Orochimaru and Mayuri Kurotsuchi solemnly accepted the order.
They knew that Sōkyū Hatake's decision had shifted the future outlook of Rōran, and even the entire shinobi world, from the shinobi continent to the boundless sea of stars. Threats and opportunities alike would come from there.
"As for Iwagakure's silence and the other villages' reactions..." Sōkyū Hatake took one last look at the star chart, then turned and headed out of the safe house. "Those are minor matters now."
His figure vanished through the doorway, but his words lingered in the safe house:
"The real game lies among the stars."
"And we've only just obtained our admission ticket, and... the first sketch of the board."
Inside the safe house, the star chart's light slowly shifted within the holographic projection, illuminating the solemn faces of Sōkyū Hatake, Orochimaru, and Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
"The value of this star chart is beyond question." Sōkyū Hatake's fingers tapped unconsciously against the armrest of his chair, his gaze piercing. "But it came from Momoshiki Otsutsuki alone. Both the reliability of a single sample and the completeness of its information remain in question."
Orochimaru immediately grasped his meaning. "Sōkū, are you worried that this star chart might merely be a projection of Momoshiki's personal knowledge, or that there could be individual differences or different levels of encryption? Or even... that it could be some kind of trap or misdirection?"
"We can't rule out any possibility." Sōkyū Hatake nodded. "When facing a civilization beyond our own that we know so little about, any inference based on a single sample may have blind spots. We need more original texts for cross-comparison and verification."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi let out his signature grating laugh. "Kukuku... exactly! Science requires repeated experiments and control groups! Having only one Momoshiki Otsutsuki
"is like having only one