

Chiya’s voice remained completely emotionless.

“His value lies in those research materials. As for him… the backlash from his failed fusion will consume him soon.”

After saying that, he did not look at Hiruko again, as though he were already a dead man.

His figure slowly merged into the ripples of space and disappeared.

Mirai and Chimi exchanged a glance and did not waste any more time.

Mirai grabbed the weakened Hiruko and searched his body, finding the access key to the base.

The two girls flashed away and rushed toward the base coordinates from the intelligence report.

…

After dealing with the remaining matters at Hiruko’s base, including breaking the seals, clearing the remaining traps, and packing and sealing all the scrolls and experimental records related to the Chimera Technique along with Hiruko’s corpse, the entire process went more smoothly than expected.

Hiruko had apparently devoted almost all his energy to his own fusion and avoiding pursuit.

As a result, the defenses inside the base were much weaker than they appeared.

After safely delivering the thick stacks of sealed scrolls to the Konoha Scientific Academy, they were personally received by Orochimaru, who had been waiting for them with a fanatical thirst for knowledge shining in his eyes.

Mirai and Chimi both breathed a sigh of relief.

The mission was complete, and the tension in their bodies finally relaxed.

A wave of exhaustion mixed with the joy of completing the mission washed over them.

The two did not immediately return to the Hokage’s office to report.

Instead, they instinctively headed toward the Uchiha Clan grounds.

The setting sun dyed the sky a warm orange, making Konoha look peaceful and tranquil in the evening light.

As they walked through the familiar streets and were about to reach the central area of the clan grounds, a series of young yet serious shouts caught their attention.

They followed the sound and saw more than a dozen children gathered in one corner of the Uchiha Clan’s public training ground.

They were all around four or five years old.

They wore tiny training ninja outfits and stood in formation with surprising seriousness.

Standing in front of them were two girls whom Mirai and Chimi both knew.

Uchiha Izumi and Uchiha Hikari.

Izumi was patiently correcting a child’s shuriken throwing posture, her voice gentle.

Hikari stood with her arms crossed, her expression slightly cold, but when her gaze swept across the children, there was also a faint trace of concern.

She seemed to be explaining the most basic principles of chakra extraction.

Her voice was clear and concise.

“Keep your feet steady. Use the strength from your waist and abdomen. Yes, just like that…”

Izumi encouraged the little boy whose forehead was covered in sweat.

Hikari spoke to another little girl who seemed unable to calm herself enough to sense chakra.

“Close your eyes. Forget everything around you. Focus only on the feeling inside your body, like searching for a small warm light sleeping inside you.”

The sight made Mirai and Chimi stop at the same time.

The children’s young faces, along with their clumsy yet earnest attempts to imitate the adults, made them feel as though they were looking at their own childhood selves.

They also remembered the occasional traces of concern their father had shown toward the younger members of the clan.

“It’s Aunt Izumi and Aunt Hikari…”

Mirai whispered, a smile naturally appearing on her face.

“I really miss the days when we were little!”

Mirai and Chimi had come from the future.

They had begun training from childhood under Uchiha Hikari and Uchiha Izumi.

In their era, these two “little mothers” were also very important members of the clan.

Uchiha Hikari in particular had an extremely unique Mangekyo ability that had helped them greatly during certain missions.

Chimi quietly watched the scene as well, a trace of warmth appearing in her usually calm eyes.

She looked at Hikari, who was doing her best to maintain a serious expression while being unable to stop the corners of her lips from lifting slightly whenever one of the children successfully extracted a trace of chakra.

Her gaze carried a hint of nostalgia.

Neither girl deliberately concealed her presence.

Their arrival was quickly noticed by the two women in the training ground.

Izumi was the first to raise her head.

When she saw Mirai and Chimi, a gentle smile appeared on her face, and she nodded in greeting.

Although she was curious about these two girls who had suddenly appeared and received such special attention from the Hokage, her good upbringing allowed her to maintain a polite distance.

Hikari’s reaction, however, was completely different.

Her gaze swept over Mirai and Chimi.

She especially focused on their faces, which looked around the same age as hers, at least outwardly.

Her gaze lingered for a moment.

Her cool brows furrowed slightly, and obvious suspicion and scrutiny appeared in her eyes.

Hikari knew exactly what she was responsible for.

Together with Izumi, she was providing the children who were not yet old enough to enter the academy with basic introductory training.

The oldest of these children was only five years old.

They were all young seedlings that needed patient guidance.

But these two girls in front of her…

Hikari could clearly sense the condensed and powerful chakra within them.

She could also sense a calmness that did not match their apparent age, a calmness forged through countless real battles.

Mirai was lively, but the sharpness hidden within her was impossible to conceal.

How could a ninja like this be interested in such “playhouse” style introductory training?

And why were they watching so…

Attentively?

“Who are you?”

Hikari spoke.

Her voice was as distant and clear as her gaze.

“Is there something you need?”

She instinctively took half a step forward, subtly shielding the children behind her.

It was not entirely hostility.

It was more like an instinctive vigilance born from responsibility.

Two powerful strangers of unknown strength and identity had appeared in the clan’s training ground.

She had every reason to remain cautious.

Mirai was stunned for a moment by her guarded attitude.

She quickly recovered and waved her hands, revealing a bright smile mixed with a little embarrassment.

“Ah, it’s nothing! We just happened to be passing by. We saw you teaching the children and thought… it was interesting, so we stopped to watch.”

Chimi also bowed slightly and gave a proper greeting.

“Sorry for disturbing you, Miss Hikari and Miss Izumi. We mean no harm.”

The scrutiny in Hikari’s eyes did not completely disappear.

Her gaze swept over Mirai’s slightly messy high ponytail, which still had traces of dust from the battle, before falling on Chimi’s excessively calm eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

“Passing by?”

She repeated the words, her tone clearly disbelieving.

The Uchiha Clan grounds were not somewhere people could simply “pass by.”

Izumi gently tugged at Hikari’s sleeve and tried to smooth things over.

“Sister Hikari, these two are guests of Big Brother Chiya.”

She turned toward Mirai and Chimi, her smile still gentle.

“The children are cute, aren’t they? The basic training can be boring, but it feels very rewarding when you see them improving little by little.”

Mirai nodded vigorously and naturally joined the conversation.

“Yes, yes! I used to… Uh, I mean, watching these little beans work so hard really is quite interesting!”

She nearly let something slip and quickly glossed over it.

Then she excitedly pointed at the little boy whose movements Izumi had just corrected.

“His throwing motion just now. If he lowered his wrist a little more at the moment he releases the shuriken, wouldn’t it become more stable?”

The moment she said this, Hikari’s gaze became even sharper.

That was not a detail an ordinary observer could easily identify.

It required an extremely solid foundation in taijutsu and extensive combat experience to immediately recognize such a subtle problem in a beginner’s application of force.

This girl was definitely not ordinary.

Chimi, meanwhile, noticed another detail.

The little girl who had been unable to calm herself enough to sense chakra seemed to have become even more nervous because of their arrival and Hikari’s vigilance.

Her little face was flushed from straining so hard, but she still could not find that “warm feeling.”

Chimi thought for a moment and spoke softly.

Her voice carried a strange power that seemed to calm the heart.

“You don’t need to deliberately search for it. Chakra is the energy of life and spirit. It has always been there.”

“Try imagining… the softness of a flower petal beneath your fingertips, or the warmth flowing through your body when you drink warm water. That is the trace of its existence.”

Her voice was not loud, but it seemed to carry a certain magic that entered the little girl’s heart directly.

The girl froze for a moment.

She subconsciously followed Chimi’s description and recalled those sensations.

Her tense little face gradually relaxed.

A moment later, she opened her eyes in surprise.

“I… I think I felt it! It’s a little warm!”

Izumi looked at Chimi in surprise, her eyes filled with admiration.

Hikari was also stunned.

She had taught the girl for quite some time, yet the results had been minimal.

This unfamiliar girl had achieved it with only a single sentence…

However, this did not completely dispel Hikari’s doubts.

Instead, it made her even more curious about the identities and purpose of these two girls.

They possessed great strength.

They had a deep understanding of basic training.

They even knew such precise methods of guiding beginners.

Who exactly were they?

Was their appearance in the Uchiha Clan really just a coincidence?

Just then, a little boy who looked like the most mischievous child among the group suddenly ran out of formation.

He was around four or five years old, with a round and energetic face.

He curiously approached Mirai, raised his head, and asked loudly.

“Big Sister, are you also from the Uchiha family? Why have I never seen you before? Are you strong? Can you do those super powerful shuriken techniques like Sister Hikari?”

His innocent question instantly made the atmosphere even more delicate.

Hikari’s gaze fell on Mirai and Chimi like a physical force as she waited for their answer.

Izumi also stopped what she was doing and looked over.

Mirai looked at the little boy’s eyes full of curiosity.

She then glanced at Hikari, whose gaze was sharp as a blade.

She felt a little helpless.

‘How am I supposed to answer this?’

‘Should I say that we are Uchihas from the future?’

Chimi quietly took a breath and was just about to give an explanation that would make sense while avoiding suspicion.

“They are not outsiders.”

Uchiha Chiya’s voice sounded at the perfect moment.

Everyone looked up.

Uchiha Chiya’s figure appeared in the training ground.

“The Hokage… Hokage-sama!”

“It’s the Hokage-sama!”

“…”

The children nearby looked at Uchiha Chiya with expressions full of admiration.