"Hmm?!"
"Chief!"
"The lake seems to have calmed down!"
From the trees on the hillside behind the village, the Takigakure chief and several ninja stood watching the distant lake encircling the massive tree.
At this moment, the lake's surface had slowly returned to calm, though the occasional bubbles rising to the surface hinted that what had just happened was no illusion.
"Wait!"
The chief's expression was grave. He restrained the others from rushing forward to investigate.
After a long while, the lake had completely regained its tranquil appearance, as serene and poetic as ever.
The verdant green surface seemed to be draped with a veil as thin as cicada wings.
Sunlight continued to shine down, and the rippling water sparkled with tiny silver lights, as if the veil had been adorned with glittering beads.
The graceful branches of the giant tree swayed gently above the shimmering water, like a maiden's freshly washed hair, dreamlike and ethereal.
The Takigakure chief and his companions cautiously approached the lake, their eyes scanning the surface as if searching for the beast lurking beneath.
"You all stay here. I'll go down and check!"
The chief's face was solemn. He gave his orders to the others, then removed his upper garment, preparing to dive into the lake.
"Chief!"
"I'll go with you!"
"Two people can look out for each other!"
The man in black began removing his own clothing as well.
"No need!"
"You stay here!"
"If it really is the worst-case scenario, adding another person will only increase the casualties."
"If I don't make it back, take care of the villagers for me..."
The chief gave a fearless smile, patting the man in black on the shoulder before turning and leaping into the water.
With a soft splash, his figure disappeared beneath the surface.
Judging by the small ripples he left behind, the chief's swimming skills seemed quite adept.
Time passed, minute by minute...
The faces of the ninja on the shore grew increasingly anxious.
"This... this..."
"How long has it been already?!"
"Do you think something's happened to the chief?!"
The long-faced man paced nervously along the lakeshore, muttering incessantly.
"Shut your crow's mouth!"
"Or I'll throw you into the lake myself!"
The man in black shot the long-faced man a cold glare, scolding him without hesitation.
"And what gives you the right to do that?!"
"I'm concerned about the chief too! Do you think you'd be in charge just because the chief isn't here?!"
The long-faced man's brows furrowed in anger, and he stepped forward, ready to confront the man in black.
Swoosh!
Just as the two were about to engage in a physical altercation, a figure suddenly burst out of the lake.
"Hmm?!"
"It's the chief!"
The man in black's worried expression disappeared instantly, replaced by joy as he jumped into the lake to help the chief back onto the shore.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
The chief lay on the ground, soaking wet and panting heavily, as if he had just completed an extremely strenuous task.
"Chief?"
"What happened?"
"Is it..."
The others gathered around, waiting for the chief's answer.
"Ha..."
The chief let out a long exhale, swallowed dryly, and finally spoke in a breathless voice: "Our Tailed Beast... is gone..."
"The Hero Water... is gone too..."
"?!?!"
The crowd's faces twisted into exaggerated expressions of disbelief, as if they had just seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"How is that possible?!"
"That's the Seven-Tails we're talking about?!"
"Who in the ninja world could take the Seven-Tails so quietly and in such a short amount of time?"
"We didn't even detect an intruder!"
"And the enemy even knew where the Hero Water was hidden!"
"Could there be a traitor in our village?!"
The Takigakure chief's face was filled with despair, but he hadn't yet revealed the worst part: even the so-called "Holy Root" of the "Sacred Tree," revered by the villagers, had been taken by the mysterious enemy.
This meant Takigakure would never be able to produce Hero Water again...
Elsewhere, in a forest.
Pain, wearing the black cloak with red clouds, was slowly approaching a bounty hunter who was "hunting" nearby.
He carried with him what appeared to be a "potted plant," moving steadily toward his target.
Beneath the Land of Waterfalls lay a small nation known as the Land of Grass.
Although the Land of Grass maintained good relations with Konohagakure, its internal situation was chaotic. The training and development of its ninja lacked a standardized system, leading many Grass ninja to adopt the habit of stealing techniques from other villages.
In this sense, the Land of Grass could be considered a small nation adept at imitation.
However, Kusagakure (the Village Hidden in the Grass) did possess a unique and exclusive technique: Fire Release: Celestial Prison.
The inheritance of this technique was extremely secretive, to the point that even many of Kusagakure's own ninja were unaware of its existence.
Because of this technique, Kusagakure was entrusted by various nations to establish a prison on an unknown island outside its borders to detain rogue ninja.
Recently, however, Kusagakure's hospital had gained unexpected fame.
Previously, the medical ninja of Kusagakure were notoriously inept. Even the so-called "best" among them would need half a day to successfully perform a basic healing technique. By then, many critically injured patients would have already passed away, with the green glow of healing just beginning to appear.
Due to a lack of funding, the hospital often suffered from shortages of medicine, equipment, and even beds. At the height of wartime, when injuries were most severe, patients were sometimes left to recover under trees outside the hospital, with IV bottles hung from the branches.
But recently, the ninja of Kusagakure were astonished to find that the hospital's recovery rate had skyrocketed, and the speed of healing had become astonishingly fast.
When they questioned the recovered patients, they were met with silence, as if the patients had been sworn to secrecy to protect some extraordinary treasure.
In a wooden house not far from the hospital in Kusagakure.
A red-haired woman was lovingly playing with the baby girl in her arms.
The baby, about six months old, had sparse red hair inherited from her mother.
"Karin... Karin..."
"Say 'Mama'..."
The short-haired woman hummed an unknown melody with a smile, occasionally lifting the baby and teaching her the warmest word in the world.
"Hehehe!"
The baby giggled innocently, feeling a deep sense of security in her mother's arms.
Seeing this, the woman's heart filled with joy, but unbeknownst to her, a tear had quietly slipped from the corner of her eye.
Knock, knock, knock!
Suddenly!
A rough knock on the door shattered the peaceful moment. The woman's heart skipped a beat, and fear flashed across her face...
But she quickly composed herself, gently speaking to the baby in her arms: "Karin, be good, okay?"
"Mommy will be back soon!"
"Mommy just needs to go earn some food... It's nothing, nothing at all..."
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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