It had to be said, the ninja of the Star Village were incredibly united. In the face of danger, not even a child was willing to back down.
Kusuo could already clearly sense more than twenty Jonin gathered outside their door, with two elite Jonin leading them. While such a force would be insignificant in other villages, for the Star Village, this was nearly half of their total strength. Kusuo wondered why the previous Hokage had never unified this village. Perhaps it was due to the poisonous barrier surrounding it, or perhaps the power of the "Star" was not recognized by the Hokage.
"What should we do now?" one of the ninja asked, looking at Natsuhi. These were all her trusted followers.
"We'll listen to Hatake Kusuo on this matter," she replied.
Hearing this, the others cast doubtful glances at Kusuo. But he didn't get angry. These people rarely had contact with the outside world; it was normal for them not to know of his reputation.
"We've already planted our own spies near the 'Star'. We can attack at any time," one of them said.
Kusuo, however, remained calm. With their current level of skill, they couldn't sense the enemies waiting outside. They were even more clueless that the spies they had planted had already been turned into puppets. It wouldn't be difficult for the Hoshikage to find these rebels.
Creek, creak.
A strange sound came from outside the main gate. "What was that?" Natsuhi and her followers looked at each other, none of them knowing the source of the sound.
"Your guests have arrived," Kusuo said. Just as he finished speaking, the puppet soldiers outside kicked down the main gate.
"You... you all..." Natsuhi and the others stared at the familiar faces of their fellow villagers, now their enemies.
"It's useless. If you can't find the source of their control, you can't free them." Kusuo could clearly sense that the origin of the chakra threads on them was the "Star" itself.
"Everyone, charge towards the 'Star' now! We'll defeat the Hoshikage there!" With that command, the group, including Subaru, rushed towards the location of the "Star."
Kusuo could only shake his head in resignation. The Star ninja outside had already charged in. He instantly drew his short sword. A whirlwind of slashes kept the puppets at bay. After just a few strikes, the ones who had entered the courtyard had their senses restored. The chakra threads controlling them had been severed by Kusuo, and their minds were finally back to normal.
"What's going on?" they all asked, looking at their bodies in shock. They had no memory of how they had gotten there.
Just as Kusuo was about to explain, more puppet soldiers appeared in the courtyard. The eyes of those he had just saved turned red again, their movements becoming sluggish. Using his Transparent World, Kusuo saw that they had been brought under control once more. "Hmm?" This time, he observed more closely and discovered that each of them had a sort of "chakra receiver." As soon as they came into contact with someone else who had been controlled, they would be turned back into a puppet.
"What a vicious ninjutsu." Now Kusuo finally understood why Chiyo had sealed away such a technique. If a jutsu like this were to spread, it would cause chaos.
Kusuo didn't want to get entangled with them any longer. With a flicker, he chased after Natsuhi and her group. But when he caught up to them in front of the "Star's" chamber, he found they had all been brought under control.
"What happened to you all?" He looked at them; their eyes were dull and vacant. But when he closed his own eyes to sense them, he found their bodies were not being controlled by threads.
He pushed open the door to the training chamber, only to find that the "Star" was gone. The Hoshikage who had been beside it was also nowhere to be found.
"Natsuhi?" Kusuo tried calling her name, but she and the others showed no reaction.
BOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the area outside. Kusuo instantly realized what it was. The Star Village had a formidable fire crossbow unit. In battle, they would tie exploding tags to the tips of their bolts before firing, causing devastating damage.
-------
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