Hoshigakure

Long Ye had some impression of their destination, the Land of Bears.

As far as he knew, the Land of Bears was a small neighboring country of the Land of Fire. Its territory was less than one-fiftieth the size of the Land of Fire, and in the eyes of the Five Great Nations, its strength was nothing special.

But the reason it had survived for so long was that it possessed unique geographical advantages.

The country's borders were surrounded by valleys filled with poisonous gas. It also had Hell Valley, a natural fortress of the Shinobi World whose defenses surpassed those of any country's border. It was a place that made people shy away at the mere thought of it.

The leader of the Land of Bears' Hoshigakure called himself the Star Shadow.

Since it was a self-proclaimed title rather than one bestowed upon him, it had almost no intimidating power.

Naturally, this so-called title was not recognized by the other countries either. Put bluntly, it was merely a form of self-entertainment. He was respected only within his own country. Once he left the village, no one took him seriously, and he was completely incomparable to the Mizukage or Hokage.

As Long Ye recalled this country, he remembered the unusual form of training practiced there.

There was a meteorite in the village. It was said to have been a shooting star that had fallen from beyond the heavens several hundred years ago, becoming a meteorite after crashing here.

The villagers regarded the meteorite as a gift from the heavens. From then on, they trained around it and eventually developed a strange ability.

The chakra within their bodies could be activated to an inconceivable degree, allowing it to change into any form at will.

For example, they could form a pair of wings and gain the ability to fly.

Of course, all this training required a special method. The people of the Land of Bears called this secret art the Mysterious Peacock Method.

Although it was extremely peculiar, this form of training was mostly superficial.

Even though their chakra activation reached an extreme level and could take on various forms, their inherent strength remained fixed. No matter how they changed its form, its actual power did not change, so this training method did not cause much of a stir.

But it was not completely useless. At certain times, chakra's wondrous properties could produce all kinds of ingenious effects—things that other chakra cultivators could never possess, no matter what they did.

On the third day of their journey.

The two finally entered the Land of Bears.

They were lucky enough to encounter a merchant caravan from the Land of Crafts. After each paying ten thousand ryō and disguising themselves, they were carried safely through Poisonous Miasma Gorge.

The Land of Crafts was a neutral country skilled in manufacturing ninja tools. Ninety percent of the ninja tools in the Shinobi World came from them.

With the outbreak of the Shinobi World War, every country's demand for ninja tools had risen to an unprecedented level. The Land of Crafts had made a fortune from the war, and its trade with the various countries had become even more frequent than before.

After entering the Land of Bears without making a sound, the two left the caravan.

Wearing black cloaks that revealed only their eyes, Long Ye turned to look at Mei Terumi, who was dressed similarly.

"This Land of Bears really isn't a place for people. Even with the caravan's anti-poison masks, I still feel dizzy and muddled."

"Now that we've finally made it inside, where do we find Raiga Kurosuki?"

Mei Terumi shook her head. "Finding someone depends on two things: ability and luck. The information I received only said that someone saw him enter the Land of Bears. As for exactly where he is, no one can say for certain."

Long Ye nodded helplessly.

After all, Raiga Kurosuki was a living person, not an inanimate object. He could be in one place three days ago and somewhere else three days later.

"How long have you been hunting Raiga Kurosuki?"

Long Ye asked thoughtfully.

"For several years! He was powerful, and he was cautious and careful, so we still haven't managed to eliminate that missing-nin..."

"Just one month ago, we organized an assassination squad to get rid of him once and for all. But in the end, we still fell short. He killed several people and escaped. This time, he was clever enough to flee to the Land of Bears."

Mei Terumi explained everything in detail.

Long Ye stroked his chin. "From what you've said, I feel that he may not have come here simply to hide from death. Perhaps he intends to find a way to settle this once and for all and escape your pursuit forever."

"You mean..."

Mei Terumi seemed to realize something.

"The Land of Bears, Hoshigakure, possesses the Mysterious Peacock Method."

"As far as I know, this method may not be particularly useful for killing people, but because of its unique chakra activation, it can produce all kinds of strange abilities."

Mei Terumi nodded. "That's right! Shinobi from this village can use a chakra wing-transformation ability called Peacock Tail Wings, which allows them to fly long distances."

She turned her head and glanced at Long Ye. "You mean he came here to obtain the Mysterious Peacock Method and give himself a greater chance of survival?"

Long Ye said, "To train chakra to that level of activation, the Mysterious Peacock Method is only one part. More importantly, he must use the meteorite in Hoshigakure for his training."

"You mean he may have infiltrated Hoshigakure?" Mei Terumi asked.

"That isn't impossible."

"In that case, let's infiltrate it and investigate." Mei Terumi spoke decisively.

"How do we infiltrate it?"

Long Ye had only just asked when the two of them turned their heads toward the distance in unison.

Two figures came speeding toward them.

Both wore forehead protectors marked with a "five-pointed star." It was as if springs had been attached beneath their feet; every leap carried them more than ten meters, and their speed was impressive.

"Who are you two? State your names at once."

When the two Hoshigakure guard members saw the pair wrapped in cloaks and dressed in a mysterious fashion, they immediately rushed over to question them.

The two exchanged a glance, and each saw the delight in the other's eyes.

The two successfully entered Hoshigakure.

They were wearing the clothes the two men had provided earlier.

As for those two men, they had naturally vanished from the face of the earth.

After taking their clothes, Mei Terumi used the "Transformation Technique" to assume the appearance of one of them.

As for Long Ye, none of the several ninjutsu he had trained in included the Transformation Technique, so he could only conceal his face through physical means.

Fortunately, all kinds of strange outfits were common throughout the Shinobi World. Covering the lower half of one's face with a black cloth was fairly ordinary, so it did not attract much attention.

After infiltrating Hoshigakure, the two first found a private room and ate a meal—ordinary tonkotsu ramen.

Once they had filled their stomachs, the two headed toward the destination of their journey: the "meteorite" in Hoshigakure.

Long Ye had seen meteorites in his previous life, but he had never seen one so large.

The meteorite before them was the size of a house. Half of it was buried underground, and its entire surface was grayish-black and uneven. It looked extremely mysterious.

"Huh?"

As Long Ye drew closer and closer to the meteorite, he discovered that the chakra within his body had actually begun to grow active uncontrollably, as though it had been stimulated by an invisible energy.