Uchiha Ran honestly hadn't expected to reunite with Orochimaru-sensei so soon after parting ways~
It felt like no time at all had passed since the last time they'd schemed together to clean out Shimura Danzō's pockets!
"Ran-kun, who would've thought you'd rack up another major merit in such a short time," Orochimaru said with a hoarse chuckle. "Because of you, Hiruzen-sensei dragged me straight out of my laboratory and sent me to this boring backwater of a place."
Ran shot a look toward Ruka and Uncle Tahuo, signaling that it was time for them to withdraw. What followed was clearly a private conversation between master and disciple.
Ruka, Tahuo, and the other Uchiha present were all very perceptive. The moment they caught Ran's gaze, they immediately excused themselves and departed, leaving the space entirely to the teacher and student.
"Orochimaru-sensei, I didn't expect the Hokage's order to have you come here secretly," Ran said with a faint smile. "I thought, with the Hokage-sama's wisdom, he'd send a large force instead~"
Orochimaru was dressed in a hooded robe, clearly having received instructions to arrive covertly.
But it was obvious that Orochimaru had no intention of exerting himself on the front lines. The moment he met up with Uchiha Ran, he arranged for Hyūga Hizashi to accompany the Uchiha clan members to search for spies.
After that, Orochimaru casually informed Ran of the location of his new laboratory.
"Huh?? Orochimaru-sensei, you already sorted out your lab while traveling here?" Ran asked, genuinely surprised.
"Ninjutsu and fuinjutsu are very convenient," Orochimaru replied lightly. "Setting up a simple laboratory is effortless."
As he led Ran away from the camp toward his temporary lab, Orochimaru shared two pieces of information.
First—during this period of research, he'd made no actual progress on evolving the Sharingan into the Mangekyō Sharingan. What he had done, however, was further develop the hypothesis Ran had proposed: that extreme emotions such as rage or profound sorrow could act as catalysts for the Sharingan's evolution.
Orochimaru speculated that when an Uchiha experienced intense anger or grief, they produced a special form of energy that triggered changes in their bloodline, allowing the Sharingan to evolve into the Mangekyō.
Yet one question continued to puzzle him.
Why was it that the vast majority of Uchiha—no, nearly all Uchiha—were unable to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan?
The second piece of information concerned Konoha's ally: the Hidden Star Village of the Land of Bears, which had sent an urgent request for assistance.
"Ran," Orochimaru said calmly, "this mission is perfect for you. That so-called Star Village's Star Shadow likely has strength no greater than a jōnin. After helping them resolve their issue, bring back a small piece of the meteorite they treasure so dearly. I need it for research."
"The ninja of the Land of Bears treat that meteorite as something sacred," Orochimaru continued, his tone faintly mocking. "But according to the intelligence I've obtained, while it does enhance training, the amplification isn't particularly significant."
As he spoke, Orochimaru extended his right hand.
In an instant, countless small white snakes slithered out from his sleeve, scattering silently into the forest.
One had to admit—Orochimaru's information network was terrifyingly extensive.
If Ran remembered correctly, that meteorite from the Star Village wasn't even widely known to outsiders at the beginning of the original storyline.
"No problem, Orochimaru-sensei," Ran replied readily. "But did they specify what the mission actually is?"
Ran had no resistance to undertaking such a task. If anything, he was curious to see this so-called miraculous meteorite for himself.
Especially since there was a strong possibility that it was somehow connected to the Ten-Tails—how could that not pique his interest?
"As for the details, the client didn't specify," Orochimaru said. "However, the request was sent under the orders of their Third Star Shadow. I imagine it concerns internal village matters."
He paused, then added, "The client is a female ninja. Her travel speed is rather slow—she should arrive soon. When she does, make sure your Uchiha clansmen understand one thing: unless it's absolutely necessary, do not disturb me."
Orochimaru's lips curled into a thin smile.
"Interrupting a scientist's experiments can have… very frightening consequences."
Just as Orochimaru predicted, after Ran instructed Ruka and the others not to disturb his teacher, more than half an hour passed before the Star Village's representative finally arrived.
The newcomer was a woman.
Just as Ran and Orochimaru were beginning to grow impatient, a female ninja approached them from the sky—her chakra unfolding behind her like the brilliant tail feathers of a peacock as she flew toward them.
"It seems this secret technique doesn't consume too much chakra," Orochimaru remarked with interest. "I'm becoming rather curious about that meteorite now."
"I'm terribly sorry—truly sorry, Orochimaru-sama!" the woman said hurriedly as she landed. "Your advance speed was far too fast. Even using the Peacock Mystic Method, I couldn't catch up!"
Orochimaru paid little attention to her apology. Instead, he said indifferently, "From here on, you'll coordinate with my disciple. He possesses jōnin-level strength—this sort of mission will be well within his capabilities. I still have important matters to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave."
Strength truly was the shortest path to respect.
After offering a brief farewell, Orochimaru departed without hesitation, dumping the mission squarely onto his student's shoulders. The Star Village's representative, for her part, respectfully watched Orochimaru leave, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction.
Once Orochimaru was gone, the woman finally introduced herself.
"My name is Natsume Hoshi. You may call me Natsume, or simply Hoshi," she said. "I'm a jōnin from the Hidden Star Village. And you must be Orochimaru-sama's distinguished disciple—how should I address you?"
"You can call me Uchiha Ran," he replied. "Now tell me—what exactly happened? To think your Third Star Shadow would request aid from Konoha."
Natsume Hoshi didn't answer immediately. She glanced around, clearly concerned about prying eyes.
Without another word, she activated the Peacock Mystic Method again, lifting off swiftly into the air.
Only after leaving the camp far behind did she descend and finally explain the situation to Ran.
The Hidden Star Village was a ninja settlement within the Land of Bears.
Its leader bore the title of "Star Shadow," and the village was currently under its third generation of leadership.
Within the village lay a meteorite that had fallen from the sky two hundred years ago—hence the name Hidden Star Village.
The village's ninja trained around this celestial stone. The meteorite emitted radiation and reacted strongly with chakra.
Star ninja specialized in the "Peacock Mystic Method," a technique that allowed them to shape chakra into various forms for offense, drain an opponent's chakra, and even achieve flight—just as Natsume had demonstrated earlier.
This time, however, the Third Star Shadow had discovered that one of the village's jōnin—Akahoshi—had colluded with the Land of Earth, working hand-in-hand like wolves in the same den, plotting to seize the Star Village's ancestral meteorite.
Because Konoha was an ally of the Land of Bears—and because it had a long-standing reputation for never interfering in the internal affairs of other nations—the Star Shadow had immediately dispatched Natsume Hoshi to seek Konoha's assistance.
For some reason, Ran couldn't shake the feeling that this situation resembled the classic scenario of dumping a crisis onto an honest, reliable party.
And Konoha was that honest party.
Even though the mission did come with compensation.
"So," Ran asked, "is this meteorite really that valuable? Valuable enough for a traitor and jōnin from the Land of Earth to risk rebellion over it?"
Natsume Hoshi studied him with a skeptical gaze before replying, "It does greatly aid training. However, I suspect it causes irreversible side effects to a ninja's body. If you wish to see it for yourself, I can apply to the Star Shadow after the mission is complete."
"No rush," Ran said thoughtfully. "We'll see when the time comes. Honestly, collecting some powdered samples for experimentation might be better than using it directly."
At those words, Natsume Hoshi's eyes narrowed slightly.
As expected of one of the Legendary Sannin Orochimaru-sama's disciples…
He truly didn't place the possibility of facing jōnin from the Land of Earth in his eyes at all.