242. Uprooting Legacy

In the base hidden behind a massive waterfall, the middle-aged leader of the ninjas from the Land of Waterfalls paced anxiously. He had dispatched a squad of elite ninjas some time ago, but there was still no news. The silence gnawed at his nerves.

"Leader! Leader! They're back!"

The voice of one of his subordinates rang out, startling him from his thoughts. He rushed to the door, eager to see who the mysterious intruder was. But stepping outside, the scene before him left him completely dumbfounded.

His prideful elite squad lay on stretchers, battered and bruised. Their faces were so swollen they looked like pig heads, and their bodies were wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

"Ahhh... owww..."

Groans of pain filled the air, snapping the leader back to reality. His eyes landed on the squad captain, Yuda, whom he quickly approached. He bent down beside the unrecognizably swollen man and, after a hesitant moment, slapped his thigh anxiously.

"Yuda! How many were there?"

Oda was his most capable subordinate, with skills that had been further honed after drinking the Hero Water a few years ago. Only the leader himself and the eccentric Kakuzu were stronger. That Oda could be reduced to this state—and left alive, no less—meant the assailant must have been unimaginably powerful.

"Leader... I'm not Yuda! I'm Oda!"

The misidentified ninja wept as he corrected the leader, who had just thoroughly crippled his leg with that slap. Enduring the pain, he shakily pointed toward a mummy-like figure nearby.

"...Oh, it’s you, Oda," the leader muttered, avoiding his gaze. He casually instructed the medics, "Prepare a top-quality wheelchair for Oda."

"Yes, sir."

The leader then turned to Oda. "What happened? Was it an ambush?"

The heavily bandaged Oda trembled violently at the question, as if recalling a nightmare. Finally, in a strained voice, he replied, "It was one person. Just one."

"What?! What kind of jutsu did they use?"

"One punch. Just one punch."

The leader, skeptical, pressed further. "How could so many of you be defeated by a single punch?"

"That punch... blotted out the sky."

Oda's voice was laced with genuine terror as he described the colossal fist that had struck them, evoking the memory of Hashirama Senju's overwhelming power.

"Did you gather any information about him?"

The leader sighed, seeing Oda's fragmented state. He posed the question more out of habit than hope.

"Senju Hashirama... he said his name was Senju Hashirama!"

The leader froze at the name. While not immediately recognizing "Hashirama," the surname "Senju" rang familiar. He squinted, deep in thought. "A ninja from the Land of Fire? What are they doing here?"

His suspicions grew. The Land of Fire and the Land of Waterfalls were separated by natural barriers and had no history of conflict. The timing of this intrusion couldn’t be coincidental—someone must have leaked the secret of the Hero Water.

"Investigate who’s been leaving the base recently," he ordered coldly.

"Leader, only Kakuzu has been leaving frequently," came the report.

"...Anything suspicious?"

"Well, the guards said Kakuzu always goes out empty-handed and returns with large sacks on his back."

The leader’s expression darkened. Kakuzu had seemed like a promising talent, someone he intended to reward with the Hero Water. But now, it appeared the young man had betrayed them.

"Fine. I’ll handle this with wit, not force," the leader muttered.


---

Elsewhere in the base, Kakuzu meticulously polished a pile of rusty kunai until they gleamed like new. Satisfied, he smiled at the sharp, shiny weapons.

"Another big payday!" Kakuzu’s eyes sparkled with greed as he admired the kunai—each one a piece of hard-earned profit.

He recalled the countless battles he had scavenged, sifting through layers of blood and broken bodies to salvage usable weapons.

"But why has the Land of Fire stopped fighting? Looks like I'll have to head to the Land of Earth next time."

Kakuzu sighed, lamenting the decline in his once-profitable ventures.


---

Meanwhile, at the waterfall’s edge, Hashirama Senju stood atop a massive, white cocoon, his long hair blowing in the breeze. His expression was one of frustration.

"Could the intel have been wrong? It doesn’t make sense!" he muttered.

He had traveled all the way to the Land of Waterfalls, aiming to capture another tailed beast in the area. Yet, after searching thoroughly, he found nothing.

"Damn it!"

In his frustration, Hashirama stomped down hard on the cocoon. The impact caused a loud "thud" to echo through the area.

Inside the cocoon, the Seven-Tails Chomei activated its hardening ability and gritted its teeth, terrified to make a sound. Through its telepathic connection, it frantically warned Kurama, the Nine-Tails, who was approaching.

"Kurama! Don’t come here! There’s a terrifying guy standing above me!"

Kurama froze mid-stride upon hearing this. "What? That fast?! Does he have Indra’s red eyes?"

Chomei cautiously sensed Hashirama’s aura and confirmed there was no trace of Indra’s chilling energy. Relieved, it replied, "No, but—"

Before it could finish, the connection was abruptly cut off, leaving Kurama with only ominous silence.

"...Hmph! Like I’d be afraid of anyone but Indra," Kurama muttered, shaking off its unease. Convinced that Chomei’s predicament stemmed from its vulnerable molting state, Kurama pressed onward, determined to rescue its comrade.


---

A few minutes earlier, Hashirama had noticed something odd. He lifted his foot and inspected the white substance sticking to his sole.

"Huh? This thing’s hollow?"

He crouched to examine the strange, cocoon-like structure, completely unaware of the panicked tailed beast hiding within.


"Whew~ Whew~"

As he wondered about the strange sounds, a suppressed, rhythmic panting drifted up from the hollow beneath his feet. The noise tickled his curiosity like an itch he couldn’t scratch. Unable to resist, he bent down, pressed his face to the opening, and peered inside.

“Damn! That’s one huge beetle!”

Hashirama Senju’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he stared intently at the creature taking form inside the cocoon. Saliva almost dripped from his lips.

“So cool!”

Armored insects held an irresistible allure for men, and even Hashirama, a father of children, wasn’t immune to the fascination.

“If I bring this back, I’ll make Madara green with envy!”

At that moment, mesmerized by the imposing beetle, Hashirama completely forgot about his mission to capture a Tailed Beast. Cracking his knuckles, he prepared to claim the magnificent insect for himself.

"..."

The beetle, Chōmei, felt utterly offended yet dared not show any displeasure. From the moment Hashirama had stepped near its cocoon, Chōmei had sensed a familiar, formidable power emanating from the man.

As one of the more cautious Tailed Beasts, Chōmei decided to remain still, adhering to the principle of "if the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t either." Besides, it had emerged from its cocoon prematurely and was still weak. Opting for a defensive strategy, it feigned death.

“What a shame it’s not a Tailed Beast. But this isn’t bad either~”

Hashirama scrutinized the beetle, his gaze lingering on its single tail-like appendage. His initial disappointment quickly transformed into glee at having captured such a rare insect.

“Not a Tailed Beast?”

Hearing Hashirama’s muttered conclusion, Chōmei’s spirits lifted. It silently praised its creator’s design—no one would mistake wings for a tail, right?

“Rip!”

Suddenly, a sharp tearing sound jolted Chōmei. It glanced over and was horrified to see Hashirama cheerfully ripping the cocoon apart as though it were paper. Dusting off his hands, Hashirama advanced toward it with a broad grin.

Sensing danger, Chōmei instinctively released its scale powder to confuse Hashirama.

“Hmm, seems pretty lively—should last till I get it to Konoha!”

Seeing the powder, Hashirama misinterpreted the reaction as a sign of vigor, assuming the creature was close to dying. He nodded in satisfaction, then clapped his hands together. A massive Wood Release technique manifested, unleashing snarling wooden dragons that coiled toward the stunned Chōmei.

Good news: this terrifying man wasn’t Indra.

Bad news: he was Asura’s reincarnation.

Tears welled in Chōmei’s eyes. It vividly recalled its prior torment at the hands of Asura’s wood-style techniques—an experience so harrowing that it now ranked higher on its list of nightmares than Indra’s intimidating stare.

“Kurama!”

Desperate, Chōmei tried reaching out to the Nine-Tails but hadn’t managed to relay Hashirama’s identity before the wooden dragons constricted it. A familiar draining sensation sapped its strength, leaving it limp.

This damned man! Fighting was futile, so Chōmei resigned itself to playing dead. Once this fool let his guard down, it would escape.

Thus, Chōmei offered no resistance as Hashirama effortlessly captured it.

“All this goo...”

Ecstatic, Hashirama clapped his hands after securing the beetle. This trip had been worth it—he could brag about this catch to Madara forever. However, as he prepared to leave, the cocoon’s viscous remnants caught his eye. The liquid exuded a strange, volatile energy.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered a weathered man-made channel near the cocoon, into which the liquid was slowly flowing.

“Someone’s collecting this?”

Hashirama frowned, pondering the mystery.


---

Meanwhile, in the Land of Waterfalls, the village chief had just finished tending to his injured ninja when a scout burst in with urgent news.

“Chief! The Hero Water has started flowing early!”

The chief’s eyes widened in shock. “What? How is that possible? It shouldn’t appear until year’s end!”

Guided to the sacred spring, he stared at the viscous, sticky liquid trickling down the cliffs. Unlike the Hero Water he remembered—clear and pure—this batch was unsettlingly thick.

“Strange… but its potency seems even stronger.”

He dipped a finger into the liquid and tasted it. A surge of chakra coursed through his body, its intensity confirming that this was indeed Hero Water, albeit with enhanced effects.

Excitement lit his face. With this, the Land of Waterfalls could finally rise to power.


---

Unbeknownst to him, above the cliffs, Hashirama leaped into the depths with Chōmei in tow. A colossal wooden construct rose from the abyss, carrying the beetle like a prized trophy.

The chief watched in stunned silence as the towering Wood Golem departed.

“That man… he’s not after the Hero Water. He’s uprooting our very legacy!”