Read ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv at unhinged_uchiha
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After a while, Kanzou and Natsuhi finally pulled apart. Her hair was disheveled, her clothes slightly out of place, and her breathing uneven.
"Haa… haa… ahh… Kanzou-sama…" she whispered, still clinging to him as if she had no intention of letting go.
It had been months since she had last felt his warmth. The long separation had left her yearning for this closeness and his touch more than she cared to admit.
"Fufu…" Kanzou chuckled softly and stroked her head.
Such attachment and dependence were only natural. For the women under his control, this kind of devotion was exactly what he expected and what he wanted. Without it, there would be no meaning in keeping them at his side.
As he chuckled, Kanzou's gaze fell on Natsuhi's head beneath his hand.
It was worth noting that she had changed significantly over the past three years.
The most obvious change was in her demeanor. A few months after becoming the acting Hoshikage, she had used that time to secure her position and deal with any opposition. Not long after, she was officially appointed as the Yondaime Hoshikage and has been serving in that role ever since.
Holding that position for so long had naturally shaped her presence and bearing… making her all the more attractive.
And it wasn't just her demeanor that had changed; her body had undergone noticeable changes as well.
Unlike her younger self, the current Natsuhi had fully matured into an adult, her figure now carrying the same fullness and presence that's to be expected from a woman of her age with large breasts, wide hips, and an overall curvy and voluptuous body that didn't seem to obvious from the loose Kunoichi gear she was wearing… but Kanzou who is used to violating her and enjoying this body of hers knows the exact shape of her body.
Aside from gaining all the necessary curves, another noticeable change was still her hair. What had once been brown had darkened considerably, now a deep violet, almost bordering on maroon.
"Natsuhi… how did your hair color change this much?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
The last time he had seen her in Hoshigakure, it hadn't been like this at all. Back then, her hair had still been brown.
"Well… about my hair, it's because of prolonged exposure to the Star," Natsuhi replied lightly.
"I see," Kanzou said. He didn't seem surprised. Something like this had happened in the canon, so he treated it as nothing unusual. Without dwelling on it, he moved on to a more important matter. "Anyway… did you bring the Star with you?"
At the mention of it, her expression immediately brightened. She nodded quickly. "Hai… I brought it, just as you ordered."
Then she reached into the bag she was carrying, took something out, and held it out to him.
"Here."
It was the Star of Hoshigakure, still emitting its familiar glow. But aside from the light, it looked very different from before.
"These carvings…" Kanzou murmured as he examined the intricate patterns on its surface.
"I engraved them myself," Natsuhi said with a faint smile.
"I see…" Kanzou replied, studying it more carefully.
He didn't need to guess; those were sealing formulas. Multiple layers of seals had been carved into the Star. And it wasn't just the engravings. Its shape had been altered as well. It was no longer a simple sphere. Instead, it resembled a compact circular core, somewhat like an Arc Reactor. Of course, there was no advanced technology involved; it looked more like an ancient mystical artifact.
While Kanzou observed the Star, Natsuhi added, her smile trembling slightly. "I… I managed to finish it as per your requirement…"
"Hmm… good work," nodded Kanzou, not lifting his gaze from the Star that looked like an arc-shaped core rather than its original form.
"It should be safe for you to use; there probably wouldn't be much problem of radiation," Natsuhi added, watching him carefully. She hoped to see some excitement on his face… or at least a sign that he appreciated the effort she had put into it.
If she were honest, she wanted him to praise her.
But Kanzou's reaction remained indifferent. "Hmm… I see."
"—!" The flat response unsettled her immediately. It felt as if he wasn't interested in the Star at all.
A wave of anxiety rose in her chest.
"K-Kanzou-sama… is… is something wrong with it?" she asked nervously. "Do you think it won't work the way you wanted? I… I tested it on several people in the village. It worked for them… s-so it should work for you too… so… so please…"
She wanted him to react, to acknowledge her effort, to show approval. After all, she had spent the last three years working on this with everything she had.
She wasn't asking for anything more. Just a word of praise.
Noticing the tension in her eyes, Kanzou shifted his gaze from the Star to her and gently patted her head. "You did good work."
Relief washed over Natsuhi at the praise.
But his next words froze her.
"It's just that… I don't need this anymore."
"You… you don't need it anymore?" she asked, her voice unsteady. She couldn't hide her confusion. "How could you not need it?"
He had set his sights on Hoshigakure for this very reason. Taking control of the village had only been a secondary objective as he also intended to create a hidden refuge in case his position ever became unstable in Konoha. The true goal had always been the Star. And after obtaining it, he had assigned her the task of finding a way to fuse it into a human body safely.
Now… after she had finally completed it… He was saying he didn't need it anymore.
Then what had all these years been for?
What had she been working toward all this time, risking her health and pushing herself to the limit, if the result no longer mattered?
Kanzou shrugged. "I just don't need it anymore. It's that simple."
There had been a time when he wanted to fuse the Star into his body to gain more power.
Back then, he had no special advantage, no reliable way to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, and no certainty about his future. He had been desperate, grasping at every possible method, trying anything that might make him stronger.
But things were different now.
He had the System.
And he had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan with the help of the System.
Under those circumstances, why would he risk implanting something that could still damage his body?
He had no interest in fusing the Star anymore.
The power it could offer was something he had already surpassed through his Mangekyō. At this point, keeping the Star inside his body would bring more risk than benefit. It was unnecessary and potentially dangerous.
"You don't need it anymore… haha… I wonder what I've been doing all these years, then," Natsuhi murmured. Her voice was faint, her expression distant, as the weight of her effort suddenly felt meaningless.
Kanzou patted her head. "Just because I don't need it doesn't mean your work was useless."
"If you don't need it… Then isn't it useless?" she asked quietly.
In her mind, its value had always depended on him. She had put in all that effort so he could use it. If he did not need it anymore, then to her, all those years of work meant nothing.
Kanzou shook his head. "No. It's not useless." Then he added, "What I want you to do is fuse the Star with your own body. It can still be useful for you."
She didn't expect him to suggest something like that at all and was stunned for a moment. "You want me to… fuse the Star into my own body?"
"That's right," Kanzou replied with a nod.
Natsuhi's original strength was at the jōnin level, on the lower end, but still within that tier. Over the past three years, she had grown stronger, but it was still far from enough to be truly useful to him.
That was where the Star came into play. If she fused it with her body, her power would increase significantly. She might not reach the level of a top-tier Kage, but she could at least rise to the lower Kage tier.
With that level of strength, she would become far more valuable to him. That was also the reason he had ordered her to bring the Star with her.
"W-well…" she hesitated, unsure how to respond.
"You'll be more useful to me this way," Kanzou said calmly.
He could have given the Star to someone else, but in his view, Natsuhi was the best choice, and there were clear reasons for that.
First, she had already completed Star training and understood the Peacock Method better than anyone. Second, she had spent years researching the Star and developing ways to use it. If anyone was both qualified and deserving of this power, it was her.
Hearing his words, Natsuhi's cheeks flushed. She hadn't expected him to value her so highly. The hesitation in her heart began to fade. "I-if it means I'll be useful to you… then—"
But before she could finish—
"Koff… koff—" She suddenly broke into a cough.
"A-ah… j-just a moment," she said hurriedly, raising the sleeve of her kimono to cover her mouth as the coughing continued. "Koff… koff…"
"Hm?" Kanzou frowned as he watched her. He didn't interrupt. Instead, he placed a hand on her back and patted it to help her steady her breathing.
Gradually, the coughing subsided. Natsuhi took a slow breath, then lowered her sleeve after wiping her lips.
"E-excuse me…" she said quietly. Very embarrassed and panicked to have shown such a situation to him.
Kanzou didn't respond immediately. "Your condition…?"
"I-it's nothing," Natsuhi said quickly, not wanting him to think much about it.
This only made Kanzou narrow his eyes. He reached out, lifted her sleeve, and examined it.
There was blood on the sleeve, clearly coughed up by her. But unlike those times when people coughed up blood from being greened, the cause of Natsuhi's condition had nothing to do with that.
As for why she had coughed it out… he had a guess. In order to verify it, he tried to lift her sleeve and look inside, but she tried to resist, "Kanzou-sama, I-it's nothing…"
"Natsuhi…" Kanzou said, narrowing his eyes as his gaze hardened.
The look made her tremble. She immediately lowered her head. "P-please forgive me… I just…" she said softly, and gave up all resistance.
Immediately, Kanzou lifted her sleeve more and looked at her wrist as well as the rest of her arm.
The veins beneath her skin were clearly visible. But instead of their usual faint green tint, they had turned a deep violet, almost maroon, matching the unnatural shade of her hair.
The condition was obvious. The cause was prolonged exposure to the Star's radiation.
Looking at her, he couldn't help but ask, "But how did it get this serious? The last time I saw you, you seemed fine."
Given how closely she had been working with the Star, he had fully expected her body to become damaged with radiation, so he wasn't too surprised. It's just that he hadn't anticipated it deteriorating this quickly.
In the original timeline, she had lived long enough to raise a child into their teenage years.
Compared to that, her condition now seemed far too severe for her age.
In fact, when he had last visited her in Hoshigakure, there had been no visible problems. Her body had appeared healthy, and her veins certainly hadn't shown this strange discoloration. He remembered it clearly.
But now, only a few months later, her condition had deteriorated this much.
"It became like this after I started the engravings on the Star…" she replied honestly.
"I see… the engraving," Kanzou murmured, understanding.
Initially, her exposure had come only from the radiation the Star emitted, so the effects had progressed slowly. But during the engraving process, fine dust and particles had been released, not to mention the waves had also become very strong.
Yet even knowing her condition was deteriorating, Natsuhi still forced herself to speak. "But… you don't need to worry," she said quickly. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine at all," Kanzou said with a frown.
"I-it's fine, Kanzou-sama," she said quickly, trying to keep her voice steady despite the urgency beneath it. "I'm alright, really—koff… koff…"
"Yeah… no," Kanzou said, shaking his head. "You don't look alright at all."
Hearing his words, she was quiet for a moment before she let out a quiet sigh and lowered her gaze. "You're right, Kanzou-sama," she admitted honestly. "I'm not alright… I'm dying."
"Hmm…" Kanzou hummed, unsure what to say. After a brief silence, he asked, "How long do you have left?"
"I don't know… maybe a few months… maybe a year," she replied. Then she quickly added, "But it doesn't matter. Please don't let my condition trouble you… Just keep using me. Let me do whatever I can to serve you."
She had already accepted that her death was only a matter of time. It no longer frightened her.
There was only one thing she cared about now, being useful to him. In her mind, if she died while serving him, it would be a good death.
Kanzou did not answer immediately. He fell silent.
Not out of concern or emotion, he was simply calculating. 'In her current condition, will she even be able to handle the task I called her for?'
To him, her life or death wasn't particularly important.
If this had happened earlier, he would have been worried, but only because he still needed her then. At that time, she had been essential to his research on safely fusing the Star into his body.
That was no longer the case.
Now, even if she were to die, it wouldn't trouble him. He had little emotional attachment to her. Aside from a certain possessiveness that he may have developed towards her because of fucking her a lot, Kanzou didn't truly care about her.
To him, she had always been a tool, someone he had acquired for a purpose and intended to use.
The only thing that mattered now was whether she was still capable of carrying out the task he intended to give her.
As if sensing his hesitation, Natsuhi spoke at once. "I can do it… whatever you need me to do."
Kanzou didn't agree immediately. "If you fuse the Star right now, it will only speed up your death. You understand that… right? And you're still willing to do it?"
"Yes. It's fine," she replied without hesitation. "Like I said before… I just want to be useful to you, Kanzou-sama."
Kanzou studied her for a moment, noting the resolve in her eyes. He remained silent briefly before giving a small nod. "Alright."
As he had already decided, her life or death didn't matter to him. As long as she completed the task, that was enough.
With that in mind, he gave the order. "Let's fuse the Star into your body."
He was also curious to see how the process would unfold.
"U-understood…" she replied immediately.
She loosened her kimono and began removing her outer layers to expose her chest.
Although a trace of shame and hesitation showed on her face, she didn't try to hide herself from his gaze. After everything that had already happened between them… was there a part of her body that he hadn't already seen or violated? There was nothing left for her to conceal at all.
With that resolve, she removed her kimono, followed by her undershirt, mesh armor, and bra. Soon, her upper body was completely exposed.
Kanzou observed her closely. Normally, seeing a woman with her upper body bare, he'd get hard and would want to squeeze those tits… but looking at Natsuhi, his expression tightened slightly as he reached out and ran his fingers across her skin.
"The veins here…" he said, his tone turning thoughtful. "They've turned purple as well. The radiation has already spread throughout your body."
"It doesn't matter," she said, unconcerned. "Please… fuse the Star with me."
"Hmm," Kanzou acknowledged.
He pressed the Star against the center of her chest, right between her breasts.
The moment she felt the pressure, Natsuhi bit her lip to keep from crying out. Her strained expression, the sweat forming on her forehead, and the tremor running through her body made it clear she was enduring intense pain.
Kanzou showed no hesitation. He pushed firmly.
The Star sank into her body. The skin around the point of contact bulged as the veins beneath it swelled and turned violet. At the same time, sealing patterns spread across her body before gradually fading away. A moment later, her body finally relaxed.
"How is it?" Kanzou asked, studying her chest.
The embedded Star gave her the appearance of having an arc reactor, except its glow was violet instead of blue.
"I can feel it," Natsuhi replied. "Power… more than I've ever felt before."
Her chakra network surged, overflowing with an immense amount of energy, far beyond anything she could have achieved on her own. A violet light flickered in her eyes, and her hair darkened further, taking on a deep maroon hue.
At the same time, violet and pink chakras began to flow out of her body, forming the shape of a massive serpent, like an eastern dragon, coiling around her.
The manifestation resembled a Susanoo in principle, though its form was entirely different.
Kanzou could sense it clearly. The sheer volume of chakra she possessed now rivaled that of a Kage. If she could learn to control it properly, her strength would become formidable, and she would have no trouble completing the task he had in mind.
"Will you be able to control it?" he asked. That was the real concern. In the canon, Akahoshi had also fused the Star into his body, only to be overwhelmed by its power and lose control completely.
"It's fine… I can handle it," Natsuhi replied.
Unlike Akahoshi, who had recklessly fused the Star into his body, Natsuhi's situation was different. In the past three years, the Star had been specifically prepared for this purpose and was covered with multiple sealing formulas.
Confident in her work, Natsuhi quickly formed a series of hand seals.
At once, the sealing formulas around the Star activated. The chakra flowing out of her receded, and her condition returned to normal.
"With the seals I engraved around the Star, I can regulate when the chakra is released and how much comes out," she explained. "So there won't be any problems."
The only real issue was the radiation. Along with the chakra, her body was now saturated with harmful energy that would continue to damage her from within. But there was nothing that could be done about that, so she chose not to mention it.
"Alright," Kanzou said. "If you can control it, that's enough. Get dressed. Then I'll brief you on your task."
As he spoke, he noted that her condition was somewhat similar to that of a jinchūriki, though far more unstable, and far more likely to end in her death.
Natsuhi nodded. After taking a steadying breath, she put her clothes back on.
Once she was ready, Kanzou began, "So, what I need you to do is…"
…
After listening for a while, Natsuhi nodded. "Understood, Kanzou-sama. Please leave the task to me."
"Hm. Don't disappoint me," he replied.
He took out a mask and handed it to her. "Here. Wear this while carrying out the mission."
"Understood," she said, accepting it and securing it over her face.
"Go," Kanzou ordered.
Natsuhi bowed once before disappearing with a body flicker Jutsu.
After she left, Kanzou carefully erased any traces of their presence, making sure nothing would reveal that either of them had been there. Once he finished, he returned to the village.
On the way back, a thought crossed his mind, 'I wonder if there's a way to keep Natsuhi alive. It would be a waste to let her die like this.'
It wasn't concern for her life that made him think that way. But she was loyal, and her strength had grown considerably, especially after fusing with the Star. On top of that, she was the Yondaime Hoshikage. Losing her now would be a significant loss.
That was why Kanzou began considering whether there might be a way to save her.
He couldn't think of a solution himself, so he turned to his system. 'System… what do you think? Is there a way to save Natsuhi?'
[That is for the host to figure out himself.]
Kanzou frowned. 'Can't you help me out a little here?'
He knew the situation wouldn't be simple. The radiation had been inside her body for years. Ordinary medical ninjutsu wouldn't be enough. After all, what could healing techniques really do against radiation damage? There could already be cancer developing in her body, and some of her organs might be close to failure.
Given that, relying on the System seemed like the safer option.
[Host, I am the Evil System. If you were asking how to commit some evil act, I might consider answering. But you're asking how to save your subordinate's life. Isn't that a bit much?]
"…Right. I'll think about it myself, then," Kanzou muttered, feeling slightly awkward.
After all, why would an Evil System give advice on how to save someone? That would be doing something good.
Shaking his head, he turned and headed back to the police station.
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I wasn't well for the past few days, so I wasn't able to write anything. But now I am feeling better, so here's a new chapter.
Anyway, drop Power Stones.
Read ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
Check out Chapter illustrations on Pixiv: unhinged_uchiha
If you like this story, then you might also like my other story: One Piece: The Incubus' Adventure. Give it a try.