"Hero Water Under Siege."

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The Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall) ninjas never expected to be ambushed here. In an instant, Danzo took down a chunin with his Wind Release, and Aki and Kagami teamed up with a combo of Fire Release and shuriken to eliminate two genin.

Aki used Body Flicker to appear right in front of four genin. Before they could react, he quickly formed hand seals and shouted,"Wind Release: Tornado Tempest!"

A massive tornado exploded from him, swallowing up the four genin. Their bodies twisted grotesquely inside the wind before being shredded to death.

With the ambush over in seconds, Aki looked around. Kagami was holding off two chunin, and Danzo was locked in a one-on-one fight with a jonin. The two chunin fighting Kagami were working in perfect sync and had him on the defensive. Aki immediately stepped in, forming hand seals:

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

Three blazing fire dragons shot out from Aki's mouth, roaring toward the two Taki-nin.

One of them reacted fast, countering with,"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A massive water dragon surged out from the lake and slammed into the fire dragons, extinguishing them with ease.

The Taki-nin smirked, "Ha! Didn't expect both of you to be fire-style users. Against us brothers? Doesn't matter if you're jonin—you're dead!"

Then the two of them started forming a super long chain of hand seals:Tiger – Ox – Monkey – Rabbit – Rat – Boar – Rooster – Ox – Horse – Dog – Tiger – Dog – Tiger – Snake – Ox – Monkey – Rabbit…

Aki's eyes twitched. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet? Seriously? That's a chunin-level jutsu? And the two of them are casting it together by a lake—this is gonna be even stronger!"

Meanwhile, Kagami's Sharingan activated—three tomoe spinning rapidly. He began copying the exact same hand seals. Aki couldn't do the same; he hadn't trained in water-style chakra. Even if he had, a technique like that was too advanced for him to copy and pull off on the spot.

So he stepped back a few paces, formed seals, and activated his strongest fire-style jutsu:

"Fire Release: Grand Fire Dragon Barrage!"

Thanks to Kagami's help lately, Aki had gotten a much deeper understanding of fire-style and had improved his control significantly. He couldn't dodge the attack aimed at Kagami, so instead, he had to go head-on with his own jutsu.

Two massive water dragons rose from the lake and split—one heading for Aki, the other for Kagami. At the same time, Kagami completed his own"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"The two dragons collided midair, exploding in a massive splash and canceling each other out.

Aki's Grand Fire Dragon clashed with the other water dragon. Steam erupted as the fire partially evaporated the water. The attacks canceled each other out, though Aki's technique held a slight edge.

Without missing a beat, Aki drew his short sword from his back and used Body Flicker to appear beside the two chunin. He slashed, trying to split them up. One of them cast"Water Release: Water Formation Wall" to block, while the other launched"Water Release: Water Stream Technique" to attack.

Aki dodged the stream, dropped his sword, and unleashed another jutsu:

"Wind Release: Thousand Winds!"A thousand tiny blades of wind appeared around Aki, shooting toward the two Taki-nin.

At the same time, Kagami cast"Genjutsu: Mist Servant Technique"trapping one of the two in an illusion to isolate them.

Seeing his teammate caught in a genjutsu, the other cried out in panic and quickly carried his partner away, retreating toward the jonin's position.

The Taki jonin, still fighting Danzo, saw Kagami's Sharingan and shouted in surprise,"Sharingan from the Uchiha clan?! You're Konoha ninjas! Why are you attacking us? What are you doing deep inside the Land of Waterfalls?!"

Danzo replied coldly,"Since you already figured out who we are, we can't let you live."Then he reengaged the jonin without hesitation.

Aki and Kagami chased after the retreating chunin. Realizing they couldn't count on backup anymore, one of them made a desperate move:"Water Release: Water Blade!"A razor-thin jet of water shot toward Aki. He flipped his kunai into a reverse grip, covered it with wind chakra, and blocked the blade.

Kagami arrived just in time, driving a kunai straight toward the enemy's heart. The chunin wasn't quick enough to dodge—he got stabbed.

Aki formed seals and finished him off with"Fire Release: Great Fireball!"Both the illusion-caught and the stabbed chunin were engulfed and reduced to ash.

The Taki jonin saw all his subordinates killed and decided to flee. He cast"Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu"filling the forest and lake with thick fog, then dove into the water.

The lakes in the Land of Waterfalls are all connected by underground rivers. If he made it into the lake, he'd be impossible to catch.

Danzo saw this and quickly cast"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough"A massive gust blew away the mist—but it was almost too late. The jonin had already reached the water's edge.

Danzo panicked, but Aki suddenly appeared beside the jonin, casting:"Fire Release: Head Marking Pain!"

At less than three meters away, fireballs blasted the jonin at point-blank range. He was instantly incinerated.

With the Taki jonin dead, Danzo relaxed."Search the area. See if we can find a map," he ordered.

Aki and Kagami searched the bodies. On one chunin, they found three scraps of cloth that, when pieced together, formed a rough map. It showed that the Hero Water was hidden somewhere around this lake. The group searched carefully but found nothing else.

Aki looked up at the massive tree in the center of the lake and said,"Captain Danzo, what if the Hero Water is under that big tree?"

Danzo studied the tree and replied,"Could be. The Land of Waterfalls is known for its underground river tunnels. I'll check it out. You two stand guard."

Danzo dove into the lake. A moment later, he emerged holding a gourd-shaped glass bottle. He tossed it to Kagami and said,"Any signs of a seal on this?"

Kagami inspected the bottle and said,"Nope. Just a basic wind seal to keep the contents isolated from the outside. I think we should let Torifu take a look—he knows more about medical stuff."

Danzo nodded."Clean up the area. Make it look like a Cloud ninja ambush. Kagami, you know a few Lightning Release techniques, right? Fake some traces."

Kagami nodded, and the group staged the scene, making it look like Taki-nin were killed by Cloud-nin, then quickly withdrew.

At the inn where the merchants were staying, Torifu examined the Hero Water for a long time. He opened the bottle, let a single drop fall on his tongue, and tasted it.

Immediately, a faint blue aura of chakra surrounded his body. The glow was weak, but the chakra boost was obvious.

Danzo asked,"Well? Can we use this stuff?"

Torifu stared at the Hero Water and said seriously,"It's just like the secret medicine my clan uses. The difference is, this water can be used by anyone. Our medicine only works on people from our clan. But the cost is the same."

He didn't say what the cost was.

"Your life?" Danzo guessed.

Torifu nodded."Exactly. Our clan's spinach pills and curry pills all boost combat power at the cost of physical vitality. That's why people from our clan are always kind of… plump. If we're too skinny, the medicine kills us. If we're healthy enough, we just end up exhausted after use. But this water… it's like our final secret pill, the chili pill. It directly drains your life force to boost chakra. Use it once, and you might die."

He handed the Hero Water back to Danzo.

Danzo asked,"How much chakra does it boost?"

"Ten times. One sip gives you ten times your normal chakra. For us right now, it's tenfold. Higher-level ninjas? I'm not sure."

Danzo nodded."The Land of Waterfalls is too dangerous. Each of us should carry one dose—just in case. Kagami, you handle the sealing work."

He handed the Hero Water to Kagami and added,"Rest for now. The merchants said someone's coming to trade with them tomorrow afternoon. We need to be at full strength to handle any unexpected trouble."

Then he walked out of Torifu's room, and the others followed.

Aki lay on the roof, staring at the patch of moonlight filtering through the tree branches. He felt restless.

Ever since he left Konoha, he'd had this uneasy feeling in his chest—like something bad was coming. He didn't know why, but it just wouldn't go away.

Kagami appeared beside him and bowed politely."Still awake, young master? Something bothering you? Maybe I can help?"

Aki shook his head."Not really. I just feel... off lately. Like something terrible is gonna happen. No idea what, but it's been messing with my head."

Kagami stayed silent and looked up at the sky too, lost in thought.

After a while, Aki suddenly asked,"Kagami... do you think the Uchiha clan will ever produce a Hokage?"

Kagami blinked, stunned. Aki saw his reaction and laughed,"I knew you'd be shocked. I was too, back when my teacher told me I might have a shot at becoming Hokage. Oh yeah—my teacher was the First Hokage himself."

Kagami was floored."If it's you, young master... then maybe it really is possible."

Aki smiled."The village doesn't see us Uchiha in a good light. But if we can change that, if we can fix our clan's reputation... then having a Uchiha Hokage isn't out of the question. As long as the village exists, and the clan exists... even if I never make it, I believe that someday, one of us will."

Kagami looked at Aki lying there under the moonlight and thought,"Maybe he really can change how people see the Uchiha. Maybe he really can become Hokage one day…"

Then, as Aki kept talking passionately about his dreams, Kagami made a silent vow:"No matter what happens, I'll follow him to the end—to that dream."

"....."