Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Meeting in the Star Kage Tower
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Star Ninja Village, Star Kage Building.
Menma sat in the head seat, fiddling with a glass tube in his hand. A Three-Tomoe Sharingan eyeball floated inside the pale green liquid.
The blood-red pupil gleamed with an eerie sheen amid the shifting light and shadows.
"The opponent is named Shisui?" Menma lightly tapped the glass tube on the desk. After hearing the battle report from Uzumaki Kaoru and Uchiha Hikari, he raised an eyebrow slightly. "So, is this the left eye or the right eye?"
"Left eye." Uchiha Hikari occupied the first seat to Menma's left, a position that reflected her status in the organization.
From the seat on the right, Kakuzu's raspy voice emanated from beneath his mask. "Uchiha Shisui of the Hidden Leaf Village. During the Third Great Ninja War, he earned great renown in battles against the Hidden Mist Village. With his signature Instant Body Technique, he claimed the title 'Shisui of the Body Flicker.' The Hidden Mist even put a thirty-million-ryō bounty on his head."
As a bounty hunter who frequented underground black markets, Kakuzu knew every name on the bounty lists like the back of his hand.
A long-established jonin powerhouse like this had actually fallen to 'Nameless.' And according to the two women's account of the fight, 'Nameless' had taken down all three ninja dispatched by the Leaf single-handedly.
Though no Leaf ninja had been captured, they had at least secured one Sharingan eye from Uchiha Shisui.
Kakuzu couldn't help growing even more wary of 'Nameless's strength.
Then there was Uzumaki Kaoru, who had operated alongside 'Nameless.' Not long ago, she had only been at chunin level, yet on this mission, she had restrained one Hidden Rock jonin and two chunin. Her improvement was far too rapid.
Menma clamped one hand over the glass tube, his index finger rhythmically tapping the cap. The crisp sound rang out especially clearly in the silent hall.
Menma was, of course, all too familiar with the name Uchiha Shisui.
This man's Mangekyo Sharingan boasted the ultimate genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, capable of altering a person's very will.
And now, Uchiha Hikari had ripped it right out.
Tsk tsk.
Still, Menma stayed cautious. He had no intention of rushing to transplant this Sharingan into himself.
If Shisui had implanted some kind of dojutsu trap in the eyeball, it could spell trouble.
Besides, with so much going on lately, getting bogged down wouldn't be ideal.
Menma stowed the eyeball away and turned to Uchiha Hikari. "Well done. I really like this Sharingan."
Uchiha Hikari put on an air of aloofness, giving a soft hum as she turned her head slightly.
But the faint upturn at the corner of her mouth betrayed her inner delight.
Next, Menma heard Kakuzu's report on the capture of the two Hidden Sand ninja.
After splitting from Yecang, the pair had tried to blend into a merchant caravan to infiltrate the Star Ninja Village but had been swiftly apprehended by Kakuzu and his Anbu team.
As for Yecang, Menma recalled the woman's stubborn figure—limping on one leg yet still struggling to form hand seals.
"From the initial interrogations of these infiltrating enemy ninja, it's clear someone from the Land of Bears—or even inside the Star Ninja Village itself—sent out a distress signal." Propping his chin on one hand, Menma turned his gaze to Night Star.
The former Third Star Kage of the Star Ninja Village immediately dropped to his knees in prostration. "Lord Asura, I swear this has nothing to do with me!"
"I know. You didn't have the time for that." Menma replied offhandedly. "Any suspects in mind?"
This gave Night Star pause, leaving him stammering.
The others took note, realizing Night Star was indeed hiding something.
"You old coot, what are you holding back for? Spit it out already!" Gato bellowed irritably at Night Star.
With things at this point, Night Star had no choice but to come clean. "Reporting to you, Lord—in the Star Ninja Village... there are indeed still two jonin who have been away the whole time."
Night Star explained slowly.