The night grew deeper, and the courtyard of the Star City mansion fell silent.
Shisui departed filled with questions and shock, leaving only Menma sitting alone on the engawa.
Menma sat quietly for a time, his gaze fixed on the bamboo shadows swaying in the moonlight within the garden, as if contemplating a much deeper game.
'Compared to Uchiha Itachi, at least Shisui was worth trying to change.'
Not that Menma intended to save him… he merely wanted to show Shisui the Night of the Massacre.
He could hardly wait to see the look on Shisui's face when he witnessed Itachi, the one he had pinned his hopes on, butchering the elderly, the weak, women, and children.
The mere thought was enough to improve his mood.
After a while, Menma began calmly collecting the pieces from the Go board. Black and white, distinct and separate, mirroring the clear-cut judgments he held about this world in his heart.
Inside the living room, under the warm lamplight, Kushina sat cross-legged on the rug, cradling the furry, red, ball-like Black Nine-Tails pup in her arms.
The little fox was nibbling on a sweet tri-colored dango, its eyes squeezed shut in delight, its tiny tail swishing happily back and forth.
"Menma, look how adorable she is!" Kushina murmured, gently stroking the little Nine-Tails' soft fur, her face glowing with a motherly tenderness. But then her expression shifted, her lips pursing in a pout.
"Honestly, if only the big lug sealed inside me back then had been as well-behaved as Kokyu-chan here! So mean and grumpy, always trying to take control... what a pain!"
Menma, having put away the Go board, entered the living room. A slight, almost imperceptible smile touched his lips at the scene.
He walked over and reached out, gently ruffling the little Nine-Tails' head.
The pup leaned into his touch but kept a firm grip on her treat.
"Don't give her too many sweets," Menma said, his tone carrying a rare note of lightness, "You'll turn her into a round little fox-pig."
"Hey! I will not!" The little Nine-Tails protested immediately, looking up with a mouth full of dango, her words muffled, "I am a supreme Tailed Beast! Not some pig! Menma, you big dummy!"
Her indignant expression only made her seem more endearing.
Menma let out a soft chuckle and stopped teasing her.
He turned his attention to Kushina, his demeanor becoming slightly more formal, "Mom, once the situations in the Swamps County, Darkness County, and Snow County have fully stabilized, I plan to begin the process of extracting Father from the Shinigami's stomach."
Kushina's hand, which had been stroking the little fox, stilled for a moment. A complex mix of emotions, hope, but a deeper, more profound sorrow, flickered across her pale, weary face.
She sighed softly, "Truthfully, the way things are now... being able to see you all sometimes, knowing you and your brother have grown up safe and sound... for me, this already feels like a stolen happiness. Bringing someone back... it's too difficult. There's no need to force it."
Menma shook his head, his eyes firm and intense, "No. That won't do. This isn't just about bringing him back. I want you both to witness it with your own eyes. I want you to see how Konoha, that village built on so many mistakes and lies, will meet its fitting end."
Kushina let out a small, involuntary sound, her arms tightening slightly around the little Nine-Tails.
She had long known that Menma's ambition to unite the Ninja World would inevitably clash with Konoha. She knew all too well how the village's leaders and its people had treated Naruto, and it broke her heart.
But still... that was the place where she had grown up, fought for, and ultimately given her life.
The thought of its potential destruction stirred a complicated, indescribable feeling within her, a turmoil of conflicting emotions.
On one side were over twenty years of memories and attachment. On the other was the searing pain of what her sons had endured. The two sides warred within her.
…
The next morning, Shisui arrived punctually at the Star Ninja's military camp situated in the southern outskirts of the Star City's Eastern Military District.
This camp was utterly different from the more relaxed, intermingled Ninja-residential areas he remembered from Konoha.
Here, everything was orderly, heavily guarded. Tall watchtowers stood sentinel over neat rows of barracks. On the vast training grounds, Star Ninja engaged in vigorous morning drills. Shouts and the sounds of clashing techniques filled the air, radiating a sense of raw energy and strict discipline.
On the parade ground, he met the leader of his assigned mission, Star Jonin, Natsuhi.
She wore the standard Star Ninja's flak jacket, her reddish-brown hair tied back, giving her a capable, spirited air.
Her team was already assembled: the fully recovered girl from the Chinoike Clan, Chino, her eyes now holding a new layer of resolve; and Morishita Shunji and Murakashi Hazuki, who both seemed more seasoned after several missions together.
"Shisui-san, you're here," Natsuhi greeted him with a polite but slightly distant smile, "This mission is primarily to escort this supply convoy and several administrative officials to the Darkness County. It's a long journey, but we'll be moving quickly."
Shisui nodded, his eyes scanning the massive convoy. Over a hundred peculiarly shaped, heavily-built trucks were lined up in neat rows, each loaded high with supplies covered by tarps.
Many people in Land of Stars' official uniforms were busy with final checks and coordination.
To his surprise, Natsuhi informed him they would not be traveling on foot, but would ride in these trucks.
"Are these vehicles powered by Lightning Attribute Chakra?" Shisui couldn't help but ask.
A mechanized convoy of this scale was almost unheard of in the Ninja World.
Natsuhi and her team members chuckled.
Chino piped up eagerly, "This is the latest invention from the Star City's Research Institute! Chakra Kinetic Trucks!"
Natsuhi offered a more detailed, slightly proud explanation, "Not exactly by direct Chakra Input from a Ninja. These vehicles have special [Chakra Batteries] installed. They can be pre-charged by Lightning Release Users, and they also have a system that converts some of the vehicle's own movement energy back into charge while driving. It's similar to the principle of the [Raiden] trains connecting the major cities… a practical application of Chakra Technology. It greatly improves transport efficiency, load capacity, and reduces manpower needs."
Shisui listened, inwardly astonished.
'Chakra Batteries?'
'Kinetic energy recovery?'
These were entirely new concepts to him.
He recalled the slow, bumpy, limited-capacity ox-cart convoys from his escort missions in Konoha. The difference between those and this rolling fortress of steel and technology was like night and day.
The Land of Stars was clearly pioneering a different path, not just militarily, but in its fundamental approach to technology and society.
Soon, the convoy set off.
As arranged, Shisui sat with Natsuhi on a special observation perch atop the lead truck's cabin, which offered a broad view. Chino, Shunji, and Hazuki leaped nimbly back and forth along the convoy, maintaining patrols and vigilance.
The trucks sped along the flat, wide service road running parallel to the Raiden's train tracks. The speed was indeed remarkable, the wind whipping past their ears.
Shisui watched the landscape fly by, his mind swirling with thoughts.
After some time traveling, the convoy reached the border of the Darkness County, the very area where a brutal Ninja Battle had been fought just over a month prior.
But the scene before him was transformed.
The land, once scarred by craters, scorch marks, and patches of lingering ice, had been largely leveled and compacted by large-scale Earth Release Ninjutsu.
While traces of the conflict remained, the skeleton of a new settlement was already rising from the earth.
It was a massive, bustling construction site, teeming with workers and ninja. Foundations were laid, building frames stood tall, and in the distance, the silhouettes of cranes and scaffolding were visible against the sky. The air hummed with noise and purpose.
Natsuhi explained, "This is planned as [New Star Town]. It will be a key logistics hub and a new industrial zone connecting the Star City to the Darkness and Swamps Counties. Many of the refugees and craftsmen we've integrated from the former three nations are being settled here to help build it."
The convoy stopped at a temporary distribution center on the outskirts of New Star Town. Hotarubi, having received word of their arrival, came to meet them with a few other Star Ninja.
"Natsuhi!" Hotarubi called out, his face breaking into a wide, genuine grin as he hurried over.
"Hotarubi!" Natsuhi jumped down from the truck, her face lighting up with a bright smile as she naturally stepped into her husband's embrace.
"Ooooh~ Captain and Hotarubi-sensei, showing off the love again!" Chino teased. Shunji and Hazuki tried to hide their smirks.
Shisui observed the easy affection between the couple and the relaxed camaraderie within the team. It was a stark contrast to the stifling atmosphere of the Konoha's Anbu, or even the tense formality within the Uchiha Clan.
The handover of supplies proceeded with smooth efficiency. Large quantities of food, medicine, building materials, and winter clothing were unloaded, registered by local Darkness County's officials and Star Ninja, and prepared for distribution to various camps and construction sites.
Natsuhi's squad's task here was complete. Now, they needed to escort the remaining supplies and officials further into the Darkness County's interior.
Shisui decided to part ways with them here. He wanted to see the true state of this 'newly conquered' land for himself.
After bidding farewell to Natsuhi and the others, Shisui began to walk through the budding new town.
What he saw began to steadily chip away at his preconceptions, replacing them with a growing sense of awe.
Though it was not yet properly spring and the air still held a chill, New Star Town was a hive of activity. He saw none of the displacement, starvation, or oppression he had half-expected.
Instead, he saw:
Rows of simple but sturdy, weatherproof temporary shelters, smoke curling from their chimneys.
People clad in the unified winter coats provided by the Land of Stars, their faces tired but their eyes holding a light, a spark of hope he hadn't seen before.
Long, orderly lines at large soup kitchens, where thick, steaming porridge, sometimes even with bits of meat and vegetable, was being served. Administrative staff and Medical-Nin were on hand, assisting the elderly and the frail.
Most of the able-bodied adults were organized by the authorities, either working on the town's construction or preparing the vast, newly designated fields outside the town for spring planting like clearing debris, digging irrigation channels, turning the soil with new types of tools.
Some Star Ninja skilled in Earth or Water Release assisted with land-shaping and building water systems under the direction of engineers.
Shisui even spotted a temporary [Public Notice Board] crowded with people. It displayed announcements reassuring the populace, drafts of land distribution policies, which stated that reclaimed wasteland would belong to the reclaimers and it will be tax-free for three years, job postings for construction and mine work, and public trial notices and verdicts for the crimes of the former Land of Darkness's nobility.