Chapter 363: Genjutsu
The Waterfall ninja Suien's intention was nothing more than thinking that the young girl and boy from Konoha were young and gullible, and he wanted to go all the way and eliminate them.
However, Konoha already suspected that the Waterfall Village possessed a Jinchuriki. What was the point of killing two envoys?
The Takikage had managed the Waterfall Village and the Land of Waterfalls for many years, so he wasn't completely ignorant of political common sense. If the Konoha envoys died mysteriously after visiting the Waterfall Village, no matter how they died, Konoha would definitely place their suspicion on the Waterfall Village first.
At that time, it would give Konoha an excuse to cause trouble.
With a so-called "Akatsuki" organization of unknown truth eyeing them from the outside, provoking Konoha was simply a stupid idea of not knowing life from death.
"Suien's thinking is still too simple." The Takikage muttered to himself. "A Jonin who hasn't experienced training, his actions and way of thinking are too immature, even less imposing than the Konoha envoy just now."
"What do you think, Kaede?" He turned to ask another Waterfall ninja.
The Waterfall ninja named Kaede looked to be in his fifties, in the final years of a ninja's prime. His appearance and temperament were much more mature than Suien's.
He pondered for a moment and said slowly, "Suien is still young after all, and the village doesn't have enough missions to temper him..."
"That little girl from Konoha is about ten years younger than Suien, right? But she looks much more capable." The Takikage shook his head and said, "Now I can see the gap between our village and the great ninja villages. Leaving aside strength, just looking at this spirit, the gap is obvious. Konoha can safely entrust such an important mission to such a young ninja. If it were me, I wouldn't dare let Suien execute such an important task."
Kaede remained silent.
However, a female ninja nearby whispered resentfully to her companion: "Maybe Konoha just wanted to send a pretty girl to confuse the village. Hmph... I heard that Konoha's female ninja are all proficient in medical beauty techniques and makeup, able to turn an ordinary-looking woman into someone more beautiful than a celestial maiden, mesmerizing those men. Tch, who knows what her real face looks like!"
"Using these evil techniques, her real face must be terrible, maybe she's a big ugly woman." The girl beside her also whispered disdainfully. "The skin of that girl just now was too fake to be real. How could a normal person look like that!"
Having said that, the pursuit of beauty is human nature. The four great sorceries of Asia on Earth also exist in the ninja world. Medical beauty techniques—corresponding to plastic surgery, makeup, and photo editing—although they cannot achieve the effects of Photoshop and Meitu Xiuxiu, are also widely popular. In short, the technology of the ninja world can also turn Luo Yufeng into a great beauty.
By the way, the Sex Change Technique had been carried forward by Orochimaru. He had been living in a woman's body for several years.
The Takikage glared at the whispering duo, giving them an angry look. The two female ninja immediately fell silent, afraid to whisper again.
"We are discussing serious matters, don't whisper to each other!" The Takikage scolded the two with a stern face. The indifferent appearance of his subordinates made him angry, and he said, "The village has too little communication with the outside world. In the Chunin Exams a few years ago, other ninja villages could occasionally advance to the third round, but our village has missed the final round for several years!"
Speaking of this, his face became ugly.
Even the Waterfall Clone Technique that the Waterfall ninja were proud of was repeatedly cracked by Genin from outside villages. It seemed everyone already knew how to counter this ninjutsu, but the endless stream of new ninjutsu from the outside world gave the newcomers of the Waterfall Village headaches.
He took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I thought carefully for a long time just now. Why is this happening? That Konoha envoy might be alarmist, but we have to admit that the village has shown signs of falling behind the world."
The Takikage looked around and questioned sternly:
"How long has it been since we created a new ninjutsu?"
"How many of us have never left the Land of Waterfalls, or even the Waterfall Village, in our lives?"
"How many ninja have never seen blood, or even experienced a decent actual combat?"
The surrounding Waterfall ninja were silent and speechless.
Some felt guilty, while others just lowered their heads pretending to be guilty, but secretly complaining in their hearts that these problems were actually the consequences of the Takikage's policies.
The one who should really be questioned was the Takikage!
Some people also blamed the two female ninja who were whispering just now: if it weren't for them, the Takikage wouldn't have suddenly gotten angry; women's jealousy was really terrible. In Konoha, a place rich in talent, any female ninja pulled out would be a beauty that could sink fish and make geese fall. Which one was like the backwater Waterfall Village, where there were always some women who were ugly, lazy, and liked to make trouble!
The subordinates had different thoughts, and the Takikage couldn't do anything about them. Unlike other ninja villages, the Waterfall Village had been secluded in the mountains without external pressure. It was difficult to unite internally, and naturally, intrigue began. Seemingly harmonious, in fact, everyone was acting, and open strife and veiled struggle and office politics were everywhere.
However, having sat in the position of Daimyo and Kage for many years, the gradually bureaucratic Takikage was not inferior. Seizing the point just now, he expanded on four main points, twelve sub-points, and thirty-six minor points, talking non-stop for more than an hour.
God knows where he got so many words.
Any other ninja village wouldn't expand a pile of nonsense again and again, break it down and break it down again, talking endlessly.
"In short, the village is now facing a serious problem of being disconnected from the world," the Takikage concluded, still unsatisfied. "In this Chunin Exam, even the Mist Village is participating. Perhaps it will be a good opportunity to see the changes that have taken place in the ninja world in recent years, and see if what the Konoha envoy said just now is true."
The Jonin of the Waterfall Village below the stage nodded one after another, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. The long and smelly speech finally showed signs of ending.
"Then this topic ends here for now." The Takikage looked at the relieved ninja below the stage and added, "Let's continue to discuss how to deal with Konoha and the Akatsuki."
Still continuing?
Several ninja's faces turned pale instantly.
Even the tested Kaede began to feel his butt numbness faintly!
The scenery of the valley where the Waterfall Village was located was extremely beautiful.
There was a huge flat lake in the valley. The lake water was quiet and green, calm and unruffled. The lake surface was flat as a mirror, reflecting the lush beauty of the valley.
In the picturesque lake scenery, a huge ancient tree reaching the sky stood on the island in the center of the lake. The trunk was incredibly thick. Haruno Sakura looked from a distance and estimated that the thick trunk was roughly a hundred meters in diameter!
She had seen many giant creatures in her life. Gamabunta, Manda, and Sasori of the Red Sand's giant scorpion puppet were all huge creatures that made people subconsciously feel their own insignificance when standing next to them, but compared to this giant tree, they were just insignificant; perhaps only the complete form of the Slug Sage could compare with it?
I wonder how many years it took for such a giant tree to grow? The ninja world is truly full of wonders.
The Waterfall Village was located by the quiet lake, with buildings scattered around the giant tree. The shade of the tree covered the entire village like a canopy. In the scorching summer, the village didn't feel hot at all, but was extremely cool.
"You will stay here tonight," the Waterfall ninja named Shibuki led the two to a quiet wooden house by the lake and said, "The doors and windows face the lake view, very beautiful. I hope you like it. Then, I'll go first."
"Please wait a moment!" Sakura hurriedly stopped him. "It's still too early to rest. Can you show us around? The scenery of the Waterfall Village is really beautiful. I want to walk around more."
"Hn?" Shibuki turned his head and met the girl's faint smile. His face turned slightly red. It was difficult for him to refuse the request of a beautiful girl. He said hesitantly, "This... you can't walk around the village alone... that..."
"We're just looking at the scenery, can't we? Besides, we're not walking around the village alone, aren't you here? Let's go together, the three of us."
Sakura blinked, looking at Shibuki with pitiable eyes.
Shibuki was immediately at a loss, even stuttering: "B-But... I..."
Seeing Shibuki still hesitating, Sasuke turned his head at the right time. A flash of red passed through his eyes. Shibuki's eyes were confused for a moment, and when he came back to his senses, his attitude changed directly: "Okay, I'll show you the beautiful scenery of the Waterfall Village! It's definitely scenery you will never forget in your life!"
"Follow me!" He patted his chest and agreed to the Konoha ninja's request, turned around and took the lead to leave.
Behind Shibuki, Sasuke leaned close to the girl. Wait until Shibuki walked a little further away before whispering, "See, in the end, you still have to rely on my Sharingan."
"Yes, yes, yes," Haruno Sakura rolled her eyes, curled her lips and said, "The Sharingan's beauty is unparalleled in the world, and its charm is unstoppable!"
Using even the Sharingan genjutsu, such a big battle was naturally not for sightseeing, although the scenery of the Waterfall Village was indeed good. Waterfalls, giant trees, large lakes, caves, underground rivers, etc., beautiful scenery that made people linger was everywhere. If used as a place for travel, this was indeed a resort for cultivating the mind and body.
Crossing the viewing bridge spanning the lake, the three toured all the way to the roots of the giant tree. The thick tree roots were the size of several people's embrace, intertwined together, weaving a network of countless intersecting tunnels, full of fun and amazing.
Bypassing a few children playing hide-and-seek here, swimming out of the valley from the underwater underground river, passing through the cave, crossing the water curtain, and returning to the entrance waterfall.
The magnificent or meandering scenery along the way did not attract the attention of the three ninja. One had seen it for ten or twenty years and was already accustomed to it; the other two were foreign ninja with ulterior motives, wanting to do something unspeakable to him, so naturally they had no mind to appreciate the great scenery of the Waterfall Village.
"Let's do it here." Finding an inconspicuous corner, Haruno Sakura suddenly said.
"Hn?" Shibuki turned his head in confusion. The beautiful flower-like smile on the girl's face had disappeared, and a pair of eyes like autumn water looked at him calmly.
"What's wrong?"
Before he could say this sentence, his field of vision was occupied by a pair of blood-red eyes.
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