Hinata stared at her own discarded Byakugan eyes, her heart filled with a storm of complex emotions.
"I'm going to find Nagato. You and Shion rest here."
Before Hinata could even reply, Hatake Kusuo vanished. Standing atop the main gate of Konoha, he quickly formed a hand seal. Ibiki Morino and Kuroko immediately appeared at his side.
"Lord Kusuo, what are your orders?"
"Have you found any leads on Nagato? And what about the Hidden Star Village from last time?"
In truth, Kusuo still wanted to bring the Star Village under his command. The only problem was that the Hoshikage he had encountered last time was far too stubborn, having been deceived by Orochimaru. Kusuo vaguely remembered that the Star Village possessed some long-standing technological advancements. Orochimaru's manipulation of their leader was likely aimed at acquiring this technology.
Kusuo had a clear memory of the grand scheme of things. If they could master this technology, then even when facing the threat of Kara in the future, they wouldn't be as unprepared as they were in the original story.
"Looks like I'll have to handle this myself this time."
The meteorite Kusuo had encountered before was only a fragment. After shattering it to pieces, he hadn't bothered to take the fragments back for research. This time, he was heading to the original location of the Hidden Star Village.
Upon his arrival, Kusuo discovered that the entire village was filled with ninja clad in armor. "This looks like it will be a bit troublesome."
Under the cover of night, Kusuo quietly slipped into the village. Just as he reached the entrance, he ran into a child. "Isn't this Subaru?" Kusuo vaguely recalled that in the original story, it was this boy who had led Naruto into the village.
"Who are you? Why are you sneaking around?"
Kusuo was surprised by the voice. The boy, who looked no older than ten, showed no fear towards him.
"I am Hatake Kusuo."
He stated his name directly, but the boy just pursed his lips. "I don't know you."
With that, Subaru continued to hide behind a wall, peeking into the village.
"What are you looking at?" Kusuo asked. He was suddenly reminded of the moment in the original story when Subaru's mother died. A strong sense of pity filled his heart.
"None of your business," Subaru glanced at him before resuming his watch.
Kusuo knew that at this moment, Subaru desperately wanted to save his village, but he simply lacked the strength. "If you need help, I might consider it."
As expected, upon hearing this, Subaru's body trembled slightly. "If you can really help me... could you help me save my village?"
Kusuo raised an eyebrow. To hear such words from a child of his age was rather surprising. "Your people in the Star Village, why are they all dressed like this?"
At his question, the boy's face fell. "They're not really my fellow villagers anymore. Many of them have sold their souls for greater power."
Kusuo looked at him, confused, and Subaru continued to explain. "The power of the meteorite in our village became known to the outside world. A while ago, a mysterious person came and said he would help us obtain greater power. After that, all the strongest ninja in the village disappeared completely."
Kusuo already knew what had happened to them; they had long since fallen to his blade. "What's in it for me if I help you?"
Just as he finished speaking, a woman appeared instantly behind him. "Mysterious Peacock Method!"
Purple chakra shot towards Kusuo's body. He didn't dodge, merely sidestepped slightly to avoid the attack. With his level of skill and his Transparent World, he had already detected Natsuhi's presence when she arrived. The only reason he hadn't acted was that he knew she was Subaru's mother. She was likely attacking him out of a misunderstanding.
"Mother, he is Hatake Kusuo!" Subaru shouted, stepping in front of him.
"Hatake Kusuo?" Natsuhi let out a self-deprecating laugh. How could she not have heard such a famous name? But with her own power, how could she possibly afford to hire a great general like him?
"Mysterious Peacock Method!"
In truth, Natsuhi desperately wished it were true, but she simply lacked the confidence that someone like Kusuo would come to help them.
Kusuo watched with a smile as she unleashed her ninjutsu. The Mysterious Peacock Method was a relatively rare technique, derived from the chakra of the Ten-Tails. If utilized properly, it could be highly beneficial for strengthening the body. The reason the people of the Star Village had short lifespans was due to the impurities they filtered out from the Ten-Tails' chakra. An ordinary person's body simply couldn't withstand its power.
"Could you take me to see your meteorite?"
Natsuhi nodded, but her gaze towards the village was extremely wary. "What's wrong with these people?"
Kusuo carefully sensed the power within the armored ninja and suddenly realized that each of them was being controlled by a chakra thread. "Who has enslaved you?" he asked, turning to Natsuhi.
Her expression was a mixture of complex emotions. "It's a long story, but I will absolutely not let the people of the Star Village become its slaves." As she spoke, her hands clenched into tight fists, purple chakra swirling around them.
The sound of her voice attracted the attention of several guards. In an instant, a group of armored ninja surrounded them.
"Mysterious Peacock Method!" Natsuhi immediately activated her technique.
To Kusuo's surprise, the armored ninja before them all formed hand seals simultaneously, unleashing a Peacock Method that was nearly as powerful as Natsuhi's. Seeing this, Kusuo frowned slightly. "What kind of person could turn all these people into puppets?"
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (150 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (170 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (150 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it