Even though he had fallen into desperate poverty, his gaze still overflowed with a longing of the spirit — a light that hardship and hunger could not extinguish.
Upon hearing this, Tsunade immediately shot Uchiha Yu a strange look, only to find that his expression had also turned somewhat odd.
She had even suspected that this frail man was an actor hired in advance by Uchiha Yu!
If that were truly the case, then going to such lengths just to deceive the Uchiha clan's ultimate war weapon would be utterly terrifying.
Tsunade quickly rejected that thought.
Moments later, Uchiha Yu understood why he had gained such followers within the ninja world.
Some people commit evil, yet in the eyes of others, that very act might be seen as righteousness.
He had activated Susanoo using the lives of tens of thousands.
And yet, he had also cleared out scum from the shadowed regions of the ninja world in advance, bringing a semblance of order to those who suffered.
Thus, the deeds of Uchiha Yu were now spreading far and wide across the ninja world.
"..."
Uchiha Yu lowered his head and sighed softly. He had only wanted to understand the living conditions of those at the very bottom of society, yet somehow the conversation had circled back to himself.
The thin man continued:
"Nowadays, other places in the ninja world are probably just like the area around the Star Ninja Village — with far fewer rogue ninjas and bandits.
As long as people like us refugees don't run into natural disasters, life will slowly get better!"
At this moment, a man's voice came from one of the shacks:
"That's right! Uchiha Yu is a good man! My wife was taken by those damned rogue ninjas — Lord Yu practically avenged me!"
Soon, the refugee camp filled with noisy praise of Uchiha Yu's deeds.
"Uchiha Yu?"
Hikari's entire body stiffened as she murmured the name. Her instincts told her this was someone extremely important.
She was surprised that such a figure still existed among the Uchiha clan.
Although he was one of her clansmen, she felt no disgust toward what Yu had done.
"Perhaps… he's an Uchiha like me — different from most of the others?"
Curiosity quietly took root in her heart.
She felt that if the chance arose, she would like to meet him, to speak with him.
Ending her thoughts, Hikari casually controlled a Star Ninja and had them retrieve a bag of soldier pills from their ninja pouch, handing it to the thin man as payment for his information.
Holding the large bag of pills, the man was overjoyed beyond belief, while refugees in nearby shacks revealed expressions of envy and jealousy.
"Thank you, thank you!"
He bowed repeatedly, tears of gratitude streaming down his face.
Hikari then led the large group of Star Ninjas onward, advancing deeper into the village.
All the refugees felt that today's Star Ninjas seemed somehow different from the ones before they had set out.
Within the Star Ninja Village, rows of wooden houses lined both sides of the street. Pedestrians stared blankly at the suddenly returning ninja force.
From above, one could see that the village lay in the center of a basin, its core buildings surrounded by trees.
Under the guidance of the Star Ninjas, Hikari led Uchiha Yu and Tsunade straight toward the Star Shadow Building.
The so-called Star Shadow Building was merely a two-story wooden structure, its architectural style simple and archaic.
When the Star Ninjas completely surrounded the building, many villagers poked their heads out from the houses lining the street, staring toward the Star Shadow Building that had once drawn no attention at all.
The sound of discussion erupted everywhere.
No one understood why the ninja squad that had left in the morning had returned so quickly — and why they had encircled the Star Shadow Building so tightly.
Could it be… that something major had happened in the village?
At this moment, the Star Shadow Tower, second floor, Star Shadow's office.
A figure peered through the narrow gap in the window, observing the situation outside.
He muttered under his breath, cursing,
"Damn it, didn't the intel say Akahoshi took all the Star Ninja to Hell Valley? Why are they back so fast?"
At this time, all the windows on the second floor were shut tight.
In a dark corner,
two Star Ninja corpses lay sprawled on the ground. Behind the desk, the elderly Star Shadow stared wide-eyed, his body tightly bound to the chair with ropes.
His face was bruised and swollen, blood seeping from his lips and beneath his nose. Completely immobilized, unable even to form hand seals, he could only twist his neck and glare furiously forward.
Before him stood three mysterious masked ninjas.
Just moments ago, these three had infiltrated the Star Shadow Tower, assassinated his guards, and abducted him.
Judging by the ninjutsu they used and their objective, the Star Shadow concluded that they came from Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning.
As for whether they were rogue ninjas or elite operatives of Cloud Village, the old Star Shadow had no way of knowing.
"Old man, is this your way of stalling for time?"
One ninja wearing a mask with red markings toyed with a kunai in his hand as he squatted before the Star Shadow and patted his aged face mockingly.
"I've already made it clear. The meteorite you want is not in the village. It was taken two days ago by the traitor Natsuhi.
Akahoshi led a team to Hell Valley precisely to reclaim it!"
The Star Shadow clenched his teeth, glaring fiercely at the three arrogant ninjas.
"Oh?" The red-marked mask ninja sneered. "Since they came back so quickly, doesn't that mean they've already retrieved the meteorite?"
"I don't know!"
The Star Shadow answered stubbornly.
The mysterious ninja pressed the kunai to his throat.
"Tell me, do you think Akahoshi would trade that meteorite for your life, Star Shadow?"
The Star Shadow: "..."
"Boss, I don't see Akahoshi anywhere. The one leading them looks like a woman,"
the masked ninja by the window reported.
The red-marked ninja stared at the old Star Shadow in surprise.
"Oh? A woman? Could it be that genius you mentioned — Natsuhi?"
The Star Shadow remained silent.
But inwardly, he was miserable. At this moment, he actually prayed that Natsuhi would take the meteorite far away.
Even if the Star Ninja Village lost the meteorite, he did not want it to fall into the hands of these villains.
"Come with me, old man. It's time to see if you're worth anything."
The red-marked mask ninja placed the kunai beneath the Star Shadow's throat and dragged him along, descending the stairs with his two companions.
Outside the Star Shadow Tower.
Hikari paid no attention to the gazes directed at her from both sides of the street. She had 'Madara' and little Tsunade remain where they were.
In her eyes, ordinary hunters shouldn't accompany her into danger — staying behind her was the safest option.
Controlling a Star Ninja, Hikari pushed open the tightly shut main door of the tower.
Bang!
The doors flew open, light spilling into the dim hall within.
"Natsuhi, is it? Let's make a dea—"
The red-marked mask ninja stepped forward, dragging the Star Shadow with him.
But before he could finish his sentence—
Hikari's expression turned impatient. She clenched her fist and smashed it toward the red-marked mask ninja blocking her way.
Right now, all she wanted was to find the Star Shadow and understand the current state of the ninja world — and the condition of the Uchiha.
Anyone who dared block her path was simply courting death!
This punch was unimaginably fast.
Its power erupted like a cannonball.
BOOM!
The red-marked mask ninja didn't even have time to react. It felt as though his head had been struck by a thousand-pound boulder — brain rattling, vision spinning — before everything went black.
He died on the spot, his body flying backward along with the Star Shadow he had been holding.
"..."
"..."
The remaining two masked ninjas froze in place, their expressions blank beneath their masks.
°°°
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