Chapter 291: Hoshinins’ Combat Power—800 It Is!
The conference room was completely silent.
Among the Kirigakure high-level officials present, aside from Elder Genma, there were only a scant few, appearing exceptionally desolate compared to its heyday.
The younger generation consisted only of Mei Terumi, who possessed dual Bloodline Limits, and Ao, who had one Byakugan.
Bloodline clans like the Kaguya Clan and Yukigakure Clan had long been reduced to ashes under the Bloody Mist Policy.
The once-renowned “Seven Ninja Swordsmen” of the ninja world had now fallen apart—some dead, some defected—and the only remaining Mangetsu Hozuki was also unable to take on major responsibilities due to his worsening condition.
The power of the new generation had yet to fully mature, and the entire Kirigakure presented a worrying scene of a generational gap.
Everyone’s moods were complex.
On one hand, they felt anger and disappointment that Yagura, as Mizukage, had been manipulated for so long, bringing profound disaster to the village; on the other hand, they were well aware that the current Kirigakure faced internal and external troubles with greatly diminished strength, and Yagura himself remained a powerful combat force.
At this moment, the Land of Wind and Land of Stars were already at war, the shadow of the Fourth Great Ninja War looming over the entire ninja world—dealing with Yagura at such a time was absolutely not a wise move.
Genma slowly opened his eyes, which were almost always narrowed, and his aged voice rang out in the conference room: “Lord Mizukage has proactively taken responsibility, and his intentions are clear. However, the current situation is turbulent, and Kirigakure is in dire need of talent. The matter of electing a new Mizukage is of great importance and can be postponed for now.”
He paused, lightly tapping the ground with his snake-shaped staff, and continued: “The top priority is to stabilize the internal situation and unite against external threats. Moreover, we must strictly seal off all information—absolutely no one outside can learn that our Kirigakure’s Mizukage was controlled by someone for several years! Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!”
Subsequently, under Genma’s leadership, the meeting passed a resolution restricting the Mizukage’s power.
Although Yagura retained the title of Fourth Mizukage, his power would be checked by the Elder Council and the Jonin class, and he would need to undergo regular Byakugan examinations by Ao to ensure he was no longer under any Illusion Technique control.
The meeting ended in a heavy atmosphere.
After the other high-level officials left, Genma, Mei Terumi, and Ao remained.
Genma’s wrinkled bald head appeared somewhat dim under the lights as he narrowed his eyes and looked at the fatigued Yagura, directly asking the most crucial question: “Lord Mizukage, the person who controlled you… was it ‘Lord Shura’ of the Land of Stars?”
This was currently the most mainstream speculation among Kirigakure’s high-level officials.
To control a Kage Level powerhouse for an extended period without detection was something no ordinary ninja could achieve.
And “Lord Shura,” who had suddenly risen in the ninja world in recent years with immeasurable strength, was undoubtedly the prime suspect.
Yagura decisively shook his head, struggling to recall that period of manipulated memories shrouded in thick fog, and said affirmatively: “No, it wasn’t him. The person who controlled me… used Sharingan Illusion Technique. Moreover, I vaguely feel… that the one who controlled me and Lord Shura seem to… have some kind of enmity between them.”
“Enmity?” Genma and Mei Terumi both furrowed their brows simultaneously.
They had previously heard Yagura say he was controlled by Sharingan, but that person wore a mask, was extremely mysterious, and Yagura had never seen his true face.
Ao, standing to the side, had a flash of surprise in his left eye, which was not covered by the seal: “Could it be that besides Lord Shura, the ninja world is hiding another powerful ninja with such strength and ambition?”
Mei Terumi crossed her hands on the table and analyzed calmly: “It’s not impossible. Elder Genma, do you still remember that night three years ago when the Kaguya Clan rebelled?”
“That mysterious person controlled Lord Mizukage to issue commands, dispatching three Ninja Swordsmen—Mangetsu Hozuki, Suigetsu Hozuki, and Jūzō Biwa—to intercept Lord Shura, who had appeared in Kirigakure. This clearly shows that the mysterious person likely sensed Lord Shura’s infiltration through some special means, or perhaps even clashed with him without gaining the upper hand, prompting the urgent dispatch of the Swordsmen to pursue, either to borrow a knife to kill or to probe.”
A reminiscent expression appeared on Genma’s wrinkled face as he slowly nodded: “Indeed… Old Man remembers. That night, the village not only lost the Kaguya Clan, but Suigetsu Hozuki and Jūzō Biwa also died, Mangetsu Hozuki returned injured, and excellent ninjas like Zabuza Momochi defected… The losses were heavy.”
Yagura also struggled to recall; though his memory was fuzzy, he still pieced it together like fragments: “That night, after I was attacked by Zabuza Momochi, inside the Mizukage’s Office… there seemed to be a brief but intense battle, with a mysterious ninja appearing… but I really can’t remember the specific details…”
Genma took a deep breath, his hunched body seeming to bend even more, his hand tightening slightly on the snake-shaped staff: “From this, it seems… that Lord Shura likely holds important information about this mysterious enemy!”
Mei Terumi interjected: “But Lord Shura appearing on the night of the Kaguya Clan rebellion is itself highly suspicious. According to the intelligence we’ve gathered, in the Land of Stars’ battle with the Land of Snow, there appeared Bloodline Limit users suspected to be from the Kaguya Clan’s Corpse Bone Pulse and the Yukigakure Clan’s Ice Release.”
That battle between the Land of Stars and Land of Snow within the Land of Shadows’ border had numerous witnesses—besides both sides’ ninjas, there were large numbers of ordinary soldiers, wandering samurai, and refugees—making it hard to completely seal the news.
Each ninja village’s intelligence network had already collected these scattered pieces of information and analyzed them internally.
“Kaguya Clan’s Corpse Bone Pulse… Yukigakure Clan’s Ice Release…” Yagura murmured to himself, a pained expression on his face.
These two Bloodline ninja clans, once a source of pride for Kirigakure, had been driven to extinction under the high-pressure policies implemented while he was controlled.
Now, their Bloodline abilities had appeared in the distant Land of Stars—a great irony.
Genma’s narrowed eyes almost fully closed as he said gravely: “According to intelligence from spies in Konoha, large-scale defections occurred in the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Branch Family, both ultimately fleeing to the Land of Stars. Now it seems that the number and types of Bloodline Limit ninja clans gathered in the Land of Stars probably… exceed those of Kirigakure and Sand Village combined.”
“What?!” Ao was shocked upon hearing this; he knew all too well how difficult it was to gain the loyalty of these powerful Bloodline families.
His own Byakugan had been obtained at great cost during the Third Great Ninja War by ambushing a Hyuga Main Family squad.
And that Lord Shura had somehow made the proud Uchiha Clan follow him en masse, even cracking the Hyuga Clan’s Caged Bird Curse Mark that controlled the Branch Family?
This was simply inconceivable!
Mei Terumi let out a light hum, a smile tinged with schadenfreude and some gravity curling at her red lips: “In that case… Sand Village has kicked an iron plate this time. Even if Konoha ultimately joins the war, they probably won’t get much advantage.”
Genma looked at Yagura and made a suggestion: “Lord Mizukage, the top priority is to quickly restore the village’s vitality and gather more intelligence about the outside world, especially regarding the Land of Stars and that mysterious enemy. I suggest immediately dispatching elite ninjas skilled in stealth to infiltrate the Land of Stars by any means.”
Yagura nodded wearily, fully delegating his power: “Elder Genma, I’ll leave this entirely to you. Right now… I’m just a sinner.”
“Until the next Mizukage officially takes office, the only thing I can do is cooperate with you and everyone else as best I can to clean up this mess that I personally botched, making it as tidy as possible.”
His words were filled with helpless pain and deep guilt.
…………
Star Capital, Military Zone Operations Command Center.
In the massive circular conference room, the atmosphere was somber and tense.
A huge ninja world map hung on the wall, with the border area between the Land of Wind and Land of Stars covered in striking red markings.
In the center of the room was an exquisitely crafted, detailed sand table clearly simulating the terrain of the “Sea of Death” and surrounding oases and towns.
Menma sat in the main seat, wearing his signature black-based red-edged Miko Robe, his heterochromatic eyes calmly scanning the assembled crowd.
To his left sat Administrative Minister Uzumaki Kushina and Military Minister Uchiha Hikari; to his right were Finance Minister Miyashiro En, Anbu Commander Kisame Hoshigaki, and core combatants participating in the military conference such as Shisui Uchiha, Hizashi Hyuga, Natsuhi, and others.
The air was thick with the tension and faint excitement of an impending major battle.
Uchiha Hikari stood up, her deep blue clan robes accentuating her snow-white skin; even with her Sharingan closed, her eyes naturally exuded a sharp aura.
She held a scroll in hand and reported to Menma—and to everyone present—in a clear, cold, and steady voice:
“According to the latest statistics, our Land of Stars has over eight hundred registered ninjas, reaching a scale of eight hundred seven people.”
This number made some newly joined members, like Shisui Uchiha and Hizashi Hyuga, show slight changes in their expressions.
Even the Five Great Shinobi Villages had only around two thousand standing ninjas, doubling only during full wartime mobilization.
For example, during the Fourth Great Ninja War, the entire ninja world only mustered an 80,000-strong Shinobi Alliance; excluding small ninja villages, Land of Iron samurai, wandering ninjas, and wandering samurai, the Five Great Nations’ ninjas likely made up half, less than eight thousand per village.
Eight hundred ninjas, all full-time combat standing forces, already ranked just below the Five Great Shinobi Villages in scale.
Just three or four years ago, when Menma first took over Hoshigakure, he had only just over two hundred ninjas under him, of uneven quality!
Uchiha Hikari continued with the detailed data: “Among them, six hundred two Genin, one hundred fifty-nine Chunin, thirty-two Special Jonin, and fourteen Jonin.”
She read out the list of Jonin, each name representing a formidable combat force.
“Jonin include: Uchiha Hikari, Uzumaki Kushina, Natsuhi, Hotaru, Miyashiro En, Miyoshi Jin, Gōta, Kisame Hoshigaki, Nono Yakushi, Shisui Uchiha, Izumi Uchiha, Inabi Uchiha, Hizashi Hyuga, Tokuma Hyuga.”
This list encompassed nearly all of the Land of Stars’ publicly known top combatants.
This was only the registered ninjas belonging to the Star Ninja Army sequence.
Figures like former Star Shadow and current Justice Minister Yoruya; Kakuzu, handling protection for Kado Group’s commercial activities abroad; Laboratory’s Bishamon; and semi-retired but still combat-capable Otsutsuki Sakuya were not included.
If adding the reanimated Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze, the actual deployable Jonin-level and above forces approached twenty.
Among them, Shisui and Kisame Hoshigaki both possessed strong Kage Level strength, while Uchiha Hikari was Super Kage Level.
And the reanimated Minato and Kushina were at their strength peaks!
This power was enough to squarely challenge the Five Great Shinobi Villages!
The Jonin list also injected a strong shot of confidence into those present.
Though total forces were far inferior to major ninja villages, the quality of high-end combatants was enough to draw attention.
Compared to half a year ago, the significant growth in the Land of Stars’ mid-to-high-end combatants was mainly due to the wholesale joining of the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Branch Family, bringing a large number of experienced ninjas.
The improvement in mid-to-low-end combatants, meanwhile, benefited from the gradual deployment of the revolutionary equipment “Chakra Kinetic Armor.”
This armor not only greatly enhanced the user’s physical abilities and defense, but its built-in Scientific Ninja Tools also allowed Police Force elites—ordinary people after training—to stably perform some basic Ninjutsu, with comprehensive combat power rivaling ordinary Genin, and a few standouts reaching Chunin level.
Miyashiro En, appointed Star Ninja Army Chief of Staff, walked to the massive sand table, picked up a slender baton, pointed to the vast area marked “Sea of Death,” his expression turning serious behind his orange sunglasses:
“According to the Staff Department’s comprehensive estimate combining intelligence from all sides, Sand Village in wartime can conservatively mobilize around three thousand standing ninjas. If they conduct full war mobilization, at peak they might field five thousand, even six thousand ninjas!”
This number made the air in the conference room even heavier.
Eight hundred against three thousand, possibly even five or six thousand!
“Although most Sand ninjas are Genin with limited combat power, we must consider the worst-case scenario.” Miyashiro En’s baton swept over several key nodes within the Land of Stars.
Those were the Land of Stars’ major cities, rail hubs, large warehouses, bridges, ports, and other important facilities…
“If the enemy adopts a strategy of breaking into small units, dispatching numerous small teams to infiltrate our territory for indiscriminate harassment and sabotage operations. They don’t need to fight us head-on; just disrupting our transport lines, supply warehouses, and important facilities would slow our war rhythm, cause massive economic losses and civilian panic. At that point, just clearing out these scurrying ‘rats’ would exhaust us, consuming large amounts of forces meant for the main battlefield.”
He heavily tapped the baton on several oases and town markers in the southern Sea of Death, emphasizing his voice: “Therefore, the Staff Department’s opinion is unanimous: we cannot passively defend; we must take the initiative! Push the front line into the Land of Wind!”
“Two days ago, upon receiving Lord Shura’s command, Lord Hikari ordered the formation of the First Legion as vanguard, composed of twelve squads, supported by medical teams and logistics support teams, totaling one hundred seventy people. They have now entered the Sea of Death and successfully controlled eight key oases and four cities in the southern sea, initially establishing a forward defensive line.”
“Our strategic goal is to control the flames of war firmly within the Land of Wind through aggressive offensive actions. Force Sand Village to concentrate its main forces on the front lines, leaving them no spare capacity, thereby fundamentally eliminating the possibility of large-scale infiltration and harassment into our heartland!”
“Then advance the front line straight to Sand Village! Forcing Sand Village to either surrender! Or have their ninja village breached!”
【PS: While looking for pics today, someone sent me a swimsuit one, but it was swimsuit Chiyo—true CS!】
