"So that's why Hokage-sama gave me a graduation photo of Sasuke Uchiha before we set out. It seems Hokage-sama already knew!" After hearing what Natsuhi had said, Neji thought to himself.
"Star Shadow-sama, can you tell roughly how old the ninja with the Sharingan was?" Neji asked Natsuhi.
"His age? He should've been around thirteen or fourteen, about the same age as you." Natsuhi sounded a little embarrassed. After all, their Star Hidden Village had been destroyed by a young boy, and none of their ninja had been able to do anything to him. It was utterly humiliating.
"What? The same age as us? How is that possible..." Tenten cried out in shock.
"Hmph! As much as I hate to admit it, this incident has brought shame upon our village. Do you think I'd joke about the honor of Star Hidden Village?" Natsuhi frowned, sounding a little displeased.
"Sorry... I..." Seeing that Natsuhi was already angry, Tenten hurriedly apologized.
Could it really be him... Neji thought. He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. It was Sasuke Uchiha's ninja file, with a photo of Sasuke attached.
"That's Sasuke's ninja file. Neji, how did you get that?" Tenten leaned over curiously to look at the paper in Neji's hand. When she saw that it was Sasuke's file, she asked in confusion.
"Hokage-sama gave it to me before we left. She must already know what happened here. It seems she sent us to verify it."
"Verify it? You... you mean this might have been done by Sasuke Uchiha? This..." Tenten was shocked again.
"So you already have someone in mind?" Natsuhi asked after hearing Neji and Tenten's conversation.
"Star Shadow-sama, please look at the person in this photo. Is he the one you said attacked Star Hidden Village?" Neji walked up to Natsuhi and handed her Sasuke's ninja file.
Natsuhi took the paper and immediately spotted Sasuke's photo. Her face twisted with anger. "That's him. That's the demon, no mistake. Sasuke Uchiha? So he really is one of Konoha's Uchiha. Damn it, did Konoha order him to do this?"
"So it really was Sasuke Uchiha. How is this possible... It's only been half a month since he defected. How could he have become so strong in such a short time...?" After Natsuhi confirmed it, Neji was deeply shaken. He found it hard to accept that someone his age, who had taken the Chunin Exams alongside them just half a month ago, could be responsible. "How is that possible... Sasuke was just a Genin like us. How could he have destroyed Star Hidden Village? Are you sure you haven't mistaken him?" Tenten clearly couldn't believe Sasuke had done it either.
"A Genin? Impossible. The demon was so strong that even I, with the strength of a Jonin, couldn't defeat him. Are you questioning me?" Natsuhi was no longer as calm as before. She demanded of Neji and the others, "Or is Konoha trying to protect him?"
"Star Shadow-sama, please calm down. Think about it: if we wanted to protect him, we wouldn't have given you his photo. Whether or not Sasuke Uchiha did this, even if he did, Konoha didn't order him to. We couldn't protect him, either, because Sasuke Uchiha defected from the village half a month ago. He's a rogue ninja wanted by Konoha, and his actions have nothing to do with us anymore. It's our fault that we haven't captured him, but you can't blame Konoha for everything a rogue ninja does!" Neji retorted.
"A rogue ninja? You're saying this Sasuke Uchiha is a rogue ninja from Konoha?"
"That's right. Sasuke Uchiha defected from Konoha half a month ago, so we know nothing about what he's done!"
"Half a month ago... So he came to our village after defecting." Natsuhi frowned.
Neji said, "We still don't know whether Sasuke Uchiha did this. We didn't witness it ourselves, and the whole thing is simply too unbelievable. Half a month ago, Sasuke Uchiha was taking the Chunin Exams with us, and his strength was at most that of a Chunin. It's hard to believe that he could become strong enough to defeat a Jonin in just a few days. So we can't yet conclude that he was responsible. But we'll report this to Hokage-sama, and Konoha will investigate the matter thoroughly and give Star Hidden Village an explanation. Once we capture Sasuke Uchiha, we'll notify you, Star Shadow-sama, so you can come to Konoha and question him."
"In that case..." Natsuhi was about to say something, but just then Naruto, who had gone after Ang, hurriedly pushed open the door and rushed in, with Ang following behind him.
"Neji... Sasuke..." Naruto started to say something.
"That's enough, Naruto. Don't be rude," Neji scolded him.
"No, Neji, listen..."
"That's enough, Naruto. Whatever it is, wait until we get back."
"But... ah!" Seeing Neji's stern expression, Naruto could only hold back what he wanted to say for the moment.
"I'm sorry, Star Shadow-sama. Naruto is always so impulsive. Please don't take offense," Neji said apologetically to Natsuhi.
"Hehe, it's all right." Natsuhi gave Naruto a thoughtful look, then said to Neji and the others, "All right, you must be tired after traveling so far today. I'll have someone take you to rest."
"We are a little tired, so we'd appreciate it, Star Shadow-sama."
"Ang, take our guests from Konoha to rest," Natsuhi ordered Ang.
"Yes, Star Shadow-sama." Ang bowed to Natsuhi, then turned to Neji and the others. "Follow me." He headed out of the room.
"Star Shadow-sama, we'll take our leave." Neji and the others bowed to Natsuhi, then followed Ang out of the Star Shadow's office.
Before long, Ang led Neji and the others to a room and said, "You can stay here tonight. I'm sorry, but the village is still being rebuilt, so rooms are scarce. You'll have to share one room among the four of you."
"That's fine. This will do. Thank you!"
"Then I won't disturb your rest. I'll come get you at dinnertime. I'll be going now." Ang turned and left.
After watching Ang leave, Neji opened the door and went inside. There were four beds in the room, and a table and four chairs in the middle. The four of them entered and closed the door, then gathered around the table to talk.
"Neji, why didn't you let me say anything just now?" Naruto complained as soon as he sat down.
"I know what you wanted to say. It was about the Sharingan, right?"
"Exactly. I just heard something from Ang. A few days ago, a ninja with the Sharingan attacked their village and stole their Star. That person had the Sharingan too. Could it have something to do with Sasuke?"
It turned out that after Naruto caught up with Ang, they had started talking. Since they shared the same dream of becoming their village's Kage, they understood each other, and eventually became friends. Naruto also learned from Ang what had happened when Star Hidden Village was attacked. But he hadn't immediately suspected Sasuke; he thought it might have been someone else, so he'd rushed over to tell Neji what he'd heard.
"I already showed Sasuke's photo to Star Shadow-sama and asked her to confirm it. She said... the person who attacked Star Hidden Village was the one in the photo."
"Nani! That's impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Before you continue