At this point, the Hyuga jonin was already considering ordering a temporary retreat.
Hoshigakure's strength was far greater than they had anticipated — especially that bizarre ability of Samehada to devour Chakra.
The longer this dragged on, the worse it would be for them.
And it wasn't just Hoshigakure. Kimimaro had also managed to hold off an entire Konoha squad all by himself.
They simply didn't have a powerful enough ninja to pin Hoshigakure down. If they kept fighting, their losses would only mount.
Hearing the Hyuga jonin's words, Hoshigakure's face twisted into a sneer.
"Only losers bring up the past."
"Besides, Kirigakure wasn't the only one who started this war. What about your own founder — Uchiha Madara?"
"Even your own founder tried to destroy Konoha. It seems your village has no reason to exist."
Hoshigakure let out a mocking laugh as his hands began flying through seals at blistering speed. Massive amounts of Chakra surged forth with each seal.
"None of you are leaving today."
Water Release — Water Colliding Wave!
A torrent of water erupted from Hoshigakure's mouth like a tidal surge, the enormous wave spreading in every direction.
It was like a bursting dam — the water came rolling in relentlessly.
Under the disbelieving eyes of the Hyuga jonin and the other Konoha ninja, Hoshigakure single-handedly created a lake, transforming the entire battlefield in an instant.
The entire field was submerged beneath the surging water. Many Konoha ninja were dragged under before they could even react.
Unleashing such an enormous volume of water in one breath left Hoshigakure feeling a wave of weakness wash over his body.
Even so, he didn't stop moving.
"Stay right here."
Hoshigakure bit his finger and slammed his palm against the surface of the water.
Summoning Jutsu — Thousand Feeding Sharks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A full thousand sharks were summoned in an instant. Within this massive body of water, the sharks moved freely. The moment they appeared, they scrambled toward the Konoha ninja in a feeding frenzy.
Hoshigakure gasped for breath, crouching half-submerged on the water's surface.
Since he hadn't been able to absorb much Chakra from the Hyuga jonin or Aburame Shino, two consecutive large-scale jutsu had nearly drained his reserves completely.
"Those two are yours."
Hoshigakure kept both hands pressed to the water, controlling the swarm of sharks as they attacked the Konoha ninja. He turned his head toward Kimimaro behind him.
Kimimaro nodded without a word and immediately charged toward the Hyuga jonin and Aburame Shino.
Shikotsumyaku — Dance of the Clematis!
Kimimaro went straight for a killing move. The Hyuga jonin's Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams Palm was utterly incapable of piercing the bony defense Kimimaro had formed.
The Shikotsumyaku was the natural counter to taijutsu — and that included the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist.
As for Aburame Shino's poison insect jutsu, it was heavily restricted by the presence of all this water.
On top of that, Kimimaro only attacked Aburame Shino from range, never giving him a chance to get close.
After an intense exchange, the Hyuga jonin was the first to fall.
Kimimaro's razor-sharp bone blade pierced straight through his heart. The Hyuga jonin collapsed onto the water's surface.
The scent of blood drew the sharks. Several of them swarmed in and devoured the Hyuga jonin on the spot.
Without the Hyuga jonin's support, Aburame Shino didn't last much longer either. He too died at Kimimaro's hands.
With both of them dead, the Konoha forces — already barely holding on — rapidly collapsed.
What followed was a completely one-sided massacre.
Nearly the entire Konoha force was wiped out. The defensive line Konoha had established at the Land of Bears border had completely fallen.
Kimimaro led the remaining Kirigakure ninja in swiftly occupying the position and clearing the battlefield.
By nightfall, Kirigakure had fully secured this stretch of the Land of Bears border.
Inside a hastily constructed command post.
"Hoshigakure-sama, Kimimaro-sama — we've broken through the Konoha position. The next step is the invasion of the Land of Fire."
"Now that we've taken this position, the entire direction of the war will change. It'll also relieve enormous pressure on our forces at the Land of Waves."
"Still, even though we won this battle, we lost quite a few ninja. We'll likely need reinforcements from the village."
A middle-aged Kirigakure ninja pointed at the map pinned to the wall, speaking with visible excitement.
This was the first decisive victory Kirigakure had scored against Konoha forces since the First Shinobi World War.
And they were the first to break through Konoha's defenses across all three battlefronts. That was an enormous honor.
"We'll leave the next steps in your hands."
Kimimaro nodded and spoke softly to the middle-aged ninja.
"Yes, Kimimaro-sama."
The middle-aged ninja straightened up, his expression turning solemn. He bowed to both Kimimaro and Hoshigakure, then turned and walked out.
Kimimaro turned to Hoshigakure, who was slouching lazily, and asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Hoshigakure-dono, you seem dissatisfied."
"I really thought I'd run into a couple of interesting opponents. Turns out they were this weak."
"None of Konoha's heavy hitters showed up — no Hatake Kakashi, no Maito Gai."
Hoshigakure grumbled in an irritated tone.
Kimimaro paused for a moment. Suddenly, he understood why Hoshigakure had handed the Hyuga jonin and Aburame Shino over to him at the last moment.
Clearly, after fighting those two briefly, Hoshigakure had lost all interest in them.
Hoshigakure's gaze suddenly shifted to Kimimaro, and his eyes lit up.
From what he'd heard, Kimimaro's strength was formidable. As far as he knew, aside from Lord Yuto, no one in the village had ever seen the full extent of Kimimaro's true power.
Just as Hoshigakure was about to speak, a commotion broke out outside.
"What's going on?"
Kimimaro frowned, a note of irritation in his voice.
Knock, knock.
A light knock came at the door, followed by a guard ninja stepping inside.
"My lords, the Hoshigakure ninja have returned. Should we let them in?"
The guard asked with a faint smirk.
Kimimaro and Hoshigakure exchanged a glance. Kimimaro's expression turned unreadable, and he nodded.
A moment later, Natsuki walked in.
Seeing Kimimaro and Hoshigakure watching her, she straightened her posture.
"My lords, our Hoshigakure has done everything you asked."
"Now, release our Hoshikage."
Natsuki spoke with a serious expression, her voice firm.
Neither Kimimaro nor Hoshigakure responded. Instead, a Kirigakure ninja standing off to the side stepped forward.
"Natsuki-san, I need to correct you on one point. We never imprisoned your Hoshikage. He's simply here receiving treatment for his injuries."
This Kirigakure ninja corrected Natsuki's choice of words.
"Whether you call it treatment or imprisonment, release our Hoshikage now."
"As one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, surely you wouldn't go back on your word."
Natsuki's expression shifted slightly, as if she sensed something was off.
"Of course, there's no problem. However, from what I understand, your village possesses a certain meteorite that can aid in Chakra cultivation."
The Kirigakure ninja spoke in a calm, unhurried tone.
At those words, Natsuki clearly understood what was happening.
The Hoshikage must have leaked information about Hoshigakure during his time in Kirigakure's custody.
"I can give you the meteorite."
Natsuki fell silent for only a moment before answering without the slightest hesitation.
With that, she turned and walked out of the room. A moment later, she activated her Peacock Method, wings of Chakra forming on her back as she flew off toward Hoshigakure.
Seeing this, the Kirigakure ninja, Hoshigakure, and Kimimaro all wore expressions of surprise. For a moment, none of them could speak.
According to the intelligence they'd extracted from the Hoshikage, this meteorite — which helped Hoshigakure's ninja cultivate their Chakra — was essentially the lifeblood of the entire village.
Given how important it was, all of them had assumed it would take considerable effort to get Natsuki to agree.
Yet she had consented so readily. None of them had expected that.
A brief silence fell over the room.
"The Hoshikage isn't lying to us, is he?"
Kimimaro broke the silence, a cold edge to his voice.
"He wouldn't dare."
"If the Hoshikage wants to stay alive, he wouldn't give us false information. There'd be no point in it."
"And when we brought up the meteorite, his reaction was extremely intense. That alone proves the meteorite is real — and very important."
The Kirigakure ninja shook his head, offering a measured analysis.
He had personally interrogated the Hoshikage, so he was confident the intelligence was solid.
As for why Natsuki had agreed so readily — he couldn't say. But the answer would probably reveal itself soon enough.
[
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