"Lord Haseo, even though it's been so long, you're still the same as before... It seems like nothing's changed."
Uzumaki Shikou arched her back slightly as she lay half-reclining on the bed. The moment Haseo entered the room with his daughter, she noticed them at once.
Shikou had excellent eyesight, and her mental state looked... not good exactly, but better than Haseo had feared.
Yet no matter how things "appeared," the seriousness of the situation could not be altered.
"Shikou, you're the same too," Haseo said.
This made Uzumaki Shikou shake her head slightly, a bitter smile on her lips. She understood her physical condition all too well.
Haseo looked almost exactly as he had when he left Konoha—only now with streaks of white in his hair—and hadn't changed much at all. If it had been Orochimaru, he would've suspected exactly what Haseo had been up to these past years away from Konoha. But Shikou was different. At that moment, she simply felt that Lord Haseo remained unchanged—just as she remembered him.
That brought her joy, and sadness too.
But what about herself? If possible, she would never want to meet Haseo under such circumstances. Yet the cruel truth was that things had already gotten bad enough for Haseo to finally return willingly to Konoha.
And indeed, it wasn't the crisis caused by the Uchiha clan's internal conflict (a threat that nearly tore Konoha apart) that had brought Haseo back—it was Uzumaki Shikou's critical condition.
Uzumaki Yayoi stepped aside, allowing Haseo to walk over and sit on the chair beside the bed. Then, he gestured for his daughter to approach.
"I've never lied to you before. When I said I left the village searching for traditional healing methods, that truly was my purpose. This child is proof of that."
Niyu Haseo stepped forward toward Shikou and gave a slight bow of the head toward her.
"What… What is this child's name?" Shikou asked.
At that moment, however, Niyu Haseo shifted her gaze toward Haseo himself... Although his training of her had been highly successful, she was still only thirteen years old, and had never experienced the life-and-death situations typical of a ninja's work.
When it came to issues like this, she still lacked real knowledge.
"It's called Niyu Haseo," Haseo replied.
"Considering Lord Haseo's naming ability, giving this child such a simple and clear name is actually quite rare—and furthermore, it's indeed a very appropriate name."
It was rare for Haseo to receive praise. He hadn't failed his daughter, which brought great relief.
The meaning aligned with the name's structure—Niyu means "rain child," and "Yu" (rain) and "Niyu" (rainbow) are climatically related phenomena. Given that it was Haseo who had chosen the name, it fit surprisingly well.
Seeming to want to reach out and gently touch Niyu Haseo's head, Shikou hesitated due to her current state... As someone nearing death, she did not wish to repel Haseo's daughter.
Niyu Haseo sensed this hesitation and moved closer to the edge of the bed, deliberately lowering her head even further.
"That's a good girl..."
Thus, Shikou was able to extend her rather withered hand.
Niyu Haseo was truly a well-mannered child. Many often couldn't help but marvel at how lucky Haseo was to have her as a daughter.
"Shikou, I believe we're about the same age—you're only slightly older than me. Thinking of it this way, maybe my mistake after all.
As a ninja, I've no idea how much blood has stained my hands, but each killing had its reason. That's the path of a ninja.
I'd still consider myself someone who values life. I've never planned a kill, nor carried one out. But... your suffering—can be seen as my doing.
Yet now, guilt or apologies won't change anything."
Thankfully, Orochimaru wasn't around, so the more revealing part of Haseo's words remained unchallenged.
The main cause of Shikou's current state was accumulated exhaustion (jī láo). And the one who had placed her in that high position and led her to this condition was none other than Haseo himself.
Both Haseo and Shikou were nearing sixty, yet Haseo remained full of energy while Shikou had already reached life's end—even though, for a ninja, this might count as living a long life.
But she never deserved any of this.
"Lord Haseo, please don't speak like that. A person's sins and punishments shouldn't be measured so simply.
Happiness or pain, emptiness or fulfillment—I've never been treated with coldness in my life. In fact, everything I received was genuine and heartfelt. I was able to aid the Uzumaki clan, Lady Mito, and Lord Haseo. In the end, my life was deeply meaningful.
But now that I've come to this point… as a person, I still don't want to die."
Present in the room were only four people: Haseo, Shikou, Yayoi, and Niyu.
After Shikou spoke these words, silence fell for a moment.
After a while, Haseo finally spoke:
"Some show their feelings, others keep them hidden. But whether you choose to respond or turn away, in the end, you owe someone an answer. Those who feel another's love but pretend not to understand... they don't deserve to call themselves human at all..."
This remark seemed highly self-reproachful.
"Shikou, have I ever explained 'the scientific worldview' to you?"
Without waiting for Shikou's reply, Haseo continued, "Two things compose the world and the entire universe—energy and information. Or put more simply and narrowly, matter and consciousness.
The vast universe itself is formed from countless tiny particles. From birth to combination, from inorganic structures to life forms, from creation to destruction, the universe continuously cycles through endless transformations.
Yet if we regard the universe's total energy as constant, then its countless cycles of destruction and rebirth will naturally give rise to countless possibilities. Although these possibilities are immense, they remain finite—mathematically definable.
And so, even within these limited possibilities, there comes a time when everything runs out—and begins to repeat."
That means in some distant future, across endless timelines, there may be another you, another me—and another moment where we find each other again.
Perhaps this feels like our first meeting—but maybe it's just something we've lived through without realizing.
Maybe this is the first time I've said these words to you—or maybe it's just a story I've told you before.
So it's still far too early to speak of the end... As long as time remains, the future is always right ahead."
"..."
Lord Haseo, you really… are such a terrible liar.
Because of that, I don't know whether to keep looking ahead or just cherish this moment.
But...
Thank you, Lord Haseo.
I'm truly at peace.
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