Land of Waterfalls.
Swoosh, swoosh~
Outside the massive waterfall that concealed Takigakure, two figures flickered into existence at its edge. Both were clad in the distinctive black robes adorned with red clouds. They were Sasori and Deidara of the Akatsuki.
"So, this is the entrance to Takigakure, un?" Deidara asked, his voice casual as he looked up at the colossal curtain of water thundering down from the sky. Sasori, hidden within his puppet Hiruko, replied in his characteristic muffled, impatient tone, "The organization's intelligence indicates this is the place. Deidara, let's just get in there quickly and capture the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki."
As Deidara spoke, his tone conveyed an utter disregard for both Takigakure and its Jinchuriki. Hearing Deidara's urging, Sasori, from within Hiruko, turned his puppet's head to glare coldly at him. "Silence. Do I need you to instruct me on how to conduct my affairs?" After snapping at his partner, Sasori turned Hiruko back to face the waterfall. His hands, concealed beneath his robes, began to rapidly form a series of seals.
Beside him, Deidara seemed completely unfazed by Sasori's rebuke. He let out a soft "Hmph, un," but said nothing further, simply standing by quietly and waiting.
As Sasori completed his hand seals, a strong wave of chakra emanated from within Hiruko. Immediately following this, the entrance to Takigakure, which had been cleverly concealed behind the cascading waterfall, slowly shimmered into view before Sasori and Deidara.
The method to access Takigakure's hidden entrance was intelligence Akatsuki had purchased at great expense from the underground black market. According to Nagato's original plan, the capture of Takigakure's Seven-Tails was supposed to be scheduled for a later phase. After all, in the initial stages of their plan, since the Five Great Shinobi Villages were still unaware of Akatsuki's true objective—collecting the Tailed Beasts—their defenses around their respective Jinchuriki would naturally be much weaker. Starting with the Jinchuriki of the Five Great Villages would have facilitated the smoother progression of Akatsuki's Tailed Beast capture plan.
However, due to the exposure of their activities during the Moon battle, the Five Great Shinobi Villages had prematurely reached a consensus to act against them. Akatsuki's original plan was now clearly ill-suited to the current circumstances. For this reason, after consulting with Obito, Nagato had altered the Tailed Beast capture plan. They would now start by targeting the Tailed Beasts residing outside the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Takigakure was Akatsuki's first stop. Operating concurrently with Sasori and Deidara's mission was another Akatsuki team: Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Hiroomi. Their objective was to capture the Three-Tails, which was currently in a wild, unsealed state.
Seeing the revealed entrance to Takigakure, Sasori and Deidara didn't hesitate for a moment, their figures immediately flashing forward and disappearing into the passage.
Takigakure, the Village Hidden by a Waterfall.
Leader's Office.
Swoosh~
"Lord Shibuki, the barrier outside the village has been opened by someone!" A Takigakure ninja flickered into the office, bowing respectfully to Shibuki, the leader of Takigakure.
"What? Have any of our village's ninja squads been dispatched outside recently?" Hearing the Takigakure ninja's report, Shibuki immediately shot up from behind his desk, his voice laced with urgent concern.
"Reporting to Lord Shibuki, no ninja squads from our village have been sent out during this period," the reporting Takigakure ninja replied respectfully.
Hearing this, Shibuki's expression changed drastically. Without any hesitation, he directly ordered the Takigakure ninja in his office, "Quickly, gather all available ninja within the village! We will go together to see who these intruders are!"
"Yes, sir!" Receiving Shibuki's command, the Takigakure ninja immediately acknowledged the order and rushed off.
After the ninja had departed, Shibuki's expression shifted through several emotions, finally settling into one of grim determination. Shibuki opened a drawer in his leader's desk, took out two small vials, and then strode quickly out of the office. One of these small vials contained several pills, while the other held a clear, transparent liquid. The pills were the genuine medicinal pellets Tatsuya had traded to Takigakure some time ago; consuming them could provide a ninja with a large amount of life energy in a short period. The transparent liquid in the other vial was Takigakure's unique "Hero Water," which, when ingested, could cause a ninja's chakra reserves to instantly surge tenfold, albeit with dangerous side effects.
Takigakure had been able to maintain its independent status for so long primarily due to the village's convenient and highly defensible geographical location. Here, Takigakure's ninja could not only rely on the secrecy afforded by the waterfall outside the village to engage in protracted battles with invading enemies but could also, if necessary, retreat directly into the village itself, remaining undetected. Unless absolutely necessary, most powers in the ninja world were unwilling to engage Takigakure in a battle within the Land of Waterfalls.
Over these many years, only Tatsuya and Kazuma's group, led by Suien, had ever managed to enter Takigakure. Now, someone from the outside had once again found and breached Takigakure's barrier, infiltrating their hidden village. Shibuki had a very bad feeling about this. Takigakure, he feared, was about to face another grave danger. At this moment, Shibuki had already steeled his resolve to protect Takigakure, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
A corner within Takigakure.
In a dense thicket of trees, two figures were currently engaged in a spirited sparring match, their movements quick and agile. Both of them appeared quite young. The older of the two was a young man, his features rather handsome and refined, looking to be only sixteen or seventeen years old. He had long black hair that was casually draped over his shoulders, and he wore a light green robe with a long orange scarf tied around his neck. The younger individual was a girl, likely around eleven or twelve years old, with short, teal-colored hair, an orange hairpin fastened on the right side of her hair. Her darker skin and bright orange eyes gave her a refreshingly spirited and friendly appearance.
These two were Shiboku, the son of Takigakure's leader Shibuki, and Fu, the new Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.
Several years ago, when Tatsuya and Kazuma had entered Takigakure, although they hadn't directly attempted to seize the Seven-Tails, the Jinchuriki at that time, Yuito, had already suffered severe internal injuries during his battle with Jizo. Not long after returning to Takigakure, Yuito had passed away. The Seven-Tails, Chomei, was then resealed by Shibuki and the village elders into a new Jinchuriki. At that time, Fu was only six or seven years old.
However, although Fu was young, her innate physical talent was extremely high. After these years of cultivation and training, Fu's compatibility with Chomei, the Seven-Tails sealed within her, had already reached a very high level. Among all of Takigakure's past Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fu held the most promise of becoming a perfect Jinchuriki.
At this moment, in their sparring match within the forest, Fu clearly held the absolute upper hand. If not for her concern about overly discouraging her "Brother Shiboku," Fu would have defeated him long ago.
Just as the two were still sparring, a fluorescent shimmer suddenly flashed across the sky above Takigakure. Seeing this unexpected phenomenon, both Shiboku and Fu immediately stopped their movements.
"Someone has dispelled the village's barrier!" Shiboku said, looking up at the sky, his expression grave as he murmured to himself.
Beside him, Fu walked over to Shiboku's side. "Brother Shiboku, let's go and see what's happening too!"
"Mm!" Shiboku nodded in agreement. Immediately, the two of them leaped through the trees, disappearing from the forest clearing.
At the entrance of Takigakure village, Sasori and Deidara were walking leisurely into the village, their demeanor casual, almost arrogant.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~
Suddenly, a series of air-cutting sounds echoed, and Shibuki, leading a large contingent of Takigakure ninja, appeared before the two Akatsuki members, blocking their path.