“Hey, Suzaku.
Shibi,” Senzan called out.
“Are we seriously just running recon in the Hidden Waterfall Village?
Because if a fight breaks out, I’m going to be the first one to bolt.”
Gekko Senzan bantered with his two teammates as they traveled.
Nara Suzaku was a Special Jonin of the Nara clan.
Honestly, he was just a glorified Chunin, but because he possessed his clan’s secret jutsu, the village had slapped the ‘Special Jonin’ title on him.
Then there was Aburame Shibi—the future father of Aburame Shino—who was also a Special Jonin.
Again, just a Chunin in disguise!
“You’re even lazier than I am,” Suzaku sighed.
“This mission is to observe the Hidden Waterfall’s movements, but it’s mostly a formality.
Their location is incredibly well-hidden.
It’s built behind a massive waterfall.
Even if we wanted to get inside, it would take some serious effort.”
The Nara clan—the ‘Shika’ in the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho formation—were the brains of the Hidden Leaf.
Every member was a high-IQ tactical genius.
“Suzaku is right,” Shibi agreed in his usual stoic tone.
“The Hidden Waterfall is the only village outside the Five Great Shinobi Nations to possess a Tailed Beast.
Even though they didn’t participate in the Second Great Ninja War, the higher-ups still need us to confirm their status.”
Senzan obviously knew all of this.
The Hidden Waterfall had always maintained a strict isolationist policy, refusing to establish diplomatic ties with the outside world.
This trip was almost certainly just going through the motions.
But…
the Seven-Tails, Chomei.
He was actually quite interested in it.
He wasn’t sure who the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails was in this era.
If the beast was still sealed away somewhere without a host, he wouldn’t mind putting in a little effort to secure it.
After all, Jinchuriki were highly coveted assets.
More importantly, out of all the Tailed Beasts, Chomei was the only one that could fly!
Senzan firmly believed the only thing missing from his repertoire was the ability to take to the skies.
The Hidden Waterfall Village was located northwest of the Hidden Leaf, completely concealed by a colossal waterfall.
Its geographical location was flawless, making it a natural fortress that was incredibly easy to defend and nearly impossible to attack.
After two days of travel, Senzan and his teammates finally spotted the towering waterfall in the distance.
Even they couldn’t help but stare in awe.
Such a massive, naturally formed barrier was a rare sight.
“So this is the waterfall that hides the village,” Suzaku murmured, genuinely impressed.
“It’s spectacular.”
Beside him, Shibi and Senzan nodded in agreement.
“Senzan, we’re leaving the rest to you,” Suzaku said smoothly.
“Yeah, sure…
wait, what?!” Senzan did a double-take.
“What do you mean you’re leaving it to me?!”
A sudden, creeping sense of dread washed over him.
He narrowed his eyes, realizing both Suzaku and Shibi were watching him with identical looks of quiet amusement.
“Your Kekkei Genkai is perfectly suited for infiltration,” Suzaku explained.
“So, once we breach the waterfall, the actual reconnaissance is entirely in your hands.
The Hidden Waterfall won’t let any outsiders in.
The best we can do is create an opening for you to slip through.”
Senzan was dumbfounded.
‘Son of a bitch.
They completely set me up!’
“Was this Lord Third’s idea?!” he yelled indignantly.
“He’s just getting back at me!
I caught him peeping last time, and this is his revenge!
It has to be him!”
Fuming, Senzan’s mind instantly went to the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
That old bastard was absolutely using this mission as petty retaliation.
Meanwhile, back in the Hokage’s office, Hiruzen was flipping through a stack of paperwork when he suddenly unleashed a violent string of sneezes.
Sniffling, he rubbed his nose and grumbled, “It’s definitely either Jiraiya or that brat Senzan cursing my name.
The little punk blew my cover last time!
Hmph.
Just suffer through your mission, you little rascal!”
They always said the people who understood you best were your partners in crime.
As the Hidden Leaf’s holy trinity of peeping toms, the three of them knew each other inside and out.
Just as Senzan knew perfectly well that Jiraiya and Hiruzen were massive perverts, Hiruzen knew exactly how much of a coward Senzan was!
That was precisely why the Hokage had custom-tailored this infiltration mission just for him—it was the equivalent of making him tap-dance through a minefield.
“Watch your mouth, Senzan,” Suzaku chided lightly.
“Alright, get ready.
We’re starting the operation.”
Senzan felt utterly sick to his stomach.
‘Why did I have to get stuck with a recon mission?!’
“The Waterfall shinobi definitely have the entrance heavily monitored,” Suzaku strategized.
“I’ll use my Shadow Tentacle Jutsu to trigger their perimeter defense.
When the entrance opens, you slip straight in.
Shibi’s insects will provide you with backup.
Good luck, Senzan.”
‘Damn it, they even plotted out exactly how to get me inside.
These guys are utterly ruthless.’
Wasting no time, Suzaku immediately cast his Shadow Tentacle Jutsu, snagging a wild boar from the nearby brush.
Senzan stared blankly at the squealing, thrashing pig trapped in the dark tendrils.
Shibi simply extended his right hand, allowing a small cluster of his kikaichu bugs to flutter down and latch onto the boar’s bristles.
“My insects will assist your entry,” Shibi said calmly.
“Go on, Senzan.
We will hold the perimeter and await your return.”
Looking at the painfully sincere expressions on his teammates’ faces, Senzan desperately wanted to curse out both of their entire bloodlines.
He swallowed his complaints and activated his Kekkei Genkai, the Transparency Jutsu.
In an instant, his body faded from existence, rendering him completely invisible.
However, while Suzaku and Shibi were momentarily distracted, Senzan slyly carved a jutsu formula into the trunk of a nearby tree.
It read: Daddy is here.
This was his ultimate fail-safe.
If things went south, he was instantly bailing.
After all, what was the point of learning the Flying Thunder God Jutsu if not to run away at the first sign of danger?
“Alright,” Senzan’s disembodied voice floated through the air.
“Steer your pig and ram it into the waterfall!”
Grammatically, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the sentence.
Yet, to Suzaku’s ears, it sounded incredibly insulting.
But since Senzan was already invisible, Suzaku couldn’t exactly glare at him.
Sighing, the Nara manipulated his shadow, dragging the thrashing boar straight toward the cascading water.
The moment the pig collided with the surface of the waterfall, it was as if a hidden door swung open.
A split second later, four or five silhouettes darted out from behind the falling water.
“Huh?
A wild boar?” one of the shinobi muttered, lowering his kunai.
“How did a pig manage to trip the perimeter alarm?”
“Who knows?” another shrugged.
“Whatever, meat is meat.
Let’s roast it for dinner tonight.”
The squad of Hidden Waterfall ninja stared at the squealing pig in mild exasperation.
None of them noticed the tiny cluster of black bugs silently fluttering past them and straight through the curtain of water.
Inside the Hidden Waterfall Village, perched on the branch of a large tree…
‘So this is Takigakure…’ Senzan mused inwardly.
‘Hey, Shibi, are you sure these bugs of yours are reliable?
Don’t let them get us exposed.’
Senzan had already deactivated his Transparency Jutsu.
Now that he was safely inside, he needed to replenish his chakra before making his next move.
He stared at the handful of kikaichu crawling along the bark, feeling thoroughly exasperated.
He had to admit, for a village hidden entirely inside a cavern, Takigakure was fairly developed.
Though compared to the Hidden Leaf…
yeah, it still had a long way to go.
Suddenly, something highly peculiar caught his eye.
His gaze instantly locked onto a specific building, completely unable to look away.
A wicked smirk crept onto his lips.
“A hot spring bathhouse situated right inside the cavern…” he murmured to himself.
“Seems like an excellent location to gather vital intelligence…”
‘This is exactly the kind of place Jiraiya would absolutely love.
But since he’s not here, it falls to me!
If I don’t boldly descend into hell, who will?!’