Yoshi stood on the high platform, holding the "Star" in his hand, waiting for all the villagers of the Hidden Star Village to arrive. After a fierce internal struggle, he had finally decided to call upon the entire village to abandon the practice of the Peacock Technique.
If they delayed any longer, the Hidden Star Village would inevitably face destruction because of this stone.
"Today, I've gathered you all here to tell you something extremely important about the Star."
"This stone has always been regarded as the treasure of our Hidden Star Village, the foundation of our strength."
"But I must tell you, this stone is the reason why so many of our villagers have mysteriously died!"
"You've all noticed, haven't you? More and more of our ninja are falling ill, and there have been quite a few children who have died young in recent years."
"It damages our bodies and affects our descendants. It's a cursed object! The first and second village leaders died because of it!"
Yoshi looked at all the villagers with earnest eyes and shouted loudly. He could no longer accept that the Hidden Star Village continued on this path.
"What! Do you have any proof? Can it really cause illness?"
"How can that be? This is our village's heritage treasure. Even as the Star Shadow(Hoshigake), you can't desecrate it!"
"Is it true? My child died just a few days after practicing."
Various voices of discussion filled the village assembly. This news was too shocking for all the villagers of the Hidden Star Village.
The reason was simple: without this stone, there would be no Hidden Star Village. It was like uprooting the foundation of their village.
Yoshi signaled for everyone to be quiet and, surveying the crowd, spoke seriously:
"It's true. After a detailed investigation, I found that all the ninja in our village who died unexpectedly were those who had delved deeply into the Peacock Technique."
The assembly grew increasingly restless. How could anyone accept that their village's treasure was a harbinger of death?
"We won't accept this! Without the Peacock Technique, the Hidden Star Village will cease to exist!"
"Yes, yes. Without the power of the Star, we have no place in the ninja world!"
Many of the Hidden Star ninja shared the same mindset as the so-called "First Star Shadow."
Never having seen the vast sky, they stubbornly believed that the power of the "Star" could propel them to the pinnacle of the ninja world.
A Hidden Star ninja's eyes darted around before he stood up and loudly questioned, "Yoshi, are you trying to keep all this power for yourself?!"
The surrounding ninja seemed to come to a sudden realization and began questioning loudly: "Yes, how could the Star be harmful? It's the source of our power!"
Yoshi's face turned pale. He had anticipated that people might be unwilling to give up this power, but he hadn't expected the backlash to be directed at himself.
The ninjas below slowly gathered together, glaring at the "Star" in Yoshi's hand, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
"Hand it over, Yoshi! You're not fit to be the Star Shadow; you're a traitor to your roots!"
The ninja who had just questioned him now stood upright, pointing at Yoshi and shouting angrily.
Voices of agreement echoed one after another, and the entire scene spiraled out of control. Yoshi's eyes were dazed; he hadn't expected such a strong backlash.
Fuma stood on high, observing this scene. Seeing the Hidden Star ninja on the verge of internal conflict, the kind-hearted Fuma decided to intervene.
As long as he took the object away, the two sides wouldn't have anything to fight over.
Hmm, this logic should be sound.
Fuma pulled out a comical mask he had prepared specifically for such deeds, adorned with Danzo's large portrait.
"Swoosh—"
With a swift movement, Fuma snatched the "Star" from Yoshi's hand and began toying with it.
The leading troublemaker among the Hidden Star ninja squinted, then shouted, "An intruder! Everyone, prepare for battle!"
He turned and yelled at Yoshi, "See? Others are here to steal our treasure, and you're saying we shouldn't have it!"
Initially, Fuma hadn't expected much from the so-called "Star."
But when he activated his sensing abilities to probe the trinket, he was met with a delightful surprise.
This peculiar stone had a scent similar to that of a tailed beast!
When Fuma was young, he had interactions with Uzumaki Mito and, during his time in the Anbu, had encountered jinchuriki from other lands, so he was familiar with the scent of tailed beasts.
Tailed beasts and their jinchuriki always had chakra that felt violent and chaotic, something incredibly noticeable to ninja with sensory abilities. This stone had that same kind of special chakra reaction—although not immense in quantity, its chaotic and violent nature was even greater.
"This so-called Star might be a remnant of the Ten-Tails!"
Back when the Sage of Six Paths was choosing a successor for the ninja sect, one of the important tasks was to clear the remnants of the Ten-Tails from the ninja world.
However, no matter how thorough the cleaning was, some remnants were inevitably overlooked.
Fuma acted decisively; this high-tier object, capable of causing mutations, had far too many potential uses.
"Peacock Technique: Beast Form!"
The Hidden Star ninja's bodies emitted pale pink chakra, which continuously shaped itself into forms like tigers and leopards.
Fuma frowned at this strange method of chakra emission. It was unseemly, and he wondered how such a high-class bird like a peacock could be associated with something so crude.
Effortlessly dodging the attacks of the Hidden Star ninja, Fuma wasn't in a hurry to counterattack. Instead, he watched their moves closely.
He wanted to understand how these people, secluded in a mountain valley for over a hundred years, had developed the "Star."
Fuma casually obliterated a chakra tiger, sensing the strength of this secret technique as his blood energy was released slightly, devouring the scattered chakra.
"The strength isn't sufficient, but the chakra's nature has indeed changed. It has become denser and more resilient."
The Hidden Star ninja were shocked to see their attacks having no effect. In their eyes, the power of the Peacock Technique was insurmountable!
Yoshi watched Fuma effortlessly dodge, his face darkening. "As I feared... the calamity has arrived."
Yoshi stepped forward boldly. Regardless of whether the village would continue to harness the "Star's" power, it was a matter for the Hidden Star Village alone and not for outsiders to meddle in.
"Everyone, follow my command and enter battle mode. Peacock Technique: Accumulation Form!"
The ninja present composed themselves, recovering from their panic. They clasped their hands together, beginning to gather chakra.
With a thunderous shout, Yoshi's pale pink chakra formed into two large wings, lifting him into the sky. He glared down at Fuma and coldly declared:
"Outsider, return our village's treasure, or die here!"
A slight smile played on Fuma's lips. Interesting—he hadn't expected a flying form.
In the ninja world, flight was a rare and highly strategic ability.
Fuma applauded, gesturing for Yoshi to continue with his technique.
A flicker of anger crossed Yoshi's eyes. How dare this outsider be so arrogant? While the "Star's" power might be harmful, he wouldn't allow it to be underestimated!
All the Hidden Star ninja channeled their chakra toward Yoshi, forming a network of connections that converged into a massive purple dragon.
"Peacock Technique: Ultimate Art—Purple Dragon!"
The enormous dragon's head roared as it charged at Fuma, completely enveloping him in its massive form.
"Hmph, this is the price of underestimating the Hidden Star Village."
Yoshi declared confidently, but his thoughts soon turned to concern. This outsider's attack further confirmed the power of the "Star."
The villagers were already reluctant to give up the training; now it would be even more troublesome.
Watching the purple dragon continue its rampage, Yoshi contemplated the future with a heavy heart.
"Lord Yoshi, be careful! Something's wrong!"
The once-mighty purple dragon let out a wail, its enormous body rapidly shrinking, and was absorbed into Fuma's body.
For Fuma, this uncontrolled chakra was the perfect nourishment for his blood energy.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Loud sonic booms erupted as Fuma flexed his fingers, launching concentrated chakra from his fingertips with immense power.
With each flick, a Hidden Star ninja fell unconscious, collapsing like rows of wheat.
"Interesting, it's similar to the way a perfect jinchuriki uses chakra. It feels like when Naruto shared the Tailed Beast Cloak with the Allied Shinobi Forces."
Fuma remarked, paying special attention to the few leading Hidden Star ninja who insisted on continuing to practice with the "Star."
Securing the "Star" on his person, Fuma contemplated the potential uses of this Ten-Tails remnant and departed from the now-silent village.
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