"Those are shinobi from the Hidden Waterfall Village."
Tsunade's expression darkened as she saw the forehead protectors on the corpses.
"Could the Seven-Tails have been attacked as well?"
Kurotsuchi already understood the purpose of their trip.
"The wounds are fresh, it must have happened not long ago. Kid, can you find the entrance to the Waterfall Village?"
Tsunade scanned the area again and immediately reacted.
"There's a secret passage beneath the waterfall. There's a battle going on inside the Waterfall Village, I can sense several fairly strong chakras."
Aoba answered quickly.
Tsunade's previously anxious mood calmed at once, "Are you sure?"
If Aoba said the chakras were strong, then in all likelihood it was the Akatsuki at work.
"Yes!"
Aoba gave a firm reply.
Tsunade nodded, "Alright, let's go in."
Led by Aoba, the three rushed into the waterfall. Inside, the landscape truly revealed another world.
They jumped into a pool and, when they surfaced again, the scene before them had completely changed.
First to catch their eyes was a towering, gigantic tree. Around the outer edge of a ring-shaped lake were wide stretches of village buildings.
There was no doubt, this was the Hidden Waterfall Village.
Before they could properly take in the hidden village, several kunai were thrown at them.
Knowing a battle was already underway, the three remained on guard; Kurotsuchi easily blocked all the incoming attacks on his own.
"Huh? Not Akatsuki, those are shinobi from the Hidden Rain Village."
Kurotsuchi was surprised when he saw the forehead protectors of the combatants.
Onoki didn't know where Akatsuki's headquarters was; in the past he'd always dealt directly with Kakuzu, and to him Akatsuki was nothing more than a mercenary group. So Kurotsuchi didn't know Akatsuki's true nature either.
"Not necessarily. There are two other fairly strong chakras lurking in the shadows watching."
Aoba didn't tell Kurotsuchi directly about any Amegakure–Akatsuki connection. Because of Konan, Konoha and Akatsuki weren't absolutely opposed in the strictest sense. In fact, Aoba himself was using Nagato's hand to collect Tailed Beasts. Even he hadn't expected such a coincidence, just as he came to look for the Seven-Tails' jinchuriki, Akatsuki's people showed up too.
"Huh? Why are Konoha people here?"
The Rain shinobi who had just tried to ambush them clearly hadn't expected this turn of events. He had only noticed three unfamiliar shinobi and acted instinctively.
"Don't get distracted!"
A nearby Rain shinobi kicked him aside, saving him from being struck down by Shibuki's Water Dragon Bullet.
By now Aoba had already sized up the entire situation at the scene, and he'd noticed the Seven-Tails' jinchuriki, Fu.
Though it was their first meeting, he recognized her immediately. Her features were distinctive, short bluish-green hair, dark skin, and a pair of insect-like wings constantly flicking behind her. No need to sense chakra; a single glance was enough.
Her opponent was a ninja wearing a green headscarf and sporting an afro. As the Takigakure jonin who was originally defeated by Naruto and Sasuke in the canon, it was unreasonable for him now to be trading blows evenly with the Seven-Tails' jinchuriki. That massive chakra was most likely from drinking a lot of "Hero's Water."
Hero's Water is a sacred spring obtained from beneath the giant tree once every hundred years; drinking it increases a user's chakra tenfold. But it has a double-edged nature, as the price for amplified chakra, it devours the drinker's life.
On the other side, Shibuki, who was trading blows with a dozen Rain shinobi, had probably also drunk Hero's Water. The earlier mistake by two Rain shinobi had given Shibuki a brief respite; seeing the suddenly appearing three, his eyes lit up as he recognized Tsunade.
"Are you Tsunade, the Hokage of Konoha? Please lend us your strength, the Waterfall Village will reward you greatly afterward."
"Teacher, Kurotsuchi, you two attack first. There are still two others hiding; I'll keep an eye on them," Aoba told Tsunade and Kurotsuchi.
"Mm."
Tsunade only nodded calmly. Facing a group of small fry, she showed little interest.
"Finally we can make a move?"
Kurotsuchi shouted excitedly, as if he'd been holding it in.
"Lava Release: Lime Condensation Technique!"
He began with his kekkei genkai. Among the Rain ninja fighting Shibuki, several hadn't been paying attention and were instantly restrained by this move.
Tsunade then rushed forward and finished them with a single punch.
In an instant, the Waterfall side's favorable situation flipped.
From their perch above the giant tree, two hidden figures now showed grave expressions.
"Why are the Konoha Hokage and Aoba here?"
Kakuzu's brow knit tightly, "They should be attending the Five Kage Summit right now, shouldn't they?"
"Who knows. What do we do now? From what Kisame said, that Aoba might be stronger than the Tailed Beasts. Should we retreat?"
Sasori, hidden inside his Akatsuki container, said plainly that retreating was an option.
The sudden arrival of Tsunade and Aoba had turned their situation disadvantageous.
"Hmm! The boss said to avoid conflict with Konoha if possible. Besides, that guy is the deputy leader's man…", Kakuzu had no intention of engaging. Putting power aside, given Konan's connection, none of them wanted to fight. Sasori needed no persuasion, he joined Akatsuki after getting humbled by Konan, and since learning puppetry he'd never met anyone who restrained him like she did. Kakuzu respected Konan too, otherwise he wouldn't have given her his earned money every time.
Sasori was relieved when Kakuzu agreed. This guy, though greedy for bounties, was far more reliable than that idiot Deidara. If Deidara had been here, he'd probably have shouted "Explosion is art!" and rushed in by now, forcing others to clean up the mess. When choosing partners, experienced, steady types like Kakuzu were preferred. They were cautious and would bail at the first sign of trouble.
As for the Rain shinobi still fighting below and the rogue shinobi Mizukiri who'd summoned them, they weren't worth worrying about. Mizukiri had actually contacted Rain Village a year ago, but then the deputy leader suddenly left and Pain started searching for moles within Akatsuki, so things were put on hold.
"Huh?"
Kakuzu's pupils suddenly contracted, "It seems we can't leave."
"Why?"
Sasori turned slowly to look where Kakuzu was staring. A pair of red eyes were fixed on them face-to-face.
Even his regeneration core trembled.
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