Shibuki's original plan was to seek help from Konoha, hiring Konoha Ninja to assist him in resolving the rebellion in his Village. For this, he had prepared a long speech, repeatedly rehearsing phrases like "traditional friendship between the two countries" and "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold" in his mind.
However, he suddenly had an epiphany this morning: 'Why should I seek help far away when the solution is right in front of me?' This individual seems capable of solving my problem!
Shibuki was timid, but as the heir to a Shinobi Village, he had been trained since childhood and possessed good judgment. When he saw Ino use "Water Formation Wall" and "Water Dragon Bullet" with such ease and comfort, he could tell this Female Ninja was much stronger than he had anticipated.
This led to his decision to change the mission.
Ino remained silent for a moment. She didn't understand Tsunade's personality; many of Lady Tsunade's actions seemed reckless. What if there was some ironclad rule for Ninja carrying out missions involved? She wasn't going to take risks on this matter, so she directly refused.
"Lady Tsunade sent me to escort you to the Village, so she must have her reasons. Let's speed up; we can discuss what happens next later."
They traveled quickly for two days, and she eliminated all enemies along the way, successfully bringing Shibuki to Konoha Village.
The Third Hokage asked Shibuki a few questions, then turned to Ino: "Shibuki intends to re-commission you to escort him back to Takigakure Village. Asuma has taken Shikamaru and Choji to carry out a mission to suppress bandits. I've assigned Yuhi to temporarily team up with you, and you two will go together to resolve the rebellion in Takigakure Village."
Kakashi's resume was a bit lacking for Hokage, and Yuhi, who had just been promoted to Jonin, would be even more inexperienced as an Advisor.
The Third Hokage racked his brain to assign her missions, and Takigakure Village seemed just right in his opinion.
Others didn't know, but he did: Ino was now significantly stronger than an average Genin. With her combination of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, Takigakure Village simply couldn't stop them.
This was a formally issued mission, and Ino had no reason to refuse. Since the mission involved a Jonin from Takigakure Village, it was designated as A-rank.
Soon after, Kurenai Yuhi, full of enthusiasm for her work, met up with Ino. With their client, Shibuki, the three once again left Konoha Village.
Kurenai Yuhi felt some things needed clarification, so she asked Shibuki: "There should be Jonin loyal to your father in Takigakure Village, right?"
Shibuki pursed his lips, seemingly unsure how to address the matter.
Ino, from the side, pressed for details: "Did they betray him?"
"...Those loyal to my father didn't betray him."
Ino thought she had found the answer: "Oh, so that means those not loyal to your father all betrayed him, and then the Jonin loyal to your father died in battle?"
Shibuki's face fell, and after a long inner struggle, he finally replied: "...They had other missions, missions more important than my life."
What kind of mission was it, exactly? Ino hadn't paid much attention to Takigakure Village. Combining information from the manga and some Yamanaka Clan data, a light flashed in her mind, and she understood! It must be about the Jinchuriki. Takigakure Village was the only Village outside the Five Great Ninja Villages that possessed a Tailed Beast.
Which Tailed Beast did Takigakure Village have? She vaguely remembered a giant beetle?
Ino didn't have a strong impression of this Tailed Beast. If she wasn't mistaken, it should be one of the weaker Tailed Beasts.
Rumor had it that when the Six Paths Sage separated the Ten-Tails, Kurama cried his eyes out, while the other Tailed Beasts remained indifferent. Creatures like the giant beetle and giant turtle had already run off to play. The Six Paths Sage claimed to divide it equally, but in reality, he gave Kurama a tiny bit more of the Ten-Tails' Chakra.
Although Takigakure Village's Tailed Beast wasn't strong, and its Jinchuriki was also quite weak, it was still a powerful weapon. During the Village's chaos, moving it to another location for hiding, and having two Jonin guard it, seemed reasonable enough.
They killed three waves of enemies on the way and rested for a night. Yuhi highly praised Ino's Ghost Fortress, which could turn invisible, allowed them to eat inside, and most importantly, even provided a bath. This Summoning Beast was truly amazing!
On the evening of the third day after leaving Konoha, the temporary squad finally brought Shibuki to a waterfall with no markings on the map.
Legend had it that Takigakure Village was hidden behind a waterfall, a secluded paradise far from war.
Upon reaching this point, the first phase of the mission was complete. Through his observations along the way, Shibuki felt that the Konoha Female Ninja wouldn't be interested in their Village's treasure.
He decided to reveal the truth: "Takigakure Village possesses a treasure called hero water."
After speaking, he subtly observed Ino and Yuhi's expressions out of the corner of his eye.
Neither of them showed any particular reaction.
Ino knew about this item and nodded: "Hmm, I've heard of it. I heard that drinking hero water can increase Chakra tenfold, but the cost is a significant reduction in lifespan after the battle, with severe cases even leading to immediate death."
This so-called tenfold increase, in her opinion, had a limit.
Choji's Red Chili Pill was said to increase Chakra a hundredfold, and his performance against Jirobo was indeed invincible. However, three years later, Choji could achieve similar effects without the Chili Pill, which indicated that this enhancement had a ceiling.
The Akimichi Clan's Chili Pill, without the support of family Secret Technique, would lead to death before Chakra could increase a hundredfold. Takigakure Village's hero water had a slightly smaller cost, but shortening one's lifespan after consumption was still very serious.
Ino wasn't that reckless; her Chakra was perfectly sufficient, and she had no interest in this water.
She answered candidly, showing no signs of covetousness.
Shibuki secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he had gambled correctly!
He clasped his hands together and pleaded again: "If I'm not mistaken, it should be the Jonin Suien from the Village who has become greedy for the hero water. He wants to capture me and force me to reveal the location of the hero water. I want to ask you two to help me defeat Suien."
Speaking of the Village, Shibuki seemed to gain a bit of courage. He recounted all the information about Suien: what Ninjutsu he could use, his fighting style, and his achievements.
Suien was, in fact, his teacher. His father had tried to bind the ambitious Suien with the bond of master and disciple, but unfortunately, not everyone valued such bonds.
As soon as Shibuki's father died, this Jonin betrayed them.
Yuhi suggested that Shibuki hide while she used the Transformation Technique to impersonate him and eliminate the enemy, but Shibuki refused. At this moment, no matter what, he couldn't hide far away.
"That's fine, just don't stay too far from us."
The two cautioned him, then followed Shibuki, diving into the waterfall. They found a hidden cave entrance underwater, swam for over a hundred meters, passed through two waterways, and emerged from the water. Before them was a Village nestled beneath a massive giant tree: Takigakure Village.
Ino carefully examined what appeared to be a giant tree but actually looked more like the remnant roots of a tree. She activated her sensory abilities to detect it. The tree's life force had completely vanished; it was a dead object. However, perhaps because of its proximity to the great waterfall of Takigakure Village, some strange Chakra still remained within its roots.
It was precisely because of the presence of this Chakra that Takigakure Village produced the substance known as hero water.
Ino felt a little confused. Could it be that this thing was the God Tree? Or perhaps a part of the residual roots of the God Tree?!
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