Akahoshi remained disdainful, believing that Kakuzu and Uchiha Masamune were both at their last gasp.
"Haha! Don't think that just because you defected from Konoha to here, you're part of the village. You're far from being a true village! We, Hoshigakure, only have a place among the small ninja villages!" Akahoshi continued to provoke the two, then gave the order.
"Night Hawk, Death Burial! I order you two to defeat the two ninja! If you succeed, you will be credited with the greatest merit!"
Night Hawk and Death Burial were both Jonin of Hoshigakure, and spurred on by Akahoshi, they charged straight in.
"Haha! Die!" Kakuzu's hands suddenly grew longer, and he grabbed the two men by the neck with one hand each, then slammed them heavily to the ground.
"How is this possible!? What kind of secret technique is this!?" Both of them were extremely surprised.
"Mysterious Peacock Method: Defense!" Seeing Kakuzu's formidable fighting power, the two used the Mysterious Peacock Method, utilizing activated physical chakra to defend themselves.
"Ha! Is this chakra? Not bad, but you're too naive!" Kakuzu slammed his fists heavily into the ground, then extended his hands with his black tentacles, which suddenly burst out from underground and wrapped around Night Hawk and Death Burial's legs.
Immediately afterward, the demon on Kakuzu's back stood up, and then Kakuzu said, "Fire Style: Searing Migraine!"
"Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"
Wind and fire mingled together, creating a vast sea of fire, Kakuzu unleashed the Compound Ninjutsu, Flame Wind Chaos Wave.
"Mysterious Peacock Method - Defense!" The two desperately used the so-called Mysterious Peacock Method to defend themselves, but unfortunately, their understanding of this move was not deep enough, and their combat ability was no match for Kakuzu.
In just a brief exchange, Kakuzu killed two elite Chunin Akahoshi's command.
"Not that strong! I thought it would be much stronger!" Kakuzu chuckled.
"Damn it! They actually gave Night Hawk and Death Burial to him." Only now did Akahoshi realize the power of ninja, but it was too late; the door behind him was already firmly shut.
"Natsuhi! Fire Fly! Come quickly to my rescue!" Akahoshi cried out as he saw Kakuzu approaching him menacingly.
"Mysterious Peacock Method: Combination!" The light-colored dragon-shaped chakra materialized and charged towards Uchiha Masamune. It was only by using the Mysterious Peacock Method that Natsuhi and Fire Fly were able to fight Uchiha Masamune to a standstill.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Uchiha Masamune unleashed a massive fireball, and the two immediately used the Mysterious Peacock Method to try and block the Ninjutsu before them.
As the former head of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Masamune possessed extensive combat experience. He immediately used the Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu to quickly close in on the two.
As soon as the two of them extinguished the Great Fireball, Masamune drew his sword, Kageshide, and attacked at close range.
"Mysterious Peacock Method - Scatter!" The two had no choice but to separate again, using their tails-like tails to launch attacks on Masamune one after another.
"Hah!! Uchiha sword technique!" Uchiha Masamune shouted, swinging his sword wildly and quickly overwhelming Natsuhi and Fire Fly with no chance to fight back.
"I never expected this person to be so ferocious!!"
"It seems to be able to predict all our movements. Could this be the legendary Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan!?"
Natsuhi and Fire Fly, already at a disadvantage, were unable to defeat Uchiha Masamune. Now, they faced Kakuzu, who had defeated Night Hawk and Death Burial. Kakuzu and Uchiha Masamune together forced Natsuhi and Fire Fly into a series of defeats.
"We can't hold on any longer!" Natsuhi and Fire Fly finally had no choice but to retreat.
Not only are there battles here, but there are also battles elsewhere. Although the Hidden Star Village possesses the Mysterious Peacock Method, a miraculous secret technique, the Shinobi Village has its own main force.
Not only was the leader incredibly powerful, but the ninja under his command had also had their potential enhanced by Shiyu.
They already have a lot of chakra; the only thing they lack is experience in combat.
At this point, Akahoshi remained stubbornly unrepentant.
"Impossible, impossible! Isn't the Shinobi Village at war with the Land of Iron?! Why would they still possess such a powerful main force?! Why are the ninjas left behind in the Shinobi Village so strong?! This doesn't make sense!"
"And why didn't those two guys, the one with the white face and the one with the black face, tell us the information?!" Akahoshi was very puzzled.
Kakuzu and Uchiha Masamune forced Natsuhi and Fire Fly to retreat, then pointed at Akahoshi and said, "Naive! Our Lord Shiyu knew about your attack long ago, which is why he sent the main force back to reinforce the village."
"This is impossible! Could it be that your main force didn't even engage the warriors of the Land of Iron?!" Akahoshi looked incredulous.
"My Lord Shiyu single-handedly defeated the Five Great Nations. His original intention in dealing with the Land of Iron was merely to hone his subordinates' combat experience."
"However, Lord Shiyu not only anticipated that someone would take advantage of the ninja's weakness to attack them, but also that some people would be observing them in secret. Therefore, he deliberately made it seem like he was engaged in a protracted war with the Land of Iron, sending you the wrong information, and then quickly ended the battle and rushed back under the Hoshiyo."
"What you see now is not a weak Shinobi Village at all, but the main force of the Shinobi Village! Hahaha! Your attack on the Shinobi Village is nothing but a self-destructive act! Hahaha!" Masamune and Kakuzu marveled at Shiyu's wisdom.
"Oh no!" Akahoshi was at a loss for what to do.
At that very moment, a large group of ninjas quickly returned to the Shinobi Village from the northwest.
The leader was a man with white hair and a long robe, accompanied by a gray-haired ninja and a black-haired woman.
"This is!?" Akahoshi was taken aback.
"I am Uchiha Shigure, this is Gray Fang, and this is Uchiha Yoshiki, the daughter of Masamune!"
Shiyu eventually returned, and after looking around, she realized that everything that had happened was exactly as she had predicted.
"Masamune Kakuzu and your many subordinates, thank you for your hard work." Shiyu first rewarded the soldiers, then took the initiative to question Natsuhi and Fire Fly, "Why did you, Hoshigakure, attack my Ninja Village?! Could you please explain?"
"I am the commander-in-chief!" Akahoshi shouted immediately.
"Our village's star was taken away by a masked man. The Masked Man returned the star on the condition that we attack the Shinobi Village. So the Third Hokage Hoshigakure gave the order, and we attacked the Hidden Ninja Village!" Natsuhi and Fire Fly explained after exchanging glances.
"Oh? As far as I know, the Third Hokage wouldn't issue such an order. In my opinion, it's very likely that this guy teamed up with the Masked Man to control Hoshigakure using Genjutsu." Shiyu then raised his hand.
"How could I possibly do that!?" Akahoshi shook his head desperately in refusal.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"