"Everyone…"
Natsuhiboshi stood there in a daze, carrying her husband as she flickered forward and landed beside a fallen Star ninja.
Her eyes widened.
The man's chest had been pierced clean through by razor-sharp fangs.
Around her, the other Star ninja—
had all died in similarly gruesome ways.
"…Sigh…"
Grief welled up in her eyes.
Even if she was now a rogue ninja, these people had once been her comrades.
"Cough… don't be sad. Their deaths… might not be a bad thing for the village."
Hotaruboshi spoke weakly, his eyelids drooping, his voice barely audible.
"Natsuhiboshi-sama!!"
A young girl ran toward her from afar, shouting anxiously.
"The Hoshikage-sama is looking for you!"
Natsuhiboshi snapped back to her senses.
"Is Aang alright?" she asked urgently.
Aang was their child.
Despite their defection, Akahoshi hadn't used him to force them out. Perhaps it hadn't come to that yet.
Or perhaps—
he had other plans.
"Aang is fine! When the village was attacked, he stayed with us!"
The girl burst into tears.
"Please go see the Hoshikage! He… he won't last much longer!"
"Okay!"
Natsuhiboshi nodded fiercely.
Carrying her husband with one arm and lifting the girl with the other, she leapt toward the half-destroyed wooden tower.
Only then did she realize—
just how badly the village's central structure had been damaged.
At the base of the crumbling tower, a group of children surrounded the Third Hoshikage, crying uncontrollably.
Among them—
was her child.
But she didn't stop.
She rushed forward, gently laying her husband down before kneeling beside the old man.
"My lord… I—I've returned!"
The moment she saw his condition, tears streamed down her face.
A kunai was embedded in his chest.
And his body—
had been severed at the waist.
His lower half was covered with cloth, blood spreading across the ground.
"Kh… kh…"
The Third Hoshikage opened his dim eyes.
"You've… finally returned…"
"My lord, what happened here?!" Natsuhiboshi asked urgently.
She already knew—
there was no saving him.
"I used a secret technique… to prolong my life… I still have a few minutes…"
His voice was weak.
Natsuhiboshi closed her eyes, gripping his frail hand tightly.
"Akahoshi tried to assassinate me… I faked my death… but the wound is real… I won't last…"
"After that… Orochimaru arrived…"
"…and someone even more terrifying."
Natsuhiboshi's breath caught.
Orochimaru—
that name alone was enough.
"What about Akahoshi?" she asked, forcing herself to stay calm.
The old man's eyes grew dim.
"They're dead… all of them…"
"…devoured by Orochimaru's summoned beast."
"I was swallowed too… but after biting off half my body… that snake spat me out…"
Natsuhiboshi trembled.
She didn't need to imagine it.
The truth was already before her.
"Listen carefully…"
The Third Hoshikage struggled to continue.
"The future of the village… is now in your hands…"
"Orochimaru and the others took the Star…"
"…that's actually a good thing…"
"It means… the strongest minds in the ninja world… will study it…"
Natsuhiboshi nodded through her tears.
The old man weakly patted her hand.
"The children… have trained with the Peacock Mystic Art…"
"…toxins have already accumulated in their bodies…"
"If anyone can save them…"
"…it might only be Orochimaru."
"You must chase them… offer the village's allegiance…"
"…in exchange for the children's lives…"
"If they refuse…"
"…then it is simply our fate…"
"I'm… tired…"
"My technique… is failing…"
"Go…"
Natsuhiboshi wiped her tears and nodded firmly.
But as she stood—
her pupils shrank.
Her husband—
and the Third Hoshikage—
both lost their final breath at the same time.
Silence fell.
Night descended.
Stars filled the sky.
At the border of the Land of Birds, the giant serpent halted atop a mountain ridge.
Dust swirled in the air.
From the night sky—
a pale pink streak of light shot toward them.
It resembled a butterfly, with a human figure at its center.
Orochimaru glanced up.
"It seems some survivors remain."
"The trouble you mentioned… has caught up."
"Shall I deal with her?"
Gen shook his head.
"She's not here to die. Let her come."
Orochimaru nodded.
Itachi watched silently—
almost hoping she had come for revenge.
Seeing the serpent waiting—
Natsuhiboshi did not hesitate.
Grief had already consumed her.
Her only purpose now—
was to save her village.
Using the Peacock Mystic Art, she propelled herself forward and landed before them.
"Are you here… to take back that stone?" Orochimaru asked calmly.
If she showed even a hint of hostility—
he would kill her instantly.
Without hesitation—
Natsuhiboshi dropped to her knees.
"Orochimaru-sama… honored sirs… forgive my intrusion…"
Orochimaru glanced at Gen.
Just as expected.
He stepped aside slightly.
"If you have business… speak to our lord."
Natsuhiboshi's breath hitched.
So it was true.
Orochimaru wasn't the leader.
She slowly raised her head.
Her gaze landed on the young man with bandaged eyes.
Taking a deep breath—
she pleaded,
"My lord… please save Hoshigakure!"
"…Oh?"
Gen showed interest.
Through his perception—
he recognized her immediately.
Natsuhiboshi.
The most talented user of the Peacock Mystic Art in the village.
But unfortunately—
she and her husband…
were truly a pair of star-crossed lovers.
Her husband had been poisoned to death by the Star.
And she—
in trying to save the village—
would one day die as well.
In the end—
only their child would remain in this cruel world.
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