Chapter 398: What caliber are you, to be worthy of being called a Kage?
Land of Bears, Hoshigakure.
This is a Village nestled among the mountains.
At this moment, the open space in the center of the Village, which should have been used for training, was in a state of utter disarray.
Dozens of Ninjas wearing Hoshi Ninja uniforms and star-shaped forehead protectors lay scattered across the ground, some groaning in pain and others unconscious, all bearing obvious burn and impact marks.
In their eyes, besides pain, there was an even greater amount of undisguised terror and despair.
And the source of all this...
That purple Susanoo in the sky, resembling a demon god, was slowly dissipating.
Uchiha Sasuke deactivated his Susanoo and landed steadily on the ground from the air.
He wore a deep blue standing collar with the Uchiha Clan crest on the back, a Ninja sword tucked into his waist, and his black hair fluttered gently in the breeze after the battle.
His expression was cold, and his crimson eyes, like the eyes of Shura from Hell, scanned the surrounding Hoshi Ninjas who had lost their ability to fight. There was not a single ripple of emotion in his gaze, as if he were merely looking at a group of insignificant ants.
Finally, his gaze fixed on a middle-aged Ninja closest to him who was struggling to crawl up.
He was the current leader of Hoshigakure, the Acting Hoshikage, Akahoshi.
Sasuke walked forward two steps expressionlessly, then raised his right foot and stepped on Akahoshi's head.
Thump!
Akahoshi's face was slammed hard into the dust of the ground, letting out a dull sound.
Sasuke looked down from above, and in a cold tone filled with deep disdain, he spoke slowly:
"What is your caliber? A mere Jonin from a small Village, yet you dare call yourself 'Hoshikage'?"
His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present, making the faces of those Hoshi Ninjas who were still conscious turn pale and red as a sense of humiliation welled up within them.
But no one dared to talk back.
Because the brief but one-sided battle just now had completely shattered all their pride and will to resist.
Before Uchiha Sasuke's Perfect Susanoo, their proud Kujaku Myoho and flight abilities were as laughable as child's play.
Sasuke felt even more contempt in his heart.
If a guy of this strength encountered Naruto, he would probably die without even a trace left in a single encounter.
He could only play king in such a remote backwater.
At this time, several figures quickly swept in from the outskirts of the Village and landed beside Sasuke.
They were his Hidden Leaf Village companions performing this "Inspection and Suppression" mission alongside Sasuke, Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Lee.
"You're really amazing, Sasuke!"
Inuzuka Kiba grinned and unhesitatingly gave a thumbs up, and Akamaru on his shoulder also gave a "Woof," seemingly in agreement.
Kiba's personality had always been straightforward; he truly admired the overwhelming power Sasuke displayed.
Sasuke only gave a faint "Hmph," his gaze remaining cold:
"Hmph, it's just that they are too weak. In an entire Village, there are no more than five people who truly possess the strength of a 'Jonin'."
"With such strength, their leader actually dares to call himself a 'Kage'?"
His tone was full of dissatisfaction and mockery toward the misuse of the title "Kage."
In his view, the so-called Kage is a title worthy only of those who truly stand at the peak of the Ninja World and possess formidable strength.
Namely, Naruto.
Even the leaders of the hidden Villages of the other four great nations are unworthy of the title of Kage.
A leader of a small Village like Hoshigakure is at most at the level of a Village chief; how dare he overstep and call himself a "Kage"?
It was simply an insult to the name of "Kage"!
After speaking, Sasuke seemed to feel that stepping on Akahoshi's head was dirtying his own foot.
He lifted his foot and then gave a casual kick, as if kicking away an eyesore of a stone, sending Akahoshi tumbling several meters away until he crashed into a broken wall nearby, letting out another groan of pain.
Seeing Sasuke's insulting action, Shikamaru, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but press his hand to his forehead, a helpless bitter smile appearing on his face.
Lately, Sasuke's temper seems to have become quite a bit more irritable...
Is it because Naruto's strength is growing too fast, putting too much pressure on him?
Regardless, as the strategist and actual commander of the team, Shikamaru felt he still needed to step forward to ease the atmosphere and steer things onto the right track.
He cleared his throat, took a step forward to stand beside Sasuke, and calmly scanned the shaken Hoshi Ninjas and the villagers watching secretly from a distance.
Then, in a clear and steady voice, he said:
"We have already thoroughly investigated the situation."
"This fellow named Akahoshi," Shikamaru pointed to Akahoshi slumped by the wall in the distance, "is the murderer who killed the previous leader of Hoshigakure, the one you call the 'Sandaime Hoshikage'."
As soon as these words came out, a suppressed commotion and gasps of surprise erupted among the surrounding Hoshi Ninjas.
Clearly, this was not a truth known to everyone.
Shikamaru continued:
"And the reason the Sandaime Hoshikage strictly forbade the people of the Village from continuing to use the'Star' for Cultivation was not because he was conservative or obstructing the Village's development."
"It is because that'Star'," Shikamaru's gaze turned toward the heavily guarded ancestral hall deep in the Village, "itself possesses radiation harmful to the human body!"
"Long-term proximity or using it for Cultivation will drastically reduce a Ninja's lifespan and cause irreversible damage to the body!"
"The Sandaime Hoshikage discovered this very point and resolutely decided to seal the'Star', even if it meant enduring internal pressure from the Village and skepticism from the outside world."
The so-called "Star" was a peculiar meteorite that fell in the Land of Bears two hundred years ago.
The founder of Hoshigakure, who called himself the "First Hoshikage," derived a unique secret technique from this meteorite that could only be learned through the influence of the special energy emitted by the meteorite: the "Kujaku Myoho."
This secret technique allows the practitioner to manifest Chakra into the form of wings, thereby gaining flight capabilities and more flexible and varied means of attack, which significantly enhanced the strength of the Hoshi Ninjas in a short period of time.
Because of this, the "Star" was revered as the Village's sacred object and source of power.
But the fatal price hidden behind it was intentionally or unintentionally ignored or concealed by the First and Second, until the Sandaime Hoshikage truly discovered and confronted the issue.
Shikamaru's explanation made the expressions of many Hoshi Ninjas become even more complex; some showed realization and lingering fear, while others remained skeptical.
And just then,
"What do you people know!"
A roar filled with grief, indignation, and unwillingness came from by the wall.
The kicked-away Akahoshi was seen struggling to prop up his body with his arms. He spat out three teeth mixed with blood and stared fixedly at the Hidden Leaf Village group with bloodshot eyes filled with anger, resentment, and deep despair.
"The Ninja Villages of small nations... are just like this!"
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