Waterfall Ninja

After Tsunade could not help but let a little slip.

Oguri Hayashi nearly burst out laughing.

After knowing Oguri Hayashi for so long, this was the first time Tsunade had seen him laugh so happily. He had always kept a straight face, with no expression visible—neither warm nor cold, as still as an ancient well.

The Oguri Hayashi before her now looked more like a child.

Perhaps Oguri Hayashi, laughing to his heart's content, was finally showing his true nature.

"The Chakra of the tailed beasts is indeed powerful, but it is not the path for a strong person to stand upon." If Oguri Hayashi had previously lacked a clear understanding and deeply envied the Chakra of the tailed beasts, then Invincible Superman Hayato Furinji's [My Style Secret Technique] had thoroughly awakened him.

To become strong, one first needed the heart of a strong person.

The heart of a strong person meant first relying on oneself to become strong, and second, not placing hope in any external power. Only things gained through earnest cultivation could reach the realm of lifting heavy weights as lightly as feathers.

And this was a realm Naruto never attained, even in the end.

Naruto's power had overflowed from beginning to end. Naruto, who squandered his power without restraint, was not its controller or master. Perhaps Sage Mode was the only thing he had painstakingly cultivated and could control with precision.

That was why, during the time he used Sage Mode, Naruto's combat power soared, and he could face all six Paths of Pain alone without falling behind.

That was power he could truly control. Later, Naruto's combat power experienced another tremendous rise after subduing the Nine-Tails, but the overflowing energy became increasingly obvious.

To be honest, if Naruto had not constantly been forcefully given cheat powers by the author, he would never have been able to rival Sasuke.

Of course, in terms of personality, Oguri Hayashi still preferred Naruto.

But in terms of understanding power and controlling himself, let alone the Third Hokage, Naruto, the Seventh Hokage, probably could not even measure up to the Third Raikage.

"Tailed beasts may be good, but they are not my Ninja Way." Oguri Hayashi calmly led Tsunade into the Land of Waterfalls.

In chinese, "waterfall" meant rushing water, while in Japanese, it directly meant a waterfall. There were many mountains here, the rivers ran swift, and waterfalls were one of the country's defining features. The village hidden among those waterfalls was Takigakure.

The Land of Waterfalls had a very small population, so small that its people had effectively merged with Takigakure and become members of the village.

Precisely because of this, even if the Stone Shinobi and Cloud Ninja fought on the land of the Land of Waterfalls, they would not truly harm the village's foundations. Takigakure had always stayed out of worldly affairs; it was truly a rare, laid-back ninja village.

But by being so detached from the world, they had utterly wasted the Seven-Tails Chōmei that the First Hokage had given them. The First Hokage's intentions had been obvious: with the Seven-Tails Chōmei and the Waterfall Kage—if he could even be counted as a Kage—they would have two Kage-level powerhouses helping Konoha hold the eastern front. Whether it was the Stone Shinobi or Cloud Ninja, even if both sides attacked Konoha together, Konoha would only need to deal with one of them.

The First Hokage's strategic goal had not been wrong at all, but he could never have imagined that because of the waterfalls and their isolation, Takigakure would decline generation after generation. By Naruto's era, there were not even many ninja left.

As the saying went, one thrived in adversity and died in comfort. After Takigakure's Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was captured, there were barely any ninja left at all.

By Naruto's era, the head of the village was nothing more than someone who was not even as capable as a Genin.

The ancients truly did not deceive us.

But Takigakure had not yet fallen anywhere near that far at this time.

Only two days after Oguri Hayashi and Tsunade set foot in Takigakure's territory, they encountered one of its scouting patrol squads.

"Stop right there!" A kunai shot into the ground directly in front of their feet.

Its warning was unmistakable.

That kunai-throwing technique was beneath Oguri Hayashi and Tsunade's notice. They had long since discovered the patrol squad. The leader was fairly capable, already a Jonin. His footsteps made not the slightest sound, but the three people he led were nowhere near as skilled. They were probably all at Genin level and could be defeated with ease.

"This is Takigakure territory. What are you doing here, ninja from another village?" The three Genin had hidden themselves rather well, but their breathing was too heavy. To Tsunade and Oguri Hayashi, such breathing was unbearably crude.

Was the training of talent in small ninja villages truly incapable of comparing with Konoha's?

Tsunade disdainfully raised her head and looked at Takigakure's Jonin. His blue hair made him look like someone with some sort of special ability.

Perhaps it was a Bloodline Limit, perhaps it was a special lineage. Such things were perfectly normal in the ninja world. For example, members of the Uzumaki Clan all had dark red hair, while members of the Kaguya Clan had white hair and pale skin, along with other rather unusual traits.

The blue-haired Waterfall Ninja before them was probably the same.

But even with some special bloodline, he was still far too inferior compared to a monster like Oguri Hayashi.

Tsunade could not help turning back to glance at Oguri Hayashi.

The other side had clearly taken Tsunade to be the leader of the pair. The thin Jonin held a kunai and asked loudly, "Ninja from another village, you are..."

"One of Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin?!" Tsunade's enormous breasts, golden hair, and forehead protector were far too conspicuous. He recognized her almost at a glance and spoke with a slight stammer.

Konoha's ninja were not like those from a small village such as Takigakure, and someone with Tsunade's deep background was even more different from an ordinary ninja.

Her grandfather was the Hokage, her granduncle was the Second Hokage, her teacher was the Third Hokage, and she would become the Fourth Hokage in the future. Someone like her was clearly more than a dozen levels above Takigakure.

Before Tsunade even made a move, her background alone had already cowed the other side.

"You're Waterfall Ninja, right? We've come to visit Takigakure. Can you take us into your village?"

Tsunade folded her arms and said nothing. She could not bring herself to admit the embarrassing fact that she was a prisoner, so keeping quiet was for the best.

Faced with Oguri Hayashi's words, the Jonin suspiciously glanced at the silent Tsunade, then nodded. "I understand. Since you are guests, please follow me."

He jumped down from the tree, picked up his kunai, and put it back into his pouch. That one action revealed the economic hardship of a small ninja village.

The three Genin beside him also jumped out and looked at the pair with slight curiosity.

The three were not much different in age from Oguri Hayashi, but Oguri Hayashi was clearly not on the same level as them.

Oguri Hayashi could not be bothered with them. He simply walked with Tsunade toward Takigakure, surrounded by the four of them.