Takigakure, the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, was situated in the western part of the Land of Waterfalls, concealed behind an enormous cascade. The waterfall itself spanned over ten kilometers wide, with its highest drop reaching two to three hundred meters. Beyond the falls, Takigakure had established hidden barrier seals. Without an insider to guide the way, outsiders would indeed find it nearly impossible to locate the village's true position.
After a considerable amount of time spent navigating winding paths outside the waterfall, Tatsuya's group finally entered Takigakure under Suien's guidance.
Shortly after entering, the group encountered a small boy, around five or six years old, flanked by two ninja guards.
"Sensei!" the boy cried out excitedly upon seeing Suien, rushing towards him.
This was Shibuki, son of the Takigakure leader, Shota. Suien was his supervising instructor.
"Shibuki," Suien said, catching the boy in a hug, his face beaming with a teacher's affectionate smile.
Watching this scene, a slight smirk touched Tatsuya's lips. How ironic.
Beside them, the two Takigakure ninja guarding Shibuki looked at Tatsuya and the others accompanying Suien with suspicion and alarm. After exchanging a glance, one of them turned and hurried back into the village to report.
Not long after, a middle-aged man arrived, leading several dozen Takigakure shinobi. This man was Shota, the leader of the Hidden Waterfall Village.
"Shibuki, come here!" Shota commanded upon arrival, ignoring Suien, Tatsuya, and the others, his attention fixed on his young son.
Hearing his father's stern tone, Shibuki's small face tightened, and he tried to pull away from Suien's embrace to return to his father's side.
Unexpectedly, Suien tightened his grip, holding Shibuki firmly.
"Suien!" Seeing this, Shota's expression turned thunderous. He stared directly at Suien and demanded, "You brought outsiders into the village without permission. Are you committing treason?"
At Shota's accusation, the Takigakure shinobi behind him immediately fanned out, surrounding Tatsuya and his group.
"Lord Leader, you wrong me," Suien said lightly, a smile playing on his lips. "Look, I've brought back the village's missing Seven-Tails Jinchuriki."
Following Suien's gesture, Shota and the others finally noticed Yuito, the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, being carried limply by Tatsuya. However, Yuito was completely unconscious, unresponsive to the world around him.
Shota's expression remained grave. "While this is indeed a great service, why did you not report it to the village beforehand?"
"Wasn't I just trying to give you a surprise, Lord Leader?" Suien replied flippantly, showing no respect whatsoever for Shota.
Anger flashed across Shota's face, but he remained silent for a moment.
"Are all of you with him?" Shota finally turned his attention to Tatsuya and the three strangers accompanying Suien, asking in a low voice.
The two men and one woman with Suien remained silent. Tatsuya, however, shook his head. "Don't misunderstand. I merely made a deal with him to bring me into Takigakure, nothing more."
Hearing Tatsuya's words, a vicious glint flashed in Suien's eyes.
"A deal? What kind of deal?" Shota's eyes narrowed, his gaze quickly sweeping over Suien and the others.
"He brings me into Takigakure, and I hand the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki over to him," Tatsuya said with a shrug.
"Yuito is Takigakure's Jinchuriki! His fate is not for you to decide!" Fury surged on Shota's face again. His village's Jinchuriki being bartered like goods right before his eyes! It was a blatant disregard for Takigakure!
"No need to get so worked up, Leader Shota," Tatsuya waved a hand dismissively, a slight smile on his face. "If your village is willing to hand over the Earth Grudge Fear secret technique, I'm open to making a deal with you instead."
"The Earth Grudge Fear technique!"
As soon as Tatsuya spoke, Shota's expression changed dramatically. He eyed Tatsuya with suspicion, trying to gauge the truthfulness of his words while simultaneously wondering how Tatsuya knew about the secret technique. Shota was certain Suien was ignorant of its existence.
Seeing the change in Shota's face, Tatsuya smiled inwardly. It seemed Takigakure still possessed the methods for learning Earth Grudge Fear. That was the primary objective of his trip.
Honestly, if it weren't for his urgent need to obtain the Earth Grudge Fear technique from Takigakure, Tatsuya wouldn't have bothered wading into this mess. Earth Grudge Fear was one of the few methods Tatsuya could currently conceive of to solve the problem of his clone bodies being unable to autonomously knead chakra. Compared to that, the Hero Water and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki were secondary concerns.
"My lord," Suien's cold voice sounded from behind Tatsuya, "surely you wouldn't renege on our deal for a mere secret technique? If you simply help me take control of Takigakure, obtaining any jutsu you desire would be effortless, wouldn't it?"
Although he had anticipated the possibility of Tatsuya turning on him, Suien was still furious and cautious now that it had actually happened. During the battle outside Ansei Hall, Tatsuya, disguised as Doctor, had demonstrated exceptional taijutsu but no truly astonishing ninjutsu. Suien wasn't certain of his actual strength. Moreover, with the legendary figure rumored to be Uchiha Madara backing Ansei Hall, Suien didn't want a direct confrontation with Tatsuya unless absolutely necessary.
Tatsuya turned his head and found Suien staring at him coldly, his eyes filled only with anger, not fear. This piqued Tatsuya's curiosity slightly. What gave this man the courage to turn against him? Was it just the three people beside him?
Tatsuya's gaze shifted to the two men and one woman at Suien's side. He couldn't glean any useful information from observing them either.
"It's not about reneging. This approach simply offers a better guarantee," Tatsuya stated casually, shaking his head. "Besides, I have no interest in cooperating with someone like you."
Before his words even faded, Tatsuya vanished.
Not good!
Seeing Tatsuya flicker out of sight, the thought flashed through Suien's mind. Before his body could react, he felt the grip of his right hand, holding Shibuki, suddenly loosen.
The boy had been snatched away!
Seeing this, Suien didn't give chase. Instead, he retreated rapidly. Simultaneously, the two men and the woman with him also fell back.
Moving quickly, the four landed together a short distance away.
As soon as they landed, the woman swiftly produced a scroll from her robes, placed it on the ground, and began forming hand seals at blinding speed. The seals were complex, her hand movements incredibly fast.
Across from them, Tatsuya reappeared, now holding the unconscious Yuito in one hand and Shibuki in the other, not far from Shota and his men.
"Catch!"
He casually tossed both Yuito and Shibuki towards Shota's group. Then, Tatsuya flickered again, intending to stop the woman's hand seals. Judging by the complexity, the jutsu she was preparing was likely formidable. Tatsuya had no intention of being caught off guard.
Swish, swish, swish~
Just as Tatsuya moved, the sound of slicing air echoed from behind Suien's group. Four more men shot forward from behind them. One of them hurled an iron rod that stabbed into the ground, unleashing a powerful electric current surging straight towards Tatsuya.
Tatsuya dodged instantly, avoiding the attack.
BOOM!
The lightning struck the ground not far behind Tatsuya, exploding with a deafening roar and blasting a crater in the earth.
Tatsuya halted. The four newcomers had already positioned themselves beside the woman performing the hand seals.
Her seals were now complete.
Rumble, rumble, rumble~
Instantly, the ground began to tremble and split. In the distance, structures started rising from beneath the earth at four distinct points.
Quickly, bordering the area just in front of where the woman stood, an immense structure emerged from the ground. It was a colossal stone gate carved with the image of an Azure Dragon.
Identical gates rose from the other three directions, bearing carvings of a White Tiger, a Vermillion Bird, and a Black Tortoise, respectively. Each massive gate had two doors.
Shhh~
A brilliant, multi-colored light flared. An enormous, hemispherical barrier began to form, connecting the four stone gates as pillars, completely separating Suien's group from Tatsuya and the Takigakure shinobi.
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