A gentle breeze swept across the road.
Four figures moved swiftly along the path — Sasuke, Lee, Neji, and Yakumo.
Naruto had entrusted Natsuhiboshi's request to them. After all, the so-called "Kage" of Hoshigakure — that arrogant leader — was nothing more than a high-ranking jōnin with delusions of grandeur.
A tiny village dreaming of standing equal to the Five Great Nations… laughable.
"Why would Naruto-kun send us for something like this? It's a whole ninja village!"
Lee asked, sounding genuinely confused.
The other three looked at him with complicated expressions.
Sasuke spoke first, voice cool as ever:
"Lee, you're still too naïve. Our targets aren't going to be limited to small villages anymore."
Neji nodded.
"That's right. Missions like this may become routine in the future."
He understood Naruto's intentions — giving them experience early.
There were far too many minor villages scattered across the shinobi world… and in the future Naruto envisioned, such fragmented forces wouldn't be allowed to remain.
Lee scratched his cheek, unsure — but still smiled and said,
"I understand!"
"Don't forget," Yakumo reminded them, "we also have to retrieve the Star."
That brought them back to reality. What exactly was the Star?
…
While Sasuke's team continued toward the Land of Bears…
Land of Snow Base
Inside the base, Naruto was surprised to see the figure walking toward him.
"H-Hinata? Why are you here?"
"Oh? Did someone forget about us already?"
A clear voice chimed in — fair skin, long flaxen hair, a slender figure — Yamanaka Ino.
Naruto laughed softly.
"Ino, you're here too?"
"Hmph! What, are we not welcome? And why is it so complicated to get inside this place? We had to pass through multiple security checks!"
Ino puffed her cheeks in mock irritation.
"Ino, please bear with it. This base holds too many secrets."
Naruto chuckled.
"I'll call Shikamaru to join you all — I'm sure he's missed you."
"He probably hasn't at all! Dad says he's become ridiculously capable lately!"
Ino huffed with her hands on her hips.
A new voice interrupted:
"Naruto-kun, have you seen Sasuke?"
Naruto turned — pink hair, and that extremely prominent forehead.
"Sakura?"
"I've sent him out on a mission," Naruto replied reassuringly.
"He'll return in a few days."
Sakura tried to hide a hint of disappointment behind a polite smile. Gaining permission from Tsunade to come here had taken no small effort.
Naruto looked over the arrivals — Hinata, Ino, Chōji, Shino, Sakura, Kiba, and Tenten.
The Konoha 12 were basically all here.
He hadn't expected Tenten. He had a decent impression of the weapons-obsessed girl — and knew full well she had a soft spot for Neji.
Neji was in for quite a welcome when he returned.
…
Meanwhile, Sasuke's team had reached their destination and met Natsuhiboshi. Unlike the original timeline, she currently held strong trust toward Umbrella.
The Star Shadow had resumed the Star training earlier, and with more time to train, he was even stronger than in the original story.
Natsuhiboshi delivered her message quickly, voice muffled slightly behind her beast-pattern mask:
"Our goal is the Star — we want to take it away from the village."
"Hold up," Sasuke cut in. "What is the Star exactly?"
Natsuhiboshi explained:
"It's a meteorite that fell to the Land of Bears more than two hundred years ago. Because of its power, our village became known as Hoshigakure — Star Village. Training near the Star allows us to extract far more chakra than normal."
"But the Star also brings severe side effects. The longer one trains with it, the shorter one's lifespan becomes. If this continues, Star Village will perish — and the current Star Shadow is…"
Her voice trembled slightly.
Sasuke, Neji, Lee, and Yakumo exchanged looks.
No wonder Naruto wanted them to secure the Star. If it truly enhanced chakra and cellular activity — similar to Lightning Release cellular activation — then it was undoubtedly a precious research asset.
But at the cost of years off one's life?
It was essentially forcing out the body's potential — a slow and painful suicide.
Neji stepped forward:
"Then we continue as planned. Star Village will merge into Umbrella. We will take full control. Do you have any objections?"
Natsuhiboshi hesitated — she wasn't qualified to make such decisions.
But remembering the peaceful and prosperous life under Umbrella's banner…
She clenched her fists — and nodded.
Hoshigakure would not be destroyed by the Star Shadow's stubborn obsession.
They still hadn't fully grasped how vast the Five Great Nations' power truly was.
Neji exhaled quietly, then laid out the plan:
"Here's the battle distribution:
Yakumo — long-range support with genjutsu.
Sasuke and I will take on the Star Shadow.
Lee — you'll focus on clearing the battlefield.
According to Natsuhiboshi's intel, our primary targets are the Star Shadow and his high-level officers."
"I want to fight the Star Shadow too…" Lee mumbled, clearly disappointed.
Neji glanced at him.
"Lee, your taijutsu is our fastest option to disable the enemy forces. The shinobi here use a technique called the Peacock Method — it forms chakra constructs at range. Closing the distance nullifies their advantage. Your speed makes you the perfect choice."
Lee blinked… then nodded firmly.
"Understood!"
His reasoning was solid — Lee couldn't argue. And truthfully, aside from Yakumo's lacking taijutsu, Sasuke, Neji, and Lee all had the power to confront a self-proclaimed "Kage." They were curious to see what strength this man truly possessed.
Before long, they reached the outskirts of Hoshigakure — hidden deep within rocky terrain, difficult to invade.
"Follow me," Natsuhiboshi instructed. "The perimeter is filled with poisonous mist!"
"No need," Sasuke replied.
Without hesitation, Sasuke and Neji grabbed Lee and Yakumo and took to the air, soaring high over the gas-filled traps. Natsuhiboshi stared, wide-eyed — Umbrella's capabilities astonished her again and again.
The four exchanged a nod.
Then — BOOM — lightning tore through the sky as Sasuke launched a Chidori-sharp Lightning Release strike into one of the village's tallest structures!
"Who goes there?!"
"Enemy attack!"
Shouts erupted instantly as Hoshigakure shinobi rushed toward the disturbance.
Lee vanished into a blur — his afterimages scattering across the battlefield as he incapacitated every incoming attacker before they even understood what was happening.
Outside the chaos, Natsuhiboshi clenched her hands nervously.
They're way too aggressive…
Umbrella wasn't here to negotiate.
Umbrella was here to take over.
...
TN:
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