Off the coast of Uzushiogakure, about twenty kilometers away near the Land of Waves, a small fishing boat bobbed like a leaf on the waves.
The old fisherman on the boat cast his net into the sea and then sat cross-legged at the bow, pulling out a pipe to wait quietly.
He waited for passing fish to get tangled in the net, unable to break free. When the time was right, he would haul the net back in. Repeating this a few times, if luck was on his side, he might catch some rare fish that could fetch a good price at the market, adding a little extra to his meager livelihood.
But most of the time, it was just ordinary fish… sometimes not even enough to feed his family.
It was a life entirely dependent on the whims of God and the sea.
This stretch of water was rarely visited by others. Rumor had it that the small island in the distance was once a Ninja Village, but for some unknown reason, it had been destroyed and later became a pirate stronghold.
The old fisherman only dared to fish near the edges, never venturing too close.
He stuffed some low-quality, leftover tobacco into his pipe, lit it, and began puffing away.
Suddenly, a gust of sea wind blew past, snatching his straw hat away.
"Strange, it doesn't look like the weather's about to change." The old man muttered, glancing toward the horizon. There were no signs of an approaching storm… the sky was clear and sunny, the waves calm, and a flock of seagulls wheeled in the distance.
But then, the old man noticed the seagulls scattering in panic, as if fleeing from something terrifying.
Sensing something amiss, the old man stood up on the boat, scanning his surroundings.
The next moment-
In the distance, on the small island, two colossal creatures locked in battle came into view. The sight stunned the old man, who had never once left the Land of Waves in his life, so much that his pipe slipped from his fingers.
Whoosh-
A towering wave surged from the direction of the two monstrous beasts' clash. The old man desperately clung to the side of the boat with one hand while frantically hauling in the net with the other.
Even as the boat looked like it was about to capsize in the turbulent waves, he didn't dare let go.
After barely surviving the ordeal and finally making it back to the Land of Waves, the old man seemed to have lost his mind. He wandered around in a daze, telling anyone who would listen that he had seen a God and a demon fox fighting!
Some curious onlookers laughed and asked for details and the location, but the old man grew flustered, claiming he didn't dare reveal too much for fear of divine retribution.
This only made the bystanders laugh harder.
…
On the island where Uzushiogakure once stood-
After a full day of battle, the island had been shattered, its land fragmented and broken.
Most of the island's forests had been obliterated, and the ground was marred by several terrifying craters.
The ruins of Uzushiogakure had been completely annihilated in this battle.
On the beach, dyed golden by the setting sun, Hikari sat with her knees drawn to her chest beneath a tree that had somehow survived the devastation, gazing blankly at the sun sinking below the horizon.
Beside her, Menma lay sprawled on the sand, limbs stretched wide, basking in the twilight.
Hikari brushed aside her wind-tousled hair, her dark eyes reflecting the boy's silhouette. Her face was full of curiosity.
"The power you possess far surpasses mine… enough to destroy the entire Ninja World. So why do you still need my strength?"
The battle had lasted the entire day. For the first time in centuries, her body, which is long restrained by seals, had been able to move freely. The pent-up frustration and dark emotions from hundreds of years of imprisonment had finally been released.
She felt incredibly refreshed.
"This power is still far from being enough to dominate the Ninja World." Menma said, resting his hands behind his head. He knew all too well just how many formidable opponents existed in this world.
He could overpower the Raikage and Killer B, but figures like Nagato, Obito with his Kamui, and even Madara's lingering schemes all posed threats to him.
As for Itachi?
By the time of the Uchiha Clan's Massacre, Menma had a special "gift" prepared just for him.
"My enemies aren't just within the Ninja World." Menma said, lifting his gaze to the moon already hanging in the sky: "They come from beyond the sky."
"And besides, why would I want to destroy the Ninja World?" Menma turned his head slightly toward the girl beside him, the faint, youthful fragrance unique to her tickling his heart.
This time, it was Hikari's turn to look puzzled: "Aren't you trying to destroy the Ninja World?"
For someone like Hikari, who had never received proper education and was raised from a young age as a weapon of war, power existed for destruction… for annihilation!
Menma sat up from the sand and said to Hikari seriously: "What I want to destroy are the twenty-something nations, including the Five Great Nations, and their Ninja Villages."
"My goal is to establish a brand-new nation… one where shinobi and ordinary people live together, where class divisions and discrimination are erased! Then, I'll wipe out the Five Great Nations and the rest, unifying the entire Ninja World!"
"Without other nations, there will be no more wars between humans. Ninja's power won't just be for killing… it'll be used for construction and progress. People will live in peace, children will receive better education, and they'll grow up safely and happily, not like in the Warring States Period or even now, where kids are sent to the battlefield as killing tools before they're even ten."
"To the Ninja and nobles of this era, I am destroying their world. But I'll create a brand-new era!"
"An era where everyone can walk freely under the sun, without war or man-made suffering!"
"But to build this new era, my strength alone isn't enough. That's why I'm searching for people who share my ideals, gathering comrades willing to follow me."
"That's why I need you!" Menma stood up from the sand and extended his hand toward Hikari.
"Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Uzumaki Menma." The setting sun cast a golden halo around Menma's silhouette.
Hikari looked up at the young man standing before her and the hand he offered, her cheeks flushing slightly.
'He needs me…' She had never felt so needed before.
And the way Menma treated her was completely different from how her Uchiha Clan's members had… those who feared her power yet exploited it all the same.
He truly regarded her as a comrade, a friend. He cared about her feelings and was willing to sit with her under the sunset, watching the twilight in comfortable silence.
Remembering the clansmen who had imprisoned her, raised her as a weapon of war, and used her, Hikari lowered her head slightly, her mood dimming: "I... don't have a name. My clansmen just called me Nanashi..." (T/N: Nanashi is the short of Namae Nashi, which means without a name or Nameless.)
"You do have a name!" Menma's voice was gentle but firm, making Hikari freeze before lifting her head to look at him.
"I know. Your name is Uchiha Hikari!" Menma said softly, speaking a name that had nearly been forgotten.
"Hikari…" The deepest corners of Hikari's memory stirred, and the blurred faces of her parents surfaced in her mind.
The words they had spoken when naming her, carrying their hopes, crossed hundreds of years to echo in her ears once more.
'May she walk out of darkness and into the light…'
"Why… how do you know this…?" Tears suddenly streamed down Hikari's face as she recalled her parents' faces.
"To me, the Ninja World holds no secrets." Menma's hand remained outstretched before the weeping girl.
Hikari wiped her tears, then shakily reached out and grasped his hand tightly.
Then Menma pulled her up firmly.
"Hello, my name is Uchiha Hikari!" Standing before Menma, Hikari smiled, tears still clinging to her lashes.
The sea breeze carried her vow: "Even if you stand against the entire Ninja World… I will always, always be by your side!"