At the main gates of Konoha, a merchant caravan plodded slowly along the wide thoroughfare.
Perched atop the last wagon of the convoy, Uchiha Hikari adjusted her travel cloak. She tilted her head slightly, her gaze piercing through the shadow of her hood to rest upon the towering gates of the Hidden Leaf.
The Uzumaki crest... When her eyes brushed against the icon on the lintel—one so strikingly similar to the Uzumaki clan's emblem—her pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Having been sealed for centuries by the Senju in collaboration with the Uzumaki and Sarutobi clans, Hikari found the symbol burned into her memory. The swirling Uzumaki crest had been fused with a leaf to become the mark of Konoha, a testament to how deeply the Uzumaki lineage was entwined with the village's foundation.
Menma is also an Uzumaki, Hikari recalled. She remembered the moment he had reached out to her in the setting sun after breaking her seal, introducing himself with that name.
But his hair isn't red, she mused, lost in thought.
As distant relatives and allies of the Senju, Hikari had clashed with the Uzumaki many times. She knew that crimson hair and sealing prowess were the hallmarks of their blood. Yet Menma's hair was pitch black, while the girls he kept near him—Karin and Vanilla—possessed the signature vibrant red.
As she pondered, the caravan bustled its way through the entrance of Konoha.
Hikari glanced left and right. Extending from the central gate, the village walls rose seven or eight meters high, stretching beyond the horizon. Though Konoha was called a "village" in name, its defense systems, infrastructure, and population size in this era made it a true metropolis.
"Name?" At the checkpoint, Hagane Kotetsu—wearing his signature spiky hair and a bandage across his nose—was busy registering travelers.
Beside him, Kamizuki Izumo, his blue bandana covering his hair and a single lock of fringe veiling his right eye, chewed on a piece of straw while scrutinizing the caravan's occupants.
"Natsuhi," Hikari replied without missing a beat, borrowing the name of the Hoshigakure kunoichi.
"Welcome to Konoha. Have a pleasant stay." Kotetsu looked at the young girl, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity. It wasn't that he recognized her face, but her aura... it was a vibe he felt he encountered daily. Where had he seen it?
After she registered and passed through, Kotetsu watched her enter the village, scratching his head in confusion.
"Hey, did you think that girl looked a bit like an Uchiha?" Izumo nudged him with an elbow, the straw shifting in his mouth.
With Izumo's prompt, realization dawned on Kotetsu. That look of deep, innate pride and aloofness—it was identical to the Uchiha "style."
Once inside the village, Hikari found an opportunity to slip away from the caravan. However, standing amidst the bustling streets, she felt a sudden wave of disorientation.
Where am I supposed to find Menma? She wandered aimlessly, figuring she should look for the Uchiha district first. Surely their compound would be in the center of the village.
As she walked, she noticed a dense crowd ahead, with the sound of an argument drifting over the heads of the people. Normally, she wouldn't bother with such trivialities, but she overheard the villagers discussing a conflict between the Uchiha Military Police and a local vendor.
"What did Sagat do to piss off the Uchiha Police this time?"
"Who knows? Probably just the Uchiha being difficult again."
"Nah, I heard Sagat was shortchanging customers. Someone reported him."
"Even so, a fine should be enough. Do they really have to shut down his stall? That's going too far!"
Hikari edged closer, her brow furrowing as she listened to the villagers whisper about her kin. In the Warring States period, no commoner—not even a ninja from a lesser clan—would have dared to point fingers at the Uchiha.
Joining Konoha has left the clan vulnerable to the gossip of weaklings?
She pushed through the inner circle and saw two Uchiha shinobi lecturing a merchant.
"Sagat Touta! Tell us, how many times has this been this month?"
"We've given you verbal warnings twice now, yet you treat the Military Police's citations as wind in your ears."
"Since you won't learn, consider this stall closed. We're impounding it for seven days to help your memory."
The two Uchiha began slapping sealing tags onto the small food cart.
"No! Please!" Sagat, a balding old man, began wailing loudly as he saw his livelihood being wheeled away. The spectacle drew even more murmurs and judgmental looks toward the Uchiha officers.
But the Uchiha did not waver. They were firm in their duty, especially given the merchant's repeated defiance.
"Move along! Clear the area!" one of the Uchiha waved the crowd away.
As the villagers dispersed, Hikari remained standing nearby, observing the two clansmen as they began to move the stall.
So the Military Police are essentially... urban management? Hikari remembered Menma setting up similar administrative units in the Land of Stars—mostly for maintaining basic order and occasionally cooperating with shinobi for counter-espionage drills.
"Eh? Why are you still standing there?" one of the Uchiha officers asked, pausing his task as he noticed the girl watching them.
Hikari turned and walked away in silence.
"Strange kid," the officer muttered, returning to his work.
The Military Police... the location shouldn't be hard to find. As she walked, Hikari shed her outer travel robe. Beneath it, her black hair fluttered under a golden headband. Her blue tunic, adorned with the Uchiha crest, caught the sunlight, and her open-toed ninja boots clicked against the pavement. She moved with a relaxed, yet haughty grace.
Her sharp, heroic aura drew glances from passersby, but no one suspected an intruder. They simply assumed she was another Uchiha daughter of the village.
She walked openly through the busy districts, even nodding to a few patrolling Uchiha officers. They nodded back, never questioning her presence.
"It seems like a very peaceful village," Hikari mused, sucking on a popsicle she had purchased.
She had finally gathered the location of the Military Police HQ. Contrary to her assumption, both the station and the Uchiha district were located on the outskirts. She would have to double back.
And yet, despite her wandering, she hadn't caught a glimpse of Menma.
Suddenly, Hikari froze.
A short distance away, Naruto emerged from a shop, skipping happily while rubbing a round belly.
Behind him came a boy with his hands tucked behind his head, chatting easily with a young girl whose face was dusted with a faint blush.
Menma? Hikari's mind went momentarily blank. Seeing the boy who looked exactly like Menma laughing and talking with a red-faced girl with Byakugan, her movements stuttered.
Sensing a gaze, Menma turned his head. His eyes locked onto Uchiha Hikari, standing in the middle of the street with a popsicle in her hand.
In that instant, the roar of the bustling street seemed to vanish into a deafening silence.