"Hiss!!!"
Seeing him being struck down in an instant, all the shinobi present felt their breath hitch in sheer terror.
The black rod piercing through his chest had completely disrupted his chakra flow, leaving him paralyzed and helpless on the ground, unable to free himself.
"AAAAAHHHH!!!"
His agonized screams sent a shiver down the spines of every shinobi from Hoshigakure who had just engaged in battle. Their gazes all fell upon the one responsible—Uchiha Shin.
Akahoshi clenched his fists, rage boiling within him. Seeing his own men being so effortlessly torn apart was unbearable.
"Star Style: Peocock Formation!"
Chakra wings erupted from Akahoshi's back, shifting and morphing until they took the form of a massive, feral beast. With a single motion, the beast lunged at Uchiha Shin with overwhelming force.
But the moment it struck the skeletal frame of Susanoo, it disintegrated into nothingness.
Uchiha Shin did not even flinch. His expression remained indifferent, but there was an unmistakable look of disappointment in his eyes.
"You dare raise your hand against me?" he muttered, staring at the pathetic man before him.
He could not fathom such stupidity. Did these people not understand the sheer difference in power between them?
"Akahoshi, stop!"
Despite their earlier argument, the Third Hoshikage couldn't help but shout a warning. His experienced eyes knew that further resistance was nothing but suicide.
Yet, Akahoshi ignored him, his pride and fury clouding his judgment.
He shot into the air, launching another barrage of aerial strikes.
"Fool," Shin sneered.
His Sharingan flared as he poured even more chakra into his Susanoo. In an instant, the skeletal frame grew, forming an enormous armored warrior with four arms. Its fingers clenched around a massive blade, wreathed in the black flames of Amaterasu.
Akahoshi's heart pounded as he hovered in the sky, looking up at the colossal figure before him.
Fear seized his body.
He flapped his chakra wings desperately, trying to flee, but it was far too late.
The blade descended.
A single, devastating stroke cleaved Akahoshi in two, his body instantly consumed by the flames of Amaterasu. He did not even have time to scream as he was reduced to ash.
The wind carried away what little remained of him, erasing his existence.
The battlefield fell into absolute silence.
The shinobi of Hoshigakure, once filled with resolve, now stood frozen in terror.
Even Nighthawk, who had been writhing in pain, fell utterly silent. His body lay limp, his mind shattered, piss and filth pooling beneath him.
Shin scoffed, stepping forward.
"So, brute force is the only thing you people understand."
Without another word, he plunged his sword into Nighthawk's body. The black flames erupted once more, incinerating him before everyone's eyes.
Gulp.
Xia Rixing swallowed hard, instinctively stepping back.
For her entire life, she had been hailed as a prodigy—the pride of Hoshigakure, a genius said to appear only once in a century. She had mastered the Star Chakra techniques at a level far beyond her peers.
But in front of Uchiha Shin, she felt utterly powerless.
This was no mere shinobi.
He was a force of nature.
If she dared to fight him, she would die. That much was certain.
The Third Hoshikage knew it too. He had no choice but to step forward.
"P-Please, sir… all of this has been a misunderstanding. No matter what you seek, our village will accommodate you," he said, forcing a smile.
Shin could see the sweat dripping down the old man's face.
The truth was clear—if he wanted to, he could wipe this village off the map, and they all knew it.
But exterminating them was pointless. They had potential, after all.
"If you're willing to serve, I will not kill you," he said, shifting his gaze towards Xia Rixing.
Her chakra compatibility was remarkable. Given proper training, she could reach Kage-level strength in the future.
And she was beautiful.
A woman who could serve both in battle and in… other matters.
His eyes lingered on her for a moment longer, a smirk forming on his lips.
Xia Rixing's face darkened. She knew that look. It made her skin crawl with disgust.
And yet… there was something else, something far more dangerous.
A strange feeling took root within her.
He was young, younger than her even. Yet his presence was overwhelming, his power absolute. His very existence exuded dominance, a charisma that women would naturally gravitate towards.
Her instincts screamed at her to resist, but a deep, subconscious part of her found itself… drawn to him.
She shook her head, biting her lip. No. This was absurd. This was the enemy. She refused to acknowledge whatever this emotion was.
While she struggled with her thoughts, Shin turned back to the Third Hoshikage.
"My reason for coming here is simple. I want your so-called 'Star.'"
At that moment, a heavy silence fell over the village.
The shinobi of Hoshigakure turned pale.
Even Xia Rixing's eyes widened in shock.
The Third Hoshikage sighed. He had no choice but to admit the truth.
"…I have indeed discovered that prolonged exposure to the meteorite's chakra causes severe harm to the human body. In the worst cases, it leads to death."
The assembled shinobi gasped in horror.
They had never been told this.
They had trained with the Star their entire lives, pushing themselves to master its power. And yet, all this time, it had been killing them?
Shin watched the despair settle in. "You should have told them the truth," he said flatly.
But the Hoshikage shook his head.
"The Star is our village's foundation. Without it, we are nothing."
Shin exhaled in amusement. "Your loyalty to this worthless rock is admirable. But irrelevant."
He stepped forward, his expression darkening.
"I am not asking for your permission."
The air grew heavy as his chakra flared.
"I, Uchiha Shin, will show you mercy. Your village will be absorbed into my empire. I will grant you a place in my domain, and you will live under my rule."
The shinobi of Hoshigakure stiffened.
They knew what this was.
A declaration.
"Now, choose. Submit… or be annihilated."
The Third Hoshikage trembled as he processed those words.
He had heard whispers, rumors of a man reshaping the world. A shinobi who had seized control of the Land of Fire, merging the Daimyo's power with the Hokage's.
And now, he realized the truth.
"No wonder you are so powerful… You are the Daimyo and the Hokage of the Land of Fire."
Shin shrugged. He did not bother correcting him.
Titles were meaningless. He was already above them all.
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