## Several hours later, after night had fallen, in Takigakure ##
No one knew what exactly had happened.
One moment, everything was peaceful and serene. This village, nestled among mountains and rivers, lay far from the chaos of war, like a paradise untouched by the outside world. Yet in the next instant, fire shot into the sky as explosion after explosion tore through the village.
All the ninja of Takigakure were shocked. They rushed out of their homes to uncover the truth, but most ran about blindly, unsure where to go.
Putting out the flames was the immediate priority, but ninja from the Root organization seized the chaos to carry out atrocities—they set fires everywhere, sabotaged the village, and killed its ninja. They singled out commanding officers, striking without hesitation at every opportunity.
Despite this, Takigakure's fighting spirit remained unbroken. They still had a final secret weapon hidden deep within the great tree at the heart of the village.
If things reached a desperate point, they would use it to turn the tide of battle.
A young ninja with long dark brown hair, wearing Takigakure's forehead protector and combat uniform, approached an altar inside the giant tree with several trusted companions. In the center of the altar sat a bottle filled with water.
"This is it," the young man said carefully as he picked up the bottle, sweat beading on his forehead. "The Hero Water."
One of his subordinates stepped forward, trying to stop him.
"In this situation… are you really going to use it, Lord Hoshiguma?"
The young man turned sharply, his eyes firm.
"If we reach a desperate situation, yes, I will!"
He knew both the power it could give—and the dangers it carried.
"The village is in mortal danger. If I don't use it, do we even stand a chance? Have you forgotten what happened in the Snow Country? We stood helpless while Kakuzu stole away the Kazahana Princess. But now it's different—we can't back down again."
His subordinate tried to argue further, but suddenly, the roots on the ceiling came alive, quickly surrounding them all. Some found themselves wrapped around the waist and arms, trapped and helpless, while others were strangled by the roots, choking the life from them.
Hoshiguma attempted to cut himself free, but his kunai sliced through nothing but air.
"Release!" He formed hand seals, breaking the genjutsu. But the Hero Water was already gone from his grasp.
A pale-skinned youth with black hair stood before him, holding the bottle.
Beside him was a small, black-haired girl dressed in similarly unusual black clothing. From her hand seal formation, it was clear she had cast the previous illusion technique.
She must have cast a wide-range genjutsu on them and followed them here. Both of them were soaked, just like the others—they must have swum through the water to get here.
Both wore pure white masks marked with a strange emblem—one Hoshiguma had never seen before.
"Who are you people? Which village are you from?" he snapped angrily.
He had to find a way to save his subordinates, but now the Hero Water had fallen into enemy hands. What could he possibly do?
This was their worst-case scenario.
"This doesn't matter," Sai said coldly as he tucked the Hero Water into his robe. "All I need you to understand is that you all deserve to die—you're our enemies."
This was a dire omen for Takigakure. Their secret weapon had been stolen, and they didn't even know who the enemy was.
Even worse, panic gripped the entire village. No one knew how many enemies there were or what other tricks they might have up their sleeves.
"Perhaps your successor will possess the wisdom to surrender your village before it's too late," Sai said in his icy voice.
The ninja under Maki's control had collapsed to the ground, completely immobilized, because within her Genjutsu, they felt their throats constrict, suffocating as if being strangled.
"Unfortunately, you won't live long enough to see that day."
[Water Release: Water Fang Bullet!] Several high-pressure streams of water shot out from nearby ponds like arrows, directly targeting Hoshiguma. Furious, Hoshiguma abandoned any attempt at further questioning and immediately prepared for battle.
The water arrows targeted both Sai and Maki, but both easily dodged the attacks.
The arrows struck the large trees behind them, shattering thick roots into splinters.
Water Release was Sai's weakness. Unless he summoned special creatures, it would be difficult for him to counter these techniques.
But they had each other.
They split apart and attacked Hoshiguma from both sides.
Since Sai carried the Hero Water, he was seen as the greater threat. Hoshiguma could only spare partial attention to guard against Maki while focusing fully on attacking Sai.
Under Maki's illusionary influence, Hoshiguma failed to notice that the ninja who had once followed him were now lifeless corpses.
Even those ninja skilled in Genjutsu had ultimately been killed by Maki's illusions, strangled by tree branches within the hallucination until they suffocated.
His fatal mistake? Underestimating Maki's power. Though facing two opponents at once, this fight was already lost for him.
As he turned his gaze toward Maki, trying to determine her position and level of threat, Maki's hands moved rapidly through hand seals. Suddenly, his surroundings blurred into a violent whirlwind.
[Genjutsu: Gravitational Descent!]
Timing perfectly, she injected chakra into Hoshiguma's body, making him feel the crushing force of his own multiplied weight.
Affected by the gravity, Hoshiguma slowed to a crawl, every movement agonizingly heavy.
Seeing this, Sai immediately launched his attack. Leeches formed from ink surged from the water and lunged at Hoshiguma. Before he could break free from the illusion, the leeches firmly latched onto his body.
Hoshiguma struggled fiercely, desperately attempting to escape the restraints, but the oppressive weight and the leeches clinging to him made movement impossible.
"Wait... my village..."
"Destroying your village holds no interest for us."
Maki looked at him with disgust. "You're as despicable and cowardly as the Akatsuki organization," she said. "You and your leader are cut from the same cloth—just like that Akatsuki organization that stole your Jinchuriki. I suggest you abandon this plan now before it's too late."
"We're only doing this to protect ourselves!" Hoshiguma argued. "We're caught between Konoha and Iwagakure, oppressed by both for years. Takigakure is nothing more than Konoha's shield against Iwagakure!"
Sai shook his head and said,
"Don't forget," he continued, "Konoha entrusted you with the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. We gave you this strength because we trusted you. If not for that trust, Konoha could have had two tailed beasts instead of just one like Kumogakure. Now it's time we reclaimed this so-called 'gift.'"
Hoshiguma's eyes widened as he struggled in desperation, but his efforts were all in vain. The leeches clinging to his body and Maki's Genjutsu left him powerless to resist.
"You... you're Konoha ninja?"
"Sai-sama," Maki began, but Sai cut her off.
"At best," Sai explained, "this will force your village to surrender. At worst, we bring it back for study—to see if we can make it our own weapon." [Hand Seal Activated] "I've said too much already. But you won't get a chance to spread those words."
With those final words, he and Maki turned and jumped into the water, vanishing without a trace.
With a deafening roar splitting the air, Hoshiguma's body was torn apart, and the Hero Water fell into Konoha's grasp.
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