Kiyoshi and Tsunade were traveling the road through the Land of Waterfall.
"There are so many waterfalls here." Tsunade remarked with a touch of awe.
Each country generally possesses its own unique geographical environment.
For example, the Land of Snow is a place covered in heavy snow, while the Land of Water is a large island located far from the continent, in the ocean.
Land of Waterfall, on the other hand, is composed of numerous waterfalls, with the immense cascades deterring invasions from other countries.
"Indeed." Kiyoshi agreed.
He gazed at the distant, mist-shrouded mountains, the rushing sound of water ceaseless in the air.
The mist was a result of the water striking the base of the mountains from great heights.
Hidden behind one of the largest of these waterfalls was the entrance to Takigakure.
This was also the only village, besides the five great villages, to possess a Tailed Beast.
The Seven-Tails, Chomei, is located here.
"Also Kakuzu's birthplace…" Kiyoshi mused inwardly.
Kakuzu was one of the members of the Undead Duo and one of the most resilient characters in Naruto.
He was a figure from the era of the First Hokage.
Kakuzu acquired the secret ninjutsu "Earth Grudge Fear" by stealing classified documents.
"Earth Grudge Fear" allowed him to steal the still-beating hearts of other ninjas, storing them within his body to extend his own lifespan, and mastering new chakra natures through the chakra network of these hearts.
Each heart represented a life.
Kakuzu would only die if all five hearts were destroyed.
"Kakuzu hasn't joined the Akatsuki yet " Kiyoshi calculated, mentally tracing the timeline of events.
The Akatsuki's predecessor was just a normal organization advocating for peace, before Obito gradually led it to destroy the world.
There's still some time before the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, and Obito has not yet accepted Madara's identity, becoming the masked man who roams the ninja world.
This means Kakuzu is still a rogue ninja.
Even if Kiyoshi manages to steal this secret technique, no one will seek revenge for him.
"Using the vitality of hearts to extend the lifespan of the entire body? An interesting idea." Kiyoshi thought, a glint of interest flashing in his eyes, already determined to obtain this secret ninjutsu for research.
In the ninja world, there is no true immortality.
Orochimaru and the Otsutsuki clan were the same, constantly clinging to life by reincarnating into the bodies of others.
Orochimaru used "Living Corpse Reincarnation," while the Otsutsuki used the Karma seal.
As for Hidan, according to the official data book, it was a product of experiments by the Jashin religion.
He just had exceptionally strong regenerative abilities, and was buried alive by Shikamaru at the age of 22, eventually starving to death.
Kaguya relied on merging with the Ten-Tails, becoming an alternate existence.
Unfortunately, even in her revival, she used the body of Six Paths Madara as a vessel, not her own true form.
Black Zetsu stabbed Madara in the heart, and Madara was unable to move. This abnormal scene may have been the planting of Karma seal.
Sooner or later, he would achieve true immortality. Chapters first released on novel※fire.net
Having power alone was ultimately just returning to dust.
Only by possessing both immortality and unparalleled power could one control their own destiny.
"Stop daydreaming, we've already entered the border of the Land of Earth." Tsunade reminded Kiyoshi.
She had noticed Kiyoshi spacing out along the way, wondering what he was thinking about.
Kiyoshi replied, pulling himself out of his thoughts and observing the drastically different terrain ahead.
The waterfalls had vanished without a trace.
Everywhere was dominated by steep mountains and yellowish-brown rocky soil.
The only difference from the Land of Wind was that here, there were mountains of earth and rock, rather than deserts.
Vegetation was sparse, and the air was thin.
This was because the terrain was too high.
Therefore, the windward slopes of the mountains received rainfall, resulting in high precipitation in the neighboring Land of Waterfall and Land of Grass.
At the same time, the Land of Earth, situated on the leeward side, naturally received less rainfall, resulting in a relatively arid climate.
Tsunade suddenly announced after several hours of travel.
She sensed a complex and massive cluster of chakra signatures.
Kiyoshi's dark eyes squeezed out a single tomoe, which then spun, adding more tomoe to his pupils.
The blurry black dots in Kiyoshi's eyes magnified, becoming incredibly clear.
"It's Iwagakure and Kumogakure ninjas, they're already engaged." Kiyoshi reported the information he saw with his Sharingan.
He could tell that the Kumogakure side was retreating, while Iwagakure was in hot pursuit.
Kiyoshi understood that next, the Third Raikage would sacrifice himself to allow his comrades to escape, single-handedly confronting Iwagakure's enemy forces of up to 10,000 ninjas.
He would fight alone, diverting the enemy, and fighting for three days and three nights before dying of exhaustion to buy time for his comrades to escape.
"Let's carefully sneak closer." Tsunade suggested.
Unable to see as far, she could only rely on Kiyoshi's information to make the most reasonable decision.
They need to observe the situation of the battle to transmit accurate intelligence.
"Okay." Kiyoshi nodded.
The two figures concealed themselves in the sparse mountain forest beneath the treacherous peaks, steadily approaching.