The two sides kept a certain distance. These Waterfall Ninja were fairly confident in themselves. Even if it was Tsunade of Konoha—or even if it was not Tsunade—it did not matter.
There were indeed quite a few female ninja in wartime, but aside from Tsunade, most of them specialized in ninjutsu or Genjutsu. If she was not Tsunade, then at this distance, no matter how strong she and the child were, the blue-haired ninja was confident he could restrain them both in an instant—if she was not Tsunade.
If Oguri Hayashi had watched Naruto carefully, or had been a fan who could recite it backward and forward, he would certainly have recognized the blue-haired jonin before him as the future Pain's Human Path puppet.
Unfortunately, Oguri Hayashi was merely an anime enthusiast. He was not some hardcore otaku, nor was he an author who wrote fanfiction and got muddled up in all sorts of settings.
Although Oguri Hayashi had watched Naruto, he no longer remembered much of it clearly.
The fact that he could still remember major characters like Tsunade, Naruto, and Sasuke already meant he had a decent memory.
Before long, they arrived in Takigakure.
They saw barely any ninja along the way. In other words, this jonin and three Genin were already the defensive force on this side.
Excluding the sea, Takigakure only had three sides. If each side was defended by one jonin and three Genin, then Takigakure likely had fewer than ten jonin.
That was even counting the Waterfall Kage and the Jinchuriki.
What a weak place.
Oguri Hayashi thought coldly.
No wonder Orochimaru would rather establish Otogakure in the Land of Fields than come to a country like the Land of Waterfalls, which possessed a tailed beast. The advantages of the Land of Fields were obvious: it had more farmland, greater output, could support a large population, and was extremely close to Konoha.
With farmland to support the population, it could train large numbers of ninja and provide plenty of experimental subjects.
Like the First Hokage, Orochimaru was an exceptionally intelligent man. Oguri Hayashi understood that, but he still had different ideas.
After all, he was not from this world and would not be influenced by its established conventions.
For example, even rogue ninja would slash a line through their forehead protectors. Yet when Oguri Hayashi defected from Konoha, he had not done that. Instead, he had put away his forehead protector altogether.
Those differences in thinking naturally led Oguri Hayashi to make different choices from Orochimaru.
As their group entered the village, the message the blue-haired ninja had sent ahead caused the village's ninja to come out.
If Tsunade of Konoha had truly arrived, there was nothing wrong with the leader of a village coming out to receive her.
Takigakure was a small ninja village, so its Waterfall Kage did not dress like the Kage of the other Five Great Villages, wearing a ceremonial robe and a conical hat. He looked like an ordinary ninja, with only slight differences in the style of his clothing from Konoha's ninja.
Konoha's green flak jackets were far too recognizable. However, because Tsunade had rushed after Oguri Hayashi, she had not worn that distinctive vest.
But her pale golden hair was extremely conspicuous. Coupled with the physique of an obvious taijutsu specialist and the clearly visible Yin Seal on her forehead, after her battle with Hanzo, there were hardly any people in the ninja world who did not recognize her.
"Who would have thought Princess Tsunade herself would honor us with her presence? You are most welcome!"
The middle-aged man at the front had thick brows and large eyes. He wore a blue top and had a Takigakure forehead protector tied around his head. Surrounded by seven or eight ninja, he walked over with his arms spread wide.
There were four jonin, including the Waterfall Kage.
If they had been Konoha jonin, just two of them leading six Chunin could have wiped out this entire place.
What a weak place.
Tsunade said nothing. She knew her place well enough. As a captive, she had no right to speak. More importantly, Takigakure's fate had nothing to do with her. What she needed to know was what Oguri Hayashi, a man who would become a Kage-level powerhouse in the future, intended to do now.
Trading Takigakure for information about Oguri Hayashi was a very worthwhile deal. Tsunade would not stop him.
"Everyone, your premise is mistaken." Oguri Hayashi was only twelve years old, and as expected, he was not particularly eye-catching. Helpless, he had to prove his strength.
He released the Heavier Rock Technique, and blue lightning instantly burst from his body.
Like a Super Saiyan transformation, indigo radiance wrapped around him. It was Chakra made tangible and visible to the naked eye—a ninjutsu, one cast upon himself.
A ninjutsu that made his body invulnerable.
Lightning Release Body Cultivation Technique.
"Then, let us talk." Oguri Hayashi opened his eyes. Faint arcs of lightning flickered within them, and his pupils had turned nearly blue, like the sky.
"Waterfall Kage. Waterfall Ninja."
He spoke.
"Who are you?" The Waterfall Ninja frowned. The Waterfall Kage at their head was slightly nervous, though Tsunade's presence kept him from being too alarmed.
Konoha and Takigakure had maintained friendly relations for generations. Otherwise, Hashirama Senju would never have wanted Takigakure to serve as a front line and fighting force against the Stone Shinobi, nor would he have given them a tailed beast.
With Tsunade here, did that mean the other side counted as allies?
Oguri Hayashi seemed to see through their thoughts and turned to glance at Tsunade.
Is that why they feel no urgency at all?
"How irritating."
"Show a little respect for the strong, will you?" Oguri Hayashi stomped on the ground.
It was as if an earthquake had struck, or as if the ground had been shelled. A depression instantly formed beneath his foot, the earth trembled, and the Waterfall Ninja swayed uncontrollably with the shaking ground.
"The Princess Tsunade you respect is merely my captive. I am the one qualified to speak with you as equals," Oguri Hayashi said coldly. "Now, listen to my demands."
"Waterfall Ninja."
All the Waterfall Ninja drew their kunai and stared at Oguri Hayashi with grim expressions.
Tsunade seemed unable to bear watching these Waterfall Ninja, who had been friendly with Konoha for generations, get slaughtered by Oguri Hayashi. She could not help saying from the side, "He is already infinitely close to the level of the Five Kage. If you intend to fight him, you had better think it through. After all, he captured me in a single exchange."
Her words did not make the Waterfall Ninja accept her goodwill. They even suspected that Tsunade was not truly Konoha's Tsunade, but merely a female ninja pretending to be her.
At the same time, two jonin rushed at Tsunade while everyone else charged Oguri Hayashi.
But in the next second—
Tsunade and Oguri Hayashi both let out a breath.
The two jonin charging Tsunade were instantly seized by the throat and slammed to the ground by her taijutsu and explosive strength. Meanwhile, the other five jonin who rushed Oguri Hayashi, including the Waterfall Kage, were all kicked away in an instant.
In that instant, Oguri Hayashi delivered five kicks, striking five different openings in their defenses at the same time. The jonin who had tried to challenge him in taijutsu were kicked four or five meters away and landed around him like scattered flower petals.
Looking at the fallen Waterfall Ninja, Oguri Hayashi shouted, "Can we talk properly now?"
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