However, none of them could sleep.
Besides Hongshi
Temari looked at Akashi, who was sleeping upright with his face buried in the soil and snoring Hongshi, with a look of disgust. "Ugh, Shino, can't you plug his nose with some bugs?!"
Shino buried his face in his collar and said coldly, "I already tried it, and all the insects were killed."
"All right."
To create a comfortable environment for conversation, everyone worked together to move Hongshi outside the cave, dug a hole, and buried him in the ground, which quieted his snoring down a bit.
Temari, uneasy after discovering the bounty on the Sand Ninja, felt things weren't as simple as they seemed. She looked at Natsuhiboshi, who was sitting quietly to the side, and said, " Natsuhiboshi, although you're missing-nin, you should know something, right? Tell me how you became missing-nin."
Natsuhiboshi sighed. After learning the purpose of Temari and the others' visit, she abandoned her plan to escape. "My defection was actually authorized by the Third Hoshikage. My late husband was with me. The purpose was to protect Hoshigakure as missing-nin and stop Hoshigakure from continuing its training in the stars."
Subaruboshi suddenly stood up, pointing at Natsuhiboshi: "You're talking nonsense! The Third Hoshikage was clearly assassinated by you!"
Natsuhiboshi felt a pang of sadness when Subaruboshi like that. " Subaruboshi, you... sigh."
"How do you know my name! You mere missing-nin."
"Smack!"
Hōryūsai slapped Subaruboshi to the ground. "What are you doing, you brat, interrupting when adults are speaking? Get out of here!"
Natsuhiboshi quickly said, "No, don't hit him."
Temari: "(°ー°) Aren't you the same age?"
"You bastard! How dare you..."
"('')ノ)`')Slap! How dare you?"
"Peacock..."
"('')ノ)`')Snap! What's a peacock?"
"Yamete!"
Subaruboshi lay on the ground, covering his swollen face, muttering something under his breath.
Hōryūsai: "Oh? Still not convinced? Try glaring at me again."
Hokuto quickly stepped forward. "Grandpa Hōryūsai, Subaruboshi has been without parents since he was a child, and he has a bad temper."
Sanren also said to Subaruboshi, " Subaruboshi, we are prisoners of war now, we can't talk like that."
Natsuhiboshi's eyes never left Subaruboshi, filled with guilt and sorrow. "Alas, the culprit is actually the Fourth Hoshikage, Akahoshi. I once stole a star, intending to seal it away to stop its cultivation. After the Lord Third intercepted us, he also expressed his desire to stop the Star Training, but instead of letting me return to the village, he kept me under surveillance as a missing-nin Hoshigakure to prevent the project from starting again."
Temari continued, "So, after the Star Training restarted, you wanted to take the opportunity to steal the Star again?"
Shino then pieced together the clues. " The Fourth Hoshikage, knowing he couldn't defeat you, hired a ninja organization to search for you. At the same time, the ninja organization also received a bounty from some organization or individual and began targeting the Sand Ninja?"
Natsuhiboshi's expression was grave. "I was secretly observing when the Hatoyama Organization killed the Sand Ninja squad. That squad was very strange."
Upon Temari quickly pressed for details, asking, "Strange? What exactly happened?"
Natsuhiboshi said, " The Hatoyama Organization is nothing but low-level ninja. I can handle a small team on my own, but that team is extremely powerful and has excellent teamwork. They are on a completely different level from other teams."
Shino pondered for a moment, "In that case, it's definitely necessary to investigate further, Captain Temari. This matter is indeed not as simple as it seems."
Hōryūsai: "Since the Nuclear Ninja Village and the Sunagakure are allies, Temari, whatever decision you make, I will support you."
Temari paused for a moment. Although the situation was urgent, she still needed to remain rational. "We can use the Transformation Technique to transform into these guys, take Natsuhiboshi back to headquarters, and find those different ninjas."
Natsuhiboshi said, "I can assist you, but you must agree to one condition."
Temari sneered, "You don't have the leverage to negotiate with us right now."
Hōryūsai smiled and stopped Temari, saying, " Temari, we're practically partners now, let's hear what she has to say first."
Temari said, "Fine, Gaara said I don't care about the affairs of Hoshigakure. You Nuclear Ninja Village can do whatever you want. If anything happens, I won't take responsibility."
Hōryūsai: "That's for sure."
Natsuhiboshi Hōryūsai: "One of the reasons I came to see Subaruboshi is that I wanted to confirm whether he had been corrupted after undergoing Star Training."
Hōryūsai raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why is that?"
As if making a firm decision, Natsuhiboshi said, " Subaruboshi... he is my son."
"What!"
"Nani?"
Subaruboshi, who was lying on the ground, suddenly jumped up. "What did you say? I'm your son, what are you doing... Grandpa, don't hit me, I'll stay lying down."
Hōryūsai lowered his raised right hand. "Are you sure?"
Natsuhiboshi pulled a purple cross pendant from her pocket. "That's right, he also has an identical pendant; I can sense it."
Upon seeing the pendant, Subaruboshi was astonished, for he was wearing the same pendant around his neck. "You! You really are!"
Natsuhiboshi seemed lost in memories. "Sigh, when my husband Fire Fly Star and I left Hoshigakure, Subaruboshi was only three years old. It's normal that he doesn't remember me."
Hokuto Star then spoke up, "No wonder the Third Hoshikage always said that Subaruboshi was a hero Hoshigakure."
Sanrensei added, "That's right, and they also said that Subaruboshi's parents gave up everything for the village."
Hōryūsai looked at the three innocent children. "It seems you really are this brat's mother."
Subaruboshi experienced several ups and downs today, leaving him somewhat bewildered and at a loss. He sat on the ground, lost in thought.
Hōryūsai: "Alright, I'll trust you for now. What are your conditions?"
Natsuhiboshi thought for a moment, "I want to destroy the star."
Hōryūsai was somewhat surprised. "Oh? Why is that? The star is the foundation of your Hoshigakure. Without it, your strength will decline significantly."
" Star Training is a forbidden technique. While it can rapidly increase strength, it also places an enormous burden on the body. In my time, I was the only one who survived Star Training; everyone else died."
Hōryūsai looked at the Sanrensei and said, "That's true. If this brat cultivates for another month or two, he'll die too."
Natsuhiboshi had seen people die because of Star Training, and the painful images of their deaths flashed through her mind, tears welling up in her eyes. "They were all my comrades! No one else can die like this. It's just that I can't do it alone under Akahoshi's surveillance. Back then, the Third Hoshikage was assassinated by him because he wanted to stop Star Training."
Hokuto Star was shocked. " The Lord Third was assassinated by the Lord Fourth?"
"That's right." Natsuhiboshi pointed to Yotaka, who was still in a paralyzed state. "That's right, Yotaka knows the inside story."
Hōryūsai didn't rush to awaken Yotaka for confirmation. "Actually, it's really not my place to interfere in the affairs of your Hoshigakure. However, no one can stop what our Nuclear Ninja Village wants to do. Here's what we'll do: I will bring Star back to Nuclear Ninja Village, but at the same time, I will leave behind an improved version of the Mysterious Peacock Method training method, which is more powerful and has no side effects."
"The improved Mysterious Peacock Method?"
Temari looked bewildered. "When did you improve the Mysterious Peacock Method?"
Hōryūsai: "Just now, it wasn't about improvement. It's just that our Nuclear Ninja Village also has a technique similar to the Mysterious Peacock Method, so we combined it with it."
Natsuhiboshi had practiced diligently for many years and even tried to develop Mysterious Peacock Method without side effects, but all of them failed.