Takigakure was a small hidden village nestled deep within dense forest. Its entrance lay concealed behind a massive waterfall, and even after finding it, one still had to pass through a stretch of water—diving beneath the surface—to truly enter the village.
With such a hidden entrance, how many people could possibly know of it?
And with such a narrow passage and confined terrain, it was utterly unsuitable for large-scale shinobi warfare. There was no room to deploy formations; numbers meant little here.
The moment Shimizu realized this, he understood why the Third Hokage hadn't dispatched a large force to Takigakure.
If Konoha had reached this conclusion, then Iwagakure and Kumogakure likely had as well. Any forces they sent would probably consist of elite squads rather than armies.
Shimizu and Jiraiya slipped into Takigakure with surprising ease. Along the way, they hadn't even encountered a single barrier or defensive formation.
Security like this…
"Has the Land of Waterfalls never experienced war?" Shimizu asked.
"Not that I can recall," Jiraiya replied, shaking his head.
The two of them were now concealed high within the branches of a large tree, silently observing the entire village below.
From what they could see, it truly was small. The buildings were sparse, scattered across the land, and the population seemed thin.
With numbers like these, would there even be a thousand shinobi here?
Probably fewer.
And even if there were a thousand, the vast majority would be genin. As for jōnin—those rare, elite few—there might not even be more than a handful.
With such a fragile upper tier of strength, how had they managed to subdue the Seven-Tails?
Shimizu couldn't help but voice his doubts. "A village this weak… how could it possess a Tailed Beast?"
Weren't the Tailed Beasts distributed among the great nations by the First Hokage? How had one ended up in a small country like this?
"I'm not entirely sure of the details," Jiraiya said after a moment of thought. "But from what I've gathered, the village once had a temple. Supposedly, the monks there subdued the Seven-Tails, and it's been passed down ever since."
Monks… capable of subduing a Tailed Beast?
Shimizu found that hard to believe.
His gaze drifted toward the very center of the village, where a colossal tree towered above everything else.
Its trunk was dozens of meters wide, its canopy stretching so high it seemed to pierce the clouds.
A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind—one so unbelievable it almost felt absurd.
Could this tree… be related to the Chakra Divine Tree?
Was that why it could produce something like the Hero Water—a substance capable of drastically increasing chakra in an instant?
With that in mind, he steered the conversation casually in that direction.
"Those monks in Takigakure must have been incredibly powerful," Shimizu said. "Probably on par with a Kage."
"At first, I thought the same—that the village once had someone that strong," Jiraiya said, his expression turning slightly incredulous as he recalled what he knew. "But according to legend, every hundred years, Takigakure obtains something called the Hero Water…"
There it is.
"Hero Water? What is that?"
"It's said that drinking it causes a massive surge in chakra…"
"…!"
Jiraiya shook his head. "It's hard to believe something like that exists in this world."
"Does it really have such an effect? Even if it does, there must be limitations."
"As far as I know, the boost is only temporary," Jiraiya replied. "And it comes at the cost of the user's lifespan."
I knew it.
That snake—Orochimaru—definitely knew this as well.
Shimizu frowned slightly, still unconvinced. "And they think something like that is enough to subdue a Tailed Beast?"
Even if chakra surged, all it really meant was stronger techniques and the ability to use more of them.
But a Tailed Beast… would it really just collapse obediently after taking a few jutsu?
"That shouldn't be the case," Jiraiya said, frowning slightly. "Even if the Seven-Tails isn't particularly strong compared to the others…"
He trailed off, clearly lacking further information. "There might be something else at play—some detail we don't know yet."
"Someone's coming," Shimizu suddenly warned, his tone sharpening. "Seven o'clock direction, about 420 meters out."
"Nice sensing," Jiraiya praised lightly.
Shimizu spoke quickly, his focus unwavering. "Five people. Three of them have extremely powerful chakra… and they're heading toward the giant tree."
When he said powerful, he meant far beyond his own reserves.
In fact, those three… even surpassed Jiraiya.
To have three such individuals in a five-man squad—this was no ordinary unit. It was a top-tier team.
"They're probably jinchūriki," Jiraiya concluded.
"Should we follow them?"
"Not yet." Jiraiya shook his head. "If a fight breaks out, it won't be subtle, and it won't end quickly. We can head over then. Besides, whoever they are… if one side has arrived, the other will likely show up as well."
"Let's confirm their movement first, then act."
"Got it."
Sure enough, not long after, another group appeared.
"Seven people," Shimizu reported. "Three of them also have very strong chakra. Same direction—toward the giant tree."
Jiraiya lowered his voice and chuckled. "Feeling the pressure, Shimizu?"
Six individuals whose chakra alone could overwhelm the two of them…
"Come on, Jiraiya-senpai," Shimizu replied calmly. "Battles between shinobi aren't decided by chakra alone. You know that as well as I do."
"Mmm… so you are feeling the pressure," Jiraiya nodded with mock seriousness.
…Fine. Think whatever you want.
Besides, pressure wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Didn't they say pressure created motivation?
Shimizu took it in stride.
"Feeling pressure is normal," Jiraiya added, his tone turning more serious. "Even I do, in a situation like this—facing multiple enemies of that level at once…"
Then, suddenly, he stood up, gazing into the distance with a fearless gleam in his eyes.
"But so what? None of that is enough to stop me, Jiraiya, from moving forward!"
With a grand wave of his hand, he declared, "Let's go, little Shimizu! Follow the great and wild Jiraiya—we're officially infiltrating Takigakure!"
…Right. Loud, overconfident, and hopelessly perverted.
From that point on, after formally entering Takigakure, the two split up to act independently.
Their primary objective remained the same: to find any trace of Madara. In a small village like this, any outsider's presence or unusual activity should, in theory, be easier to uncover.
As for the Seven-Tails… Iwagakure and Kumogakure would handle stirring up that trouble for them.
Meanwhile, Shimizu had another concern weighing on his mind—the Hero Water.
After some investigation, he discovered that it was most likely stored in a small building at the very center of the village…
And that location was currently occupied by Takigakure's elite forces, possibly even their leader—along with shinobi from Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
So how exactly was he supposed to get his hands on it?
Just then, a blinding pillar of light shot into the sky in the distance, so brilliant it stood out even in broad daylight.
A moment later, a deafening explosion followed.
Boom—!!
Had Kumogakure and Iwagakure already started fighting each other?
If that was the case, then he needed to head toward the rendezvous point he had agreed on with Jiraiya.
But before that…
While they were busy fighting—too preoccupied to notice anything else—there was a brief window of opportunity.
The Hero Water…
This might be his only chance.
...
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