Takigakure (Part 2)

The reason Ye Wuji still remembers this forehead protector symbol is precisely because its design is rather peculiar; having an arrow is one thing, but it's missing the front portion, which is why it remains one of the few he can recall.

Thinking of this, Ye Wuji immediately recalled information regarding that theatrical film. This ninja village seemed quite... well, the Takigakure from the movie—let's just call it Takigakure; I recall it should have been called Waterfall Village. At the time, Ye Wuji thought it was named that because the village was located behind a waterfall, so he didn't expect the name to have changed. However, it seems the movie might have called it Takigakure as well; Ye Wuji had forgotten that detail, as it was just a village in a small nation.

Judging from the movie, the entire ninja village only had two or three jonin, and that included the leader of Takigakure, or perhaps one could call him the Taki-kage. As for ninjas of other ranks, they didn't seem to add up to even five people in total.

From the perspective of the film, the village was situated behind a waterfall. Because the village was so weak, they could only focus their efforts on the entrance. Based on what was shown, the reason the village remained peaceful was because it was well-hidden, not because it was particularly formidable. Yet, looking at the current situation, the strength of this Takigakure is not weak at all; it's nothing like the frailty displayed in the movie.

"Regardless of whether this Takigakure's strength is high or low, this village seems to possess something good." After recalling the matters concerning Takigakure, even though some details didn't align, Ye Wuji knew this village held something quite remarkable.

"Hero Water. This village possesses this item." In an instant, the thought of it crossed Ye Wuji's mind—a substance capable of increasing a person's chakra tenfold. As he thought of this, a glint appeared in his eyes. He had to get his hands on the Hero Water; it was too important for him. Ye Wuji had been constantly worried about his own chakra levels, and this could solve a portion of that problem.

"Given the current situation, with the village being so strong and the Hero Water being its treasure, it must be heavily guarded. However, the Hero Water seems to have certain side effects. But in the Naruto World, aside from being born with it, the only way to possess vast amounts of chakra is to become a jinchuriki, and I've never heard of anything in the entire Naruto World that can enhance a jinchuriki."

Ye Wuji had no desire to become a jinchuriki, so he had no choice but to target the Hero Water. It was strange, though—with something as powerful as Hero Water, why hadn't any of the major nations come to seize it? Even if the village was strong, it couldn't possibly contend with the Five Great Nations. Even if the Five Great Nations weren't interested, what about Orochimaru? Orochimaru, who was dedicated to increasing his own power, couldn't possibly be uninterested.

Excluding those possibilities, the only remaining explanation was that they simply didn't know about it. In that case, Takigakure's secrecy was quite impressive. Even that rogue ninja from the movie only sought out other rogue ninjas to help steal the Hero Water; given that guy's personality, he might have even killed his accomplices to silence them after succeeding.

Watching the few people exchanging pleasantries outside, Ye Wuji decided to stay in Takigakure for a while longer. According to the samurai Ukyo, he would be staying here for two years. Originally, Ye Wuji had planned to learn from him for a while and then leave, but now it seemed he would have to stay for the long haul.

Once they finished their pleasantries, the carriage set off again. It seemed they were about to reach that massive waterfall.

Sure enough, the next day, Ye Wuji and the others arrived at the base of the waterfall. He hadn't expected the mountains surrounding this waterfall to be so tall; if you didn't come right up to it, you wouldn't even be able to see the waterfall.

Standing beneath the waterfall, he listened to the roaring sound in his ears—the sound of the water cascading down. Ye Wuji looked up, but he still couldn't see where the source of the waterfall was. He made a rough calculation; the waterfall might be thousands of meters high, though he didn't know the exact figure.

Looking at such a waterfall, Ye Wuji thought to himself: This is probably the true meaning of "a torrent plunging three thousand feet." However, although the sound of the water was deafening, compared to a drop of several thousand meters, something still felt a bit off.

"Never mind. While some things can be explained by science, others cannot. And it might not be that science can't explain it, but rather that your science hasn't developed to that level yet," Ye Wuji mused.

Since they were almost at Takigakure, Ye Wuji stopped sitting inside the carriage and instead sat at the front, observing the environment of Takigakure along the way. Of course, in the eyes of others, he was just a kid looking around aimlessly.

"It's a good thing we aren't going through that cave, nor swimming in through the water. Right, I wonder if one could actually swim in through the water beneath that waterfall," Ye Wuji thought, but upon seeing the several-kilometer-long path, he dismissed the notion. Unless one had the ability to transform into water, even a ninja from Kirigakure probably couldn't swim for several kilometers underwater.

"Past that gate ahead should be Takigakure, right? It looks quite similar to Konoha, both having a big gate and a few ninjas on guard."

"However, this canyon must be natural, right?" Looking at the peaks that pierced the sky and then at the road between them—although the road was wide, about a dozen meters across—it was certainly enough for people to walk through.

A canyon several kilometers long and dozens of meters wide—while it could be carved out with ninjutsu, if you added those mountains that were thousands of meters high, it probably wouldn't be that easy to carve. Even an Earth Style expert from the Land of Earth could probably only create a few dozen meters of space at a time.

"It seems the Land of Waterfalls is truly lucky to have discovered such a natural location." After entering the Land of Waterfalls, Ye Wuji learned that Takigakure was actually inside that massive waterfall, surrounded by water on three sides, with the only remaining side bordering the sea.

"What a perfect place, easy to defend and hard to attack. And even if they were eventually attacked, they could still escape into the sea. Even if the enemy could blockade the sea, a coastline over a dozen kilometers long isn't so easy to seal off. But what if someone used Earth Style to bury the canyon entrance?" Ye Wuji wondered.

In reality, Ye Wuji didn't know that the area above the canyon had long been covered with numerous barriers specifically to prevent anyone from destroying it with ninjutsu, much like the Hokage Rock in Konoha.

A few days later, Ye Wuji had been wandering around Takigakure. "What an interesting country. In other nations, it's rare for a Daimyo to live in a ninja village, but in this country, the Daimyo and the ninja village reside in the same place. However, you can still see the division between them; basically, the Daimyo and the ninja village each occupy half the space. Still, the number of ninjas in this village is indeed quite small. Based on my observations, plus the ones hidden away, there are at most a hundred or so. The number of samurai is roughly about the same."

Ye Wuji calculated this based on the number of samurai, as ninjas were better at hiding, while samurai were not. However, there seemed to be quite a few experts among the samurai here. If nothing else, just from watching many people talk to Uncle Ken, it was clear they were on a similar level. I don't know if there are any samurai at Ukyo's level, but I suspect there aren't many—at most one or two would be the limit. After all, Ukyo was a guy who had killed an elite jonin; there can't be that many monsters around.

Standing by the lake, looking at that towering tree on the opposite side, that must be the place where the Hero Water is kept. In the movie, it was a place anyone could go to, but since it was just a tree, not many people paid it any mind.

But in reality, this tree was simply too massive; it occupied an area of several kilometers. Ye Wuji looked at the trunk, which was nearly two kilometers thick, and it stood over a hundred meters tall. This was truly exaggerated; even the Ten-Tails' Divine Tree might not have such a volume. Fortunately, it was just a tree; if it had consciousness, it would probably be no less powerful than a Tailed Beast.

Not counting the area of the tree, this lake alone took up one-third of Takigakure's total area. If one were to divide Takigakure, the ninjas occupied one part, the Daimyo occupied one part, and this lake occupied the third.

The lake spanned over a dozen kilometers. Because it was adjacent to the village, many people swam in it, mostly children playing in the water. Since this period coincided with the new Daimyo's inauguration ceremony, the atmosphere here was noticeably more festive, which showed that the Daimyo was well-loved.

Ye Wuji also pretended to be interested and went to the island with the giant tree. No one stopped him from reaching the island itself, but if one tried to get close to the tree, they would be blocked.

The people here called this tree the "Sacred Tree," and it was thanks to this tree, or perhaps the lake, that the entire village was basically self-sufficient. The only time one could approach the tree was during the annual Sacred Tree Festival, which occurred around the same time as the New Year. The most recent opportunity was the Daimyo's inauguration, where they would offer prayers to the Sacred Tree. However, that area would certainly be crawling with guards.

A week later, the inauguration ceremony for the new Daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls began. For the past few days, Ye Wuji hadn't seen Ukyo and his family of three. Uncle Ken had been teaching Yuta basic samurai skills, while Tomomi had been taking care of Ye Wuji and the others like a housekeeper.

After the ceremony began, Ye Wuji was curious about what strange customs this world's Daimyo inauguration might have, so he followed the people on the road.

At first, Ye Wuji thought they were heading toward the Daimyo's mansion, but upon getting closer, he realized the inauguration was taking place beneath the Sacred Tree, where a high platform had already been erected. Ye Wuji looked at the platform on the other side, then at his own position, feeling speechless. "Are we not allowed to go over there?"

"Still, having ninjas is convenient. They built a high platform in just one day, and even constructed a bridge so one could cross from this side to the island with the Sacred Tree." Ye Wuji saw many civilians crowded on this side, yet none of them were crossing the bridge.

Looking at the area beneath the platform on the other side, there were already hundreds of people gathered. Judging by their attire, the vast majority were officials, with a portion being so-called civilian representatives.

Originally, Ye Wuji had wanted to take this opportunity to get a good look at the Sacred Tree, but he hadn't expected that he wouldn't be able to get across.

"What are you doing, Ye?" A female voice rang out from behind Ye Wuji. Ye Wuji turned around to see it was Ukyo's daughter, Rei. However, today Rei wasn't wearing her simple samurai outfit, but a white dress with a beautiful crown on her head. Beside Rei was a boy of about the same age, fifteen or sixteen, wearing formal kimono attire and a crown, though he looked quite delicate.

"Sister Rei, I haven't seen you these past few days. What are you doing? And why are you dressed so beautifully?" Seeing Rei, Ye Wuji's heart stirred, feeling that an opportunity had arrived. Although he felt a bit guilty about using Rei, he thought to himself that he might be the one to save the world in the future. If Madara and his group's Eye of the Moon Plan succeeded, wouldn't all these people before him be controlled? Once he thought of it this way, Ye Wuji's slight guilt vanished.

"Nothing much, just practicing some etiquette. It was boring to death, but it's finally over. What about you? What are you doing here?" Rei asked in return after speaking.

"Nothing, I just saw it was very lively, so I came to take a look. But Sister Rei, can I go over there to see?" Ye Wuji asked, pointing toward the platform by the Sacred Tree.

"Oh, so you want to go over there and take a look? That's nothing. I was just about to head over myself. Come on, let's go together." After saying that, Rei pulled Ye Wuji toward the bridge.

The boy beside Rei just smiled and didn't stop them.

"Right, this is the Daimyo's son. His name is Takanao. You can call him Takanao, or Brother Takanao. I forgot to mention, he is the Daimyo's son." Rei introduced him to Ye Wuji on the way.

"Hello, Brother Takanao." Although Rei said he could be casual, to leave a polite impression, he decided to call him "Brother." As for how to address the Daimyo's son, Ye Wuji really didn't know. It seemed the Daimyo's daughter was called a Princess, but it didn't seem like they called the Daimyo's son a Prince here.

"Miss Rei, Prince Takanao, your seats are over there." After crossing the bridge, a guard-like figure approached them. He seemed to be leading Rei and Takanao to their designated spots. However, the guard seemed to freeze for a moment when he saw Ye Wuji, but he didn't say anything and turned to lead the way.

"So the Daimyo's son is called 'Prince.' Now I know, so I won't make a mistake later." Ye Wuji continued to follow them forward. As for the guard's reaction, Ye Wuji didn't pay it any mind; perhaps it was just the first time he'd seen a kid like Ye Wuji walking alongside two such important figures.

Once they reached the high platform, Ye Wuji realized why the guard had frozen—the seating here was all pre-arranged, meaning there was no seat for Ye Wuji on the platform.

"Can't you add a seat?" Rei said with some dissatisfaction. "I see plenty of empty seats."

"This, this..." The guard leading them stammered, looking a bit nervous. He glanced to the side, likely hoping someone would come to bail him out.

"This, Rei, everything has been arranged according to protocol; it's not easy to make ad-hoc changes. Other dignitaries will be arriving shortly, and I'm afraid it would be difficult to accommodate them." Takanao saw the guard looking at him, seemingly aware that only he could persuade Rei, so he spoke up.

"How can that be? You're telling me the person I brought has to stay down there? Besides, what is there to be worried about with him?" Rei remained somewhat dissatisfied.

"Um, Sister Rei, I'd better go down. Everyone here is so serious; it's much livelier down below, and I'm just here to watch the excitement anyway," Ye Wuji said, tugging at Rei's clothes.

Hearing Ye Wuji say this, Rei stopped insisting. After hearing Takanao's words, she also knew that it was indeed difficult to make arrangements; everyone here represented someone else to offer congratulations. If it weren't for her father, Rei wouldn't have a seat here, and this was only the beginning. However, Rei still said, "Watching from below is fine, but don't run around later. If it gets late, head back on your own, understand?"

Ye Wuji nodded, walked down from the high platform, found a secluded spot, waved at Rei on the platform, and began to look around.

Not long after, a group of people approached; it was the Daimyo of the Land of Waterfalls, leading his entourage. Ye Wuji saw that Ukyo was among them, and judging by his position, he was quite far forward.

I wonder what Ukyo-uncle's status is, Ye Wuji thought to himself.

As the Daimyo arrived, some of the commoners from across the lake also began to move over. So that's how it is; we had to wait for the Daimyo to arrive before we could come over. If I'd known, I wouldn't have let Rei bring me, Ye Wuji thought with a pang of regret.

It left him having to wave at Rei on the high platform from time to time, and from the beginning until now, Rei had been keeping her eyes on him.

This makes it hard for me to slip away, Ye Wuji thought to himself.

Once the Daimyo and his party were settled, the inauguration speech began. It was quite similar to elections on Earth: first, the history of the Land of Waterfalls, how they moved from the chaos of war to find this place, a whole lot of empty talk, followed by measures for the people after his ascension, improving living standards, and so on. Finally, he spoke about how the Sacred Tree was the protector of the Land of Waterfalls and what it symbolized.

In short, it was the standard repertoire of leaders: reviewing history and looking toward the future.

Ye Wuji wanted to leave several times, but Rei thwarted him each time. Fortunately, the Daimyo finally finished speaking, and the celebrations began. In an instant, the sky was filled with fireworks of all shapes and sizes, and the commoners began to celebrate with one another, while some prayed before the Sacred Tree.

Generally speaking, most Daimyo in the world of Hokage were decent; at the very least, they cared for the people and were committed to the development of their countries. Only a small number of Daimyo had reputations for cruelty, but those were usually in smaller nations—something Ye Wuji only learned later.

The power levels in this world were too high; if a Daimyo were too wicked, it would be very easy for them to be ousted. After all, a country consisted of not only the Daimyo but also the leader of the ninja village—for the Great Nations, that meant the Kage.

As for the relationship between the Daimyo and the Kage, it seemed quite complex, and Ye Wuji wasn't entirely clear on it either.

The opportunity has arrived. Seeing people celebrating with each other, Ye Wuji also noticed that Sister Rei seemed to be occupied by someone. Taking advantage of this, he prepared to go and investigate. After all, with so many people on the island now, there were others curiously observing the Sacred Tree; even if he were discovered, with Ukyo and the others around, there wouldn't be any real danger. As for stealing the Hero Water right now, Ye Wuji hadn't considered it—besides, he had no idea what kind of security was inside the Sacred Tree, and even if he got his hands on it, he wouldn't know how to use it. Keeping it on his person would be far too dangerous.