Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 223

Next came the time for the man to take action freely, and Shikamaru's group of three felt it was inappropriate to disturb the family's final moments.

As they left the house, the streets of Hoshi began to fill with a faint purplish-pink hue. At the same time, light purple smoke rose from an unknown source in the sky.

This purplish-pink hue emerged from the dark, shadowy corners onto the streets, bursting forth from every opening that connected the underground to the surface in dense beams of pinkish-purple light.

During the day, these hues had lurked in the unnoticed shadows, quietly altering the ecological environment of the area beyond the reach of human perception.

At night, without the suppression of bright light, they surged to the surface like bamboo shoots after rain.

All the wooden structures lining the streets, including house beams, wooden fences, wooden window frames, and wooden walls, emitted a faint but distinct glow. The sight was mesmerizing and surreal.

Yet this vibrant and colorful scene became the most horrifying sight to Shikamaru and his companions.

As they ventured further into the village, they finally saw people on the streets.

These individuals sat listlessly along the roadside, their eyes bloodshot. Their faces looked as though something had torn at them, with shallow streaks of purplish-pink fluid slowly oozing from their wounds.

As Shikamaru's group walked through the middle of the street, the people on either side barely lifted their heads to glance at them. None stepped forward to question them, nor did they react to the bizarre scene unfolding around them as any normal human would.

Their expressions and actions were those of people waiting for death. There was no hint of a survival instinct in their eyes, only an indifferent resignation toward life.

Ino, standing to the side, wanted to approach the people along the streets and urge them to flee, but Shikamaru placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head helplessly.

The streets were already filled with those strange hues, and it was clear that the villagers, having spent the entire day here, were well aware of the abnormalities around them.

Yet, despite nothing physically preventing their escape, these people had chosen to stay put.

Shikamaru couldn't fathom their reasons, but he knew that solving this situation was beyond what his persuasion as an outsider could achieve.

Someone with greater authority in the village would need to command these seemingly still-rational villagers to leave.

That person could only be the Hoshikage.

With this thought, Shikamaru hurriedly led Ino and Chōji through the increasingly vivid streets toward the village leader's residence.

When they pushed open the door to the leader's chamber, the room was unlit, but fortunately, it was pitch dark, free of the purplish-pink hues seeping from unseen crevices.

At some point, darkness itself had become a comforting aspect of the environment.

Seated atop the dais, a symbol of the village leader's authority, was the silhouette of a thin man.

Shikamaru cautiously approached, but the man spoke first.

"What brings Konoha's ninjas here?"

The voice was unmistakably that of Akahoshi. It was clear and devoid of distortion, carrying the rational tone unique to human speech. This put Shikamaru at ease.

At least this man was still capable of communication.

With that assurance, Shikamaru immediately relayed everything he had witnessed in the forest and the current events in the village to Akahoshi.

Shikamaru used his most rational and concise language to describe the sequence of events: from the meteorite's descent to the impact of its hues on the local ecological environment, and the abnormal state of the village.

Although these events were difficult to believe, he did his best to present them in a manner that was both logical and credible.

Finally, he made a suggestion.

"So now, the only option is for you to order all the villagers to leave here. If they stay, who knows what other terrible things might happen!"

However, after Shikamaru delivered his series of shocking statements, Akaboshi didn't react as expected. Instead, he remained calmly seated on his platform, speaking in a detached tone.

"Leave here? Why would we leave here? Isn't it perfectly fine here?"

This dangerously unsettling statement sent a jolt through Shikamaru, causing him to instinctively step back half a pace.

But Akaboshi appeared oblivious to Shikamaru's movement. As if he had just understood Shikamaru's words, Akaboshi suddenly exclaimed, "Oh? Are you planning to leave? You Konoha shinobi?"

"The commissioned mission isn't over yet. You can't leave now. No one can leave here!"

Akaboshi's previously calm tone erupted into a thunderous roar, making Ino pale with fear.

As his words echoed, the lights in the village chief's office abruptly turned on. From behind the thick wooden beams, Akaboshi's two subordinates emerged slowly.

"None of you are allowed to leave. Stay here forever!" 

Akaboshi suddenly stood up, pointing at Shikamaru and his team. At the same time, Yotaka and Shisō launched their attack.

The room erupted into chaos, with flashes of steel and sparks from kunai clashes illuminating the battle. 

Amidst the fierce fight, Shikamaru's mind raced, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. 

The village chief's office didn't contain any of the objects emanating the strange colors. This place shouldn't have been contaminated by those hues yet.

Moreover, neither Akaboshi nor his subordinates, Yotaka and Shisō, displayed any physical abnormalities that hinted at corruption. Why, then, were they acting this way?

During the battle, Shikamaru kept searching for an opportunity to examine the trio's eyes, hoping to spot signs of color intrusion. However, their eyes appeared perfectly normal—healthy, without any traces of the strange colors.

Why? 

Shikamaru couldn't pinpoint the cause but felt confident his reasoning wasn't flawed. The bizarre behavior of these three had to be connected to those strange hues. He just didn't know how or why.

At that moment, Ino, overwhelmed in the fight, was struck by a powerful kick from Yotaka and sent crashing against a wall, letting out a cry of pain.

"Ino!"

Shikamaru deflected Akaboshi's attack with his kunai and quickly retreated to Ino's side. Chōji positioned himself in front of them, shielding them both.

"What now, Shikamaru?" Chōji asked, seeking the next course of action.

Shikamaru quickly assessed the situation. Their team didn't have the strength to take down Akaboshi and his subordinates, and they weren't the real threat. The greater danger lay in the strange colors that could infiltrate at any moment. 

If they continued tangling with these three, even their chances of escaping would be slim.

"Retreat!"

Shikamaru grabbed Ino and jumped out of a nearby window, breaking through the glass. Chōji followed close behind.

As the trio fled, Akaboshi and his subordinates gave chase without hesitation.

"Don't let them escape!" Akaboshi shouted in a frenzy. 

Yotaka, Shisō, and a group of villagers—drawn in seemingly from nowhere—responded to his call, roaring as they pursued Shikamaru, Ino, and Chōji into the night.

---

In the forest, Shikamaru and his two companions were fleeing rapidly toward Valley of Death, while a group of villagers from Hoshi, led by Akahoshi and two others, relentlessly pursued them.

Just moments ago, the villagers, who had been languishing on the streets, now displayed astonishing stamina far beyond that of ordinary people. They were keeping up with Shikamaru and his group, despite the latter being trained ninja.

Their bodies emitted an eerie glow, and their movements were as fierce and swift as wild beasts. At times, they leaped over obstacles in the forest with both hands and feet, their motions fluid and primal. 

As these glowing villagers leaped over the treetops, they resembled streaks of shimmering light sliding through the woods, adding a surreal, dreamlike quality to the forest.

Shikamaru realized that this forest was on the west side of Hoshi, opposite the "pink-purple hell" forest they had encountered earlier. 

Here, the colors were not as vivid, and faint streams of pale purple light could only be seen trickling at the base of the grass under extreme darkness.

It appeared that this area had not been deeply contaminated by the strange hues. By sheer luck, their frantic choice of an escape route had proven correct.

This realization gave Shikamaru a glimmer of hope, but also raised a troubling concern.

The poisonous gases in Valley of Death formed an insurmountable barrier for those without gas masks. Their first priority was to reach the training grounds ahead and obtain the necessary masks.

The training grounds of Hoshi also lay in this direction, and no matter the risks, they had to make a stop there.

However, Shikamaru was unsure if the genin training at the grounds had been contaminated or, like Akahoshi, lost their sanity.

For now, there was no time to dwell on such worries. Shikamaru quickened his pace, urging Ino and Chōji to hurry toward the training grounds.

Although the training grounds were usually just a few hundred meters away from Hoshi, the journey now felt interminable. Finally, the trio reached the edge of the crater surrounding the training grounds and dashed straight into its center without hesitation.

The crater's slopes were sparsely dotted with dry, twisted trees at odd angles, and the ground had hardened into rocky, ash-gray soil. Shikamaru noticed the distinct lack of life in the crater.

Correspondingly, there was no trace of the strange hues in the barren expanse of the crater.

Based on his earlier observations, Shikamaru deduced that the hues infiltrated living organisms and affected them—plants, animals, and humans alike.

Conversely, in areas devoid of life, like this barren crater, could the hues fail to contaminate the region?

This thought gave Shikamaru more hope, and he sprinted toward the training grounds at an even faster pace.

Upon reaching the side of the training grounds, Shikamaru spotted Hokuto, a kunoichi he had seen earlier in the day, cranking the pulley of a well to draw water.

Without hesitation, Shikamaru ran up and knocked over Hokuto's bucket, spilling its contents onto the ground.

This act angered Hokuto, who turned and asked sharply, "Why are you here?"

Shikamaru ignored her question and hurried to the well, peering into its dark depths.

To his alarm, faint lights glimmered in the pitch-black well, which Shikamaru recognized as the strange phosphorescence of the hues. This glow could not have been caused by natural light reflecting off the water but was undoubtedly the colors lurking beneath the surface.

It became clear that the absence of life on the surface did not mean the hues couldn't seep in. The water source itself had been thoroughly contaminated, and where there was life, water was indispensable.

Grabbing Hokuto's shoulders, Shikamaru asked her grimly, "Have you been drinking the water from this well in the past two days?"

Hokuto was startled and momentarily speechless.

"Answer me!" Shikamaru roared.

Stammering, Hokuto finally replied, "W-what are you talking about? We've always used water from this well."

"But Akahoshi-sama told us to draw all the water at once and store it in the cistern over there so we wouldn't waste time on trivial tasks like fetching water."

She pointed to a large water tank, which allowed Shikamaru to breathe a sigh of relief.

If it was the water they drank earlier, it was likely before the contamination from the mysterious colors. 

This meant the genin here hadn't yet suffered the severe effects seen in the villagers of Hoshi or in Akahoshi.

"Quick, follow me inside!"

Shikamaru forcibly dragged her into the house adjacent to the training ground, with Ino and Chōji close behind, shutting the door behind them.

Inside, on a large communal bed, a group of genin was sitting in a circle, seemingly deep in discussion.

Sumaru glared angrily at Shikamaru and the others as they barged in. 

"This is a forbidden area in the village! Outsiders aren't allowed here!"

"But the village's meteorite is gone now, so that rule doesn't really matter anymore, does it?" a genin to the side muttered.

"Even so, that doesn't mean—"

Sumaru tried to argue and drive the trio out, but Shikamaru ignored him entirely and began rummaging through the house.

"Where are the gas masks?"

"Where do you keep your gas masks?"

"What do you need gas masks for?" Sumaru asked, his suspicion evident.

"The village is in danger. You all need to put on the gas masks and escape with us."

"What happened to the village? Tell us right now!"

The group of genin stood up, their demands overwhelming Shikamaru. He found himself increasingly frustrated—time was critical, and now he had to waste it explaining.

Left with no choice, Shikamaru summarized the situation as concisely as possible. 

In short, the meteorite that landed in the village contained some kind of strange, color-like contaminant. This substance had already polluted Hoshi.

"What about the villagers? What's happened to them?"

"And Akahoshi-sama? What's his stance on this?"

"My parents! Where are my parents?"

Answering one question only led to a cascade of more questions, leaving Shikamaru completely exasperated. 

However, amidst the chaotic inquiries, a calm voice finally cut through.

"Wait!"

"You claim all these things, but we have no way to verify them. And if we hand over our gas masks to you, what then? You'll just leave the Land of Bears?"

"For all we know, you could have stolen secrets from Hoshi and are now fleeing in desperation."

"So, everything should be decided once Akahoshi-sama arrives."

The speaker was Sumaru, and his assertion immediately froze the atmosphere in the room. The genin who had crowded around Shikamaru, concerned for their village, began slowly backing away.

In an instant, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chōji became the targets of suspicion from the group.

At the same time, a voice echoed from outside.

"You won't escape." 

It was Akahoshi.