As Uchiha Hikari finished off the Root operatives, a few of their bodies went *poof* and burst into flames, quickly reducing to piles of charred bones.
—Rumor had it that Anbu and Root had a tradition of leaving no corpses behind, likely triggered by some kind of sealing jutsu.
Hikari steered clear of the burning remains and gathered up the scattered ninja tool pouches.
—The assassins' pouches contained a decent stash of shuriken and explosive tags. Most had been used up or destroyed by her Fire Release and Amaterasu in the fight, but a few were still relatively intact. She collected them, planning to bring them to the *Dragon Ball* world.
After finishing up, Hikari hesitated.
She was itching to track down the mastermind behind this assassination attempt and settle the score. But she knew it wouldn't be easy. Whoever orchestrated this would've prepared for failure, and it was hard to say whether Sarutobi Hiruzen or others were involved.
So…
"Shimura Danzō… This grudge? I'll remember it!"
With a final, piercing glance toward Konoha, Hikari sent an invitation to Bulma to enter her world.
**[Nameless has requested to enter Bulma's world. Do you agree?]**
…
**[Bulma: Mr. Eienniita, big trouble! Hikari just teleported over from your world, and she's covered in blood!]**
**[Eienniita: ?]**
**[IronHead: !]**
**[Eienniita: Did she get into a fight with someone?]**
**[IronHead: Um, should I jump over to help? I might not be much use, but…]**
**[Bulma: I don't know! What should I do? Should I take her to a hospital?]**
**[Nameless: …It's just my clothes that got dirty. The way you're talking, it sounds like I'm half-dead.]**
*Dragon Ball* world, West City, Bulma's house.
Hikari rolled her shoulders and neck, giving Bulma an exasperated look.
Not that she could blame Bulma for freaking out.
Hikari's current state was, admittedly, a bit alarming. A streak of not-yet-dried blood-tears stained her eye, and her clothes were splattered with blood and dust. The blood was from her enemies, splashed on her during the killing, but to Bulma, who lived in a peaceful world, it was probably a shocking sight.
Addressing Namikaze Minato and Tanjiro's concerns in the group chat, Hikari gave a brief explanation.
**[Eienniita: …I see. Root ninjas, huh? Those guys' mindset is pretty twisted, and their leader's an especially shady character. I've clashed with him a few times myself. I never would've thought they'd target you, Hikari-san.]**
**[Eienniita: But I'm glad you're safe.]**
**[Nameless: Not exactly 'safe.' I had to use my Mangekyō Sharingan's dōjutsu, and it took a heavy toll on my body. I still haven't fully recovered.]**
**[Nameless: Fourth, I might need you to make good on that promise soon.]**
**[Eienniita: …Understood.]**
Getting Namikaze Minato to follow through on his promise to teach her ninjutsu was definitely something to prioritize.
But for now…
Hikari snapped back to the present, tugging at her collar uncomfortably. The sticky, grimy feeling on her skin was driving her nuts.
She needed a bath.
"Bulma, mind if I use your bathroom?"
"Hold on!"
A few minutes later, Bulma, now in a bathrobe, poked her head into the room and waved. "Hikari-chan, the water's ready! Come on. After you're done, I'll put some ointment on your wounds… Not sure if this world's medicine works on injuries from your world, though."
Hikari stood up from the couch. "Coming."
Now that she thought about it, Hikari had been in the *Naruto* world for a while and had visited the *Dragon Ball* world a few times already.
Bathing was something she'd done plenty of by now. At first, she'd been a bit curious about her new female body, maybe indulging in a little "academic research" during her washes. But overall, she'd gotten used to it.
Washing alone, though, was one thing. Having someone else watch—or even help—was a whole different story.
Especially when that someone was a young, pretty girl with a killer figure.
Since Hikari was injured, Bulma insisted on helping clean the bloodstains off her arms and back. Bulma was wrapped in a towel, but it was clear there was nothing underneath. Any bigger movements risked flashing something not exactly PG.
And during the process of scrubbing off the blood, physical contact was unavoidable.
For Hikari, who'd been single her entire past life, this was overwhelming. Her face flushed red, her heart pounding like a drum. She tried to look away, but her eyes kept drifting back to Bulma, torn between embarrassment and curiosity.
Finally, the bath was over.
Bulma helped her into a bathrobe, grabbed a first-aid kit, and told her to lie on the couch so she could disinfect and bandage her wounds.
"By the way… Hikari-chan, are you sure you don't want a full check-up? Your shoulder looks a bit swollen," Bulma said again as she applied the ointment.
"Hm?"
Hikari turned her head, following Bulma's gaze to her pale left shoulder. She gave a small smile. "Just a bruise. Back in my world, this kind of injury doesn't even need medical ninjutsu… The real damage is here, but you can't see it."
She pointed at her eyes.
"Oh, yeah, you totally freaked me out earlier," Bulma nodded repeatedly. "I didn't quite get what you guys meant by 'Sharingan,' but seeing you cry blood like that, it's probably something like damaged optic nerves or muscles inside the eyeball, right? Want me to take you to a hospital for an X-ray?"
"…It's probably more complicated than that."
Hikari paused, thinking it over. "Medical ninjutsu in our world is actually really advanced. Even injuries that would normally be fatal can often be healed with ninjutsu. But no one's ever figured out how to fix the Sharingan. They say these eyes are born with a curse. Every time you use a dōjutsu, your vision deteriorates a bit more until you go completely blind. The only fix is to transplant the eyes of a sibling to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō…
"I don't know the exact mechanics, but it might be some kind of genetic flaw? Like, you need closely matched DNA to patch it up or something."
"Genetic flaw?"
Bulma scratched her head after Hikari's explanation. "I don't know much about that stuff, so I can't really help you figure it out. But maybe I can talk to my dad and get him to take a blood sample for analysis? Who knows, we might find a way to treat it."
(End of Chapter)