As the sun set, Hoshishita Shu stepped out of the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Waterfalls.
This country was essentially a basin surrounded by mountains—easy to defend, hard to attack.
Takigakure's terrain was similar.
A small basin nested within a larger basin, with the village itself wrapped in waterfalls.
Sneaking in silently would be extremely difficult.
Shu didn't immediately move to assassinate the minister.
Instead, he traveled through the night and arrived near Takigakure around eight in the evening.
In a clearing within the forest, he sat to rest.
After restoring himself to peak condition, he created six clones to continue training.
After eating several soldier pills, Shu climbed to the top of a mountain and silently observed the distant lights of Takigakure flickering like embers.
But he had no deep intelligence on the village.
So he didn't infiltrate recklessly.
After watching for a while, he found a place to lie in wait.
Before he knew it, dawn arrived.
Around ten in the morning, Shu locked onto a Takigakure squad and followed them silently.
Once they'd moved a good distance away from the village, he created Wood Clones and launched a surprise attack.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!
The main body and three clones unleashed the technique from four directions.
Violent winds surged.
Air currents collided.
The Takigakure shinobi were thrown into chaos as their balance collapsed.
Immediately after—
Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!
Shu raised his hand.
Wooden vines burst from his palm like a giant serpent opening its jaws, sweeping toward the four Takigakure ninja.
"Watch out!"
The squad leader shouted.
He swung his ninja sword, cutting vines apart and sending fragments flying.
But his cutting speed was far slower than their growth.
He was forced backward again and again.
Then—
Another vine erupted from the earth behind him.
It wrapped around his legs and yanked.
He hit the ground and was instantly bound by multiple vines.
He couldn't resist.
Wood Release: Adamantine Wood Binding!
Not only the leader—
The other three were quickly captured by Shu's clones as well.
Next came interrogation.
Since Shu wasn't skilled in genjutsu, he relied on traditional methods.
Which inevitably meant things got a little… rough.
Shu didn't want to watch.
So he left it to the clones.
Half an hour later, the clones dispersed.
They returned with a large amount of intelligence.
A rough map of the village.
Information about the village leader.
Profiles of several jōnin.
Unfortunately—
The most important information—Earth Grudge Fear—was nowhere to be found.
These four chūnin simply didn't have clearance for secrets like that.
After a moment, Shu decided to enter Takigakure personally.
Based on Konoha's structure, a forbidden technique would most likely be stored near the leader's office and heavily guarded.
According to the captured shinobi, Takigakure didn't have a separate archive building like Konoha.
That meant the leader's office was the most likely location.
Entering Takigakure openly wasn't difficult.
Shu disguised himself as a mission client and walked in.
In fact—
He even spent money to commission a mission within the village.
Just like Konoha, requests were handled inside a central administrative building—equivalent to the Hokage's tower.
Besides—
The more jōnin left the village for missions, the easier it would be for him to act.
Spending money was worth it.
Especially since part of it came from the Takigakure shinobi he'd captured earlier.
After submitting the request, Shu found a quiet corner to train while waiting.
The combination of Three Minds, Two Intentions and clone training was absurdly efficient.
Unfortunately—
His chakra reserves still weren't limitless.
He couldn't create dozens or hundreds of clones like Naruto.
And he still hadn't learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
Time passed quickly.
Soon, night fell.
Shu arrived outside the Takigakure leader's office building.
Only a few lights still burned within.
"After I get back, I should check if I have talent for sensory techniques."
"Without detection abilities, moving like this is… unsettling."
Before, when he operated in a squad, scouting was handled by Aburame Hiiichi.
The Aburame were naturally excellent sensory-type shinobi.
Inuzuka Ryo also had tracking ability, though it leaned toward scent and pursuit.
After observing for a moment—
Shu moved.
His body left a faint afterimage in the moonlight as he slipped into the building.
The mostly wooden structure worked in his favor.
As a Wood Release user, he couldn't move underground like White Zetsu—
But he could merge into wood to hide.
Even with guards stationed throughout, Shu avoided them cleanly.
After nearly half an hour of searching, he finally located the records room.
Using a small flashlight, he began searching for Earth Grudge Fear.
"Hm?"
"It's not here?"
Shu frowned.
Was it hidden elsewhere?
Or—
Was there only one copy, and Kakuzu took it when he defected?
As that thought formed—
Movement flickered behind him.
Shu turned instantly.
A flashbang flew into the room.
The secret scrolls had an alarm seal.
Shu reacted immediately.
He shut his eyes and sank into the wooden floor.
Boom!
The flashbang detonated.
The room flooded with blinding white light.
Several figures rushed in.
But it was empty.
"He escaped!"
"Chase him!"
Shouts erupted as shinobi scattered in pursuit.
Shu had already left the building and was racing toward the village exit at full speed.
Behind him, pursuers gathered from all directions.
"Stop him!"
A Takigakure ninja leapt onto a rooftop to block him.
Shu narrowed his eyes, drew his sword, and slashed.
Three wind blades shot out.
Boom!
A house collapsed, dust exploding into the air.
Clang! Clang!
A brief clash of steel.
Shu burst through the dust cloud.
Two injured Takigakure ninja were left behind in the ruin.
He reached the gate.
A massive waterfall roared ahead.
The guards were already prepared.
Two Takigakure shinobi formed hand seals.
Behind them, the waterfall surged upward.
The rushing water reshaped into a massive wave and crashed toward Shu.
Shu stopped.
Chakra gathered in his right hand.
A Rasengan formed instantly.
Then—
The Rasengan expanded.
A sharp buzzing filled the air as rotating blades began to take shape.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!
Holding it, Shu charged forward.
Just before colliding with the wave—
He drove the technique ahead.
BOOM!!!
The sphere expanded violently.
The surging water was shredded and reversed.
The two shinobi maintaining the Water Release were swallowed by the backlash.
Even the waterfall behind them fractured, spray exploding outward.
The pursuers were thrown into chaos by the violent storm.
At the center of the explosion—
Shu's body transformed into wood.
Then shattered into countless fragments.
A Wood Clone.
And the Rasenshuriken…
It was imperfect.
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