Takigakure was bathed in the mild afternoon sunlight; the streams gurgled and the shadows of trees danced, creating a scene of peace and tranquility.
However, beneath this calm, an uninvited guest was moving silently.
Takuno utilized a sophisticated Transformation Jutsu to perfectly replicate the appearance of an ordinary villager. He walked along the Village paths with a composed expression and steady steps, his target clear: the location of the Seven-Tails' Chakra he sensed using Mind's Eye of Kagura.
Following that unique Chakra signature, he soon arrived at a seemingly ordinary courtyard.
His sharp gaze swept the surroundings like a hawk, instantly perceiving the positions of the guard Shinobi hidden in the shadows.
Almost soundlessly, several pitch-black crows took flight, and a few black feathers drifted slowly down, appearing precisely before the eyes of those guards.
In the next moment, without any shout or struggle, all the guards slumped silently to the ground like puppets with their strings cut, falling into a deep coma.
Takuno's figure flickered, easily clearing the courtyard wall.
Inside the courtyard, a young girl of about a few years old with lively braids was squatting on the ground, intently playing with several colored stones, making crisp clinking sounds and letting out cheerful laughter.
She was the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fū.
"Who are you?" Fū looked up upon hearing the movement, her clear eyes showing no fear, only a child's natural curiosity as she studied the unfamiliar face before her.
Takuno did not respond. He gazed at Fū for a moment, seemingly weighing something, and then snapped his fingers crisply.
Fū's small body trembled slightly, the curiosity in her eyes instantly replaced by confusion. Then, just like the guards, she slumped softly to the ground, losing consciousness.
Takuno did not wish to waste time here, nor was there any need to become entangled with Takigakure, much less provoke a conflict with the entire Village.
He reached out, his palm glowing with an imperceptible Chakra light, and slowly pressed it against Fū's abdomen, preparing to extract the objective of his journey.
Swish!
At the critical moment, a sharp whistling sound tore through the air!
"Hmm?" Takuno's eyes moved suddenly, and he disappeared from the spot, carrying Fū with one arm.
A sharp Kunai, carrying a fierce wind, nailed itself precisely into the spot where Takuno had just been standing, sending soil and stones flying!
"Release Fū!" a shout filled with shock and rage rang out. A man wearing a Takigakure forehead protector appeared at the courtyard gate, staring with burning eyes at Takuno, who held Fū in one arm.
Takuno turned slightly and looked at the newcomer with interest: "Oh? Quite unexpected. How did you find me?"
His tone was calm, even carrying a hint of inquiry.
The Leader of Takigakure was filled with terror and alarm, his breathing ragged. He couldn't speak the truth; it was merely a vague premonition that drove him to check, only to stumble upon the horrific scene of all the guardians unconscious and Fū about to suffer a calamity!
What brilliant methods did he have? It was nothing more than a coincidence.
However, he couldn't say that and bolster the opponent's arrogance.
"Cut the crap!" The Leader of Takigakure suppressed the panic in his heart and roared as he charged at Takuno, attempting to reclaim Fū.
However, his movements were sluggish and clumsy in Takuno's eyes, full of fatal openings.
Takuno shook his head inwardly, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes: Is this the current Leader of Takigakure? His strength barely reaches the standard of a Jonin, let alone his insight and strategy.
Did the man really think his arrival was due to a whim? Didn't he find it a bit too coincidental?
"Kujaku Myōhō: Dragon Snake!" Takuno shouted low, and a massive amount of Chakra erupted instantly!
A giant deep-purple python composed of pure Chakra materialized out of thin air, coiling behind him. Its form was solid, radiating a suffocating pressure.
The python's cold vertical pupils locked onto the Leader of Takigakure. With just a low, powerful roar, the invisible shockwave made the Leader of Takigakure feel as if he had slammed into an invisible wall.
The Leader of Takigakure's charge was stopped dead, and he even involuntarily retreated two steps, the color draining from his face, leaving only extreme horror.
"Bye-bye," Takuno tossed out a casual farewell. His figure blurred, and carrying the unconscious Fū, he leapt out of the courtyard like a ghost, speeding toward the Village outskirts.
The Leader of Takigakure froze on the spot, the terrifying image of that Chakra python echoing in his mind, his heart and soul shaken.
"That amount of Chakra, is it really something a human can possess?" The massive gap in strength left him momentarily lost and helpless.
What should he do? Pursue? That would be no different from seeking death! Give up? But that was the Village's only hope for revival, the Seven-Tails!
At this moment, a thought emerged frantically: he still had the Hero Water!
The Leader of Takigakure gritted his teeth, a look of resolve flashing in his eyes.
He spun around abruptly and charged frantically toward a hidden room deep within the Village, where an ancient gourd, transparent and filled with a strange liquid, was enshrined.
The Leader of Takigakure snatched the 'Hero Water,' his hands trembling slightly from excitement and fear.
He stared at the gourd, a look of struggle churning in his eyes.
He knew the consequences; drinking this water would consume a vast amount of his lifespan in exchange for brief, powerful strength, ultimately leading to death through rapid aging.
But there was no time!
If he hesitated any longer, that Shinobi would disappear forever with Fū and the Seven-Tails!
The last trace of hesitation in the Leader of Takigakure's eyes was replaced by madness. He jerked the stopper out and tilted his head back to swallow a small mouthful!
"Gulp—"
The moment the liquid hit his throat, an unimaginable, violent power exploded within his body!
His originally average Chakra surged frantically like a volcanic eruption, surging and billowing, filling every corner of his body!
The unprecedented sense of power almost made him groan aloud.
"This! Is this the power of the Hero Water?" The Leader of Takigakure felt the boundless Chakra flowing through him, his eyes momentarily intoxicated.
If, if it didn't... consume... life... as its price, how wonderful would that be?
He sighed bitterly, and then, this newly acquired power drove him to turn into a gale, racing toward the only path out of the Village, the direction where Takuno had left!
However, just as he rushed out the door and his feet had just stepped onto the path leading outside...
"Rip!"
Two brown tree roots, as tough as iron, shot out from the ground without warning, wrapping around his ankles with unerring precision! The speed was far beyond the sensory limits he had just acquired!
"What?!" The Leader of Takigakure was terrified, losing his balance and falling heavily forward to the ground.
He struggled desperately, trying to break free from the restraint, only to find more roots spreading out from the soil like living snakes, instantly coiling around his body and arms, pinning him firmly to the ground!
What made his soul scatter even more was that one of the thickest roots, its tip like a nimble finger, easily snatched away the Hero Water gourd he had placed in his robe!
Takuno's figure stepped leisurely out from the shadow of a nearby large tree like a ghost.
He reached out, and the root obediently offered up the Hero Water.
Takuno toyed with the gourd, sensing the strange energy contained within, a satisfied curve hooking his lips.
This was exactly the target he was waiting for. Allowing the Leader of Takigakure to take the water was precisely to verify the authenticity of this legendary water. Now, the result was self-evident.
"You?! Who are you?! You've been targeting the Hero Water all along?!" The Leader of Takigakure's eyes nearly split from rage, instantly realizing he had been within the other's calculations from beginning to end!
He desperately channeled that massive Hero Water Chakra, trying to shatter the restraints, but those seemingly ordinary roots didn't budge!
Before this absolute suppression of power, the boost brought by the Hero Water seemed so pale and weak.
Takuno's own Chakra volume was like a vast ocean. Even if the Hero Water could increase the Leader of Takigakure's Chakra dozens of times over, before this ocean, it was merely a stream flowing in, insignificant.
Takuno looked down at the bound Leader of Takigakure and flatly posed another question: "Is the Takigakure secret technique, 'Earth Grudge Fear,' still here?"
He had already turned the Leader of Takigakure's residence upside down while the man was getting the water, finding only some low-grade Ninjutsu scrolls; the crucial Earth Grudge Fear was nowhere to be found.
Upon hearing this, the Leader of Takigakure's pupils shrank, and he stared at Takuno in disbelief: "You, how do you know about Earth Grudge Fear?!"
This mysterious powerhouse knew Takigakure's secrets like the back of his hand. Could he have once been a person of the Village?
"You don't need to know," Takuno's tone turned cold. "Tell me, is it here or not? If you hand over Earth Grudge Fear, the Seven-Tails, it wouldn't hurt to return it to you."
The Leader of Takigakure opened his mouth, his throat dry, and finally lowered his head dejectedly, saying bitterly: "It's—it's not that I don't want to give it, but Earth Grudge Fear was stolen years ago by our Village's rogue Shinobi, Kakuzu!
All the backup scrolls in the Village, along with all the high-ranking officials who knew the details of the secret technique, were slaughtered by him, not a single one left—"
This answer did not exceed Takuno's expectations; it matched his previous search results and conjectures.
Takigakure had indeed lost that forbidden secret technique.
The Leader of Takigakure did not give up on the last sliver of hope, urgently adding: "My Lord! As long as you are willing to return the Seven-Tails, the Hero Water—all of Takigakure's future production, we are willing to offer it all to you! Any condition, we will agree!"
Hearing this, Takuno merely gave him a faint glance, his eyes carrying a hint of mockery that saw through everything.
Was he trying to deceive him, not knowing the truth that the Hero Water takes a hundred years to condense once?
Just then, another Takuno appeared nearby carrying the unconscious Fū and took the Hero Water from the Wood Clone's hand.
At that moment, the Wood Clone also dispersed accordingly.
Takuno glanced at the Leader of Takigakure, who was bound by roots and whose eyes were filled with a mixture of despair and hope, and said no more.
He leaned down and gently placed Fū on the ground, then turned around, disappearing into the dense forest outside Takigakure in a few flickers, leaving no further trace.
After Takuno left, the roots binding the Leader of Takigakure instantly lost their Chakra support, snapping inch by inch like rotten wood.
The Leader of Takigakure immediately broke free and scrambled to Fū's side, his hands trembling as he checked her condition.
Her pulse was steady, her breathing even, and what he found most unbelievable was when he carefully sensed the seal within Fū: the Seven-Tails!
The Seven-Tails still resided safely within Fū's body! In fact, did that Tailed Beast's aura seem even calmer and more docile than before?
The Leader of Takigakure was completely bewildered.
He looked up blankly in the direction where Takuno had disappeared.
The opponent went to such great lengths to infiltrate, knock out the guards, subdue the Leader of Takigakure, seize the Hero Water, and interrogate him about Earth Grudge Fear—and in the end, he actually only took a bottle of Hero Water and left the perfectly intact Seven-Tails Jinchuriki behind?
"He... what on earth does he want?" the Leader of Takigakure murmured to himself, a huge mystery enveloping him.
But regardless, Fū and the Seven-Tails were safe! This was already a stroke of immense luck!
As for that hundred-year-produced Hero Water? Although precious, compared to the continuation of the Seven-Tails, it was fundamentally insignificant.
After all, the side effects of the Hero Water made its value far less than that of the Seven-Tails.
If it's lost, then let it be lost.
Deep in the forest, Takuno's figure sped past.
The objective of this trip had been achieved: the Hero Water was in hand, and the Seven-Tails Chakra sample had been successfully cut and obtained.
As for Earth Grudge Fear, he hadn't held much hope for it to begin with, so there was nothing to be disappointed about.
At this moment, thinking of that weak Leader of Takigakure, Takuno thought somewhat mockingly that with the man's strength, he probably wouldn't even be able to perceive that small portion of Chakra precisely cut away from within Fū.
He was not a bloodthirsty person; unless there was some benefit to him, he was unwilling to cause senseless slaughter.
So far, the only ones who had truly driven him to kill ruthlessly and exterminate were that group of Kaguya Clan members who were unafraid of death and didn't know how to retreat—those 'lunatics.'
Had they chosen to flee then rather than fight to the death, he would not have wiped them out.
In this world where strength is respected, weakness is the original sin!
With his thoughts clear, Takuno no longer lingered, his figure completely disappearing into the vast mountain forests of the Land of Waterfall.
Inside the experimental base in the Land of Snow, Takuno pondered the remaining Tailed Beast Chakra he had not yet acquired.
They were the One-Tail, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Six-Tails.
However, their locations were not comparable to Takigakure; they were all within the Great Nations.
Sunagakure controlled the One-Tail, Iwagakure held the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, and the Hidden Mist Village guarded the Six-Tails. These strongholds were all heavily guarded, each like a solid fortress.
Regarding the One-Tail's Chakra, Takuno was full of confidence.
He assessed his own strength and was certain he could seize this power from Sunagakure's hands.
After all, Sunagakure's defenses were relatively weak. The strongest person currently was only the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, whose strength wasn't particularly great. He had full confidence in using speed and strategy to resolve all obstacles.
However, Iwagakure made him frown slightly. There was Ōnoki; although that old fellow's overall strength wasn't top-tier, his Dust Release was a threat that could not be ignored.
As a Kekkei Tōta Ninjutsu, Dust Release possessed devastating destructive power. Its only flaw was the obvious wind-up before release, making it easy for a keen opponent to dodge.
Takuno's speed was sufficient to avoid such attacks, but the power of Dust Release was enough to require him to maintain high vigilance; a slight mistake could result in a painful price.
The most troublesome was the Hidden Mist Village.
On the surface, it seemed weak, but in reality, it hid killing intent.
Obito was stationed there, plus that shark-faced loyal guard had been watching over things; acquiring the Six-Tails' Chakra had become an almost impossible task.
Unfortunately, his strength wasn't enough when he went to the Land of Water back then. At that time, Obito hadn't yet taken control of the Hidden Mist. If he had been strong enough then, that would have been the best time to acquire the Six-Tails' Chakra.
However, after all, he had only acquired the Chimera Technique not long before, so it was normal that his strength was insufficient.
Takuno sighed. Fortunately, he didn't need to be in a hurry. Currently, he still had many things to do, and his strength was still steadily improving. Once matters were settled, he could go and obtain those Tailed Beast Chakras.
Moreover, next would be a rare period of calm in the Shinobi World. It was also time for him to use this period to consolidate all his abilities!