Kawaragi's original plan was to seek assistance from Konoha and hire Konoha ninjas to help him resolve the rebellion in his village. For this, he had prepared a plethora of arguments, repeatedly rehearsing phrases about the traditional friendship between the two nations and the idea that "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold."
However, this morning, he suddenly realized, why should I seek help from afar? The person right in front of me seems capable of solving my problem! Although Kawaragi was timid, as the heir of a ninja village, he had been trained from a young age and had a discerning eye. When he saw Ino using "Water Formation Wall" and "Water Dragon Bullet" with such ease and grace, he could tell that this kunoichi was much stronger than he had anticipated.
This led to his decision to change the mission.
Ino remained silent for a moment. She wasn't familiar with Tsunade's personality. This elder sister's actions often seemed reckless, and what if this involved some unbreakable rule of ninja missions? She didn't want to take any risks on this matter and directly refused.
"Lady Tsunade instructed me to escort you to the village, and she must have her reasons. Let's pick up the pace, and we'll deal with the rest later."
After two days of swift travel, with all enemies along the way eliminated, Ino successfully brought Kawaragi to Konoha.
The Third Hokage asked Kawaragi a few questions and then turned to Ino: "Kawaragi is planning to request your escort back to the Hidden Waterfall Village. Asuma has taken Shikamaru and Choji on a mission to eliminate bandits. I'll have Kurenai temporarily team up with you, and the two of you can handle the rebellion in the Hidden Waterfall Village."
Kakashi's resume wasn't quite enough to become Hokage, and Kurenai, who had just been promoted to Jonin, was even less qualified to be an advisor in terms of seniority.
The Third Hokage racked his brains to assign her missions, and the Hidden Waterfall Village seemed just right for this purpose.
Others might not know, but he was aware that Ino was now far stronger than the average Genin. With her combination of ninja techniques and Genjutsu, the Hidden Waterfall Village wouldn't be able to stop them.
This was an officially assigned mission, and Ino had no reason to refuse. Since the mission involved Jonin from the Hidden Waterfall Village, it was classified as an A-rank mission.
Not long after, the highly motivated Yuhi Kurenai arrived to join Ino. Along with their employer Kawaragi, the three of them left Konoha once again.
Kurenai felt that some things needed to be clarified. She asked Kawaragi, "There should be Jonin in the Hidden Waterfall Village who are loyal to your father, right?"
Kawaragi pursed his lips, seemingly unsure how to respond.
Ino, standing nearby, pressed the matter: "Did they defect?"
"The ones loyal to my father didn't defect."
Ino thought she had found the answer: "Oh, so the ones who weren't loyal to your father defected, and the Jonin loyal to your father were killed in battle?"
Kawaragi looked miserable, struggling internally before finally answering, "They have other missions, ones that are more important than my life."
What kind of mission could it be? Ino hadn't paid much attention to the Hidden Waterfall Village, but combining information from the manga and some data from the Yamanaka Clan, a thought suddenly struck her. It must be about the Jinchūriki! The Hidden Waterfall Village was the only ninja village outside of the Five Great Ninja Villages to possess a Tailed Beast.
Which Tailed Beast did the Hidden Waterfall Village have? She vaguely remembered it being a giant beetle? Ino didn't have a strong impression of this Tailed Beast, but if she wasn't mistaken, it was probably one of the weaker ones.
Rumors in the martial world say that when the Sage of Six Paths separated the Ten-Tails, Kurama cried his eyes out, while the other Tailed Beasts remained indifferent. Creatures like the giant beetle and the giant turtle had already run off to play somewhere else. The Sage of Six Paths claimed to divide the chakra equally, but in reality, he gave Kurama just a tiny bit more of the Ten-Tails' chakra.
Although the Tailed Beast of the Hidden Waterfall Village wasn't particularly strong, and its Jinchūriki was rather weak, it was still a formidable weapon. During the chaos in the village, it made sense to take it to a different location for safety and have two Jonin guard it.
Along the way, they eliminated three waves of enemies and rested for a night. Kurenai praised Ino's Demon Fortress highly—it could become invisible, allow them to eat inside, and most importantly, even let them take a bath. This Summoning Beast was truly amazing!
On the evening of the third day after leaving Konoha, the temporary squad finally brought Kawaragi to a waterfall that wasn't marked on any map. Legend had it that the Hidden Waterfall Village was concealed behind a waterfall, a paradise far removed from the flames of war.
Reaching this point marked the completion of the first stage of their mission. Through his observations along the way, Kawaragi felt that the Kunoichi from Konoha didn't seem interested in the treasures of his village.
He decided to reveal the truth: "The Hidden Waterfall Village possesses a treasure called the Hero Water."
After saying this, he glanced at Ino and Kurenai to gauge their reactions.
Neither of them showed any particular interest.
Ino, who had heard of it before, nodded. "Yes, I've heard of it. It's said that drinking the Hero Water can increase one's chakra tenfold, but the cost is a significant reduction in lifespan after the battle ends. In severe cases, it can even lead to immediate death."
In her view, this so-called tenfold increase had its limits.
Choji's Red Chili Pill was said to boost chakra a hundredfold, and his performance against Jirobo was indeed overwhelming. But three years later, Choji could achieve similar results without using the pill, which showed that such enhancements had a ceiling.
The Akimichi Clan's Chili Pill lacked the support of Clan Secret Techniques, and users would die before their chakra could increase a hundredfold. The Hero Water of the Hidden Waterfall Village had a slightly smaller cost, but the reduction in lifespan after consumption was still severe.
Ino wasn't that desperate. Her chakra was more than sufficient, and she had no interest in this water.
She answered frankly, showing no signs of coveting it.
Kawaragi secretly breathed a sigh of relief—he had gambled correctly!
He clasped his hands together and pleaded again, "If I'm not mistaken, it's likely that Suien, a Jonin from our village, has developed a desire for the Hero Water. He wants to capture me and force me to reveal its location. I'd like to ask you to help me defeat Suien."
When speaking of his village, Kawaragi seemed to muster a bit more courage. He shared all the information he had about Suien—what Ninja Techniques he used, his combat style, and his achievements.
Suien had actually been his teacher. Kawaragi's father had tried to use the bond between teacher and student to restrain Suien's ambitions. Unfortunately, not everyone values such bonds.
After Kawaragi's father died, this Jonin betrayed the village.
Kurenai suggested that Kawaragi hide while she used the Transformation Technique to take his form and eliminate the enemy. But Kawaragi refused. At this moment, no matter what, he couldn't just hide far away.
"Alright then, but don't stray too far from us."
After exchanging a few words of caution, the two followed Kawaragi, diving into the waterfall. They found a hidden entrance at the bottom of the water and swam over a hundred meters, passing through two water channels before emerging from the depths. Before them lay a village nestled beneath a colossal tree—the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, Takigakure.
Ino carefully examined the massive structure that appeared to be a tree but resembled more of a tree stump. She activated her Sense ability to detect its essence. The tree's vitality had completely vanished; it was lifeless. However, perhaps due to its proximity to the great waterfall of Takigakure, some strange Chakra still lingered within its roots.
It was precisely because of this Chakra that Takigakure had produced something known as the Hero Water.
Ino was puzzled. Could this thing be the Divine Tree? Or perhaps a remnant of its roots?