"Cough, cough..."
Hearing the disdain in Scarlet Yu's words, the Third Hoshikage, accompanied by a group of Ninja, appeared somewhat awkwardly and gave a dry laugh. "As Scarlet Yu, the esteemed disciple of Konoha's Ninjutsu Professor and Third Hokage-sama, for me, a mere leader of a small Ninja village in the Land of Bears, to call myself a Kage in your presence is naturally a bit laughable..."
Indeed, regardless of Scarlet Yu's recent solo destruction of one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, specifically the Hidden Cloud, the strength alone is formidable. Just the leaders of the Five Great Ninja Villages, including the Third Raikage and the Fourth Mizukage, have fallen to Scarlet Yu's hands.
In the face of such terrifying Ninja of this level, it was indeed embarrassing and laughable for him, the head of a small country Ninja village, to call himself a Kage.
"Hoshikage-sama! Why are you being so courteous to these people?!"
Just as the Third Hoshikage finished speaking, a slender young man with long black hair tied in braids behind him spoke up, his features clear and bright. "He just said they're here to steal our village's 'star'!! And they've injured Akahoshi-sama and killed so many of our Ninja. We should capture them three quickly!!"
"Shut up, Sumaru!!"
Upon hearing the words of the young man behind him, the Third Hoshikage's expression immediately changed. After sneakily observing Scarlet Yu's unchanged face, he carefully explained, "Sumaru is still young. His parents sacrificed themselves early on due to missions, so please don't take offense, Scarlet Yu-sama..."
"Enough with these formalities..."
Sensing the Third Hoshikage's immense fear, Yu impatiently interrupted him and emphasized his title, "I won't bother with such a brat. Lead the way ahead, Hoshikage-sama..."
After saying this, Scarlet Yu's gaze casually glanced at the young man named Sumaru standing behind the Third Hoshikage. This young troublemaker appeared to be about the same age as Naruto Uzumaki and Uchiha Sasuke.
"Alright, alright, Scarlet Yu-sama, please follow me..."
Seeing that Scarlet Yu seemed indifferent and showed no signs of anger, the Third Hoshikage finally breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly turned around and instructed his Ninja to lead the way, "The 'star' is currently sealed inside our Star Ninja Village..."
"What?!"
"Absolutely not!!"
Witnessing that the Third Hoshikage intended to hand over the most precious treasure of the Star Ninja Village without hesitation, young Sumaru and Akahoshi, who was lying on the ground nearby, hurriedly intervened.
"Hoshikage-sama! The 'star' is the most precious treasure of our village!!"
Especially Sumaru, his young face showing urgency and disappointment, stared at his Hoshikage-sama with eyes full of disbelief. "Moreover, it's the tool our Star Ninja Village uses to strengthen our power and surpass the Five Great Ninja Villages in the future! How can we easily hand it over to these people?!"
"Surpass the Five Great Ninja Villages? That's just an unrealistic dream..."
Upon hearing Sumaru's naive words, a wry smile appeared on the aged face of the Third Hoshikage. "Sumaru, do you know who this Scarlet Yu-sama is?"
"Don't let his age fool you. As long as he wishes, he can destroy our entire Star Ninja Village a hundred times over, anytime and anywhere. Just recently, he single-handedly annihilated the entire Hidden Cloud..."
Single-handedly annihilated the entire Hidden Cloud?
That's one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, right?
After hearing the Third Hoshikage's explanation, young Sumaru, who had just been indignant moments ago, stared wide-eyed as if choked by a chicken bone, unable to utter a word.
This guy...
He doesn't look much older than me...
After a long while, Sumaru finally regained his senses. His face was filled with disbelief as he gazed at the young and handsome Scarlet Yu. Could there really be such powerful ninjas in the world?
The ninjas of their entire Star Ninja Village practice day and night, even risking their bodies and lives using the 'star' they dream of surpassing the Five Great Ninja Villages with. Yet this guy alone can destroy and annihilate everything?
Following Third Hoshikage and Yu, they walked on the road to Star Ninja Village. Along the way, young Sumaru secretly sized up Scarlet Yu's slim and tall figure. At his tender age, he couldn't imagine how a young ninja like him could be so powerful.
"We're here..."
"Scarlet Yu-sama, this is our Star Ninja Village."
After a journey of about ten minutes, guided by Third Hoshikage and a group of ninjas, Yu and his two companions finally arrived at a not insignificant hidden village.
It was as if a giant crater had been created by an ancient meteorite falling from the sky, and Star Ninja Village was established on the original site where the First Hoshikage discovered the meteorite from beyond the sky.
"Although the energy contained within the 'star' has a powerful amplifying effect on a practicing ninja's chakra, not all ninjas can control this amplification, leading to serious bodily harm."
"For the ninjas of our Star Ninja Village, it often results in significant physical damage during their practice, so I have already ordered the cessation of using the 'star' for training within the village."
Upon entering Star Ninja Village, Third Hoshikage led Yu and their group to his residence—a large wooden house adorned with the character for 'star' on top. Seeming concerned that Yu might still harbor doubts, he began to explain, "Scarlet Yu-sama, if you are truly interested in the 'star,' then entrusting it to you for safekeeping should be the best course of action."
"Mm."
Listening to Third Hoshikage's explanation, Yu nodded. Though he didn't completely trust the old man's words, the mysterious meteorite did contain a portion of the Ten-Tails' chakra, which ordinary ninjas' bloodlines couldn't withstand the effects of.
With Yu's current Medical Ninjutsu skills rivaling Tsunade's, he could easily observe that despite the Star Ninja Village ninjas' significant Chakra amplification from the 'star' each of them bore serious bodily injuries.
"If skilled medical ninjas don't provide timely treatment, most won't survive more than a few years. Just like Sumaru's deceased father, Hotarubi, is a prime example."
"Although I really want to see what that mysterious meteorite looks like..."
"But now, it seems I'm not the only one eyeing that meteorite..."
Just as Third Hoshikage entered the large wooden house ahead to unseal the meteorite, Yu's Observation Haki immediately sensed a powerful Chakra rapidly approaching.
Sure enough, everyone soon saw a mysterious ninja with a gas mask on their head, manifesting two gigantic Chakra wings on their back, swiftly flying from the distant horizon directly into the massive wooden house in front of them.
"The Mysterious Peacock Method?!"
Seeing the newcomer unexpectedly using the Star Ninja Village's unique Mysterious Peacock Method to fly into the wooden house, all the ninjas present widened their eyes. Especially young Sumaru, he faintly sensed a very familiar aura emanating from that mysterious ninja.
"That person... could it be?!"
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