Chapter 224: Why Don’t Star Shinobi Have War Trauma?
Night deepened, and the mansion courtyard in Star Capital returned to tranquility.
Shisui Uchiha left with a belly full of questions and shock, leaving only Menma alone on the veranda.
Menma sat quietly for a while, his gaze cast toward the bamboo shadows swaying in the moonlight in the courtyard, as if pondering a deeper chess game.
Compared to Itachi Uchiha, at least Shisui was worth changing.
But that didn’t mean Menma was going to save him; he just wanted to take Shisui Uchiha to see the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall.
He couldn’t wait to see what wonderful expression Shisui Uchiha would have when he saw Itachi Uchiha, whom he had given hope to, slaughtering the elderly, weak, women, and children.
Just thinking about it made one’s mood pleasant.
Moments later, Menma began to slowly pack up the pawns on the chessboard, black and white distinct, just like his black-and-white judgment of the world in his heart.
In the living room, under the warm yellow light, Kushina Uzumaki was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, holding in her arms the fluffy Dark Nine-Tails little fox that looked like a red fluff ball.
The little Nine-Tails was holding a sizzling sweet three-color dango, eating with squinted eyes, its little tail swinging comfortably back and forth.
“Menma, look how cute she is!” Kushina gently combed the little Nine-Tails’ soft fur with her fingers, her face radiating maternal tenderness, but then she pouted, her tone becoming puffed up.
“Sigh, if only the big guy sealed in my body back then had been as obedient as little Nine! So fierce and violent, always trying to seize control, I hate it!”
Menma packed up the chessboard and walked into the living room, and upon seeing this scene, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curve up slightly.
He walked up close and gently rubbed the little Nine-Tails’ head with his hand.
The little Nine-Tails rubbed against his palm enjoyably, but still tightly hugged her dessert.
“Don’t feed her too many sweets,” Menma said, his tone carrying a rare lightness.
“Be careful not to turn her into a round and plump fox pig.”
“Chirp! No way!” The little Nine-Tails immediately raised her head, baring her teeth in protest, her mouth still stuffed with dango, her voice muffled: “This fox lord is the supreme Tails Beast! Not some pig! Menma big dummy!”
That puffed-up appearance only added a few more points of cuteness.
Menma chuckled lightly and stopped teasing her.
He looked at Kushina, his expression becoming slightly more formal: “Mom, in a while, once the situations in Land of Swamps, Ghost County, and Land of Snow have completely stabilized. I’m preparing to proceed with freeing Father from the Shinigami’s belly.”
Kushina’s hand stroking the little Nine-Tails paused slightly, a complex emotion flashing across her ashen face—expectation, but also deeper sorrow.
She sighed softly: “Actually… like this now, being able to occasionally see you all, knowing that you brothers have grown up safely, for me… it’s already like stolen happiness. Revival… is too difficult, no need to force it.”
Menma shook his head, his gaze firm and profound: “No, that won’t do. This is more than just revival. I also want you all… to personally watch Konoha, that village bearing too many mistakes and hypocrisies, step by step toward the end it deserves.”
Hearing this, Kushina let out a soft “ah,” her arm holding the little Nine-Tails subconsciously tightening a bit.
Although she had long known that Menma’s ambition to unify the Ninja World would inevitably conflict with Konoha, and knew how the Konoha High Council and villagers treated Naruto which chilled her heart, it was still the place where she grew up, fought, and ultimately sacrificed for.
Thinking of its possible destruction, a complex taste hard to describe still surged in her heart, like knocking over a bottle of five flavors.
On one hand, twenty-plus years of emotions and memories; on the other, heartache for her sons’ experiences—these two emotions intertwined and struggled in her heart.
The next morning.
Shisui Uchiha arrived on time at the Star Ninja Army camp in the southern suburbs of the eastern military zone of Star Capital.
This camp was completely different from the relatively loose ninja gathering places mixed with residential areas in Konoha as he remembered.
Here, everything was neatly planned, heavily guarded, with towering watchtowers, uniform barracks, and on the wide training ground, Star Ninjas were conducting energetic morning training, with shouts and ninjutsu collision sounds rising and falling, full of vigorous energy and strict discipline.
On the parade ground, he met the person in charge of this mission, the Star Ninja jonin Natsuhi.
She was still wearing the standard Star Ninja Vest, her reddish-brown long hair tied back, appearing capable and heroic.
Her squad members had also assembled: the girl from the Blood Pond Clan who had fully recovered and whose eyes now held more resolve, Oyakushiro Chino, as well as Shita Junhito and Murahashi Hazuki who had become much more steady after several missions.
“Mr. Shisui, you’ve arrived.” Natsuhi greeted with a smile, her attitude mild but maintaining a sense of distance: “This mission is mainly to escort this supply convoy and several administrative officials to Ghost County. The journey is long, but the trip will be fast.”
Shisui nodded, his gaze sweeping over the massive convoy.
Over a hundred uniquely shaped, evidently very sturdy trucks were neatly lined up, each loaded full with supplies covered by waterproof tarps.
Many people wearing Land of Stars administrative official uniforms were busily doing final inventories and work arrangements.
What surprised him most was that Natsuhi told him they wouldn’t need to travel on foot, but would ride directly in these trucks.
“These vehicles… are they driven by Lightning Release chakra?” Shisui couldn’t help but ask curiously.
A mechanized transport team of this scale was rare in the Ninja World.
Natsuhi and her team members all laughed upon hearing this.
Chino chimed in eagerly: “This is the latest achievement from Star Capital’s research institute, chakra kinetic trucks!”
Natsuhi gently explained, her tone carrying a hint of pride: “Not entirely relying on ninjas directly inputting chakra. These vehicles are equipped internally with special ‘chakra batteries’ that can be pre-charged and stored by Lightning Release ninjas, and can also recharge part of the kinetic energy during vehicle operation through specific conversion devices. Just like the ‘Lightning Trains’（trains） connecting major cities, they are practical applications of chakra technology. This greatly improves transportation efficiency and load capacity, reducing manpower consumption.”
Shisui listened with a heart shaken.
Chakra battery?
Kinetic energy recovery?
These concepts were utterly novel to him.
He recalled that when he previously carried out escort missions in Konoha, those slow, bumpy horse carriages and ox carts with limited carrying capacity were simply worlds apart compared to the steel torrent-like convoy before his eyes now.
The Land of Stars is not only powerful militarily, but also seems to have taken a completely different path in civilian technology and concepts.
Soon, the caravan set off.
Shisui sat on the canopy of the cab of the lead truck with Natsuhi as arranged, a special observation position for ninjas with a wide field of view.
Chiyo, Junhito, and Hazuki leaped back and forth around the front and rear of the caravan, conducting patrol alerts.
The caravan sped along the flat and wide Lightning Carriage auxiliary road, its speed indeed extremely fast, with the wind sound whistling past their ears.
Shisui looked at the scenery rapidly passing by on both sides, filled with all sorts of emotions in his heart.
After traveling for some time, the convoy arrived at the border of Ghost County, that area where a fierce ninja war had broken out a little over a month ago.
However, at this moment, the appearance here had already greatly changed!
The land, which had originally become uneven and pitted due to battle, covered with scorch marks and ice, had already been preliminarily leveled and compacted by large-scale Earth Release Ninjutsu.
Although some traces still remain, the prototype of a new city has already risen from the ground!
A large number of workers and ninjas are busy at work. The foundation has already been laid, and the frameworks of many houses have been erected. In the distance, tall cranes and scaffolding can also be seen.
This place had now become a massive construction site, filled with clamor and vitality.
Natsuhi introduced, “This place is planned as ‘New Star Town’, an important supply transit hub and emerging industrial zone connecting the Star Capital with Ghost County and Land of Swamps. Many refugees and craftsmen absorbed from the original three countries have been settled here to participate in construction.”
The caravan stopped at the temporary supplies distribution center on the outskirts of New Star Town.
Hotaru, who had already received the news, arrived with several Star Ninja to provide support.
“Natsuhi!” Hotaru walked forward quickly with a refreshing smile on her face.
“Hotaru!” Natsuhi also jumped down from the truck, her face blooming with a bright smile, and naturally embraced her husband.
“Yo~ Captain and Hotaru Jonin are showing affection again!” Chiyo cheered from the side, Shita Junhito and Hazuki couldn’t help but snicker.
Shisui watched from the side, able to feel the deep affection between this couple and the relatively relaxed atmosphere within the Star Ninja, which was completely different from the oppressive feeling within the Konoha Anbu and even the Uchiha Clan.
The handover of work proceeded efficiently and orderly.
Large quantities of grain, medicine, building materials, and cold-weather clothing were quickly unloaded and handed over to local administrative officials from Ghost County and Star Ninja, who registered and cataloged them, preparing to distribute to various settlement points and construction sites.
Natsuhi’s squad mission is complete, and they need to continue escorting some supplies and officials to a city deeper in the heartland of Ghost County.
Shisui decided to bid them farewell here, as he wanted to take a closer look at the true face of this “newly conquered” land.
After bidding farewell to Natsuhi and the others, Shisui strolled into this new city that was in the process of being nurtured.
The scene before his eyes gradually dispelled many of his doubts, replaced by an increasingly strong shock.
Although spring had not yet officially begun and the weather was still cold, the entire New Star Town was bustling with activity.
There were no scenes of displaced people wandering as imagined, nor of the miserable state of starving and freezing. Nor were there scenes of nobles’ private soldiers swaggering about and oppressing commoners.
What he saw was.
Rows of simple yet sturdy and warm temporary shelters were neatly arranged, with cooking smoke rising from the chimneys.
The commoners wearing the uniform cotton clothes issued by the Land of Stars had fatigue on their faces, but there was a brightness and hope in their eyes that had never been seen before.
A long line formed in front of the huge congee stall, but it was not chaotic snatching, rather orderly.
People wearing administrative official attire and medical ninjas maintained order nearby, providing help at any time to some frail elderly people and children.
In the congee stall, thick, steaming rice porridge was being simmered, and one could even see some meat paste and vegetables.
More young and strong adults, under the unified organization of the government, participated in the construction of the new city, or on the large areas of newly planned land outside the city, carried out preparations before spring plowing.
Clear gravel, dig irrigation ditches, and reclaim land using the newly distributed farming tools.
Some Star Ninja skilled in Earth Style or Water Style were also assisting with land leveling and water facility construction under the command of administrative officials and engineers.
Shisui even saw a temporary “government transparency board” surrounded by many commoners.
Above it were posted notices to reassure the people and a draft of land allocation policies, stipulating that whoever reclaims wasteland owns it, with the first three years tax-free.
Recruitment information for constructing the new city, participating in mine development, etc., as well as… the public trial announcement and results for the crimes of the former Land of Shadows nobles.
He heard the discussions of the people around him:
“Has the Ito family been assigned that plot of land at the east end?”
“It’s divided, it’s divided! Although the land is a bit thin, the government said they’ll send people next year to teach us composting, and the harvest will definitely be better than before when we were tenant farmers for the noble masters!”
“His mother’s illness has improved a lot, thanks to the medicine given by the medical ninja lord from the Land of Stars…”
“I heard they went to the mine, three full meals a day, and they get paid! It’s just a bit tiring…”
“Those damn nobles have finally gotten their comeuppance!…”
In their words, there was longing for the future, satisfaction with reality, hatred for the old nobles’ rule, and recognition of the new order.
Although life was still harsh and construction had just begun, something called “hope” was truly taking root and sprouting on this land that had suffered so much.
Shisui quietly stood among the crowd, those transplanted Sharingan eyes clearly capturing every detail, every expression on each face.
He saw the busyness and the exhaustion, but more than that, he saw the eyes that, having broken free from heavy shackles, were bewildered yet full of vigor.
Shisui recalled Lord Shura’s words: “…Go see the changes happening on that land… See if the commoners who have lost the nobles’ exploitation have more pain or more hope on their faces.”
The answer is already self-evident.
The “war” and “conquest” as he knew them seemed to bring destruction and pain.
And what the Land of Stars did was more like a cold but necessary surgical operation, excising the rotten tumor. Although the process involved bleeding, it swiftly sowed the seeds of new life upon the ruins.
An unprecedented shock washed away Shisui Uchiha’s inherent beliefs.
This was the first time he so clearly realized that peace might not only be maintained by preserving the status quo.
Breaking the old, decayed framework might really establish a new order that is fairer and more vibrant.
He was observing, listening, and thinking in New Star Town.
Walking along the slightly muddy street, Shisui’s Sharingan silently captured every detail.
His heart was far less calm than it appeared on the surface.
The sights and sounds of the past few days continued to impact the cognition he had held firm for over ten years.
There was no miserable hardship of the conquered as expected, but instead a vibrant, even fanatical enthusiasm for construction.
He saw on the faces of those wandering ninja an expectation for a bright future that he had never seen before.
The air was filled with the mixed scent of mud, herbs, and boiling congee.
His footsteps unknowingly brought him to a camp at the edge of the town, marked with a striking red cross symbol.
This is clearly a medical point.
The scale far exceeded his imagination.
Simple yet sturdy tents stretch out continuously, dividing into clear consultation areas, medicine pickup areas, and rest areas.
A large number of commoners with sickly faces or ragged clothes lined up in a long queue, yet the order was surprisingly good.
Although their faces certainly bore the exhaustion and haggardness brought by fatigue and illness, deep in their eyes, There was an unusually low level of numbness and despair among the destitute. Instead, there was an urgency to receive treatment as soon as possible and then quickly devote themselves to a new life.
On one side of the camp, several medical ninjas wearing Star Ninja Vests were busy.
They were either concentrating to diagnose patients or skillfully performing the Mystical Palm Technique, with green Chakra glow leaping at their fingertips.
In a more peripheral area, dozens of specially made medicine pots were placed on simple stoves, with hot steam rising from the pot mouths and a rich medicinal aroma spreading out. Several volunteers wearing white coats were carefully tending to the heat under the command of a medical ninja, dividing the boiled medicine juice into individual ceramic bowls.
Shisui’s gaze swept over the camp, suddenly stopping at the sunniest open space in the center of the camp.
There were several chairs placed there, and several Star Ninja who were still wrapped in Bandages and clearly bearing injuries were lazily leaning back on the chair backs, enjoying the warm afternoon sun.
Some of them were talking and laughing in low voices, some were resting with their eyes closed, and one was clumsily trying to turn the pages of a book on his knee with his uninjured hand.
A sense of incongruity suddenly flashed through Shisui’s heart.
He was too familiar with the battlefield, too familiar with the wounded.
In Konoha, even the most elite ninja, after coming down from the brutal battlefield, even if their physical injuries are healed, their eyes always retain an indelible fatigue, shock, or deeply hidden ferocity.
That is the brand of war etched into the soul, an intractable psychological haze.
But these few Star Ninja right in front of him…
Their expressions relaxed, eyes clear, even carrying a kind of nearly satisfied calm?
It was as if what they had just experienced was not a life-or-death slaughter, but merely an ordinary mission that consumed physical strength.
This mental state was completely different from the “wounded” in Shisui’s cognition.
Just as he was dazed, a cheerful voice came from beside him.
“Yo! Isn’t this Mr. Shisui? How did you end up wandering here all alone?”
Shisui turned around and saw Hotaru leading two Star Ninja, escorting a truck piled high with sackcloth bags.
A fresh scent of herbs wafted from the sackcloth bag.
Hotaru’s face was covered in a thin layer of sweat, but her smile was very bright. She was also wearing a Star Ninja Vest, appearing neat and sharp.
“Hotaru Jonin.” Shisui nodded in greeting, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward the group of wounded basking in the sun again.
Hotaru followed his gaze and suddenly realized, “Ah, those kids from the ‘Black Rat’ squad. Last time during the purge of the daimyo remnants in the Land of Shadows, they encountered a few wandering ninja and got injured. They’ve recovered pretty quickly.”
Shisui pondered for a moment, but ultimately couldn’t suppress the question in his heart. He pointed over there, his tone carrying sincere confusion: “Hotaru Jonin, please forgive my impertinence. From what I’ve observed of these few ninjas from your village, they seem…”
“They had just gone through the war not long ago, and their injuries had not fully healed, but their mental state was vastly different from the wounded I had seen in the past. As if there wasn’t much war-related psychological stress left? Why is that?”
“Psychological stress?” Hotaru was stunned for a moment, then scratched his somewhat bristly short hair, thoughtful: “Oh, you mean that kind of… post-war nightmares, irritability, fear of the battlefield, and in severe cases even chakra disruption ‘war sickness,’ right?”
“You can understand it that way.” Shisui nodded.
Hotaru told her companions to go help unload the supplies first, while she walked over to Shisui’s side and also looked at the group of wounded, her gaze becoming somewhat distant.
“This thing was indeed common in ninja villages in the past. Especially after major wars, hospitals always had no shortage of such ninjas.” Hotaru’s voice lowered slightly.
“But in our Land of Stars, such situations are much rarer. Especially for ninjas who voluntarily devote themselves to the Land of Stars, it almost never happens.”
“Why is that?” Shisui asked.
Hotaru turned her head and looked seriously at Shisui, her eyes frank and firm: “Because our beliefs are different, Mr. Shisui.”
“You ninjas of the old era fight for the village, for missions, for commands, and even for hatred. The purpose of battle is sometimes vague, sometimes narrow, and sometimes even you yourselves doubt its meaning. Slaughter, destruction, losing companions… these negative emotions pile up, and without an outlet for release and support, they naturally easily crush a person.”
He raised his hand, pointing to the bustling scenes around, to the refugees queuing for herbs, to the construction sites farther away where sounds of mud tamping and work chants echoed.
“But we Star Ninja, at least the vast majority who chose to stay here and recognize Lord Shura’s path, know very well why we fight.”
“In your view, it was our Land of Stars that started the war, invading the Land of Swamps, the Land of Shadows, and the Land of Snow. But please look, look at them—” Hotaru’s finger swept over those sallow-faced yet hopeful-eyed refugees.
“Before we arrived, what kind of lives were they living? Starving and freezing, exploited and oppressed by nobles, treated like pigs and dogs, where a natural disaster could lead to tragedies of exchanging children for food. It was the daimyo and nobles’ greed and incompetence that first pushed their people into hell!”
His tone gradually took on a hint of fervor: “What we bring is not destruction, but liberation! It’s clearing out the trash! War is inevitable, and the bloody pains cannot be avoided, but we know clearly whose blood is being shed, and what kind of future this battle is for.”
Hotaru patted her own chest: “We Star Ninja, except for a small portion from the surrendered ninja clans, most members were originally ordinary people, even refugees and orphans from the lowest strata of various countries! We know better than anyone the taste of hunger, cold, and loss of dignity!”
“We fight not to perpetuate hatred, but to end this old era that breeds countless hatreds! So that everyone can have enough to eat, clothes to wear, houses to live in, and no more children will become sacrifices of war like we did in the past!”
He paused, his tone slowing but more forceful: “When you know that every slash you make, every shuriken you throw, is paving the way for such a goal, your heart will be filled with power, not emptiness and fear. The wounds from battle still exist, but we feel they are worth it. Seeing these people reborn with vitality is our best healing herb.”
Shisui listened quietly, his Sharingan taking in every trace of sincere emotion on Hotaru’s face.
He looked around once more.
Beside the wounded man clumsily reading a book, a little girl hopped over and placed a freshly picked wildflower on his knee; the wounded man was stunned for a moment, then revealed a somewhat shy but utterly genuine smile.
Among the volunteers boiling herbs, an old man shakily lifted a bowl of medicine and handed it to a coughing woman, muttering in his mouth: “Drink it and you’ll be fine, the Land of Stars’ herbs work… In this world, there’s finally some hope…”
Several children who had just received thick cotton clothes excitedly chased each other, their faces ruddy without the pallor of hunger and cold.
All of this, interwoven with Hotaru’s words, formed a powerful torrent that fiercely assaulted Shisui’s heart defenses.
The peace he had always pursued was to protect the village, to avoid conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha, to let the Uchiha Clan gain recognition within Konoha’s framework, thereby eliminating the village’s internal rifts.
He had never thought that peace might be achieved through another, more intense and thorough way.
Smashing all the old frameworks of injustice, and rebuilding a brand-new order on the ruins.
Everything the Land of Stars had done undoubtedly came with blood and violence, but the result was birthing a shocking vitality and hope on this land.
This intense contrast plunged Shisui into even deeper contemplation.
What exactly was the “jade” he upheld, the “village” he cherished?
Was it to maintain a fixed system that might already be rotten inside, or to truly protect every specific person living on this land?
Shisui suddenly recalled a sentence Shura had once said: ‘The peace you pursue is too narrow, so narrow that it can’t accommodate a somewhat rebellious ninja clan.’
Hotaru did not disturb his contemplation, just standing quietly to the side.
Sunlight poured down, making the red cross symbol of the medical camp even more vivid, and imprinting deeply into Shisui Uchiha’s Sharingan—and into his heart—the peaceful faces of the wounded, the expectant eyes of the refugees, and the outlines of buildings rising in the distance.
This newly reclaimed land was healing the wounds of the body, quietly soothing the cracks in the heart, and silently reshaping a genius ninja from the old era’s understanding of the “path.”
The warm spring breeze brushed by, bringing the scent of mud and new life from melting snow water, mixed with the camp’s herb aroma, also stirring the hair on Shisui’s forehead, as if urging him to make some kind of choice.
The doubts in his heart had not fully dissipated, especially the worry about potential future conflict between the Land of Stars and Konoha.
But he was beginning to gradually understand, and even to some extent recognize, the controversial path chosen by Shura and the Land of Stars that might lead to true change.
