The Star Ninja

"This is the spot!" Souya shouted.

They had already flown to a spot just to the right of Hell Valley.

Looking at the translucent barrier before him, Souya tested it briefly and sensed that this was probably one of the barrier's nodes.

"Should we just break through?" Sasori asked.

Blue Chakra rose from Souya's fingertip. He lightly touched the node, and an almost imperceptible ripple spread across it.

"It probably won't be that simple. This barrier is quite powerful. The person who set it up is far more skilled in Sealing Techniques than I am!" Souya furrowed his brow, looking thoughtful.

"Let's try a barrier-breaking technique first..." Souya formed Hand Seals and traced a series of black runes in the air. The runes intertwined, spread in every direction, and clung to the barrier.

Crack—crack—

Like leeches, the runes greedily sucked up the barrier's power.

"It seems this barrier wasn't set up by anyone from Hoshigakure. Otherwise, someone would be maintaining it..." Souya sensed the barrier's power gradually weakening.

After a while, the node before Souya was covered in cracks. It looked as though the slightest blow would shatter it.

"This is tricky... The runes in this final layer are incredibly stubborn. The node is connected to the entire barrier, so to break even this small section, I'll have to destroy the whole thing."

Souya rubbed his chin. With his skill in Sealing Techniques, this was as much as he could weaken the node. For now, he still couldn't remove the barrier without anyone noticing.

"Sasori, we'll have to break it by force!"

Souya clenched his right hand. A mass of Gold Sand quickly flew from the end of the Gold Rod on his back and gathered in his palm.

Before long, Souya was holding a golden spear nearly two meters long. Its tip was razor-sharp and gleamed menacingly.

Sasori stepped beside him and placed both hands on the spear. A layer of pale-yellow Wind Style Chakra began to coat its surface. It flowed like countless tiny wind blades, so densely packed that its motion formed fine rings of wind patterns.

Though Sasori was a Puppet Master, his skill in changing the nature of Wind Style Chakra was still a cut above that of an ordinary ninja.

Souya rode the Gold Cloud several dozen meters away, then raised the spear high. Even the gentle breeze blowing through the air seemed to be drawn toward the wind patterns on its surface.

The muscles in Souya's arm bulged as he hurled the spear at the node.

Boom!

A huge wave of air suddenly burst outward as the golden spear plunged straight into the node.

Crack! Crack!

The node's fine cracks could no longer withstand such force. The spear tip pierced through it, and the fractures quickly spread in every direction.

Bang!

Like a shattered porcelain lid turned upside down over Hell Valley, the barrier—which had stood for who knew how many years—was finally broken by the unexpected intruders.

The barrier disintegrated into countless translucent specks of light, reflecting dazzling colors in the sunlight.

The golden spear still had force behind it after piercing the node. It plunged straight into a mound of earth within the barrier and disappeared from sight.

"That was pretty powerful!" Souya was quite pleased with the force of his combined attack with Sasori, though he rarely had the chance to use it against powerful enemies.

After all, enemies at the jonin level and above were never slow enough to let him land a hit. Until an enemy was completely restrained, the move didn't have a high chance of success.

"Who's there?!"

As Souya and Sasori leisurely flew above Hell Valley, openly surveying this isolated place, an angry shout rang out.

A young ninja with black hair had arrived. He wore a Forehead Protector bearing a star, and had been near the edge of the barrier. After sensing that it had been broken, he hurried over.

A pair of pale-purple Chakra wings flapped behind him, allowing him to fly as well.

As he formed a Hand Seal, the Chakra wings behind him transformed into a ferocious beast, baring its claws and fangs.

"Oh? That's interesting..." Sasori's eyes lit up. This unfamiliar Chakra training system clearly intrigued him, but attracting Sasori's interest was hardly a good thing.

"Hotarubi Star!"

While the Star Ninja faced off against Souya and Sasori, another young ninja soon flew over from the distance. She was beautiful and poised, with striking purplish-red hair.

"Natsuhi Star! What are you doing here? Those two broke through the barrier and entered our village. They must be incredibly strong..." Hotarubi Star quickly explained.

"You don't need to worry. I once read in a book of Ninja World secrets that your village has a strange star that fell from the sky many years ago."

"I'm very interested in it and would like to borrow it for research. Of course, I'll compensate you with a sum of money. Would you agree?" Souya hovered above them on the Gold Cloud, speaking from a position of authority.

Both Souya and Sasori wore gas masks, so their expressions were hidden. But judging by the auras they gave off, they were clearly no ordinary opponents.

The male Star Ninja looked wary. This unexpected visitor could fly too, and he had heard the village elders say that people with the ability to fly were exceedingly rare in the Ninja World.

The Chakra their village's ninjas trained with by drawing power from the star was pale purple, entirely different from other systems.

The ancestors who had created the "Mysterious Peacock Method" to match this Chakra had even been so arrogant as to consider calling themselves the "Hidden Star."

But as time passed, the Star Ninjas gradually discovered that this training system carried a grave risk.

Drawing Chakra from the star placed an enormous strain on the body. The pain steadily increased during training, and the deeper one's training went, the closer one came to death.

So, after one Star Ninja after another died in agony, a faction in the village arose that wanted to abolish this training method.

The two Star Ninjas exchanged glances, surprise in both their eyes.

"You really only want to take the star?"

Natsuhi Star asked sincerely, her beautiful face earnest.

The four of them were standing atop a hillside. A clear stream ran down beside them, burbling as it flowed.

Lush green grass covered the ground, with tiny pink wildflowers peeking through it. On the plain below, fields of verdant crops stretched out as farmers bent over, tending them diligently.

Outsiders would never have guessed that Hell Valley, so renowned throughout the region, was actually a paradise hidden from the world.