Hikaru appeared between the two Star-nin, her striking, heroic face calm and cold.
Her hands rested lightly on each of their shoulders.
A heartbeat later—
The two Star-nin didn't even have time to react before the pupils in their eyes lit up with the Eight-Thousand Spears Mark, freezing them in place under its control.
Hikaru asked in a deep voice, "State your identities and your objective."
"We… we are chūnin from the Star Ninja Village. We came to Hell Valley to… to search for Natsuhi's accomplices. They're carrying the meteorite we're looking for…"
The two Star-nin answered almost in unison.
"Do you know Madara or little Tsunade?"
Hikaru continued questioning.
"N-No, we don't."
The two Star-nin replied mechanically.
"What exactly is this Star Ninja Village?"
"Star Ninja Village… was founded more than two hundred years ago by the Star Kage.
Every generation of Star Kage holds a piece of fallen star—
a meteorite that allows one to train the Peacock Method.
But just a few days ago, Natsuhi's family fled the village with that meteorite, becoming rogue ninja."
"How many of you came this time?"
"All the ninja the village could send were dispatched. In total, 312 people. They're all guarding the valley. We are the reconnaissance squad."
"The leader of this operation is the Star Kage?"
"No, it's Lord Akahoshi."
Responding under mental control, the two Star-nin spoke without hesitation.
Hikari asked several more questions regarding the current state of the ninja world, but the two Star-nin could not answer any of them.
Seeing that she could obtain nothing more, Hikaru nodded, turned away from the two, and slipped back into the forest.
A moment later, the two Star-nin drew kunai from their pouches and plunged them into each other's bodies. One after the other, they collapsed, dead on their knees.
Since there were still Star Ninja Village shinobi nearby, Hikaru felt assured.
Right now, what she wanted was to capture the Star-nin leader and interrogate him thoroughly about the present state of the ninja world—
and information about the Uchiha.
She was now certain she had been sealed for at least two hundred years.
Because back when she was sealed… there had been no such thing as a Star Ninja Village.
"Over two hundred years… maybe even longer…"
Hikaru suddenly froze beneath a tree, lifting her head to look up at the sun faintly hidden behind the leaves.
In that moment…
She felt as if the entire world had fallen away, leaving only herself behind.
She had finally escaped that endless, pitch-black prison—
only to fall into another, equally unfamiliar one.
So much time had already passed.
Then…
Her existence… what meaning did it even have now?
Was she going to be used as a weapon of war again?
Hikari slowly crouched down, her thoughts tangled, her emotions sinking into a deep gloom.
She stared at the fallen leaves on the ground.
Hundreds of years…
After waking up, she found herself in a world centuries later. That crushing loneliness once again swallowed her whole.
"Are you alright?"
Uchiha Yu's voice suddenly sounded behind her.
Hikaru jerked her head around and saw Uchiha Yu and Tsunade already standing behind her.
Their sudden appearance stopped her descent into despair, sweeping away the loneliness devouring her.
Hikaru exhaled, returning to herself. Looking at the two walking toward her, her eyes regained their firmness.
Her existence still had meaning—at the very least… she had to send this couple safely to Konoha first, then learn the current state of the Uchiha!
Even if this was a world hundreds of years later, as long as she still existed, she would surely find the meaning of her life!
"Why didn't you wait where you were?"
Hikari asked, forcibly calming her emotions.
"We were worried about you."
"Wor… worried about me?" Hikari froze, her nose stinging.
She slowly stood up, looking at Madara and little Tsunade.
"The enemies here are taken care of. Do you know Natsuhi?"
"I didn't expect your combat skills to be this impressive."
After a sigh of admiration, Uchiha Yu fell silent for a moment. Then he took out another scroll from his pouch and opened it.
Bang—
The meteorite from the Hidden Star Village emerged from the sealing array, shimmering with a faint pink glow.
Seeing this, Hikaru's expression grew more solemn.
Uchiha Yu's level of honesty clearly made her uneasy—someone who had been treated as a living weapon by her own clan centuries ago wasn't used to this kind of sincerity.
"Sigh…" Uchiha Yu's eyes dimmed with quiet sadness.
"On the road, we accepted a mission posted by a small ninja village. The employer needed someone with wilderness survival experience to act as a guide.
The payment she offered was generous.
We thought a guide mission would be simple, so we took it.
But after meeting the employer—Natsuhi—she didn't ask us to complete the guide mission. Instead, she handed us this meteorite and told us to take it far away."
Then Uchiha Yu recounted, in full detail, the tragic story of Natsuhi and her family, along with the meteorite.
"…"
After listening, Hikaru fell silent again, sinking into depression.
She gazed at the meteorite, feeling the chakra within it—the benefits, and the dangers.
"Put it away," Hikaru said weakly.
Hundreds of years had passed, yet the shinobi world's essence hadn't changed: shinobi still abandoned morality and humanity in pursuit of strength.
Even now, in the era of ninja villages instead of ninja clans, tragedies like hers and Natsuhi's continued to repeat over and over.
"Let's go. I'll take you out of the valley."
Hikari said quietly.
"Do we need to avoid them?" Uchiha Yu asked.
"No."
Finished speaking, Hikaru took the lead and walked ahead.
Uchiha Yu and Tsunade exchanged a glance and followed.
Tsunade couldn't help thinking—this girl was running headlong into Uchiha Yu's web, never to return.
But… Uchiha Yu's half-truths were indeed hard to distinguish.
…
…
Mouth of Hell Valley
"Lord Akahoshi—s-someone came out of Hell Valley!"
A Star shinobi ran frantically toward the area where the Star Village higher-ups were gathered, shouting in terror.
"Oh? Then capture them."
Akahoshi said coldly.
"N-no, milord—we need to run! We need to escape!"
The shinobi begged in panic.
"Escape?"
Akahoshi grabbed the man by the collar.
"Do you know what you're saying? Do you want to become a rogue ninja?!"
Other Star Village elites gathered around, staring at the terrified shinobi.
"How many are there?"
"Three people—but once they appeared, our entire squad…"
Before he finished—
Swish—
Star shinobi with glowing red pupils leapt from the trees, surrounding the Star Village executives.
Like a pack of wolves emerging from the forest, their red Sharingan-like eyes gleamed ominously.
Even though it was still afternoon, those surrounded felt a chill down their spine.
In their comrades' eyes… there was no trace of humanity left.
"Have you all rebelled?!"
Akahoshi roared upward in fury.
But the three hundred-plus Star shinobi didn't respond.
Like agile corpses, they lunged toward Akahoshi and the others.
"Enjoy every moment of this."
Hikari stood alone atop a tree branch, the Mangekyō spinning in her eyes, coldly overseeing the scene.
°°°
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