It was too bizarre—utterly incomprehensible.
That powerful Iwagakure ninja had been toyed with like a child by the Uchiha, even though the Uchiha hadn't used Sharingan genjutsu at all.
Akahoshi couldn't understand what had happened in the slightest.
In fact, he didn't even understand what was happening to his own opponent, Natsuhiboshi.
Natsuhiboshi was clearly fighting him—
—but her eyes lacked all vitality, as if something essential had been hollowed out.
"Run… I need to run. I should escape immediately!"
The thought surfaced instinctively in Akahoshi's mind.
At that very moment, Akita—who had impatiently responded to Akahoshi earlier—suddenly cursed aloud:
"Damn it, Akahoshi! I've already taken care of that annoying Uchiha brat—what are you panicking for?!"
"Yes. You've already successfully killed me."
"And next, you should go help Akahoshi—otherwise, he won't last much longer."
Uchiha Ran's voice suddenly echoed beside Akita's ear.
"…?? Why am I hearing the Uchiha brat's voice?"
A terrible premonition surged in Akita's heart.
Could it be… that entire combo of mine didn't actually kill that damned Uchiha?
"Right. You're wondering why all those techniques didn't manage to kill the Uchiha, aren't you?"
Ran's voice sounded again—low, intimate, and demonic.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
"I definitely wasn't caught in Sharingan genjutsu. I disrupted my chakra long ago—why didn't it work?!"
Akita was certain of it. He had been on guard from the start.
"…You're thinking you didn't fall into genjutsu?"
——?!
How does he know what I'm thinking?!
At Ran's whisper, cold sweat instantly broke out across Akita's body.
"Getting nervous already? I'd advise you not to rush things~"
As Ran's words fell—
Akita suddenly felt sweat pour from his entire body—
—followed immediately by searing pain that assaulted his senses!
W–What… what's happening?!
With great difficulty, Akita lowered his gaze toward his own body.
"W–What…?"
His strength was completely gone.
Just one look—
—and he understood.
There was no hope left.
Blood—
—was almost completely drained from his body.
Thud.
"So this is how it ends… damn Uchiha brat…"
"Lord Ōnoki… Xiao Ye… I'm sorry…"
With those final thoughts, Akita closed his eyes—
—and never woke again.
"I won't pity you."
"This world may be twisted, but for now, I am still a shinobi of Konoha. I will not spare any threat."
"Still… perhaps you did make a contribution to peace."
Standing before the corpses of Akita and the two Iwagakure special jōnin, Uchiha Ran calmly formed hand seals.
Fire Release—Great Fireball Jutsu.
The three bodies were completely incinerated.
At that moment, the true value of the Great Fireball revealed itself—
—destroying all traces.
!!!
"Now's my chance to escape!"
While Ran was disposing of the bodies, Akahoshi unleashed his strongest technique.
"Peacock Mystic Method—Beast: Impact!"
His chakra transformed into a colossal dragon, which surged forward like a heavenly wyrm devouring the sun—
—slamming straight into the defending Natsuhiboshi and blasting her away.
"The Peacock Mystic Method's defense is still too strong… she'll need time to recover."
"Perfect—this is my chance."
Using the recoil from the dragon's impact, Akahoshi was flung backward.
He immediately activated:
Peacock Mystic Method—Wings!
His body shot away at high speed, fleeing the battlefield.
Watching the Uchiha grow farther and farther away, Akahoshi burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! You evil Uchiha brat!"
"This is my escape route!"
Akahoshi felt utterly satisfied.
This time, Konoha's interference had actually saved his life.
To obtain the Star Ninja Village's secret treasure—the Star—
—Akahoshi had been forced to cooperate with Iwagakure's jōnin.
But that was no different from bargaining with a tiger.
Everyone knew that the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was an old fox—scheming, ruthless, willing to cooperate with missing-nin and rebel forces alike for the sake of victory.
The shinobi of Iwagakure had inherited those traits—renowned throughout the shinobi world for their cunning.
Akahoshi knew very well—
If Konoha's ninja hadn't intervened, even if he obtained the Star and escaped—
—he would still face relentless pursuit from Iwagakure.
One jōnin.
Two special jōnin.
Against a team like that, Akahoshi would have had no chance of escaping.
"Perfect! Perfect!"
"The Star is mine, I've ditched two useless subordinates, the Iwa threat is gone, and that Uchiha brat can't catch up!"
"Win! Absolute victory! I win alone!"
"Hahahaha!"
"As long as I fully master the Star's power, I'll become the strongest Hoshikage in history!"
"I'll make the Star Village greater than ever!"
"Firefly Star… hmph. A beauty like her deserves only the strong."
"When I return—Natsuhiboshi will be mine."
Lost in triumph, Akahoshi couldn't help voicing his thoughts aloud as he flew.
So this—
—this was the feeling of controlling everything through intellect.
It was intoxicating.
"Mm, you're right."
"A beauty does belong to the strong."
"But as for a 'Hoshikage'… honestly, that's nothing special."
"In the grand scheme of the shinobi world, you're just a slightly larger toad."
Uchiha Ran's voice suddenly whispered beside Akahoshi's ear.
——?!
What?!
Akahoshi panicked, frantically looking around.
Above. Below. Left. Right. Front. Back.
No one.
He was flying through the air!
Aside from the Peacock Mystic Method—
—how could anyone possibly be speaking right beside his ear?!
Realization struck him, and he let out a shaky breath.
That's right.
He had been flying for quite a while now.
Natsuhiboshi and the Uchiha were long out of sight.
"…I must be imagining things. Auditory hallucinations."
"That was terrifying… I should get even farther away."
"No."
"You're not hallucinating."
"But escaping farther is a good idea."
"Unfortunately… you're like a bird trapped in a cage."
"No matter how much you flap your wings—you'll never leave it."
Akahoshi heard the voice again.
Clear.
Real.
He abruptly stopped midair.
Spinning wildly, he shouted:
"Who?! Who's there?!"
"Stop messing with me!"
"Why?! There's no one here!"
"I've flown so far—why can I still hear your voice?! Who are you?!"
"No one?"
"So far away?"
"Who am I?"
"How arrogant, Akahoshi."
"Didn't you call me an evil Uchiha brat?"
"I'm speaking right beside you—and you don't even notice?"
"Tch! Playing tricks, you little brat!"
"I don't care!"
"You can't possibly catch my escape route—HAHA!"
"Escape route?"
"Uncle, you really love joking."
"Haven't you been flying in place this whole time?"
"Isn't it just like that big sister over there—standing in place too~?"
"N–Nani?!"
Akahoshi's vision warped.
The forest beneath him vanished—
—and he found himself still standing exactly where he had been before.
Not far away, Natsuhiboshi, whom he had supposedly blasted away, stood frozen in place, eyes vacant.
And right in front of him—
stood Uchiha Ran.