Chiyo and Rasa stared in shock as Uchiha Shin and Karura vanished before their eyes. Their fury was immeasurable, yet they had no target to direct it at. The shadow soldiers he left behind dispersed into nothingness at the slightest touch, vanishing in mere moments.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Chiyo let out a furious roar, her voice filled with rage. "This is an outright provocation! A declaration of war!"
Her eyes blazed with fury. "That bastard has ruled the Fire Nation for years, and now his greed knows no bounds! He dares to come here and take Karura? He's spitting in the face of Sunagakure!"
The ongoing tensions at the border, the encroachment of the Land of Fire, and now this… It all pointed to one thing: war was inevitable.
Rasa stood there with a cold, blank expression, but the veins on his clenched fists revealed his true feelings. He felt utterly humiliated. From beginning to end, Uchiha Shin hadn't even considered him a threat. Instead, he had openly conversed with Pakura as if Rasa were invisible.
His gaze flickered to Pakura, still frozen in place, eyes wide with disbelief. A seed of doubt took root in his mind.
Was she a traitor?
Had she been working with Uchiha Shin all along?
Even though Pakura was a decorated hero of Sunagakure, someone who had bled for the village countless times, Rasa couldn't ignore the paranoia creeping into his thoughts.
Pakura, unaware of Rasa's suspicions, was still staring at the now-empty space where Karura had stood. Flames of rage burned in her eyes. "That bastard! He just took her away like it was nothing!"
Unlike the others, the calmest person present was Yashamaru, Karura's younger brother. He had watched carefully and saw something the others had missed—his sister hadn't struggled. She had gone willingly.
His fingers tightened around the bars of the destroyed iron cage. A part of him already understood the truth, but he refused to say it aloud.
"Maybe... maybe this is for the best," Yashamaru murmured, a bitter smile forming on his lips. "If it means she can finally be happy."
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, inside the Hokage's office, Tsunade was fuming.
Uchiha Shin had barely been gone for an instant before he returned—this time, with a woman by his side.
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched as she crossed her arms under her ample chest. "Are you kidding me? You... you—her?!"
For a moment, her sheer frustration made her unable to form coherent words. Seeing her reaction, Karura couldn't help but be momentarily distracted, her gaze shifting toward Tsunade's figure. Her slim waist, her impossibly voluptuous proportions—Karura unconsciously looked down at herself and suddenly felt like she'd lost a competition she hadn't even entered.
Uchiha Shin, sensing the impending storm, quickly stepped forward. "This is Karura, former Jinchūriki of the One-Tail. Her story is complicated, but let's just say… I've known her for a long time."
Then, turning to Karura, he gestured at Tsunade. "This is Tsunade—my former instructor and, uh… my secretary now."
Karura immediately bowed her head slightly in greeting. "Tsunade-sama, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me."
Tsunade's anger wavered slightly. It was hard to stay mad at someone who was this polite.
She let out a long sigh. "Fine. We'll talk about this later. For now, get settled."
Shin took that as his cue to escape. "Alright, you two get acquainted. I'm heading to the Land of Bears. Later!"
Before Tsunade could even react, he disappeared in a flicker of movement, leaving her standing there with Karura. The two women stared at each other in silence for a long moment before Tsunade exhaled sharply and motioned for Karura to follow.
"Come on, let's get you situated."
Karura obediently followed, though she couldn't help but sneak another glance at Tsunade's well-defined legs, wrapped in black thigh-high stockings. Even as a woman, Karura had to admit—Tsunade's figure was something else.
'If I can't compete with that, maybe I should work on my wardrobe instead…'
Uchiha Shin reappeared in the Land of Bears, arriving instantly via the Flying Thunder God technique.
The moment he arrived, he took a deep breath, adjusting to the shift in atmosphere. He had sent an Anbu operative here earlier to plant a Flying Thunder God kunai, making it easy for him to teleport straight in.
"Phew… Tsunade might be pissed, but she'll handle things."
His crimson Sharingan gleamed as he gazed at the valley in front of him—a place filled with lethal, toxic gas.
The Hell Valley.
Steep cliffs. A deadly miasma that could kill even seasoned shinobi. It was one of the deadliest locations in the region.
A normal ninja would have to find a way around it. But Uchiha Shin was not a normal ninja.
His fingers twitched, and the shadows beneath him rippled unnaturally.
"Time to test this technique."
The shadows around him surged like a living entity, stretching outward and pulling him down. In an instant, he sank into the darkness, vanishing entirely.
A moment later, he reappeared, emerging from the shade of a lone tree deep inside the valley.
Shadow Movement—his personal extension of the Nara Clan's abilities.
"Not bad," Shin muttered, rolling his shoulders. "A few more refinements, and it'll be flawless."
He continued weaving through the shadows, bypassing every natural hazard the valley had to offer. Soon, he arrived at his destination: the hidden entrance to Hoshigakure.
The Star Village.
He narrowed his eyes as he observed the so-called "peaceful" village.
"Tch… they're all radiating traces of Ten-Tails chakra. That damn meteorite…"
The Star Village's infamous meteorite was saturated with residual chakra from Kaguya's original Divine Tree. If absorbed correctly, it granted immense power. But it also had dire consequences, corrupting the bodies of those who trained under it for too long.
Shin clicked his tongue. He had hoped to locate the meteorite immediately, but the sheer number of villagers who had trained with it made pinpointing its exact location impossible.
"Looks like I'll need to take a more direct approach."
His Sharingan spun, his gaze sharpening with resolve.
There was no point in sneaking around. If they wouldn't show him the meteorite willingly…
He'd make them show him.
A sharp gust of wind howled through the valley as Shin took his first step toward Hoshigakure, his intentions clear.
If the people of the Star Village refused to cooperate…
Well.
They didn't get a choice.
Support my Patreon 🫡
--------
Dear Readers
Join Patreon for Complete Novel (240 Chapters) and 100 Early Chapters
https://www.patreon.com/dd44
--------
Bonus Chapter - 100 Power Stones