"This is the power your Star Ninja Village has been chasing all this time… how pitiful. Your fate was never meant to be decided by me."
Uchiha Ran said calmly as his fingers closed around Akahoshi's throat.
For a split second, Akahoshi thought he had escaped death—
only to hear Ran's voice again, cold and indifferent.
"But the Uchiha were never good people to begin with. And unfortunately for you… you know far too much."
Terror flooded Akahoshi's eyes.
Still trapped within genjutsu, unable to resist even in the slightest, he was swallowed whole by Uchiha Ran's merciless Fire Release.
In Natsuhiboshi's eyes—
This long, brutal battle finally came to an end the moment Uchiha Ran intervened. Akahoshi, frozen in fear, was engulfed by Ran's Great Fireball Technique, reduced to ashes before her very eyes.
It had to be said—Fire Release truly lived up to its reputation.
Most C-rank ninjutsu focused on control, but a C-rank Great Fireball already possessed lethal power.
As for the Star Stone, now completely devoid of Ten-Tails chakra, Uchiha Ran decided to take it with him.
The Star Ninja Village had gained its identity because of the Star Stone—but it had also lost countless lives because of it.
Now that its core power was gone, the stone would eventually degrade into nothing more than an ordinary meteorite. But in the hands of Ran and Orochimaru, perhaps it could still yield far greater value.
Under the lingering influence of Floating Life, Dreamlike Illusion, Natsuhiboshi never realized that Ran had sealed the Star Stone away and taken it for himself.
What she did notice was Akahoshi's charred remains—and the fact that neither he nor the Iwagakure ninja carried the Star Stone anymore.
She felt both loss… and relief.
As long as the Star Stone was gone, the Star Ninja Village could one day return to the right path through its own strength alone.
After quickly cleaning up the battlefield, Natsuhiboshi and Uchiha Ran hurried back toward the village—
But in the end, they were still too late.
From the very beginning, Akahoshi and the Iwa ninja had launched a surprise attack, severely injuring the Third Star Shadow and Hotaru-hoshi. When they withdrew, they left the battlefield to Yoru-taka and Shisō.
To be honest, those two jōnin weren't particularly outstanding.
Unfortunately, the Third Star Shadow was already advanced in age, and like Hotaru-hoshi, had been gravely wounded in the ambush. Facing Yoru-taka and Shisō, he was powerless.
In the end, with Hotaru-hoshi's desperate, life-threatening assistance, the Third Star Shadow managed to kill both enemies—
And then, dragging his broken body, waited until he finally saw the figures of Uchiha Ran and Natsuhiboshi return.
"We… we won, didn't we…? That's good… Natsu… Natsuhiboshi… take the… Star Stone… and protect… our village…"
As if his final wish had been fulfilled, the Third Star Shadow smiled—
And collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
That day, the Star Ninja Village suffered its greatest loss in history.
The Third Star Shadow was dead.
Jōnin Akahoshi, Hotaru-hoshi, Shisō, and Yoru-taka were all dead.
The Star Stone was gone.
Only Natsuhiboshi remained.
Standing alone in the Star Shadow's office, the emptiness was almost unbearable—so clean it hurt.
She stood amidst the ruins, her heart feeling as though it were being carved apart.
She had lost her teacher—the Third Star Shadow—who had guided and cared for her all these years.
She had lost her closest friend, Hotaru-hoshi, the partner who once fought and struggled at her side.
For the sake of the village, she had even been forced to kill her former teammate, Akahoshi with her own hands. The decision had been unavoidable—but the pain would never truly fade.
On top of that, two other comrades had betrayed the village for the Star Stone… for their own ambitions.
It all felt like a curse born from the Star Stone itself.
And that made her believe—more than ever—that abandoning the Star Stone had been the right choice.
At the same time, she felt a small sense of relief.
Aside from all this… the village she loved had not suffered even greater devastation.
She was a strong girl—
even though she was only sixteen.
The current Star Ninja Village was weaker than it had ever been, its ability to resist external threats reduced to the absolute minimum.
Natsuhiboshi made her decision.
She would devote everything she had to rebuilding the village. She would restore life to this once-prosperous land—and ensure that the sacrifices of the fallen would not be in vain.
Out of humanitarian concern, Uchiha Ran stayed in the Star Ninja Village for a few extra days.
During that time, he saw Natsuhiboshi's unwavering resolve as she faced every hardship head-on. He saw her no longer trapped by the pain of the past.
She truly believed that through her own efforts, the Star Ninja Village could one day regain its former glory.
She would protect what she cherished—and lead the village toward a new future.
"Truly… a strong girl," Ran remarked quietly.
After staying two more days, Uchiha Ran helped Natsuhiboshi straighten out the village's affairs—and even witnessed her temporarily assume the position of Star Shadow.
Strictly speaking, in the ninja world, only the five great villages of the Five Great Nations were qualified to use the title of "Kage."
But Ran had no intention of mocking her.
Uchiha Ran was not a good person—
but he would never ridicule someone who carried a dream.
"Well then, Sister Natsu," Ran said at the gates of the Star Ninja Village, "there's still a lot for you to handle here. And Iwagakure shinobi are still lurking near the Fire Country's borders. It's time for me to go—my village still needs me."
His mission was complete.
He had obtained what he wanted.
And he had helped Natsuhiboshi and the Star Ninja Village return to the right path.
It was time to part ways.
"Thank you, Ran," Natsuhiboshi said softly. "Without you, this wouldn't have ended so smoothly. The village might have suffered far greater losses… I won't forget you. With your character and strength, one day you'll stand among Konoha's leadership. When I visit Konoha then—don't shut me out, alright?"
To her, Uchiha Ran was like a younger brother—one with terrifying strength.
An Uchiha like him… was surely the kind people couldn't help but like.
Natsuhiboshi watched his departing figure for a long time—
until the sun finally sank below the horizon.
"Jackpot. Absolutely cleaned up."
This trip to the Star Ninja Village of the Land of Bears had been disastrous for the village itself—countless deaths, and the loss of their ancestral Star Stone.
But from another perspective…
The village had finally returned to the right track.
The schemers and traitors were gone.
The stubborn Third Star Shadow, clinging blindly to the Star Stone, was gone.
The Star Stone itself—harmful to the human body—was gone.
After all of this, under Natsuhiboshi's leadership, the Star Ninja Village would surely be reborn.
Of course—
the Star Stone had been taken by him.
But Uchiha Ran had never claimed to be a good person.
And the biggest winner of all—
Uchiha Ran himself.
This time, he had obtained pure Ten-Tails chakra.
In his vision, this chakra could even be infused with his own will.
As it flowed through his meridians, it slowly strengthened and refined his body. His Sharingan was quietly, steadily changing.
Uchiha Ran could feel it—
His Sharingan was evolving.
What an unexpected gain.
Originally, Ran had assumed that without awakening the Mangekyō naturally, he would have to rely on Orochimaru to pursue further evolution.
But now—
With the Ten-Tails chakra obtained by sheer chance, the Mangekyō Sharingan was suddenly within reach.
At that moment, Ran found himself growing curious.
Just what kind of power would his Mangekyō awaken?
More than anything, he hoped that it could continue evolving—and grant him the strongest Mangekyō ability possible.
…Wait.
Crap.
It won't be Amaterasu, will it?!
Ran muttered frantically to himself:
"Not Amaterasu… not Amaterasu… please don't be Amaterasu…"
..
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