If he could just reach the Land of Fire, they would surely dispatch troops to attack Hatake Kusuo. Or so the Hoshikage thought, completely unaware of the relationship between Kusuo and the great nation.
Seeing the Hoshikage flee, Natsuhi and her followers immediately drew their shuriken and gave chase. Kusuo, however, had already sheathed his sword. Although the villagers were all glaring at the Hoshikage with resentment, with his power, escaping from them would be effortless.
"Mysterious Peacock Method: Fly!"
With that command, the Hoshikage's body shot forward. While some of the villagers immediately used ninjutsu to try and block him, even their combined efforts were not enough to stop him. Having implanted the "Star," the power he now wielded was unstoppable by anyone present—except for Kusuo.
Even so, as he fled, a few ninja chose to follow him. Kusuo wasn't surprised by this. After all, the Hoshikage was still their leader, and it was normal for him to have brainwashed some of them.
"After them!" Natsuhi ordered, and several ninja immediately took off in pursuit.
Kusuo, however, remained where he was. He quickly drew his sword, and a powerful slash flew forward. A moment later, the screams of the Hoshikage and his followers echoed from the distance.
Swoosh, swoosh.
The few ninja Natsuhi had sent out returned to her side. "Reporting, Lady Natsuhi. The Hoshikage's guards are dead. His own whereabouts are unknown."
Kusuo had intentionally held back with that last attack. The Hoshikage was likely severely injured and hiding somewhere to recover. But with their speed, Natsuhi's followers wouldn't be able to catch him.
"It's getting late. Have the villagers return home and rest," Kusuo said.
Natsuhi finally realized that many villagers were still standing on the road. "Everyone, the jutsu that controlled you has been completely lifted. You can all go home now."
Although she said this, the villagers were still hesitant. The puppet jutsu they had been subjected to was too powerful, a level of skill they had never witnessed before.
But just as the crowd was turning to leave, Kusuo suddenly swung his sword at an empty space. In that instant, the very air in the village seemed to ripple from the slash.
"To be able to destabilize space itself with a single slash..." Natsuhi stared at Kusuo in shock.
What surprised her even more was that a familiar body fell from the sky, landing with a thud in front of everyone. Natsuhi immediately led her people to investigate and found that the person who had fallen was the escaped Hoshikage.
"How can this be?" She looked at him. The stone that had been embedded in his chest was now completely gone, leaving only a bloody wound. And the "Star" that had been in the distance was also nowhere to be seen.
This sight caused a pang of regret in Kusuo's heart.
"Thank you so much for your help," Natsuhi said. She knew that without Kusuo, this battle would have taken much longer, and she and her friends might have even died at the Hoshikage's hands.
"Don't mention it," Kusuo replied, his gaze shifting to the Hoshikage, who was now taking his last breaths.
"The true path of the ninja... is to fully develop the power of the 'Star'..." the Hoshikage managed to say with his dying breath.
"Constantly training with the 'Star' will only lead this village to ruin. The true way for the village to awaken is to practice proper ninjutsu, to allow everyone to learn other techniques," Natsuhi retorted, then placed her shuriken to his neck. "A Hoshikage like you... is better off dead." She slit his throat. Without the power of the "Star," he had no ability to regenerate. A simple cut ended his life.
Seeing the Hoshikage die, Kusuo looked up at Natsuhi. "Now that I've helped you, don't forget the promise we made."
Natsuhi smiled faintly and pointed to the "Star" not far away. "This is all yours."
Kusuo glanced again at the Hoshikage's body on the ground. A scroll had fallen out of his robes.
"The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets."
"Forbidden Jutsu: Perfect Human Puppet Development."
Just from the names of the scrolls, Kusuo knew this had to be Orochimaru's doing. "It seems this place is no longer safe. You should take everyone and hide."
Natsuhi understood. The Hoshikage must have had someone backing him.
-------
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