Fu returned to the village. That was the military strength of a village. Even if the military strength of the ninjas of Hidden Waterfall Village was not strong, it was not something that a wandering ninjas or people from other large ninja villages could plunder at will.
It is a consensus in the ninja world that large ninja villages are not allowed to interfere in the politics, military affairs, and development of other villages. You can exert influence, but you are not allowed to control.
This is the way for the small ninja villages to survive, and the small ninja villages are the buffer zones between the big ninja villages. If there were no small ninja villages, the war between the big ninja villages would break out directly, and there would be no room for maneuver between the big countries.
This was also evident during the Second Great Ninja War. Although there were several major countries at war, it was always the small ninja villages like the Land of Rain that bore the brunt of the conflict.
After Minato Namikaze finished the arrangements, he took out a few Flying Thunder God Kunai and distributed them among the group. "Take these Kunai. I will join you after I'm finished here."
Minato then retrieved a summoning scroll from the ninja tool pouch on his back and handed it to Kakashi. "This summoning scroll can be activated by channeling chakra into it. I will get there as quickly as possible when the time comes."
Having said that, Minato Namikaze created several shadow clones, each transforming into the appearance of different members of their group, and continued along the original route to act as decoys.
Watching Minato Namikaze slowly walk away, Kakashi reconfirmed their new, alternative route.
"Let's go. We can't afford to hold the teacher back. We need to get Fu back as quickly as possible," Kakashi said, waving his hand. In an instant, the group vanished from their location.
Nohara Rin carefully adjusted Fu, who was now in her arms, onto her back. "Fu, hold on tight, okay? Big sister will help you feel the wind as we go!"
"Okay!" Fu agreed happily, snuggling against Nohara Rin's back.
By the river, several figures were moving swiftly through the dense woods.
As the sun slowly began its descent in the west.
Okamoto Dousuke, Kakashi, and the others came to a halt before a towering rock wall.
"According to the map, Hidden Waterfall Village lies just beyond this rock wall," Kakashi said, taking out the map for a quick reference.
"Wow, how are we supposed to get over something this high?" Obito exclaimed, looking up at the almost vertical cliff face before them.
"Obito, have you and Rin learned the tree climbing technique?" Okamoto Dousuke asked, touching the rough surface of the rock wall. The rock wasn't completely smooth, offering some grip, similar to climbing a tree.
"I can climb trees, but I'm not exactly the most stable at it," Obito admitted, scratching his head sheepishly under Okamoto Dousuke's gaze.
"I'm alright with it, but I'm a little worried my chakra might not last the entire climb," Nohara Rin replied.
After a moment of contemplation, Okamoto Dousuke said, "I'll take care of Fu and Obito. Kakashi, I'll leave Rin to you."
"Alright, let's not waste any more time then. If you start losing your grip, just shout. Dousuke and I will be there to help you," Kakashi agreed readily.
Okamoto Dousuke gently took the sleeping Fu from Rin's back. He then retrieved some clothes from his backpack and carefully wrapped them around Fu, securing her snugly against his chest. He then created a thin film of water over the clothes, forming a protective vest-like shape.
"Dousuke, is that the Water Release Jutsu that blocked my close-range attack during our ranking match?" Kakashi asked, pointing at the shimmering water film on Dousuke Okamoto's body.
"Yes, but this particular jutsu isn't perfect yet."
"She's still sound asleep. This little girl is really something," Okamoto Dousuke said with a smile, looking at Fu, who was peacefully grinding her teeth in her sleep, and gently touching her cheek.
"Teacher Minato mentioned that the sealing technique used by Hidden Waterfall Village has some flaws. That's why Fu is constantly being invaded by the Seven-Tails' chakra, and the main symptom is drowsiness. It's far too early for her to become a proper Jinchuriki at her age," Nohara Rin explained, taking a rope out of her ninja tool pouch and tying it securely around her waist.
Looking at Obito and Nohara Rin, who seemed fully prepared, Okamoto Dousuke and Kakashi exchanged a quick glance.
"Let's go!" several voices whispered in unison.
Chakra surged through their feet, and the group began their ascent up the steep cliff face.
When he was about halfway up, the chakra in Obito's left foot suddenly flickered and vanished.
His body lurched downwards, his feet lost their grip, and he began to plummet.
"Ah, ah! Ahhhhh!"
Obito screamed as he fell downwards.
Hearing Obito's panicked shout, Nohara Rin instinctively slowed her pace and started to turn back.
"Rin, don't look back! Keep climbing!" Seeing Nohara Rin's hesitation, Kakashi shouted in a low but firm voice.
"With Dousuke here, you have to trust him," Kakashi added resolutely. As he said those words, a ripple of emotion stirred within Kakashi's heart. Is this what it means to have a companion? Someone you can trust unconditionally, someone you can entrust your back to without a shred of worry?
"Yeah." After hearing what Kakashi said, Nohara Rin sped up and rushed upwards.
On the other side, Okamoto Dousuke was shocked when he heard Obito's shout.
Although I had prepared for an accident before this, it was still inevitable to be momentarily distracted when it actually happened.
Okamoto Dousuke paused, formed hand seals, and expelled a long stream of water from his mouth. It quickly grew longer and extended downwards, wrapping securely around Obito's ankles.
"Huh, huh, I'm saved!" Obito gasped for breath, looking as though he had just survived a major catastrophe.
"Relax, Obito, and stay calm," Okamoto Dousuke said, firmly gripping the chakra-infused water stream in his hand and calling down to Obito below.
Obito took a few deep breaths, grabbed hold of the flowing chakra to steady himself, placed his feet on the cliff face, and slowly made his way up to Okamoto Dousuke's side.
"Okay, let's go," Okamoto Dousuke said, looking at Obito, who had reached him. He dispersed the Water Release Jutsu in his hand and nodded to Obito.
Above the two, Kakashi, with a subtle glance out of the corner of his eye, watched them reach safety and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The remainder of their journey up the rock wall passed without incident, and the group successfully reached the top.
"Take a break," Kakashi instructed Rin and Obito, who had collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
After saying that, Kakashi looked at Okamoto Dousuke, who was observing their surroundings, and walked over to him. "Don't you want to rest?"
Okamoto Dousuke waved his hand in refusal. "No need, I know my own limits."
Although Okamoto Dousuke's chakra reserves weren't as vast as Kakashi's, his chakra control was significantly superior to the others. He was truly efficient in utilizing every bit of his chakra.
Using the least amount of chakra to achieve the maximum effect, never wasting even a single drop.
After resting for a while, Obito and Rin gradually regained their strength.
Looking at Okamoto Dousuke and Kakashi, who were examining the terrain, Obito commented, "As expected, those two were always ranked at the top of our class."
"You're already amazing, Obito," Rin said, offering Obito a sweet smile.
Hehehe, seeing Rin smile at him, Obito once again drifted into a world of his own fantasies.
Just then, Okamoto Dousuke and Kakashi approached. Kakashi, interrupting Obito's daydream, said, "The two of us have found a safe route down. Let's go."
The group stood up and began their descent down the mountain.
Guided by Kakashi and Okamoto Dousuke, the group successfully navigated their way down.
They found themselves walking along a narrow path in a field. Waterfalls cascaded down everywhere, their flows collecting into ponds of varying sizes.
Crisscrossing irrigation ditches carried water from the ponds to the surrounding fields. In the quiet night, the sounds of insects chirped from the rice paddies.
"Kakashi, how should we find the people from Hidden Waterfall Village?" Okamoto Dousuke asked, a hint of doubt in his voice.
Although their original intention was to return the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki to Hidden Waterfall Village, their current actions already constituted an invasion of a ninja village.
"I don't have any better solution at the moment, so we'll just have to proceed cautiously, step by step," Kakashi replied, lowering his head and spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness.