The invasion of the Star Village had concluded several days prior.
Although Konoha issued an official diplomatic protest, sternly denouncing the Sand's actions, no further military retaliation followed.
In truth, the Sand had already completed a full strategic withdrawal from the Land of Bears.
The Third Star Kage had ultimately succumbed to the poison of the meteorite during the conflict. However, Firefly Star had stepped in to succeed him as the village leader.
Upon taking the mantle, Firefly Star did not presume to style himself as the "Fourth Star Kage." Instead, he chose to be addressed as a standard village chief—a humble gesture that earned unanimous approval from the high commands of the Five Great Hidden Villages.
After all, the arrogant use of the "Kage" title had long soured the village's reputation and brought nothing but hardship to its people.
The subsequent event, however, had a far-reaching impact: the Star Village officially announced a military alliance with the Hidden Sand.
Konoha's leadership was in an uproar. The Star Village incident was viewed as a double failure: first, a massive intelligence lapse that had diverted Konoha's main strength to the Land of Steam; and second, a failure of the resident garrison.
Hyuga Hizashi, having been captured by the enemy, became the convenient scapegoat for the disaster.
However, considering that the Uchiha clan still existed as a threat, Konoha could not afford to be too harsh on the Hyuga—a clan traditionally loyal to the village.
Thus, the Third Hokage did not directly penalize Hiashi, but expressed a "hope" that the Hyuga would contribute even more to Konoha's future efforts.
As for the Land of Bears, its falling into the Sand's hands was intolerable. Unlike the Land of Rivers, the poverty of the Land of Bears was largely a result of Konoha's covert suppression over the years, aimed at keeping a buffer zone so close to the Leaf's heartland weak and dependent.
Now, with the Sand's invasion, the Star Village had seized the opportunity to break Konoha's shackles, placing the Leaf in an incredibly awkward position.
Furthermore, the Sand Navy remained anchored at the ports of the Land of Bears. Although they had evacuated the Star Village itself, they had established a permanent base nearby, the intent of which was unmistakable.
"Losing the Star Village and the Land of Bears will utterly enrage Konoha."
"Then I look forward to their fury," Shiraishi replied indifferently. "I do not fear a new World War."
The Sand's cold indifference and the Leaf's boiling anger made the end of Year 53 of the Konoha Calendar exceptionally tense, with many fearing the Fourth Shinobi World War was imminent.
Even if the Third Hokage wished to avoid conflict, the loss of the Land of Bears was a blow Konoha could not absorb quietly.
Forced into a corner, the Leaf began mobilizing massive amounts of supplies and manpower toward the border.
Seeing the two giants on the verge of a full-scale clash, the Rock, Cloud, and even the Mist intervened, hoping to mediate.
Every nation feared a new war; with the Third War having ended only a few years prior, their domestic economies could not sustain another global conflict.
While the parties sat down at the negotiating table, a de facto division occurred: Konoha seized control of the western regions of the Land of Bears, while the Sand maintained its presence in the eastern Star Village region.
Essentially, the Land of Bears suffered a fate similar to the Land of Rivers—split between superpowers while the diplomatic bickering continued indefinitely.
"So, this is the meteorite of the Star Village?"
In the Kazekage's office, Shiraishi studied the peculiar stone before him, a glint of fascination in his eyes.
This "Star," capable of activating and enhancing chakra, was a fragment of an extraterrestrial body. The specimen before him was the primary, intact core.
As special electromagnetic waves scanned the meteorite's surface, a flood of data and analysis appeared on his screen. Shiraishi prepared to isolate the unique substances within.
"I thought it might be related to the Ten-Tails, but it appears to be a different type of celestial matter entirely."
Since this world's ecology—including extraterrestrial life—shared a common underlying system, celestial objects naturally interacted with chakra.
"In that case, let's run a test..."
Shiraishi slowly unfurled a scroll, revealing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan of the late Uchiha Zhan.
Over the years, Shiraishi had collected Uchiha cells to cultivate new ocular tissues in his lab. Most successful specimens reached only the Two-Tomoe stage.
However, the half-set of Mangekyo from Shisui had allowed him to cultivate eyes at a stable Three-Tomoe level.
These were precious experimental materials, but today, Shiraishi decided to subject Zhan's original eyes to a different kind of trial.
Forming a series of rapid hand signs, he activated an array of sealing formulas that bathed the room in a powerful energy beam.
Combining the Peacock Method with Inorganic Reincarnation, Shiraishi began to fuse the power of the Star with the Sharingan.
Instantly, the meteorite emitted a haunting radiation. Zhan's Sharingan sprouted countless blood-red capillaries that latched onto the surface of the stone. The eyes began to refract an eerie, crimson light.
Drawing on his experience with Kaede's Mangekyo, Shiraishi clearly felt this pair of Three-Tomoe eyes developing their own unique "Traits."
On his glasses' system interface, notifications flashed: [Trait: Mental Power Unlocked] and [Trait: Compound Eyes Unlocked]. Shortly after, a system error appeared: [Inability to confirm if Host possesses Traits.]
This mirrored the situation when Kaede awakened his Mangekyo. While the system could provide descriptions of the traits, it could not "verify" them as belonging to Shiraishi because they were not physically part of his body.
However, Shiraishi could still read the descriptions. Mental Power was straightforward: it fortified the mind, preventing flinching or hesitation when faced with an opponent's pressure. Compound Eyes significantly boosted the user's accuracy and visual tracking.
While simple, these traits provided a tangible boost to Shiraishi's overall power when channeled through his tools.
Shiraishi then attempted to integrate the cloned Three-Tomoe eyes (derived from Shisui's cells) with the Star.
He found that they did not awaken new traits, though they still successfully bonded with the stone.
Visually, the scene of the meteorite connected to the eyes by pulsating red vessels was somewhat grotesque.
Yet Shiraishi noticed that while the clones didn't gain new traits, the raw power of their base Three-Tomoe ocular jutsu was significantly amplified by the Star's radiation.
Original eyes can awaken traits; clones can be amplified... Furthermore, under the Star's control, he could now execute certain secret Sharingan techniques, though overusing them would result in the eyes burning out.
A successful Three-Tomoe Sharingan was built upon a foundation of countless failures. Currently, the "yield rate" was low, meaning Shiraishi's supply of high-level clones remained limited.
As for the One and Two-Tomoe versions, while they benefited from the amplification, the effect was negligible.
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