Longyue Town

"Is this the Land of Waterfalls?" Hyuga Gen asked with curiosity, looking at the mist-shrouded, swamp-like terrain ahead.

"Follow my lead from here on out. I'm quite familiar with this place; it's nothing but swamps, so make sure you don't get stuck," Bu Qianfan warned hurriedly.

And so, under Bu Qianfan's guidance, the group headed deep into the marsh. The journey was relatively safe, and before long, the five of them had crossed the swamp.

Ahead lay a hilly region, with the outlines of great mountains visible in the distance. After traveling for another half-day, Hyuga Gen realized they were nearing Takigakure when he spotted a waterfall in the distance.

Takigakure remained quite mysterious; it barely appeared in Shippuden, and all that was known was that Kakuzu hailed from this hidden village.

Seeing the waterfall before them, which truly lived up to the saying, "A torrent of water falling three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way were cascading from the ninth heaven," the group couldn't help but be captivated by the sight.

"Follow me this way," Bu Qianfan called out. The group snapped out of their trance and hurried to keep pace with him.

"Careful, don't fall in; the pool below is quite deep," Bu Qianfan said, stopping once they reached a point about a third of the way up the waterfall.

He then took a large stride, stepped straight through the curtain of water, and vanished from their sight.

"Don't be afraid, come on over. Just take a slightly larger step," Bu Qianfan's voice echoed from within the waterfall.

Uchiha Izumi hesitated; she couldn't see clearly and feared falling in by accident, unsure of where to place her feet.

"I'll go first to check it out, then you all can follow," Hyuga Gen said. He instantly activated his Byakugan and stepped through with a steady, composed gait.

Inside was a stone cavern. Without lingering, Hyuga Gen turned around and reached out his hand, pulling Izumi and the others in one by one.

"Let's go. Stay close to me and don't fall behind," he said, taking the lead again. Hyuga Gen quickly moved to his side; he didn't want to capsize in the gutter when they were so close to the end.

"You aren't going to tell me we have to swim through this pool, are you?" Hyuga Gen asked weakly, seeing Bu Qianfan stop before a small pool of water.

"That's right. How did you know? We'll be there soon once we swim across," Bu Qianfan replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

How did I know? That's how they do it in TV shows. When there's no path and a small pool appears, the way forward is definitely underneath it.

Hyuga Gen wanted to complain. Entering a village was like exploring a secret treasure vault; it was hidden far too deep. Whoever found this place in the first place was truly a talent.

"Follow me. The other two small pools lead to different places; we have to go down through this one," he said, diving headfirst into the water. Hyuga Gen had no choice but to follow.

Uchiha Izumi, Tōyama, and Might Guy followed closely behind.

Swimming was a mandatory skill for every ninja, so it was no trouble for the three of them. Fortunately, the distance wasn't far—only about twenty meters—before they surfaced.

They were still inside a cave, and as they climbed out of the pool one by one, their clothes were soaked through, which made Hyuga Gen feel very uncomfortable.

He glanced at Uchiha Izumi, but there wasn't much to see; that cursed ninja uniform was truly effective.

Bu Qianfan led them to a resting cavern, clearly prepared for those who frequented the route, complete with a separate compartment for women. After drying their clothes, the group set off once more.

Meanwhile, Water Snake and his party had been lying in ambush near the cave exit for quite some time. There were many forks in the tunnels, but they knew the group would eventually emerge from this specific path.

"Boss, what if that kid doesn't come back? It's been so long," one of Water Snake's subordinates asked.

"Wait a little longer. It should be soon. We received word that he left Konoha a week ago; the timing should be about right," Water Snake said with certainty. It seemed there were four of them as well.

"Quick, get back to your positions. Don't be careless; follow the original plan," Water Snake commanded, taking this operation quite seriously.

He had heard the kid possessed a set of blueprints for a ship; if he could get his hands on them, they might fetch a high price.

Thinking of the reward his good uncle had promised, Water Snake felt a surge of excitement. Although he risked offending Konoha, he felt the risk was well worth the reward.

Looking at the terrain, it was a battlefield tailor-made for him. There were pools on both sides, and the path in the middle was the only way they could emerge.

As a Water Style user, in this environment, what enemy couldn't be dealt with by one of his Water Style ninjutsu? And if there was one, he'd just use another.

The target was being escorted by a Genin squad—he'd heard it was their first C-rank mission. As for the Jonin, he might be a bit of a nuisance.

He knew that anyone who could become a Konoha Jonin wasn't a simple character—he was a Jonin himself, after all. If the opponent were a Water Style user, he might have been more cautious, but that clearly wasn't the case, so he had nothing to worry about.

Besides, he had three Chunin subordinates. No matter how he looked at it, it was a guaranteed victory; he couldn't imagine how he could possibly lose.

"Is this Longyue Town?" Hyuga Gen asked, looking at the small town not far below. From here, he could see the ocean in the distance.

The town didn't look very large, and there seemed to be a few ships on the distant sea, but the view was quite beautiful.

"Yes, this is Longyue Town," Bu Qianfan said, sounding somewhat sentimental.

"Let's go, let's head down," he said, walking into a cave on the right. The group hurried to follow.

The paths inside the cave were bizarre, full of forks, ups, and downs. Hyuga Gen was curious how Bu Qianfan managed to remember them all.

Having traveled through the Land of Waterfalls, which sat between four major nations without being invaded, Hyuga Gen could roughly guess the reason why.

From the swamps at the border to the entrance under the waterfall and the pools inside the stone caverns, combined with the intricate tunnel system, getting in was truly no easy feat.

If a war were to break out, a single person guarding a key position could hold off ten thousand; it would be incredibly difficult to invade.

Furthermore, there didn't seem to be anything particularly attractive here. The transportation was so inconvenient that connecting with the outside world was difficult, making the conquest and occupation of such a place of little strategic value.

However, he had heard that Takigakure possessed the Hero Water, which could rapidly restore and enhance chakra. He didn't know if it was true, but even if it were, such a thing must be extremely rare; otherwise, Takigakure wouldn't have remained so isolated.

Still, Takigakure's unique secret technique, Earth Grudge Fear, was quite monstrous. Its representative figure was Kakuzu, who seemed to be the only one left who knew it, having killed off the other high-ranking members who possessed the knowledge.

This technique allowed one to stitch in the hearts of others, achieving a state of immortality, and by stealing the chakra nature of those hearts, one could use ninjutsu of all five elements. It was indeed powerful.

It was just a pity he encountered the protagonist, Naruto, who killed all his hearts with a single Rasenshuriken. That was why the protagonist was invincible.

As Hyuga Gen thought this, he remained unaware that danger was fast approaching.