Uchiha Ran honestly hadn't expected to reunite with his teacher Orochimaru so soon.
It felt like just yesterday they'd been plotting together how to empty Danzō's pockets dry—and now here they were again.
"Ran-kun," Orochimaru said with a lazy smile, "I didn't expect that in such a short time, you'd rack up another major contribution. See? Sensei Hiruzen dragged me straight out of my laboratory and sent me to this boring backwater."
Ran shot a glance at Liu Hua and Uncle Tahō, silently signaling that it was time to leave.
Both of them understood immediately. The moment Ran's eyes moved, they excused themselves and withdrew, leaving the space entirely to the master and disciple.
"Orochimaru-sensei, I didn't expect the Hokage's order to have you come secretly," Ran said lightly. "With his wisdom, I thought he'd send a large force instead."
Orochimaru was dressed in a hooded cloak, clearly having received covert instructions.
But it was obvious he had no intention of working too hard on the border. The moment he met Ran, he sent Hyūga Hizashi off with the Uchiha squads to hunt down spies—and then casually told Ran the location of his new laboratory.
"…Wait," Ran blinked. "Sensei, you solved the laboratory problem on the way here?"
"Ninjutsu and fūinjutsu are very convenient," Orochimaru replied calmly. "Setting up a simple lab isn't difficult."
As he led Ran away from the camp toward his temporary lab, Orochimaru casually shared two pieces of information.
First—his recent research had made no real progress regarding the evolution of the Sharingan into the Mangekyō. At best, he'd only formed hypotheses expanding on Ran's earlier idea: that extreme emotions like rage or grief could catalyze the transformation.
Orochimaru suspected that such emotions caused a unique energy surge within Uchiha bloodlines, triggering mutation—but he still couldn't explain why the vast majority of Uchiha, nearly all of them, failed to awaken the Mangekyō.
Second—Konoha's ally, the Land of Bears' Star Ninja Village, had sent an urgent request for assistance.
"Ran," Orochimaru said, eyes gleaming, "this mission suits you perfectly. That so-called Star Shadow probably has, at most, jōnin-level strength. After helping them, bring back a sample of the meteorite they treasure so dearly. I need it for research."
He let out a soft laugh.
"They treat it like a sacred relic, but based on my information, it only slightly boosts training efficiency. Nothing particularly impressive."
As he spoke, Orochimaru extended his right hand.
In an instant, countless small white snakes spilled out from his sleeve and slithered silently into the forest, dispersing in every direction.
One had to admit—it was terrifying how extensive Orochimaru's information network was.
Ran remembered that the Star Ninja Village's meteorite wasn't widely known until much later in the original timeline.
"No problem, Orochimaru-sensei," Ran replied readily. "But do we know what the mission actually is?"
He didn't mind taking on a task like this. If anything, he was curious about that so-called meteorite—especially since it might be connected, however loosely, to the Ten-Tails.
"The client didn't specify," Orochimaru said after a brief pause. "Only that she came under the Third Star Shadow's orders. It likely concerns internal village matters."
He added coldly, "The requester is a female ninja. Slow pace. She should arrive soon. Inform your Uchiha people not to disturb me. Interrupting a scientist's work leads to very unpleasant consequences."
Sure enough, after Ran warned Liu Hua and the others to stay clear, nearly half an hour passed before the Star Ninja representative finally arrived.
Both Ran and Orochimaru were already growing impatient when a woman flew toward them, chakra manifesting behind her like the tail feathers of a peacock.
"Interesting," Orochimaru murmured. "This secret art doesn't seem to consume much chakra. I'm becoming curious about that meteorite."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the woman said apologetically as she landed. "Orochimaru-sama, your traveling speed was simply too fast. Even with Peacock Mystical Method, I couldn't catch up."
Orochimaru waved it off dismissively.
"Leave the rest to my disciple. He has jōnin-level strength—this mission will be trivial for him. I have important matters to attend to."
With that, he departed without hesitation, tossing the entire job onto his student.
The Star Ninja representative bowed respectfully as Orochimaru left, clearly relieved rather than offended.
Once Orochimaru was gone, the woman introduced herself.
"My name is Natsuhoshi. You can call me Natsu, or just Hoshi. I'm a jōnin from the Star Ninja Village. And you are… Orochimaru-sama's esteemed disciple?"
"Uchiha Ran," he replied calmly. "Tell me what's going on. For your Third Star Shadow to request aid from Konoha—this must be serious."
Natsuhoshi hesitated, glancing around. Deciding the area wasn't secure, she activated Peacock Mystical Method again and rose into the air.
Only after leaving the camp behind did she land and begin explaining.
The Star Ninja Village lay within the Land of Bears.
Its leader bore the title "Star Shadow," now in his third generation. Two hundred years ago, a meteorite had fallen near the village—hence the name Star Ninja.
Their shinobi trained around this meteorite. It emitted radiation and reacted strongly with chakra.
The Star Ninja specialized in Peacock Mystical Method, shaping chakra into physical constructs for offense, chakra absorption, and even flight—just like what Ran had seen earlier.
This time, the Third Star Shadow had discovered that a senior jōnin named Akahoshi was colluding with shinobi from the Land of Earth, plotting to seize the village's ancestral meteorite.
Because Konoha was the Land of Bears' ally—and because of its long-standing reputation for not interfering in other nations' internal affairs—the Star Shadow immediately dispatched Natsuhoshi to seek help.
For some reason, Ran felt like this situation resembled dumping trouble onto the nearest honest neighbor.
And Konoha… was that honest neighbor.
Granted, the mission did come with compensation.
"So," Ran asked, "is this meteorite really that valuable? Valuable enough for traitors and Earth Country jōnin to risk rebellion over it?"
Natsuhoshi studied him carefully before answering.
"It does aid cultivation—but I suspect it causes irreversible damage to the body. If you're interested, after the mission, I can apply to the Star Shadow for permission."
"No need," Ran said thoughtfully. "If anything, collecting some powder for experiments would be better than using it directly."
Natsuhoshi narrowed her eyes slightly.
As expected of Orochimaru's disciple, she thought.
Completely unfazed by the prospect of facing Earth Country jōnin.
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