The last remaining elder sat frozen in his chair, His face had gone pale.
The drunken haze had completely vanished from his eyes.
Across the room, Star casually twirled one of the blood-stained senbon between his fingers like it was a toy.
He hummed softly while walking toward the elder.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each step sounded louder in the silent room.
The elder finally snapped out of his shock.
"W-Wait!" he shouted, raising both hands. "You don't have to do this! We can—"
Star suddenly stopped right in front of him.
Then he leaned down until their faces were only inches apart.
His grin widened unnaturally.
"Oh relax," Star said in a playful voice. "If I wanted you dead you'd already be decorating that wall over there."
He casually pointed toward the two corpses.
The elder's eyes darted toward them.
Star suddenly burst out laughing.
"HAHAHAHA! Oh wow! Your face!" he wheezed. "You look like someone just told you your favorite brothel burned down!"
Inside the disguise, Akira kept his expression steady.
Is this too much? he wondered.
Well this persona isn't working right.... Hmmm... An insane character, I need inspiration..... How about the joker?
No… wait… the Joker was chaotic,
unpredictable… right?
Yeah… this should work.
Star suddenly slammed both hands onto the table, making the elder flinch violently.
"Alright! Let's play a little game!" Star said cheerfully.
He dragged a chair across the floor and sat down backwards on it, resting his chin on the chair's top.
The senbon needle tapped lightly against the elder's forehead.
"Here are the rules," Star said, voice dropping slightly. "You're going to write down every single person in this village who knows about the Star of Hoshigakure."
The elder swallowed.
"I… I can't—"
Star slowly pushed the senbon deeper into the wood of the table right beside the elder's hand.
The metal sank into the wood like butter.
The elder froze.
Star tilted his head.
"You can't… or you won't?" he asked softly.
Then he suddenly smiled again.
"Oh! Don't worry! I'm not asking for secrets!" he said brightly. "Just names… positions… where they live… maybe a few notes…"
He leaned forward and whispered.
"You know… normal paperwork."
The elder's hands trembled.
"You're insane," he muttered.
Star gasped dramatically and placed a hand over his chest.
"Insane?!"
He stood up and began pacing theatrically across the room.
"I come here politely… knock on the door… ask for a simple list… and suddenly I'm the insane one!"
He stopped and looked back at the elder.
"Well… okay maybe a little insane."
Inside his mind, Akira sighed.
Yeah… this persona definitely feels ridiculous.
But it's memorable… unpredictable… people panic faster.
Star suddenly snapped his fingers and tossed a brush and paper onto the table.
"Come on! Chop chop!" he said cheerfully.
"Names! Addresses! Anyone who knows about the shiny space rock!"
The elder hesitated, Star's smile slowly faded, His red eyes stared directly into the man's soul.
Then quietly he added—
"Or we start experimenting."
The elder grabbed the brush immediately.
"I'll write!"
Star's smile instantly returned.
"Wonderful!" he clapped excitedly, leaning over the elder's shoulder like an enthusiastic teacher.
Ink began scratching across the paper.
Village council members.
Senior shinobi.
Guard captains.
New trainees.
The elder's hand shook as he wrote each name.
Star read along happily.
"Ohhh this is great! Look at this list!" he laughed. "So many people!"
Inside his mind, Akira processed the information calmly.
Good.
Now I know exactly who needs to disappear tonight.
Behind the manic smile of Star…
Akira's thoughts remained completely cold.
Then Star instantly killed the elder.
As he was about to walk outside, he thought it may take way too long to kill these people in a single night.
He needs a faster way.
Inside his mind, Akira began forming a better plan. A faster one.
His hand formed a seal.
Chakra flowed through his body as he activated Kuso Hensei once more.
His clothes tore slightly as new wounds appeared across his body.
Moments later, Star was gone.
In his place stood an injured shinobi of Hoshigakure.
His uniform was torn.
Blood stained his shoulder.
His breathing appeared panicked.
Akira looked at his reflection in a broken liquor bottle.
Perfect.
Inside his mind he continued thinking.
If I go house to house, someone will escape.
But if they gather themselves…
Then everything ends in one strike.
The target was obvious.
The Hoshikage.
If the village leader believed a major threat was attacking—
He would summon his strongest shinobi.
Elite guards.
Commanders.
Anyone important enough to know about the Star of Hoshigakure.
Akira smiled slightly beneath the fake panic.
And when they're all gathered…
One massacre.
Kinda like the Uchiha massacre.
Star—now disguised as the injured shinobi—staggered toward the door while clutching his side dramatically.
"Oh no…" he muttered loudly to himself, already rehearsing the act.
"They're all dead… the elders are dead…"
He forced a desperate expression onto his face.
"I need to warn the Hoshikage!"
The door slammed open as he rushed into the night.
Inside his mind, Akira remained completely calm.
Come gather your strongest warriors.
I'll make sure none of you leave alive.