Moreover.
That the Hoshigakure meteorite is genuine — on that point, there should be no question at all.
While the three of them waited, Hoshigaki Kisame and the others relayed detailed intelligence about breaching Konoha's defensive positions back to Kirigakure through summoning jutsu.
With only the forces they had remaining, attacking the Land of Fire was clearly insufficient. They needed reinforcements from the village.
And up to this point, although the battles across all three fronts had been extraordinarily fierce, everyone understood that this was merely the appetizer.
The truly critical factor lay in three individuals: Senju Hashirama, Uchiha Madara, and Yuto!
Yet even now, none of these three lords seemed inclined to enter the battlefield directly.
No similar intelligence had emerged from Kirigakure either. Under these circumstances, each unit had to transmit detailed battlefield reports back to the village every single day.
All to prepare for any sudden developments!
After Hoshigaki Kisame and Kimimaro finished handling these matters, it wasn't long before familiar footsteps approached from outside.
Natsuhi carried a large wooden box roughly half a meter in size and walked in from outside.
"This is what you need."
Natsuhi set the wooden box on the ground and stepped back two paces, speaking softly.
One of the Kirigakure shinobi rose and approached first, opening the box.
A circular meteorite about the size of three palm spans, radiating a distinct chakra presence and covered with numerous craters, appeared before them all.
The Kirigakure shinobi closest to the meteorite was the first to sense it — as he approached the stone, the chakra within his body became noticeably more active.
"It does affect chakra."
A flicker of surprise crossed the Kirigakure shinobi's eyes. He turned to face Hoshigaki Kisame and Kimimaro behind him, speaking with a heavy tone.
He had not expected Hoshigakure to possess such a remarkable artifact!
Moreover, it had been kept so secret that not the slightest rumor had spread through the Shinobi World.
Had they not captured the Hoshikage by chance — and had the man not been so cowardly — they likely would never have obtained such a treasure!
The Kirigakure shinobi looked up, his gaze carrying a hint of curiosity as he studied Natsuhi.
In the Shinobi World, anything capable of interacting with chakra — whether metal or otherwise — could be described as enormously valuable.
Let alone this peculiar meteorite, which could amplify a shinobi's chakra.
So this Kirigakure shinobi was curious — why had she surrendered it so readily?
"Based on the intelligence I've gathered, your relationship with your village's Hoshikage isn't just poor — there's genuine conflict between you."
"If you're telling me you handed this meteorite over for the sake of your village's Hoshikage, I don't buy it."
The Kirigakure shinobi narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold gleam flashing in his gaze as he looked at Natsuhi.
Faced with this interrogation, Natsuhi's expression remained remarkably calm. Clearly, she wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Just as Natsuhi was about to speak —
Suddenly!
Hoshigaki Kisame raised Samehada. The cloth wrappings that normally encased the blade were cast aside as the sword broke free on its own, revealing a bizarre blue blade covered in sharp spikes before them all.
"Oh? Seems like your sword is quite interested in that meteorite."
Hoshigaki Kisame raised an eyebrow, looking at the great sword that had freed itself from its bindings, a note of surprise in his voice.
Under Natsuhi's stunned gaze, Hoshigaki Kisame aimed Samehada in the direction of the meteorite.
The blade rapidly expanded, its maw lined with razor-sharp fangs opening wide and swallowing the meteorite in a single bite.
"It... it ate it?"
Natsuhi stared at the scene in disbelief, frozen in place.
Kimimaro and the Kirigakure shinobi beside her, however, showed little surprise.
Samehada's ability to devour chakra was no secret to them.
However —
Kimimaro still furrowed his brow slightly. He had originally intended to send this Hoshigakure meteorite back to Kirigakure, as a gift for Lord Yuto.
But now that Hoshigaki Kisame's Samehada had swallowed it, things had become rather complicated.
Hoshigaki Kisame's face lit up with excitement. The meteorite could autonomously generate chakra, and now Samehada had consumed it.
That meant in the battles ahead, he wouldn't need to worry about chakra depletion at all. This would be an enormous boost to his combat power!
But just as Hoshigaki Kisame was celebrating — the Samehada that had just swallowed the meteorite suddenly began to thrash!
Then, right before Hoshigaki Kisame's incredulous eyes, Samehada spat the meteorite back out of its mouth.
In that moment —
Hoshigaki Kisame clearly sensed an emotion of disgust radiating from Samehada toward the meteorite.
"Interesting. There's actually a kind of chakra that makes Samehada feel repulsed?"
Hoshigaki Kisame looked up at Natsuhi, his eyes brimming with curiosity.
He knew full well that Samehada could devour even a Tailed Beast's chakra without hesitation. Yet it couldn't absorb the chakra produced by this meteorite?
"As you've already seen, this meteorite can not only autonomously generate chakra — it can also accelerate the chakra extraction speed of any shinobi who approaches it."
"But everything has its opposite side. This meteorite is radioactive, constantly emitting a special substance. Any shinobi who trains using it will suffer severe side effects."
Sensing the attention of Hoshigaki Kisame and the others, Natsuhi had no intention of hiding the truth. She spoke directly, and at this point, a trace of sorrow flashed through her eyes.
"My husband — the previous Hoshikage — died young because of those severe side effects."
The moment Natsuhi's words fell —
Hoshigaki Kisame, Kimimaro, and the Kirigakure shinobi all shrank their pupils simultaneously, instinctively wanting to distance themselves from the meteorite.
"Don't worry. Those side effects only manifest after prolonged exposure near the meteorite. Short-term contact won't have any effect on a person."
"That's precisely why the previous generations of Hoshikage never noticed anything abnormal. They kept training with the meteorite. It wasn't until my husband's time that this was discovered."
"The current Hoshikage still wants to train using the meteorite. And it's precisely because of this that my views have clashed with his."
Natsuhi seemed to sense what was on their minds and spoke softly.
Hoshigakure had grown powerful because of the meteorite's existence — but it was also because of the meteorite that no Hoshikage in the village's history had lived past the age of thirty.
After her husband's death, Natsuhi had planned to seal the meteorite away.
Unfortunately, her opinion had been ignored by the village's higher-ups.
The arrival of the Kirigakure forces had given Natsuhi an opportunity — which was why she had surrendered the meteorite without hesitation.
Without the meteorite, Hoshigakure might weaken for a time, but they would ultimately endure.
If they continued relying on the meteorite for training, Natsuhi was certain the village would eventually be destroyed by it!
After hearing Natsuhi's words, the group more or less guessed what she was thinking.
"You can take your Hoshikage and leave."
"Additionally, Kirigakure always welcomes a visit from Hoshigakure."
Kimimaro stood up and spoke to Natsuhi calmly.
Natsuhi paused for a moment, then nodded and turned to walk away.
After watching Natsuhi leave, Kimimaro turned to face the Kirigakure shinobi.
"Have someone escort this meteorite back to the village. Lord Yuto will certainly be interested."
Kimimaro spoke softly.
The meteorite might have certain side effects, but its value was undeniable.
Hoshigakure feared those side effects because they were too weak — they lacked the resources to properly study such a unique meteorite.
"Understood, Lord Kimimaro."
The Kirigakure shinobi gave a solemn nod, placed the meteorite back into the wooden box, and left with it in his arms.
"Just a tiny Hoshigakure, and you're inviting them?"
Hoshigaki Kisame stretched and shifted into a more comfortable position.
"Lord Yuto said that what we're doing isn't simply waging war to destroy things. We're doing this to unify the Shinobi World!"
"To bring true peace to the entire Shinobi World!"
Kimimaro's voice carried a fervent, earnest quality as he spoke to Hoshigaki Kisame with righteous conviction.
"As long as I can fight, that's fine by me."
Hoshigaki Kisame shrugged, speaking in a flat tone.
Even so, the thought of unifying the entire Shinobi World was genuinely exhilarating!
Hoshigaki Kisame's gaze flickered slightly as the thought crossed his mind.
The next day, just before dawn —
Orders from Kirigakure had already arrived at the Land of Bears battlefield.
"What?! We're not allowed to press the attack into the Land of Fire?"
Hoshigaki Kisame slammed his fist against the table, his face a portrait of disbelief as he glared at the messenger shinobi.
They had finally breached Konoha's positions in the Land of Bears. They were on the verge of marching into the Land of Fire — and now they were being told to stand down?
Hoshigaki Kisame couldn't fathom what Kirigakure's leadership was thinking!
"Th-that's correct."
The messenger shinobi stammered, cowering before Hoshigaki Kisame's terrifying presence.
"Kisame-san, he hasn't finished speaking. Besides, the village naturally has its reasons."
Kimimaro, by contrast, remained perfectly composed.
Hoshigaki Kisame rolled his eyes and sat back down.
Once Hoshigaki Kisame retracted his intimidating aura, the messenger shinobi breathed a deep sigh of relief and continued.
"The village's orders are for Lord Kisame and Lord Kimimaro to proceed through the Land of Fire's border and reinforce the Land of Waves front."
"Momochi Zabuza is in serious trouble right now, and the forces led by Chojuro are still at sea — they can't arrive in time."
The messenger shinobi quickly summarized the key points.
The Land of Bears position lay to the southeast of the Land of Fire, while the Land of Waves front was due east.
The two positions weren't close, but if Hoshigaki Kisame's unit moved to reinforce, they would indeed arrive faster than the naval forces.
"Traveling from the village to the Land of Waves is nearly a straight line across the sea. But the village dispatched forces to the Land of Bears, which required circling around several islands before making landfall."
Kimimaro mused aloud, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Clearly, while both positions were critical, the time, manpower, and resources required to reach the Land of Bears were two to three times greater than deploying to the Land of Waves!
"The village's intent is to use the Land of Bears position not as a main strike force, but as a transit hub to reinforce the Land of Waves."
"The village wants to combine the forces at both positions into one and concentrate their attack on the Land of Fire?"
Kimimaro's eyes flickered, as though something had clicked.
Hearing Kimimaro's words, the messenger shinobi nodded hastily.
"That is indeed the village's intention."
"Although Kirigakure has spent time recovering, and our supplies and resources have improved considerably, our shinobi numbers still haven't returned to pre-Third Shinobi World War levels."
At this point, the messenger shinobi's voice paused.
This was primarily due to the policies of the "Bloody Mist" era, which had caused the deaths of countless genin and left a massive generational gap among Kirigakure's shinobi.
Naturally, the messenger shinobi didn't dare mention this — it implicated the previous Mizukage.
"Konoha didn't suffer significant losses during the Third Shinobi World War, and they've had years of recovery since."
"Even while simultaneously facing both Iwagakure and us, Konoha — as the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages — has no disadvantage in sheer numbers."
"So with our shortage of shinobi, we have no choice but to consolidate our forces."
The messenger shinobi spoke with grave seriousness.
Moreover, the Land of Waves battlefield was far more important than the Land of Bears position — this was evident from the troops Konoha had deployed there.
Kirigakure's original strategy of splitting into two forces was meant to divide Konoha's defenders.
Combined with Iwagakure's assault from the other side, the three-front attack was designed to stretch Konoha thin.
But after weeks of observation, the expected results hadn't materialized.
The strength and deep reserves Konoha had displayed were truly worthy of their reputation as the greatest of the Five Great Villages.
Since that strategy had failed —
Within Kirigakure, Yuto, Terumi Mei, and certain Konoha insiders had revised their approach, ordering the forces to regroup and launch a concentrated offensive.
Otherwise, there was a high probability they would be ground down by Konoha through attrition.
And from the strategy Konoha had displayed so far, they were clearly playing a stalling game.
"No wonder Konoha's response to us capturing the Land of Bears position was so slow."
Hoshigaki Kisame's mouth split into a grin, revealing his sharp teeth, his tone sour.
Then his voice shifted.
"This 'major trouble' Zabuza ran into — don't tell me his positions in the Land of Waves are about to fall?"
Hoshigaki Kisame's voice dripped with contempt, making no effort to hide his mockery.
He and Momochi Zabuza had never gotten along, each finding the other intolerable.
Seeing Zabuza humbled was naturally an opportunity Hoshigaki Kisame couldn't resist.
(End of Chapter)
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