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The Peacock Illusion Beast's razor-sharp feathers shot forth in an instant. A barrage of shimmering violet projectiles pierced through the air and slammed into the trunk of a massive tree ahead, nailing their target in place.
Blood dripped, bright and red, from the corner of Yama-jima Kaze's mouth. His eyes lost focus, the defiance in them fading as the life drained away. The Peacock Illusion Beast's attack had struck vital points — even a seasoned shinobi could not endure such wounds. His head drooped forward.
From start to finish, the battle had lasted less than five minutes. Even if Yama-jima Kaze had been "holding back" in the beginning, it had made no difference. The shinobi of Iwagakure's rebel cell lay dead.
"Tch." Peacock Eudemon Erae flicked his head, shaking loose the lifeless body from his grasp. The feathers that had pinned Yama-jima were still clean — not a trace of blood on their upper halves.
After recalling the Illusion Beast, Chen Xing's gaze lingered on the corpse. A faint light flashed in his eyes.
Once, he had been nothing more than an ordinary academy graduate from Hoshigakure. Now, he could decide life and death with ease — a strength approaching that of most jōnin.
He withdrew a storage scroll from his tool pouch and appeared beside the fallen shinobi in an instant. His black pupils were now tinged with a faint layer of purple.
Activating his technique, Chen Xing scanned Yama-jima Kaze's body, carefully sensing any lingering chakra fluctuations. Veteran shinobi often hid explosive tags or cursed seals on their bodies as traps — a cruel trick of the shinobi world. Without careful inspection, touching an enemy's corpse could be fatal.
What Chen Xing was doing was not a dōjutsu like the Byakugan, but a chakra-enhanced ocular focus — a technique to sharpen vision and chakra perception. In the manga, similar skills were seen in sensory-types like Hyūga and Aburame operatives, though Chen Xing's was an improvised variant.
Had a Hyūga been present, they would have noticed something strange — Chen Xing's chakra was entirely purple, unlike the usual blue-white of most shinobi. This was the result of the "Meteorite Star" training unique to Hoshigakure, which altered the chakra's color and density over time. His chakra was now exceptionally refined, granting him higher quality control than an average shinobi.
Satisfied there were no traps, Chen Xing rifled through the fallen ninja's tool kit. He found a small scroll, checked it for seals or triggers, then unrolled it.
"A wind-style ninjutsu scroll? And an A-rank technique at that…" Chen Xing's lips curled into a smile. "This guy must have stolen it from Iwagakure."
While it wasn't aligned with his natural affinity — lightning — it was still a rare treasure for resource-starved Hoshigakure. Though Chen Xing had already mastered several advanced Raiton techniques after studying Hatake Kakashi's methods, his village lacked high-grade wind and fire techniques, and this scroll would fill that gap.
"Unexpected, but welcome. Looks like today's haul is just the beginning." He resealed the scroll and then stored Yama-jima Kaze's corpse in the spatial storage scroll.
Spatial scrolls weren't rare in the Naruto world, but ones with large capacity were expensive. Even in Hoshigakure, such scrolls were few in number. This particular one had been "acquired" from the Third Hoshikage himself.
Although storing a corpse in such a scroll would shorten its lifespan, the 2,000,000 ryō bounty on Yama-jima Kaze was worth it.
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After leaving the battlefield, Chen Xing headed toward the nearest bounty exchange point — a discreet facility known to operate under the rules of the underground world. Unlike the Land of Fire's bounty stations shown in the manga during Hidan and Kakuzu's arc, this one was disguised as a water tower, its exterior unassuming save for a small migration seal by the entrance.
Placing his right hand on the iron gate, Chen Xing injected a trace of chakra — the signal that a bounty hunter had come to collect. Without this, a mere knock might be mistaken for a civilian passerby, and no one inside would answer.
Moments later, the gate opened. A large man appeared, gave Chen Xing a once-over, and said, "Come in."
Inside, the air was stale, with a faint metallic tang. The dim corridor opened into a hall lined with refrigerated storage compartments — the "freezer wall" where confirmed bounties were kept.
"Which bounty did you bring in?" the big man asked. Young bounty hunters were rare, and someone Chen Xing's age was almost unheard of.
"Iwagakure rebel — Yama-jima Kaze," Chen Xing replied curtly.
The man checked the ledger, then nodded. "Place the body here for confirmation."
Chen Xing unsealed the corpse. The man examined the wounds, compared them with the wanted description, and called for two assistants to store the body. A moment later, another staff member brought a locked case.
"Two million ryō. Count it."
Chen Xing stored the payment in another scroll. In the shinobi world's chaotic black market, assassination and bounty trade thrived openly, and bodies were as much a currency of proof as money itself.
Unbeknownst to Chen Xing, his feat was already being recorded — "a 14-year-old bounty hunter, alias 'Peacock King,' who killed an experienced chūnin-class target without visible injury." News like that spread quickly through the underground.
By the time Chen Xing returned to Hoshigakure, word of his kill — and the captured A-rank scroll — had already reached the Third Hoshikage and Summer Star. For a small, resource-starved village like theirs, such a windfall was monumental.
That evening, flush with earnings, Chen Xing treated himself to a high-end inn in Yuye City. The next morning, he resumed training, refining his three chakra natures.
As much as he wanted to acquire rarer abilities — like those of the Uchiha — infiltrating Konohagakure was out of the question. The village's barrier team monitored all chakra signatures entering and exiting; even if he used Peacock Illusion Beast Flight to escape, a trap like the Four Purple Flame Formation would be fatal.
For now, the "Peacock King" name would remain local to Yuye City. But Chen Xing knew that in time, it would spread. And until then, he would focus on two things — gaining experience… and making money.
Hoshigakure's survival depended on it.
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