From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

I looked up at the sky; it was probably around eight or nine o'clock in the evening.

With nothing to do, Sasuke simply strolled around the secluded village behind the waterfall.

Step by step, I slowly walked towards the direction I felt in my heart.

In no time, a colossal tree, towering into the clouds and with its trunk and branches enveloping the entire Takigakure village, appeared in Sasuke's sight.

Moonlight streamed down, and a night breeze blew, causing the branches of the giant tree to sway gently and the leaves to rustle.

A soft call, seemingly emanating from the depths of his cells and genes, resounded from within Sasuke's heart.

That was a feeling that Sasuke sensed in the gene fragments when he fused with Ido Sasuke.

Sasuke's clear black and white eyes unconsciously turned crimson, revealing an eerie six-pointed star within them.

In his Mangekyou Sharingan vision, the thick trunk of the tree looked like limbs, and the branches looked like countless tails.

Under the moonlight, the shadow of the giant tree and the eerie moonlight formed a monster with ten tails.

Ten-tailed!

Chapter 116 Next time, definitely next time.

"Sasuke-kun, you're here!"

Just as Sasuke focused his gaze on the giant tree in Takigakure, a clear and lively voice rang out from behind him in the distance.

Upon hearing the greeting, Sasuke calmly withdrew his Mangekyou Sharingan.

Turning his head to look at the person who had come, Fu appeared in his line of sight with a bright and sunny smile.

Hello, Fu.

"Aren't you with Naruto?"

Fu pouted and said, "Because those Rain Ninjas committed suicide, Village Chief Shibuki sent some people to take care of Sakura and the others. He told me to go back and rest first, so I came out for a stroll."

"Suicide?"

Sasuke pondered those words for a moment.

"Hmm!" Fu nodded, looked at the giant tree in the distance, and asked with a grin.

"Was Sasuke looking at the sacred tree just now?"

"Ah."

Sasuke did not deny it, and calmly said, "I have never seen such a big tree before. I am a little curious. Can you tell me the story of this giant tree, Fu?"

"Of course, Sasuke and I are friends!"

Fu nodded her little head quickly, touched her chin with her fingers, and after thinking for a while, said, "The sacred tree has been this big as long as I can remember. Every year on major festivals, everyone in the village comes to the sacred tree to hold a ceremony and pray for a peaceful and prosperous new year."

"I don't know much about the origin of the sacred tree, but I've heard the village elders say that it has existed for at least several hundred years, or even over a thousand years. Long before Takigakure Village was established, the ancestors of Takigakure built their village around the sacred tree and have multiplied for generations."

Festivals and prayers, for hundreds and thousands of years.

The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.

Sasuke keenly noticed the key words Fu mentioned.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

As if remembering something, Fu continued with a grin, "It is a tradition in the village that the sacred tree produces Hero's Water every hundred years. Drinking Hero's Water can increase a person's chakra by dozens of times."

"However, Village Chief Shibuki said that the Hero's Water has a dual nature. As the price of chakra, it will devour the user's life and body. Therefore, the Hero's Water has been sealed away and cannot be used unless in a critical moment."

"Therefore, the Hero's Water is named after heroes, and it is for those heroes who dare to risk their lives to protect the village in times of danger. Protecting the Hero's Water is the responsibility of the village leader."

"Hero's Water..."

Sasuke muttered something to himself, trying to recall his memories of his past life, but found nothing.

He did know that Takigakure Village had seven tails.

But he really didn't know about this giant tree that was suspected to be a divine tree and the Hero's Water, which came from under the giant tree.

It must be content from some chapters that he selectively skipped in episode 720.

As he quickly pondered, Sasuke looked at the eloquent, dark-skinned girl in front of him and couldn't help but chuckle to himself.

Only someone as innocent and naive as Fu would so carelessly reveal the village's major secrets to a "friend" she'd only known for less than a day.

If Shibuki finds out, he'll probably be furious.

"The village has always regarded the sacred tree as a sacred object and worshipped it for generations, but my friend Xiaoming told me that he hates the sacred tree and told me to come to this place less often. Hehe, but I didn't listen to him much."

Xiaoming?

It should be Shichimei Nanao.

After thinking for a moment, Sasuke said, "Thank you for telling me so much, Fu."

"Sasuke, you're too kind. If there's anything else you need to know, or if you need my help, just let me know!"

Fu laughed heartily and said with an air of magnanimity.

Sasuke's eyes flickered slightly, and he casually said, "Perhaps there will be times when I need your help in the future."

"Say it, I agree!"

"I haven't even said what it is yet." Seeing Fu's nonchalant expression, Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle.

Aren't you afraid that what I'm about to say might be detrimental to you? Or harm you?

"How could that be?" Fu looked at Sasuke with some confusion, and replied casually, "Aren't Sasuke and I good friends? Since we're friends, we should be honest with each other. I believe Sasuke would never hurt me."

Friends... treat each other with honesty...

Looking at Fu's sincere face, Sasuke was speechless for a moment, and a strange feeling stirred in his heart.

Perhaps he does have a few so-called friends in this world.

But he harbored too many secrets and was unable to be honest and sincere with others.

"Just tell me what you need help with, don't be shy!"

After a long silence, Sasuke suddenly laughed, a relaxed laugh. He didn't say what favor he needed from her, but instead spoke to the dark-skinned girl in front of him:

"Let's talk about that later. You're right about one thing: friends should help each other. As your friend, I'll help you if you ever encounter danger in the future."

"Go back and get some rest."

After leaving those words, Sasuke slowly walked away, leaving Fu alone, somewhat stunned.

"Danger? What danger could I possibly be in?"

After regaining her senses, Fu muttered to herself with a puzzled look on her face.

"Fu, stay away from that Uchiha guy from now on!"

Suddenly, the voice of Shichimei rang in Fu's ears. It warned her with utmost seriousness: "I can sense that this guy has ill intentions towards you."

"Relax, relax, Xiaoming, you're overthinking it. Sasuke is my friend, how could he harm me?"

Fu retorted with a disbelieving look:

"He just said that he would come to protect me if I was in danger."

"You little brat, you really don't know how treacherous people can be. You can't trust what the Uchiha say!"

Shigeaki Nanami said in a deep voice, "The Uchiha clan are inherently evil, they..."

"Alright, if you keep saying that, I'm going to get angry, Xiaoming!" Fu interrupted Qiwei angrily, and said in a deep voice, "Don't look at others with prejudice and bias. How are you any different from those who also see you as an ominous and evil person?"

"Oh, you little brat, never mind..."

Shigeaki Nanao's tone was full of helplessness, and he didn't continue speaking.

.............

In the dead of night, the earth had fallen asleep, and apart from the occasional chirping of cicadas and the swaying of branches, all around was silent.

Inside the giant tree, a figure walked with practiced ease into a top-secret place known only to the leaders of Takigakure.

Entering a small shrine, in the center there is a thick, lush green branch, at the top of which hangs a transparent glass bottle filled with some kind of clear liquid.

Sasuke raised his head, revealing the Mangekyou Sharingan in his eyes, and stepped forward to remove the glass bottle.

The moment he removed the glass bottle, a sudden change occurred; the thick branch swayed violently and slowly stretched towards Sasuke's body.

At the same time, a gentle, soft murmur, as if from the womb, kept echoing in Sasuke's heart.

Guide him to drink the hero's water in his hand.

Sasuke smiled faintly, put the Hero's Water into his pouch, gently avoided the outstretched branch, and said:

"Next time, definitely next time!"

Chapter 117 Orochimaru: Everything is under my control.

One day later, in the Hokage Building.

The Third Hokage sat in his chair, smoking his cigarette, and fell into deep silence as the three members of Team 7 recounted the details of their mission.

Two mysterious enemies dressed in red cloud-patterned clothing, belonging to an unknown organization.

Except for Yamato, the entire ANBU squad was killed in action!

Kakashi is seriously injured and remains unconscious in the hospital.

And then there's the sudden appearance of Uchiha Itachi...

One big news story after another was stimulating the Third Hokage's old heart.

Upon receiving the message from Takigakure, the Third Hokage was greatly alarmed and immediately dispatched several elite squads to Takigakure to bring Team 7 and Yamato back.

"During this mission, we encountered a coup d'état launched by Suien, a former Jonin of Takigakure, in alliance with Amegakure. We also encountered four enemies dressed in red cloud robes who appeared to be from the same organization. One of them had a shark-like face, was tall, and wielded the Samehada sword; he was likely Kisame Hoshigaki, a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. The other one..."

At this point, Sakura paused and glanced cautiously at Sasuke.

"The other one is Itachi Uchiha, a Konoha S-rank rogue ninja."

Sasuke continued from where Sakura left off, and when he mentioned Itachi Uchiha, his face remained expressionless, as if he were just talking about a stranger.