The Divine Tree wasn't simply destroyed and done with; after Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was sealed, up until Ashura inherited the leadership of Ninshu, there were still some roots of the Divine Tree across the world absorbing the earth's energy. The test given to Ashura and Indra by the Six Paths Sage was to eliminate these remaining roots. The Divine Tree was too vast, its roots spread all over the world. After the Ninshu era, after the Warring States Period, and so many years passing, it's not surprising that remnants still exist.
Originally, Ino thought hero water was inferior to Choji's chili pills. Now, seeing this enormous tree root, she slightly changed her mind.
Water might still be ineffective, but the value of this tree root was immense.
Ino didn't plan to snatch it, but rather to research it herself when the time was right and her knowledge was sufficient.
The Village was slightly dilapidated, with holes visible on the sides of some rooms and bloodstains on the ground. Even if the villagers were lazy, they wouldn't ignore these things. There was only one answer: the Village had been attacked by traitors.
Because of their hurried journey, sounds of fighting could still be heard from deep within the Village.
In an era where overpowered individuals weren't rampant and everyone honestly performed hand seals, gathering enemy intelligence was the most crucial part of a battle, if not the only one.
They had intelligence on the enemy, while the enemy had none on them. They were prepared, the enemy wasn't. In an instant, they gained a fifty percent advantage.
Led by Shibuki, the three rushed to the battlefield.
The civilians of Takigakure Village were gathered in a large, three-story building, with several Ninja desperately fending off enemies at the entrance.
Ino used her sensory abilities to observe; there were about two hundred civilians here, mostly elderly and children, with large numbers of civilians also in the northeast and southeast directions of the Village.
Their timing for rescue was perfect.
At this moment, a Ninja saw Shibuki and immediately shouted, "Shibuki, you idiot, what are you doing back? Don't worry about us! Go! Go find Fū to save us!"
The other injured Ninja also cursed, telling Shibuki to run quickly.
Ino and Yuhi had no deterrent effect and were automatically ignored by them.
"Kurenai-sensei, I have a new Ninjutsu. I want to test its effects in a bit," Ino said.
Yuhi had heard a lot about Ino from Asuma, knew her Ninjutsu skill was very high, and after a moment of thought, agreed: "Alright, you try it. If it doesn't work, call me."
With a Jonin backing her, Ino felt quite reassured.
The only one she wasn't reassured about was Shibuki.
Yuhi performed a Genjutsu, disappearing directly before everyone's eyes.
"Hahahahaha—Shibuki, my good disciple, you've finally returned!" A man with spiky hair and a yellow cloth wrapped around his forehead slowly walked out. Behind him were more than ten Ninja. Judging by their headbands, they were from Hidden Rain Village.
Shibuki clenched his fists three times, then loosened them three times: "Suien! Takigakure Village has never treated you poorly. Why would you do such a despicable thing?!"
He pointed at the surrounding villagers: "Betraying the Village, betraying these comrades who trusted you, leading the Amegakure people into the Village—do you feel no guilt at all?"
Suien gave a cold, sinister smile: "Comrades? Your father's lies are just pretty words. In this world, only power is eternal! Kid, hand over the hero water to me! I'll leave immediately, how about it?"
Shibuki looked at Ino, meaning, it's your turn to act, don't just stand there.
"Should I keep this guy alive?" Ino quietly asked, pointing at Suien in the distance.
Shibuki was stunned. Are Konoha Genin so wild these days? Suien is a Jonin from our Takigakure Village! And you're asking if you need to keep him alive?
He thought for a moment, gritting his back teeth: "Don't hold back. Kill him."
Ino then pointed at the Ninja wearing Amegakure headbands: "What about those guys?"
Shibuki had absolutely no good feelings for the invaders: "Kill them all!"
Suien and the Amegakure Ninja behind him only noticed Ino at this point. They were first stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha—Shibuki, you're a little smarter than I thought. You actually knew to go to Konoha Village for reinforcements? But, hahahaha, you're really killing me!"
Suien came out a bit late and didn't see Yuhi. At this moment, he laughed menacingly: "You should have at least hired a Chunin, right? You only hired a child? This is a Konoha Genin, isn't it?!"
Several Amegakure Ninja also laughed wildly. The Takigakure Ninja and villagers didn't laugh; they had seen Yuhi earlier and thought the Konoha Ninja was using the young Genin as bait while she ambushed from the shadows.
Amidst their laughter, a faint sound of air being pierced, "chi chi," could be heard from a distance. The water arrows, propelled by pressure, had already reached them.
"Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"
Suien was the first to be targeted. This Takigakure Jonin saw no trace of the water arrow and hadn't anticipated this method of attack. He merely followed his long-honed instincts, rolling to his left just before the Water Severing Wave arrived.
The instinct honed between life and death saved him. Ino's Water Severing Wave cut precisely towards his right side.
The solidified Water Release Chakra, propelled by high pressure, was like an extremely sharp, swift sword.
A tall Ninja wearing an Amegakure headband was cut in half at the waist on the spot. His smile still on his lips, his upper body slowly began to tilt backward, while his lower body remained standing upright.
The Water Severing Wave was incredibly fast, like a silver thread. Ino merely tilted her head, and the silver thread passed through the bodies of seven Ninja—their necks or their lumbar spines—in quick succession. In just an instant, seven people fell into a pool of blood.
The scent of blood and the scene of seven people being dismembered scared Shibuki so much that he fell backward on the spot. The Takigakure villagers, Ninja, and Amegakure Ninja weren't as disheveled as he was, but several Ninja who had previously thought the Konoha Genin was an easy target now looked utterly horrified. Their minds hadn't even processed it, and half of their forces were already dealt with.
Suien, the Takigakure Jonin, had some experience after all. Instead of screaming hysterically, he hid behind a tree with a grim expression, holding a Kunai in reverse grip, contemplating how to respond.
He reacted quickly, but the other Ninja didn't have such means. These Amegakure Ninja had actually escaped from Pain; they were all scared witless, to say they were like stray dogs would not be an exaggeration.
Encountering Ninjutsu they had never seen and couldn't comprehend, their first thought was of those divine beings in their Village.
These guys weren't good at fighting, but they had some skill in escaping.
They scattered in all directions, making it difficult for Ino's Water Severing Wave to pursue and cut
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