Hoshigakure
On a mountain near the meditation hall.
The Toad Sage stood tall in the distance, his striking white hair gazing at the battlefield between Naruto and Akahoshi.
"Naruto..." Jiraiya muttered to himself, "He's going all out right from the start."
"It seems he really wants that meteorite called 'Little Star'..."
He didn't care much about the outcome of the battle. Because when Naruto unleashed his four-tailed Tailed Beast Cloak without hesitation, the battle was already decided.
Even when using the Mysterious Peacock Method to its fullest extent, the so-called Hoshikage of Hoshigakure is far inferior to the Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Forget Kage Level, he's probably barely even at the Elite Jonin — his Ninjutsu power is immense, but his combat skills and experience are completely lacking. Jiraiya seriously suspected that any seasoned veteran Konoha from Jonin could easily defeat him. Not to mention Naruto in Four-Tails Cloak Mode, whose strength is already infinitely close to Kage Level, far surpassing ordinary Kage Level ninjas in terms of sheer Chakra reserves and Ninjutsu destructive power.
The Mysterious Peacock Method, while seemingly incredibly useful, is actually riddled with flaws and has limited potential. Akahoshi's belief that he could rival the Five Great Shinobi Villages with the power of the Star Meteorite is a vivid and illustrative example of arrogance. The strength and resources of the Five Great Shinobi Villages are far beyond the comprehension of this remote, mountain-side village. Without the support of multiple Kage Level ninjas, a village's words carry no weight, let alone gain the recognition of the Five Great Nations.
Jiraiya was concerned about the thoughts of his last disciple, Naruto Uzumaki.
He never got involved in the matter of the Hoshigakure; he simply watched Naruto from afar, ensuring his safety while observing him solve the problem on his own—a test, in a way.
Watching the battle unfold with no suspense left, Jiraiya fell into deep thought.
A few years ago.
Jiraiya was traveling around with Naruto, arrived in the Land of Bears.
While the two were having dinner at a restaurant near the inn, a haggard-looking woman recognized Jiraiya and begged him to help save Hoshigakure.
Jiraiya was a well -Jiraiya and experienced man, and he knew something about that woman's Hoshigakure, including the aftereffects of the Mysterious Peacock Method on the eyes.
So he never intended to get involved in this matter in the first place—why would he interfere in the internal affairs of another ninja village? To bring shame to Konoha? Others are willing to bear the side effects to gain power, so what right does Jiraiya have to stop them? Based on Jiraiya's life experience, an outsider getting involved in such matters usually brings no benefit, only trouble.
You must understand that in this twisted world, sometimes being powerless is far more terrifying than suffering the side effects of Ninjutsu!
Naruto always listened to Jiraiya and followed in his footsteps, but this time, for some reason, when he heard that the "Little Star" meteorite was radioactive, he suddenly became very interested in it and decided to get involved.
"Naruto... why are you getting involved in the internal affairs of Hoshigakure?" Jiraiya asked, frowning, after the woman left. "You want that meteorite?"
"Yes." Naruto nodded honestly.
"You already possess the power of the Nine-Tails. Adding the power of the Mysterious Peacock Method and the Star Meteorite would be meaningless... Why?" Jiraiya a deep voice.
Naruto had been following Jiraiya for over two years, and this was the first time he had made such a request. Jiraiya stared intently into Naruto's eyes, his expression solemn, somewhat worried that Naruto might go astray due to his excessive desire for power.
They were particularly worried that Naruto would follow in Orochimaru's footsteps.
Of course, Jiraiya soon realized that he had worried for nothing.
"I'm not doing this for myself... I don't want something that's so dangerous," Naruto said with a simple smile.
"Then you still want it?" Jiraiya asked.
"Hasn't Sakura been looking for something like this all along?" Naruto asked, his smile fading as he became serious. "It's that 'radioactive' stone... She's been looking for it for years, and when she returned to Konoha recently, she specifically asked me to keep an eye out for her."
"This is the first time Sakura has made such a serious request of me..."
Jiraiya nodded thoughtfully. Boys entering puberty... do they really need to pay more attention to girls' requests?
No, it's just because it was Sakura's request.
Jiraiya had investigated Naruto's interpersonal relationships. That girl's significance to Naruto was probably more than just being a teammate of Team 7. Long before Team 7, and even before the Ninja Academy, the two had already met.
She was the first person to acknowledge Naruto.
Of course, even if Sakura were just a teammate in Team 7, and even if she had a bad personality and didn't usually take care of Naruto, given Naruto's personality, he would probably still go through fire and water for her request, right?
"The Star Meteorite is the curse of the Hoshigakure, and also their sacred object. Obtaining that stone is no easy feat! So you've already made up your mind?" Jiraiya asked, but he already knew the answer in his heart. Naruto's personality was very similar to his own—clumsy, resolute, and extremely loyal. So, just by thinking about what decision Naruto would make when faced with Tsunade's request, Jiraiya knew how Naruto would answer.
Naruto nodded without hesitation.
"Alright beforehand, I won't interfere with this mission..." Jiraiya sighed inwardly, "With your strength, these ninjas from Hoshigakure pose no threat to you. However, you'll have to use your brain to get them to willingly hand over the meteorite!"
"Huh? Aren't you going to help?" Naruto immediately frowned and scratched his head vigorously. As Genin, Naruto had never tried to complete a relatively complex mission on his own.
Using his brain? That's something Kakashi, Sakura, and Jiraiya always do. Naruto mostly just leads the charge... He suddenly felt a little uneasy, afraid that he would mess things up.
"Heh heh, consider this a test for you!" Jiraiya laughed. "Besides Ninjutsu, I've also taught you the tricks of missions. Try them out! If you want to be Hokage, you can't just know how to charge into battle; you also need to learn to think, Naruto!"
"Don't worry, I'll give you some hints too!" Jiraiya patted Naruto on the shoulder. At this moment, his Shadow Clone (released when the woman approached) were already transmitting information from Hoshigakure. "Actually, this mission isn't that difficult."
The task was indeed not very difficult, just as Jiraiya had said.
After all, Hoshigakure only had a few dozen people, maybe a hundred at most, so they weren't likely to cause any major trouble. Under Natsuhiboshi's intentional Jiraiya unintentional guidance and with the help of Aunt Natsumi, Naruto strength far surpassed that of the Hoshigakure's Hoshikage, quickly uncovered the truth about the Hoshigakure situation without much danger.
Years ago, the Third Hoshikage sealed the Star Meteorite due to the side effects of the Mysterious Peacock Method. Akahoshi killed the Hoshikage and resumed his training using the Star Meteorite. Now, as the side effects of the Mysterious Peacock Method worsen, Natsuhiboshi wants to stop its Akahoshi Mysterious Peacock Method...
Leaving aside the twists and turns during the mission, the whole affair basically followed Jiraiya's predictions: it was entirely an internal conflict within the Hoshigakure. Was it really worth paying such a high price for power? Jiraiya believe he, as an outsider, had the right to comment. He had witnessed tragedies of families being destroyed because of a lack of power to protect themselves, and he had also seen tragedies of being betrayed and abandoned by everyone in pursuit of power at all costs; it was hard to say which outcome was worse.
Even judging from his actions, Akahoshi's assassination of the previous Hoshikage was a heinous crime, but Natsuhiboshi's introduction of outside ninjas to resolve internal conflicts made him a traitor in some people's eyes.