Chapter 272: Control
Hoshigakure (Hidden Star Village).
"What's the situation? Did they find Natsuhi?"
"I don't know. The Hoshikage suddenly summoned us, saying there's a major announcement to be made."
"Even you don't know?"
"Could it be they captured Natsuhi's son, Sumaru?"
"Impossible. If he were captured, Natsuhi would have shown herself long ago."
The entire village was a hive of activity and bustling discussion. Just moments ago, the Acting Hoshikage, Akahoshi, had recalled every shinobi searching for Natsuhi and gathered them together.
It was utterly baffling. If Natsuhi had truly returned, there should have been a massive commotion. After all, Natsuhi was the most talented ninja Hoshigakure had seen in a century—the only one capable of mastering the Mysterious Peacock Method to its absolute peak. If she hadn't assassinated the previous Hoshikage and defected, she would be the leader by now.
However, those with inside knowledge knew the assassination was fishy. Even if she believed the "Star" was harmful to the body, she wouldn't have killed the Hoshikage over it.
In the shadows of the village, a woman with crimson hair peeked out, watching the residents and ninjas gather.
What is Akahoshi planning now? Is he going to do something detrimental to the village? Her heart felt heavy. She couldn't understand why Akahoshi would stop the search for her and instead gather everyone.
At that moment, the man responsible for her heavy heart appeared in the distance, flanked closely by two guards.
"Yodaka, Mizura... Akahoshi... you murdered the Third Hoshikage. You will pay for this." Hatred flickered in her eyes as she looked at the three men who had turned her and her husband into outcasts. Her greatest worry was the deceived villagers.
"That's..."
A hooded figure appeared in her field of vision. The figure lowered the hood, revealing a white-haired old man.
Is Akahoshi planning to sell out the village? The Land of Bears won't let you get away with it. Natsuhi prepared herself for a mutual destruction scenario, desperate to expose Akahoshi's true goals.
Suddenly, the old man performed a hand seal and muttered something. A blinding flash of light crossed her vision. Being skilled in lip-reading, she caught four words: "History Correction."
Wait, why am I standing here?
That is... the projection of the First Hoshikage! To resolve the disputes in the village, he has actually returned from the Pure Land!
Watching the figure, Natsuhi felt a wave of shame wash over her. I was too selfish. I shouldn't have taken the Star away. Whether or not to train in the Mysterious Peacock Method is a personal choice. If we lose the power of the Star, the village will have no means of resistance, which is more dangerous than the Star itself...
Her eyes filled with tears of regret. She pulled out the sealed Star and began walking slowly toward the "First Hoshikage."
"Lord Hoshikage, your appearance humbles us. From now on, our village will be united in love and harmony, resisting foreign enemies together and honoring your sacrifice."
The residents and ninjas of Hoshigakure felt as if they had experienced a lifetime of history in an instant. They gathered there to answer the call of their founder. For a while, the sounds of repentance filled the village.
Tonbo Tobitake lowered his hands, a satisfied smile on his face. He instructed Akahoshi to hand the position of Hoshikage over to Natsuhi. Akahoshi and the other Jonin would serve as Natsuhi's Anbu, existing solely to protect the leader.
He also gave Natsuhi a mission: to gather information on any unusual organizations within the Land of Bears. He told her not to alert them, but simply to pass the intelligence to him. He handed her a scroll containing his contact method.
Finally, Tonbo vanished from Hoshigakure, leaving a peaceful village behind.
A few days later, a boy wearing a Hidden Star headband returned from the outside world. He stared at his mother, who was now sitting in the Hoshikage's seat with Akahoshi and the others serving as her respectful guards.
"What is going on? My mom is the Hoshikage?"
Sumaru couldn't believe it. He had gone out to find his mother to ask her face-to-face why she killed the leader and defected. Now that he was back, she was the leader, and even elite Jonin like Akahoshi were subservient.
He was highly skeptical of the "Projection of the First Hoshikage" they spoke of. The founder had been dead for nearly two hundred years; how could he reappear? However, no matter who he asked, the villagers remained steadfast in their belief, even trying to brainwash him with the same story.
The whole village must be under a massive Genjutsu. Or maybe the Star caused everyone to go crazy, Sumaru hypothesized.
He preferred to believe it was a problem with the Star rather than the idea that the entire village had been bewitched. After all, how could a ninjutsu that powerful exist? He steeled his heart, determined to find the truth.
"I thought the 'History Correction' move wouldn't be very useful to me, but it turns out it's quite handy. Why didn't I think of this years ago?"
Tonbo Tobitake walked out of the Hidden Star Village and into the capital of the Land of Bears, sipping tea while he contemplated.
Ultimately, it had to be used. With one move, he had injected his own scripted memories into hundreds of ninjas. Essentially, he had turned Hoshigakure into his private subsidiary village.
He realized there were no useless jutsus, only the wrong environments. He had used Genjutsu to expand his intelligence network before, but he had rarely cast it on an entire village at once.
This kind of control—to toy with lives in the palm of your hand—is truly intoxicating.
Tonbo knew this was a dangerous mindset. Regardless, his clone didn't leave the Land of Bears. He planned to stay there permanently, patrolling the borders until his chakra ran out or the main body dispelled him.
Beyond just the clone in the Land of Bears, Tonbo's figures began to roam all over the ninja world under various identities. He was searching for any information related to Kara.
It was truly a needle in a haystack. He focused specifically on technological and scientific research factions in both large and small nations. Since that man named Amado was a scientist, there had to be a trail.
I'm definitely not doing this to steal scientific results from other nations, he told himself.
Tonbo's clones appeared in the ruins of the Land of Silence, the Land of Valleys, and the long-lost Takumi Village. He controlled many organizations, but their individual strength was too low; they might not be able to perceive Kara's presence. He had to use his Shadow Clones to do the legwork personally.
He knew his future self must have thought of this and told him to act as usual, likely because the future version already knew that searching was futile—or had already tried. But Tonbo's nature made the existence of Kara feel like too big a threat to ignore.
He would keep pushing.
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