Disposition

"It's over."

Natsuhiboshi shone brightly in the secluded tunnel.

Akahoshi collapsed to the ground, her breath growing weak and nearing its end.

The Star Ninja silently approached and helped him up, sitting against a large pillar in front of the training hall. Akahoshi was in a deep coma, his muscles were completely weak, and he couldn't even sit up against the pillar. He was slumped there like a limp worm, showing no trace of the powerful person he had been before.

The contrast is so stark that it's chilling.

The purple sarcoma gradually climbed up Akahoshi's neck, parasitizing his blood vessels, piling up in clumps, which was extremely disgusting.

This man had been Hoshikage for over a decade, but in just a few short years, he lost everything—power, influence, and even his life.

The Star Ninja looked at the mangled, unrecognizable Akahoshi with complex expressions. According to Hoshigakure's tradition, now that Akahoshi had been defeated, the use of Star Meteorite should be prohibited. However, while continuing to practice the Mysterious Peacock Method meant Akahoshi's appearance would be their future—no one liked this grotesque, inhuman state—where else could the Star Ninja obtain a training method to gain power without Star Meteorite?

Without power, how can you protect the village, your family, and yourself?

Everyone felt confused. The ninjas then secretly glanced at Natsuhiboshi a few times, wondering what arrangements this woman who had brought about change would make.

Natsuhiboshi ignored them, instead using Chakra to stimulate Akahoshi's brain, waking him up. "Is there anything else you want?"

"My two children... cough, cough, it has nothing to do with me... cough, please don't hurt them," Akahoshi said weakly.

He gradually lost the ability to breathe, his mouth opening and closing like a fish that had been brought ashore.

Natsuhiboshi Rixing nodded solemnly and asked again, "Is there anything else?"

Akahoshi gave a weak laugh.

"And... you'll regret this..."

He pulled the Star Meteorite from his chest, but before Natsuhiboshi could reach out to take it, Akahoshi's head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.

The stone fell as Akahoshi's hand slipped limply, rolling to Natsuhiboshi's feet, emitting a faint, eerie glow.

Natsuhiboshi Rixing sighed deeply, closed Akahoshi's wide eyes, and then took out a specially made scroll to seal the meteorite inside. He then turned to everyone and shouted, "Star Ninja, my comrades! Akahoshi is dead! Therefore, all his policies are hereby declared null and void!"

The Star Ninja all turned to look at Natsuhiboshi. After Akahoshi was defeated, this woman became the only ninja in Hoshigakure to have mastered the Mysterious Peacock Method to its highest level, making her the strongest among the current Star Ninja —the next Hoshikage.

"I, Natsuhiboshi, daughter of the Second Hoshikage, hereby declare that from this day forward, Star Ninja shall no longer rely on the 'Little Star' meteorite for training!" [Note]

A murmur of unease rippled through the Star Ninja. Although they had mentally prepared themselves, the news still left them surprised and bewildered. However, even with some reservations about the order, the Star Ninja were accustomed to obeying the strongest, and after a moment's hesitation, they all knelt on one knee, bowed their heads, and said in unison, "Yes, Natsuhiboshi!"

Natsuhiboshi nodded in satisfaction.

After disciplining the Star Ninja, she handed the scroll to Naruto beside her, smiling as she said, "Thank you, Naruto! This is the scroll that seals the Star Meteorite. The Hoshigakure no longer needs it... Please accept it!"

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then took the scroll.

"Without this meteorite, you won't be able to cultivate the Mysterious Peacock Method, right? What will you do then?"

Natsuhiboshi gave a bitter smile, "Let's start over... The Five Great Shinobi Villages don't have Star Meteorite, yet they can still cultivate powerful ninjas. There's no reason why Hoshigakure can only rely on the endlessly disastrous Star Meteorite to gain power."

"Two hundred years have passed! We've been endlessly entangled in the matter of the Star Meteorite, plagued by infighting and the side effects of training. Have we truly gained power from the Star Meteorite? Hoshigakure hasn't developed any new Ninjutsu or produced a true 'Kage'-level ninja for many years! Perhaps without the Star Meteorite, our village would have truly grown into a great ninja village?"

At this point, Natsuhiboshi sighed and looked up at the sky; in the early summer evening, the sunset was as brilliant as fire, but her mood was as still as water.

"After Akahoshi took over, I left the village and wandered around... Without Star Meteorite to help me cultivate, my Mysterious Peacock Method, which had been stagnant, actually made a breakthrough. Is it possible that the Mysterious Peacock Method doesn't need Star Meteorite to cultivate?"

Naruto didn't know how to answer the question, so he remained silent.

Natsuhiboshi didn't expect Naruto to answer; she herself didn't know the answer to such a question. She was simply muttering to herself, almost to herself.

For a moment, both of them fell silent.

"The Mysterious Peacock Method's side effects... Medical Ninjutsu should be able to cure it." Naruto wrote, trying to make conversation. "Well, I have a few friends who are proficient in Medical Ninjutsu, if you need—"

"Really? Konoha is willing to send medical-nin to help us?" Natsuhiboshi asked in surprise. Having traveled abroad for many years, she knew that Tsunade had returned to the village a few years ago to become the Fifth Hokage. With her there, Konoha's medical-nin must be quite skilled now. However, Natsuhiboshi doubted whether Hoshigakure had the influence to persuade them to go on a mission. Of course, she was very happy that Naruto had brought it up.

"Sakura's a good person, they won't refuse," Naruto said with a smile.

Sakura-chan's good friend card ge√

"That's wonderful. To thank you for your kindness, I'll take the liberty of giving you the rest of the meteorites!"

"Huh? The rest?"

"You don't actually think we only have one meteorite, do you?" Natsuhiboshi smiled slyly. This woman, nearing forty, still retained her charm under the nourishment of Chakra, and her smile was quite beautiful.

"Beneath the Cultivation Hall, there are still thousands of 'Little Star' meteorites sealed—the meteorites disintegrated in the air and were collected by us. The one you're holding is just the finest piece among them. This secret is known only to past Hoshikage; even Akahoshi doesn't know it."

"Since I've decided to discard this harmful Star Meteorite, I might as well give it all to you! Keeping it in the village as a keepsake will only cause more trouble in the future!"

Naruto didn't empty the training hall's underground warehouse on the spot—firstly, he didn't have that many precious sealing scrolls, and he couldn't possibly carry them all by hand; secondly, he didn't know if it was the radioactive ore Sakura needed.

Since those meteorites have been safely sealed underground in the cultivation hall for so many years, it doesn't matter if they stay a little longer.

Naruto politely declined Natsuhiboshi's warm invitation to stay and turned to leave Hoshigakure. The unexpected Hoshigakure incident had interrupted his training for several days, and Naruto needed to catch up as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Toad that Naruto summoned also left Hoshigakure with letters and scrolls.

As they reunited with Jiraiya, the setting sun cast its last rays. The Pervy Sage stood atop the mountain, watching the crimson disc sink completely below the horizon.

"You're back."

He waved to Naruto, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Naruto's expression wasn't one of joy at the successful completion of the mission, but rather one of confusion and bewilderment.

Jiraiya surprised, he was delighted.

Confused, Ming thought about it.

Whether you get the correct answer or not is not important; what matters is the thought process.

Because some questions simply don't have a correct answer.

Jiraiya's requirements for Naruto were simple: he could be clumsy—because Jiraiya himself was clumsy, and he didn't particularly like overly intelligent disciples—but he couldn't be without thought.

"Perfect score, Naruto."