While Shiki seeked out Hikari's seal, Mito seeked out Madara's hideout, a task made easy with the boy's provided coordinates.
That said, the Uzumaki matriarch maintained her silence regarding details and the boy did not intend to press her.
He trusted that his mistress knew what she was doing, either way, time would prove him right or wrong.
The only thing she had said was, if he ever came across Madara, either to try and avoid him or, if confident, strike to kill, no questions, no conversations.
In regards to Hikari, Shiki had brought her back to Konoha quietly and introduced her to Mito, a rather . . . interesting experience to say the least.
During her time as Nanashi, the girl had never actually met an Uzumaki on the battlefield though she was aware of their alliance with the Senju clan, even back then.
As such, she was eying the Uzumaki matriarch with quite a lot of interest.
"Find me interesting, child?" Mito inquired with an amused expression.
The young little Uchiha before her was certainly a more pleasant sight when compared to the old codger she had just returned from meeting.
"Your Uzumaki clan . . . I heard you were sealing experts." Hikari pointed out but it was clear she wanted to know something, merely not asking a question.
Unlike when dealing with Shiki, she was clearly more assertive, cold and grounded, her tone firm and unwavering.
The contrast was quite interesting to witness as far as the boy was concerned.
"We still ARE sealing experts and, you are wondering . . . Yes, the seal that held you was my clan's handiwork." Mito casually spoke, no worries about triggering the girl.
Immediately, Hikari bristled as imaginary sparks flashed.
'I hate this hag!' Hikari viciously thought.
The Uzumaki matriarch on the other hand, just found her previous amusement intensified.
"I'll get this little girl settled in. You best go and pick up Maiko." Mito spoke to Shiki.
The boy sighed with a troubled smile.
"I know . . . But it won't be easy." Shiki complained to the air and turned to leave.
Just before he left though, he heard his mistress speak one last line.
"I'm sure you'll pull it off though. After all, you seem to have an innate gift for "persuading" those of the opposite sex." The Uzumaki matriarch's tone was accusingly ambiguous.
Upon hearing the words, Hikari immediately turned towards Shiki but with a flash of Flicker Phantom, he was already gone.
The girl was tempted to chase after him but before she could even come to a decision, a hand softly pressed on her shoulder.
'What the-!?' The Uchiha froze in shock.
Her prodigious reflexes, the instincts honed on the battlefield, both failed miserably, letting the girl be grabbed.
More than that however, Hikari now felt it, a gulf of power that separated her from the old woman grabbing her.
Instinctively, she understood, there was no way she could win.
This was something even Shiki would have found surprising.
Hikari's Yachihoko, if applied on the same scale as it was in the game, would make her rival a Six Paths level powerhouse.
But even in her lesser current state, the Uchiha was still a Super Kage level threat.
By Shiki's estimations, the divide between Hikari and Mito's power levels should not be that wide.
However, it appeared he was greatly underestimating his mistress who clearly had some way to hide her true power, even from him, even though it only worked as long as she did not try to exert that power.
If the Uzumaki matriarch tried what she did to Hikari on the boy, he would be able to instantly get an accurate measure of her power.
She however, very intentionally, never did such a thing.
"Shall we get you settled?" Mito then asked Hikari.
From the older woman's tone however, it was clear she was not really making an inquiry but informing the girl of what was about to happen.
"Hmph." Was all the Uchiha gave in response though wisely, she made no attempt to defy the Uzumaki matriarch.
"And what should I call you?" Mito asked, this time a real question.
". . . Nanashi." Hikari paused for a bit before smoothly responding.
"That is not your real name though is it." The Uzumaki matriarch pointed out.
"It's real enough." The girl firmly responded.
Clearly, she was still carrying a lot of emotional baggage. A single day of positive interactions with a boy she crushed on was not going to fix her.
In fact, considering Shiki was hardly a stable and sane individual despite his usually calm and calculated approach to things, Hikari might just end up evolving in very weird and unexpected ways.
Or she might turn out fine.
Who knows?
Whatever the case may be, Hikari clearly intended to keep her true name as a private thing between her and Shiki.
Perhaps it was an instinctive defense mechanism, using the persona of Nanashi, forged by war and tragedy to protect the softer Hikari that had seen true light for the first time in her life.
Not wanting to stay on the topic of her name though, the girl moved on to a matter of far greater importance in her heart and mind.
"Who is Maiko?" She asked.
Shiki had left to go get "Maiko", a girl's name, a matter of critical import to a young maiden in the throes of first love.
"Maiko is Shiki's adoptive sister. A rather troubled girl he rescued from a deep dark prison. It's starting to become a pattern it seems." Mito responded, giving Hikari a pointed look in the process.
'MY cute little Shiki, already such a heartbreaker. I'll need to discipline him a bit when he gets back. Teach him about the dangers of strange women with a taste for young boys.' The Uzumaki matriarch thought to herself.
If it had been privy to that particular thought, a certain bad tempered fox would not have hesitated to point out that perhaps Mito was one of the so-called dangerous women the boy ought to be careful of.
Due to unreported recent circumstances however, the Nine Tailed Fox had been very silent and not perceptive lately, owing to a matter of "diminishment" one could say.
Back to the present moment, Hikari immediately sighed in relief at Mito's words though two things still troubled her, both arising from the same fact.
Maiko was rescued by Shiki from a sealing prison, just like she was.
So despite her status as an adoptive sister, there was a high likelihood that she developed the same kind of feelings Hikari was currently experiencing.
That would make her a rival, though, owing to her adopted family status, Shiki might not see her that way which in turn, might mean the boy did not see Hikari herself in that way, which was also bad.
Little did the precocious kids of the Shinobi World understand, Shiki simply did not view people of their age as targets of romantic interest.
It had nothing to do with appearance or even attitude since shinobi children tended to mature faster in both ways.
No, it was a matter of principle.
And for the time being at least, that principle was nowhere near being broken, Shiki himself hoping it stayed that way.
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -