Chapter 153: Hoshikawa's Impact on the Ninja World Dynamics
At the Konoha encampment, the Land of Frost—which had been blanketed in continuous snow—welcomed its first sunny day, and the weather turned warm.
"This is wonderful!" Kurenai Yūhi twirled twice in front of Hoshikawa, her spirits high.
"It is," Rin Nohara agreed with a smile.
"I just hope those annoying Kumogakure ninja settle down for a few days!" Kurenai clenched her fist and shook it, displaying her frustration. After a month of continuous skirmishes with Kumogakure, she was thoroughly sick of them.
"Hoshikawa, are you making poison pills?" Rin asked, looking at Hoshikawa, who was sitting on the ground fiddling with some small instruments.
"Yeah," Hoshikawa replied casually. "I gave the last batch I made to Kakashi and the others."
"The Kumogakure ninja practically hate your guts now," Kurenai chuckled. "Over the past month, it feels like they've mobilized every medical ninja in the entire village just to deal with your poisons."
"It's not that exaggerated," Hoshikawa shook his head.
His situation was somewhat similar to that of Chiyo and Tsunade during the Second Great Ninja War, but instead of being an antidote master, he was a poison master.
"I wonder when we can return to Konoha," Kurenai sighed. Although she had taken on many missions before, this was the first that had lasted over a month, and there was still no end in sight.
"Soon," Hoshikawa reached out, intending to pat her head, but she dodged.
"Your hands are covered in poison!" Kurenai protested. "What if it makes my hair fall out?"
"I don't make poisons that do that," Hoshikawa said with a smile. "If you don't believe me, let Rin try."
"What are you saying?" Kurenai glared at him. "Why should we use Rin?"
"I... I don't mind," Rin whispered.
"Huh?" Kurenai looked at her in surprise.
Hoshikawa paused, taken aback. But since the words had been said, what was he supposed to do?
"See?" Hoshikawa extended his hand, gently stroked Rin Nohara's head, and asked with a smile, "Are you okay?"
"..." Kurenai looked conflicted. She felt something was weird, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"What are you guys doing?" A voice approached from a distance.
Rin Nohara instinctively turned and saw Obito Uchiha, his expression grim. He had clearly witnessed the head-patting scene.
"We're back!" Might Guy, completely oblivious, greeted them enthusiastically.
Kakashi Hatake looked subtly awkward, but since the situation didn't involve him, he ignored it.
"We were talking about poisons," Hoshikawa said, glancing at Rin, his expression unchanged.
"Rin, is that true?" Obito Uchiha ground his teeth.
"Yes," Rin Nohara said, a little flustered.
Obito Uchiha clenched his fist. Your face is red! Was that really just about poison?
"It really was about poison," Kurenai explained the whole situation.
Hearing the story, Obito Uchiha let out a sigh of relief.
"Obito, how are my parents?" Rin Nohara quickly changed the subject.
"They're doing great," Obito Uchiha recovered, raising his voice with some excitement. "They told me to take good care of you!"
"Thank you," Rin Nohara smiled gently.
"No need!" Obito Uchiha scratched his head. "We don't need to say thank you to each other!"
"Kakashi, did you give my dad the letter?" Kurenai asked Kakashi Hatake.
"I did," Kakashi Hatake pulled out a letter. "This is a reply from Uncle Shinku."
Their team had returned to Konoha with Minato Namikaze to restock the camp's supplies. The Flying Thunder God Jutsu made travel convenient.
"Thanks!" Kurenai took the letter and began to read it.
"Has anything major happened in Konoha recently?" Hoshikawa asked after they had all settled down.
"Nothing major," Might Guy shook his head.
"Yes, there has," Kakashi Hatake immediately followed up.
"Huh?" Might Guy was confused. "What happened?"
"The Konoha Ninja Academy graduation season," Kakashi Hatake replied.
"Oh!" Might Guy realized. "Lord Orochimaru took on a student!"
"Lord Orochimaru, who is as famous as Sensei Tsunade?" Kurenai asked curiously. "Who was lucky enough to become his student?"
"It's someone named Mitarashi..." Might Guy immediately stumbled, unable to recall the name.
"Mitarashi Anko," Kakashi Hatake filled in.
"Right! That's her!" Might Guy exclaimed excitedly.
"I think I remember her," Kurenai tilted her head, trying to recall the girl.
"Anything else?" Rin Nohara asked gently.
"That's it. Lord Orochimaru only took that one student," Obito Uchiha quickly replied.
"Then won't they be able to form a ninja squad?" Rin Nohara was briefly confused.
"The students of the Sannin are different from regular squad members," Kurenai explained, giving her own experience as an example. "They can find teammates when forming a squad, just like Hoshikawa and us."
"That's true," Rin Nohara sighed wistfully. "It seems like another genius."
"How many geniuses can there possibly be? Maybe they were just lucky," Obito Uchiha snorted. When the topic of genius came up, he inevitably thought of Hoshikawa and immediately felt annoyed.
Hoshikawa glanced at him. This time, Obito Uchiha wasn't entirely wrong. Mitarashi Anko wasn't exactly a genius; her ceiling was clearly visible as a Special Jōnin. Hoshikawa suspected Orochimaru had chosen her somewhat randomly.
However, Anko Mitarashi was treated well and didn't end up as a test subject. Orochimaru did seem to care for her.
"Hoshikawa, come to the meeting." After a few minutes of chatting, Tsunade's voice called out.
"Keep talking; I'll catch you later." Hoshikawa stood up, packed his poisons and instruments, and headed for the main tent.
"Hoshikawa." The Jōnin in the main tent all greeted him.
This was starkly different from the cold shoulder he received a month ago. The reason was that his strength had earned their respect.
Battles lead to casualties, especially when fighting Kumogakure, who were on par with Konoha. But since Tsunade and Hoshikawa arrived, the casualty rate had dropped dramatically.
Tsunade, having been famous for years, was the Ninja World's best medical ninja, so her extremely high level of medical skill was expected.
Hoshikawa, however, was different. They had assumed that despite his young age and genius, he wouldn't be too exceptional. Yet, after working with him, they discovered his medical ninjutsu proficiency was frighteningly high, almost on par with Tsunade's. This revelation shattered their preconceived notions.
The truth was laid bare: Hoshikawa was already a target for their recruitment efforts. After all, he was clearly destined to become another Tsunade, with an immeasurable future.
Hoshikawa responded to each greeting. To become Hokage, one needed reputation. Furthermore, this was a win-win situation: the greater his fame, the greater Tsunade's fame.
"Let's start the meeting now that everyone is here," Tsunade, standing at the front, announced. Everyone immediately stopped talking and fell silent.
"Minato," Tsunade looked at Minato Namikaze. "You take the lead."
"Yes, ma'am." Minato Namikaze nodded. "I've brought the latest intelligence from Sunagakure."
Hoshikawa's heart jumped. Finally, news? He was extremely curious about Sunagakure, as their situation was a direct result of his actions—a chain of events that did not occur in the original timeline.
"Just two days ago, the Sandaime Raikage and five Kumogakure Jōnin appeared in Sunagakure, killing Fūgai and seriously wounding Rasa," Minato Namikaze dropped a bombshell. "Only after Chiyo intervened, supported by the One-Tails Jinchūriki, was the Sandaime Raikage forced to retreat."
"What?!" The explosive news caused an uproar.
Hoshikawa's mouth twitched. That's the Sandaime Raikage for you—always so reckless. Even with his strength, Sunagakure's ninja weren't pushovers, and they could bury him with sheer numbers, much like Iwagakure's ten thousand ninja eventually wore him down in the original story (though that situation was different, as he had to cover his comrades' retreat, whereas this time he had more freedom).
"What is the Sandaime Raikage's condition?" Tsunade asked, a faint smile on her face. "With Chiyo, the Jinchūriki, and so many Sunagakure ninja, I doubt he escaped completely unscathed."
"We heard he was injured, but we don't know the extent," Minato Namikaze paused, adding, "He disappeared without a trace after leaving Sunagakure."
"Just those six people?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "With such a good opportunity, did Kumogakure not prepare a large-scale strike force?" In her view, killing Fūgai and wounding Rasa weren't the Raikage's true goals. His real objective was to throw Sunagakure into chaos, then launch a sneak attack.
"They did prepare one, of course," Minato Namikaze said with a slight smile. "But a thousand Kumogakure ninja were ambushed by Konoha in the Land of Rain and completely wiped out."
Tsunade instinctively showed a look of surprise. The others gasped audibly, their excitement and shock undisguised. Including Hoshikawa, no one had expected Konoha to be the one to profit most.
"How did the Old Man detect the Kumogakure ninja's movements?" Tsunade asked the most crucial question.
"That relates to Lady Tsunade," Minato Namikaze countered. "Do you remember the Akatsuki?"
"Did the Akatsuki discover this Kumogakure force?" Tsunade picked up on his implication.
"Yes," Minato Namikaze said with admiration. "Lady Tsunade's foresight is truly commendable."
Tsunade was stunned, instinctively looking at Hoshikawa. This kid, by sheer chance, handed Konoha a major victory.
Hoshikawa felt a mixed sense of exasperation and amusement. This chain reaction had caught him completely off guard.
Yet, upon reflection, it made sense. Kumogakure only had four possible routes to invade Sunagakure: through the Land of Earth, the Land of Fire, or the Land of Water. These three routes were too dangerous and easily detected by Iwagakure, Konoha, or Kirigakure. That left only one final route: traversing a series of small, intermediate nations and eventually passing through the Land of Rain to reach the Land of Wind.
Under normal circumstances, Kumogakure would have been extremely cautious and not exposed themselves. But Nagato, with the Rinnegan, was different. Especially with his Rain Tiger at Will Technique (Ukojizai no Jutsu), he could use rain for detection. If the Akatsuki hadn't allied with Konoha, Nagato would likely have ignored it. But they had just accepted the supplies sent by Konoha.
"What is Sunagakure's reaction?" Tsunade raised her hand, silencing the discussion, and asked.
"Chiyo is now stabilizing the situation in Sunagakure. Just this morning, they declared war on Kumogakure, claiming that the Sandaime Kazekage's disappearance is related to them," Minato Namikaze then shifted focus. "However, they haven't made any moves yet."
"Good," Tsunade assessed. "Chiyo is using hatred to temporarily set aside Sunagakure's internal conflicts and achieve unity." As for the Sandaime Kazekage's disappearance, the truth didn't matter, as long as it intensified the hatred.
"What is the Old Man's plan?" Tsunade asked.
"Sunagakure and Kumogakure are destined for war; we only need to wait," Minato Namikaze relayed.
"Kumogakure suffered a major loss to Konoha. They might decide to fight a war on two fronts," Tsunade said seriously. "Starting today, increase patrols and pay extra attention to Kumogakure's movements." If Kumogakure intended to attack Konoha, the Land of Frost, where they were stationed, would be the necessary route.
"Yes, ma'am!" everyone responded in unison.
"Meeting adjourned." Tsunade waved her hand.
Three days later, after only one day of rest, Hoshikawa received another mission.
"This morning, we received intelligence that five front-line outposts were simultaneously attacked by Kumogakure," Tsunade said grimly. "Our mission is to support the northernmost outpost."
"Are they starting a full-scale war?" Hoshikawa frowned.
Kurenai and Rin Nohara looked worried. Compared to a full-scale war, their missions over the past month were mere skirmishes; the conflict would inevitably turn bloody.
"We don't know," Tsunade shook her head. "Minato has already gone deep into the Land of Lightning to investigate whether Kumogakure has mobilized reinforcements." Starting a war would require far more than five or six hundred ninja.
"Let's go." Tsunade turned and walked out. "No time to waste."
Hoshikawa and the others quickly followed.
Half an hour later, they arrived at their destination.
"They're still fighting!" Hoshikawa opened his eyes. "There are twelve Kumogakure ninja!"
"Be careful," Tsunade leaped into the air and charged toward the fight.
"Incoming!" The leading Kumogakure Jōnin quickly noticed her. But Tsunade was too fast. The moment he shouted, she had already burst into the crowd.
Monster Strength!
Chakra exploded in an instant. The ground cracked, trees toppled, rubble flew, and screams rang out.
.........
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