Chapter-18

Two similar pairs of Sharingans had their gaze fixed on the new prisoners being taking to the Hōzuki Castle, like a predators' on a prey in the dead of the night.

This was Neko's plan. His own mission. He had his eyes set on the two main elders who were responsible for the killing of the whole Uchiha Clan. Countess innocent children and people were killed in the massacre. This wasn't just revenge, this was justice. The people who knowingly killed off so many innocent people deserved nothing but death. This was his final blow.

He understood that he would have to return to Konoha at some point but he could never step into the village while the people who were responsible for the death of his clan were still alive and had not paid for their crimes. He had already stripped them off their powers but he still couldn't forgive them. The deed had been done and someone had to pay.

His lips twitched upwards into a grin when he saw that the two village elders were being carried separately in their own caged cart. He was just waiting for the right time, buzzing with excitement. The thought of finally avenging his clan sent a rush of adrenaline through him. He was on his way of making the Uchiha clan great again, not by repopulation but by restoring the reputation of the clan.

As soon as the cart was where it was supposed to be, he gave a signal to his most trusted cat, Kara. Then everything was at a blur until all the guards had been knocked out and Neko was standing in front of the caged cart. He had exactly four minutes to execute the plan. The cart containing the civilian council was six minutes behind and they were currently at a point where they had lost sight of the wagon containing the village elders. Throughout the whole route this was the only time that the two carts had lost sight of each other which completely worked out in Neko's favour. Before the two fossils had the time to comprehend what was going on, they were put under Neko's genjutsu. His genjutsu may not be as powerful as Itachi's but it still was pretty powerful.

The two village elders found themselves in a genjutsu similar to what Sasuke had experienced years ago when Itachi had put one on him except the terrain was all green and blue and the two elders were strapped to a table where they were tortured by various instruments for about forty minutes which was only forty seconds in the real world before Neko cut their head off in one clean swipe. The two died instantly. He had done it, the price had been paid. What he didn't know was that he had also saved the future generations of Konoha. Before getting noticed, he quickly escaped with Kara, who was keeping a watch and had the job of alerting Neko.

-X-X-

"What? Someone ran off with the star!" The Hoshikage exclaimed punching the ground he was sitting on. "That's pathetic! We asked for your help just to avoid this from happening, but your teammate let the thief get away!"

"First of all, stop blaming Suzume. By the time she had caught up to the thief, the thief had gotten away by crossing the valley" Kitsune said, trying to keep his cool. "And second of all, how were we supposed to know that the thief used the same jutsu of the Hidden Star Village."

The Hoshikage's eyes widened at this statement. "Sumaru, is this true?" He said shifting his gaze from Kitsune to the brown eyed boy.

"Yes. Ninja Art: Kujaku, no doubt about it. The control of it was on another level, it was like watching someone who had completed the star training." He said looking up.

"Anyway, what's done is done. I can't say that it wasn't our fault so don't worry, we will get the star back." Kitsune said, as much as he wanted to leave them helpless, he couldn't do that as it would mean abandoning his principles. He could also tell that the Hoshikage doubted their ability and proving him wrong would just be a bonus.

"Okay, we leave this matter in your hands." He then turned to Sumaru. "Sumaru, in the meanwhile you will check on your injured brothers and sisters."

"But they are outsiders, what do they know about our ways!" Sumaru said, the frustration was evident in his voice

"That's an order!" He said, silencing the black-haired boy. Meanwhile Kitsune and Suzume made their way to the exit of the building. As soon as they were out of there, Kitsune decided to break the silence.

"So what did you find out?" He asked, placing his hands behind his head casually. He had noticed Suzume closely watching the Hoshikage when he was arguing with him.

"Well first off, the Hoshikage is an impulsive man who cannot think with a calm head and the way Sumaru acted when he scolded him clearly showed that he was scared of the older man. His palms were glistening with sweat and his eyes were trembling while he looked down which means that the Hoshikage severely punishes the ones who dare to disobey him." She started off, confidently. This was something she was an expert at. During any meetings that they attended as a team, Kitsune did all the talking and convincing while Neko observed him and went over all the points that needed to be said and Suzume observed everything with an eagles eye. Everything from the dominant hand of the people to the parts that made them uncomfortable.

She passed on the important information to the two and all the rest of it was all stored away in that brain of hers, never to be lost. She could've use this ability better if she read about the person she would be studying in advance but unfortunately, she hated reading so she just depended on Kitsune and Neko giving her information about the person just so she could find their weak spot and use it later. "When you said that the thief had used Kujaku, his eyes widened, his tone of voice changed and his right hand started vibrating and his face had anger as well as frustration along with some fear, as if the thief might know something about him. Do you have any information on his past or the past of the hidden star village?" She questioned, looking up at her brother.

"Let's see, the star training was stopped about thirteen years ago by the third Hoshikage because of the negative side effects it had on the bodies of ninja but when the third Hoshikage died four years ago, Akahoshi was appointed as deputy Hoshikage and he immediately resumed star training. The cause of death of the third Hoshikage remains unknown. That is all I have right now."

After she heard this, her brain started to work out all the possibilities. 'Did they not find the body? Completing the star training takes twenty to twenty-five years, was that why he was scared when Sumaru said that the thief had completed a star training? No it's unlikely that the people would have replaced the Hoshikage so quickly if he had only disappeared. So the thief must have been a star ninja when the Hoshikage was alive and had completed or had almost completed the star training ten years prior to the Hoshikage's death. As soon as the Hoshikage died, Akahoshi resumed the star training, could it be that he had a part in the death of the third Hoshikage and he probably thinks that the thief knows that he had a hand in it? Most likely. There is a small chance that I am wrong but logically, I am seventy five percent sure that I am right'

"As I see it, Akahoshi had a hand in the death of the Third Hoshikage and he probably knows who the thief is." She said in a lower voice. "But we need proof for that. Anyways, why did you have to go ahead and say that we will find the star? We neither have any leads, nor do we have any of Neko's cats to track the thief. Hell, we don't even know if the thief is a he or a she! "

"I don't know why but I just said that. Plus I want us to form a peace treaty with the star village too." He mumbled. "As we don't have any leads, I am going to dig around for something that would at least help us. What are you planning to do?"

"I am thinking that we should divide and conquer. I keep an eye on Sumaru and his friends while you dig around the Hoshikage and his men. That way we are more likely to come across any leads or evidence."

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea. Meet me at our guest house or whatever they have given us to live in at around eight. We'll discuss our findings over dinner. Okay?"

"Yeah."

The two then headed off in different directions to find whatever evidence they could.

-X-X-

Suzume walked towards a cliff where she sensed Sumaru's chakra. She found his silhouette against the setting sun singing something, though she was unable to make out the words. In order to find a lead, she jogged over to him. As she was closing the distance between them, Sumaru heard her footsteps and stopped his singing, turning around to face Suzume.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked, his eyebrow rose in confusion.

"Nothing, just checking out the village. How about you? What are you doing all alone here?" She said, trying to hide her hostility and shifting the topic from herself to him. Her trust-issues didn't allow her to trust anyone easily.

"Oh, I was just waiting for the sun to set and catching a glimpse of the stars before reporting back to Lord Hoshikage." He said, with a small smile.

"Right now there is only one red star visible." Suzume said, pointing towards the star."It must be the brightest star to shine this early, though it isn't the North Star."

"Natsuhiboshi. It is a star that shines brightest only in this village. It is supposed to look over and protect me." He said with distant faraway look.

"Okay, cool. Anyways, where are the other ninja undergoing star training?" She said, snapping him out of his trance. She didn't believe in superstitions and realised that she wasn't going to find anything useful here, so she decided to head over to the next location to find something and checking upon the injured ninja was just a bonus.

"You'll find them in the training hall. It's getting dark, I should head back." He said turning around.

"Yeah, me too." She said jogging over to her next destination, the training hall.

-X-X-

Kitsune was currently hiding outside the window of the room where the Hoshikage was having a serious discussion with his two sidekicks. His chakra was well-hidden so that the three couldn't detect his presence.

"There's no question about it." Akahoshi said, the seriousness was evident in his voice.

"So you're saying that the shinobi who stole the star, are you saying it was really-" before he could continue, bald guy was cut off by the lanky one.

"How could they even be alive? We don't stand a chance against them." He finished off.

'So Suzume was right... If only these idiots would stop referring to them in third person and use their name.'

"They were the last ones to complete the star training which means that with our level of jutsu, we are no match for them." The bald one, said slightly worried.

"I wouldn't worry. If they really are the culprit, don't forget we already posses their Achilles heel." Akahoshi said, with an evil smirk.

'Use. A. Name. Come on, give me a clue damn it, before I come there and kick your asses! Calm down Naruto, you can't blow your cover. Deep breaths.'

"Yeah, I suppose so." The bald guy had a similar smirk on his face. "Let's go round him up."

The three left the room, with an evil plan in mind.

'Thank fucking god. They at least used a proper pronoun for the thief's weakness. At least I know that it's a boy or man now.' He thought, retreating to find something else.

-X-X-

"The star training is having negative effects on his body. The training forces his body to control more chakra than it actually can until his body physically shuts down" Suzume stated out, examining Mizura's body. His upper chest had purple markings on them from excessive training. 'If only Neko were here. He could actually treat him.' She thought.

"No, I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me" Mizura said, coughing a bit. Though he didn't want to admit it, some part of him knew that Suzume was correct. "This is the only way of getting stronger."

"Hey now, rest easy." Hokuto, the other girl gave him some medicine to drink. Easing him into a sleeping position and covering him up again with a blanket.

"Hokuto, why are only you two present here? Where are the rest?"

"Oh, Sumaru took the rest with him. They were going to catch the thief." As soon as those words left Hokuto's mouth, she heard the door of the training room close.

Suzume was rushing towards the forest in the land of bears. She could sense Kitsune's chakra, so she decided to join up with him. He had also sensed her chakra so decided to slow down for her to catch up.

"So, do you know what's going on, Anija?" She asked, catching up with her brother.

"Not really. I just sensed a huge amount of chakra coming from there."

"Well, that twat Sumaru has decided to go off with his friends to find the thief. I don't know why but I have a very bad feeling about this. It's likely that they have already engaged in combat."

Not wanting to waste any time, the two took off in Sumaru's direction. When the two reached there, all they saw was a bunch of unconscious kids and the thief taking off with Sumaru. Suzume rushed forward but the thief had already taken Sumaru into the valley of death.

"Damn it. This is the second time that the thief has gotten away by flying." She said, removing a vial and bowing a bit into the valley of death to get the poisonous gas into the vial. She had been defeated by the valley of death two times and she couldn't let that happen again. She would spend all night if she had to make the antibodies for it.

-X-X-

"Now I have your Achilles heel." The thief said, unmasking himself to reveal Akahoshi. "Once I get the star back, the star village will be the most powerful village in all the five great nations!"

He then hooked up the unconscious Sumaru to a machine and had him lay down on a bed in the Hoshikage Building. He then began injecting sedatives and profol and other anaesthetics to keep the boy unconscious. He couldn't risk the boy escaping. Once he was done, he ordered his two henchmen to keep an eye on the room. He then started walking towards his personnel messenger pigeon.

"This should catch your eye, lady Natsuhi." He said laughing evilly and attaching a chakra infused message to the foot of the bird.

The bird then flew over the valley of death, disappearing into the black night sky.

-X-X-

A/N:

Another chapter down! This is the second last chapter in the star guard arc. Sorry, I haven't updated in a while. I have been really busy with school and football and stuff. Don't worry though, I am not discontinuing this book and I don't think that I ever will. Let me know if you liked the chapter or not. That's all for now.

See y'all as soon as I can!

Peace!