The outer growths—those ice-crystal plant-like structures that had proliferated from being mara-struck—vanished.
The entity standing across from Hanabi was the Jingliu Puppet.
This thing had a finite lifespan.
Originally, it was expected to break free from its seal tomorrow, or sometime after. Once it left the seal, its time would have already been counting down.
...That was how things were supposed to go.
But right now, the seal was on the verge of breaking, and Hikari's appearance as a "hostile unit" had triggered the ice-crystal puppet's instinctive attack.
Its power seemed to have contracted inward—conserving energy to extend its operational time and concentrate its strength.
A combat puppet with zero self-awareness, and yet it had accomplished this through sheer instinct alone. This wasn't even Jingliu's technique. It was nothing more than the puppet's base instinct.
The Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags had been frozen solid. A crude, brute-force method that directly suppressed the endless chain of multiplying detonations.
Now, the Jingliu Puppet stood motionless—yet it radiated even more danger than before.
That damned Plagues Author!
Things wouldn't end this quickly.
"Can you stand?"
After healing Hikari Uchiha, Hanabi left one of Zhuixia's split bodies on her. That way, even if Hikari was attacked by the Jingliu Puppet again, there would at least be a chance to save her.
"Why..." Hikari murmured.
"Hm...?"
"Why?!" She finally couldn't hold it in and shouted. "You saved me, and you don't want anything in return! How can you do that?!"
"I was sealed in that dark place! I couldn't do anything! You rescued me, you showed me fireworks, you told me the world was beautiful!"
"My entire life belongs to you, and you say you don't need it!"
She buried her face in Hanabi's chest.
"Please. Even if you told me to be your tool—I can be your tool. 'Friends' this, 'friends' that—that's just irresponsible talk! If we're really friends, then at least let me do something for you!"
"This is all like a dream. Why are you so good to me?! At least let me know you need me! I'll do anything..."
Everything was too good, and that terrified her.
A life too dreamlike made everything feel unreal.
Like standing on clouds—there seemed to be solid ground, but one step down and you'd plunge off a cliff.
"I'm so scared! I'm scared this is all fake! And I'm terrified of ruining your life!"
"I'm just a person who shouldn't exist."
Hanabi wanted to apologize. But the words wouldn't come.
Hanabi—disqualified as a director.
In the original story, after Boruto saved Hikari, he made a clean exit and returned to his own era. But Hikari spent her entire life searching for him, missing him.
Underestimating that kind of feeling—that was her failure as a director.
"I just wanted you to choose your own path," Hanabi finally said. "That's a friend's blessing."
"That's exactly what I mean—don't just act like we're close!" Hikari was sinking into a despair born of hope itself. "Please, just let me do something for you! Even if you told me to go die right now, I'd do it!"
Unilaterally becoming friends. Unilaterally giving everything. Unilaterally getting hurt.
But unlike Boruto, who could make his clean exit and let the experience become a beautiful story. Hanabi couldn't—she had no choice but to carry the weight and keep walking.
Up ahead, the Jingliu Puppet began to move.
And Hanabi took a step forward.
If the script had failed, she'd make up for it with her performance!
This was a solo act.
Hanabi gripped her twin swords and stepped forward.
"At first, it was just pity."
"...Huh?"
Hikari realized Hanabi was speaking to her.
"It was something I read in a history book. The Uchiha clan's weapon—a girl barely in her teens. She was described as utterly monstrous, like a villain straight out of a fairy tale."
"So for those ignorant adults, as long as they described their enemies that way, they could kill without restraint, commit evil without conscience. Because the ones they were killing were 'villains.'"
The Jingliu Puppet charged again.
Hanabi stepped forward. Twin swords swept the attack aside. A spinning kick sent the Jingliu Puppet flying.
She'd already seen through this pattern.
A puppet was still just a puppet. Instinct would never be more than instinct.
She could read it. She could predict it. She could counter it.
"So I pitied that girl—sealed away in the prime of her youth. A victim of violence and ignorance."
"And then I found it—the History of Warring States Seals. Even after being sealed, she wasn't left in peace. She was still exploited, used as a symbol of 'evil.'"
Ice blades came streaking in from afar, chaining together to box Hanabi in from every direction.
Moon On Glacial River.
Hanabi raised her twin swords to block—and both shattered on impact.
"...Look out!" Hikari finally stood.
But two new swords materialized in Hanabi's hands.
Two swords of ice.
Hyuga Hanabi was, in her own right, a disciple of Jingliu.
The ice swords launched blades of their own, intercepting the remaining attacks one by one.
"They erased her name. They brainwashed and remade her into the clan's nameless weapon. No one cared about what she'd been through. No one gave a thought to how she felt."
"'Hikari'—that was the name her parents gave her, the one that was taken away. When I found that name, I thought it was beautiful. Because what fireworks bloom into is light!"
"And then I finally met her—that girl trapped in the seal. 'She really is a gentle soul'—that was my very first thought."
"She didn't deserve to be tormented in that terrible place underground. She should be with us, out in the world, laughing together, talking about the future, chasing our dreams."
"So from the very first moment I saw her—before she even knew who I was—I'd already made up my mind. I wanted to be her friend."
"So then—"
Hanabi leaped skyward.
The full moon's light bathed her in silver.
"Let this moonlight shine across ten thousand rivers!"
Florephemeral Dreamflux.
A colossal blade descended from the heavens, followed by a cascade of ice blades. They crashed down like rain, thundering against the earth.
The very world seemed to tremble.
But on the other side, countless ice blades materialized in answer. They came from every direction—more numerous than Hanabi's.
And then the black flames appeared again.
But unlike before, these black flames wrapped around Hanabi, blocking every last incoming blade.
"Then—" Hikari Uchiha pressed her hands against her eyes streaming with tears of blood, her gaze fixed on Hanabi. "Take responsibility! Take responsibility for my life!"
"Oh, of course. Leave it to me. I'm Hyuga Hanabi, after all."
She wanted the drama.
She wanted the happy ending too.
A happy ending for everyone—that was what she was after!
This time, the black flames didn't fully dissipate. Under Hikari's control, the Amaterasu clung to Hanabi's sword edges without damaging the ice blades themselves.
"Alright—here we go!"
Hanabi charged in once more.
After unleashing its ultimate, the Jingliu Puppet's power had weakened considerably. But it was still formidable—technique alone wasn't enough to bring it down. Hanabi had long since severed its chakra supply, but the puppet had conserved its energy perfectly, extending its own operational time.
However, the puppet seemed to recognize the threat of Amaterasu. Unlike before, it stopped blocking and began to dodge.
But that was exactly what Hanabi wanted.
While the puppet's focus was locked on the Amaterasu flames, Hanabi reached out and made contact.
"The evil god's curse—I'll bear it all. So vanish!"
She reconnected the chakra channels, initiated the final resonance, and forced all that power back into herself.
Hanabi's hair turned white, and beneath her mask, her Byakugan shifted to crimson once again.
The mara-struck Jingliu Puppet's taint was intense. Not much raw power remained, but the mental onslaught was genuinely miserable.
But Hanabi absorbed every last drop of it.
If she couldn't handle even this much, she had no business calling herself a star.
"Hah... hah..." The ice swords shattered.
Hanabi turned around and smiled at Hikari.
"Come to think of it, I never actually asked for your answer, did I?" She smiled. "Hikari—will you be my friend?"
Hikari was already running toward her. She threw her arms around Hanabi.
"Yes."
A single word. Unwavering.