The kaifuku herb is a plant that is said to stand out more so than any other plant in the forest surrounding the village. Having the name "herb of recuperation" would cause many to believe that this one has the appearance of something that looks soothing to the touch, or something friendly. Unfortunately, this herb looks nothing like that.

While the other herbs' appearance responds to the time of day, the kaifuku herb does not. It is a red small plant that grows in pairs rather than individually, and instead of gaining energy from the sun or moon, this herb receives life from shinobis. As a shinobi passes by the plant while it is still rooted in the ground, the herb's thorns on the stem harden and cut exposed skin, thus absorbing a modest amount of chakra to keep itself alive.

Hundreds of years ago when war was common, there were an abundance of kaifuku herbs within this country. The reason why they are now rare is that when shinobis who participated in the war would hide from or stalk their enemies, the profusion of herbs in that area would attack the shinobis at once, sucking more than half of their chakra in one sitting. This posed a problem since when they would enter battle unprepared, the result of defeat would follow in suit, so the lord of the Land of Waterfalls ordered all shinobis to dispose of the herbs. Even to this day when shinobis are walking through the forest, they would destroy the herb to prevent them from taking their chakra even whilst knowing how rare they are.

This herb is approaching extinction, and since the herb holds no special qualities in terms of appearance, I cannot use my Byakugan to locate it, which can only mean that luck and patience are key to finding it. I already know that it resides to the west of the village near the outskirts of the country, but the area is so large that overlooking such a small plant is very likely to occur. The only lead that I have in terms of finding where it grows is by using the knowledge I learned in the Academy about when the lord of the Land of Waterfalls ordered the shinobis to destroy them. The environment more than likely has changed since then, but I found it worth a try to start there.

Despite my growing exhaustion, I reached the west within thirty minutes and I even found the area described in the Academy. My assumptions were right – the area has changed over the years (the only differences including a man-made river, a few small craters from war, and some evolved trees), though it still holds many similarities to the photo shown to us. I searched the area as quickly and as thoroughly as I could, and I even looked over the same places several times, but I found none. When I decided to move on to another section of the west, I became somewhat hopeful of finding it.

Though the only known domain the kaifuku herb grows in is the west, I noticed in the pictures from the Academy that the herb never grew in an isolated field; it always thrived close to plants of its kind or other plants such as trees, bushes, and even flowers. At this point, obtaining it felt near impossible, however, knowing that it does not grow out in the open limits the extent of my search.

I checked every tree, bush, and collection of flowers that I came across, hoping and praying that I could find at least one herb. This took me all over the western side of the country and I spent hours trying to locate the herb to no avail. I became frustrated with how long this was taking me, and for a moment, I wondered if the herb had already become extinct.

I put that thought out of my mind as quickly as I let it in as I continued the search. I was on my hands and knees in the dirt, sweating from the heat the sun produced and the exertion I had been putting myself through, but I never stopped looking.

Then, just as I was about to move on to another area, I felt something cut my wrist somewhere in the tall grass. Drawing my arm back from the sudden pain, I examined my flesh wound, and excitement filled me upon realization. I had found the kaifuku herb!

Someone had flattened the herbs around it, leaving one sole herb in the vicinity. Hastily, I plucked it, placing it in my bag along with the other herbs, and I tried hard not to get too excited because I knew of the lethal properties of the last herb that lies in the south.

The herb of death, shi no habu, is a pitch-black plant that resides to the south of the country. The reason why it is called the herb of death is because it is very toxic, though only during the day. At night, the potency of the toxins dilute, giving anyone who wishes to pick it full reign to do so, but even then one must be cautious. While the sun is shining, the outside of the shi herb is covered in a thick poison, though when the sun falls, and the moon takes its place, the moonlight makes the plant absorb the poison, and it fills its insides with the thick liquidous residue. If one were to eat it without the jinsei herb to counteract its high level of toxicity, one would die a slow, painful death.

Right now it is daytime, and I cannot afford to wait until nightfall to obtain it, so I decided to back track to the Hidden Waterfall Village to speak with the owner of the general store to see if there is a way to pick it despite the poison protecting it.

Unlike when I was here last, the village was bustling with people. Everyone was smiling, laughing, talking, and the more I observed their behavior, the more I felt myself becoming homesick. This activity reminded me of the Leaf Village.

Tearing my eyes away from the villagers, I approached the general store, happy that I was the only person in the small building. Upon entry, a bell above the door rang, signaling the shopkeeper, a bald elderly man, to give me his undivided attention. He graced me with a smile and asked "How can I help you?"

"Are you the owner of this shop?" I asked.

"Yes, yes I am." He then asked me again "How can I help you, young lady?"

I approached the counter that he was sitting behind. "Do you know anything about herbs?"

He laughed. "When you become as old as I am, you learn many things, especially when it comes to herbs." He turned around to face the wall of shelves stocked with jars and boxes full of mysterious contents, squinting his eyes as he traced his finger along the dusty objects. He asked me "Now, I have many herbs here for a young lady such as yourself. I have herbs for charisma, herbs for fertility… Oh! And I even have herbs for attaining love." He peeked back at me prior to facing the wall again, saying "Though an attractive woman like you must not have trouble finding love, same for love must not have trouble finding you. So, you must be looking for a fertility herb. Who is the lucky man?" he asked as he pulled a box off a shelf.

Feeling bashful, I said "N-No, I am not searching for anything of the sort. I just need information, sir."

"Oh…" The shop keeper almost sounded disappointed. "I can provide information as well. What is it that you wish to know?"

"The herb of death, shi no habu, is covered in a lethal poison during the day, and I cannot wait for night to fall to pick it. Is there a way to achieve it without poisoning myself?" I asked.

"Why on earth would you want an herb like that?"

"A friend of mine is sick. I need it to cure him. I do not know how much time he has left, which is why I cannot wait for the moon to rise. Is it possible to pick the shi herb during the day?"

The old man frowned as his thick eyebrows furrowed. "Yes, there is a way, though it is quite tricky."

Hope filled me. "I will do anything for my friend. Even this."

The old man nodded his head in understanding. "You have to trick the shi herb into thinking that it is nighttime."

"I… I must trick the herb? A plant?" I was not aware that plants were intelligent enough to understand the concept of night and day, though the more I thought about it, the more it made sense since it does indeed thrive in the moonlight.

The old man nodded his head. "Yes. You can do so by shielding it from the sun's bright rays and by casting genjutsu on it. Are you familiar with genjutsu?"

"Yes, though I rarely use it…"

The Hyuga clan does not teach its members how to use genjutsu so the only times I ever used it was back in the Academy at the age of ten during a test that our teacher had given us. Genjutsu requires precise chakra control, and at the time, I had not been able to pass the test since I did not have grasp of my chakra flow yet. Now that I am older and stronger, I should be able to perform it, but I still have my doubts since it has been almost nine years when I last released genjutsu.

The shop keeper smiled at me. "Worry not, young lady. Plants are not as intelligent as humans. It will only take a little bit to convince the shi herb that it is nightfall."

"That is reassuring," I admitted.

"Be warned though. After you cast the genjutsu, it does not take long for it to wear off."

"H-How long does it take to wear off?"

"The longest I heard is one hour. Those who are exceptionally weak at performing illusionary jutsu can only hold the plant in that state for five minutes or less."

I felt a bead of sweat slide down my face. I hoped that I was not one of those who were exceptionally bad at performing genjutsu.

"Thank you so much for your knowledge," I told the man before I bowed.

"No, thank you for being so polite. I hope that your friend gets better."

I offered the man a smile and I left the shop.

As I walked towards the south exit of the village, I wondered how I could successfully unleash genjutsu. Aside from the five natures, yin release and yang release are also prominent in the shinobi world. Genjutsu falls heavily under the yin category, which are techniques based on spiritual energy that governs imagination, and is used to create form out of nothingness, whereas yang release harbors techniques that are based on physical energy. As a Hyuga, I fall under neither category, and the skills I exhibit in performing genjutsu solely rely on how far I have come as a kunoichi. I have seen my former sensei, Kurenai Yuhi, unleash and dispel illusions many times, but it is near impossible to learn genjutsu through observation since it requires mental vigor as opposed to physical.

Regardless, I know the hand signs to conjure it – all I need to do is focus on controlling my chakra and unleashing it. Once I do that, I must-

I ran into a hard surface, cutting off all thoughts running through my head. I had thought that I hit a wall, but when I looked up, it was a man. Embarrassed, I back away and bowed.

"I-I am so sorry! I did not see you standing there," I said.

He had a group of friends standing behind him, conversing with one another. I can only guess that he was involved in the conversation until I ran into him. Nevertheless, he looked down at me with a hand cupping his chin as he stared at me in thought. He said "Don't I know you from somewhere?"

I straightened out my body to look at his face. "No, I do not believe that we have."

The man stared at me for several moments before saying "Never mind. Look where you're walking next time."

"R-Right. I apologize."

The men appeared to be shinobi off duty, though they did not seem like natives to this country. Either way, their business here posed as irrelevant to me, so I scurried towards the south of the Land of Waterfalls to find the shi herb.

Deep in the forest, rests a dark cave that leads to a cliff overlooking the Land of Grass, and it is on that cliff where the shi herbs grow. I do not need my visual jutsu to find it since it is the only place the herb resides, and according to the books I read on it, though rare, it is still resting on the cliff in plain sight. I had doubts on the information given to me in the book because I had read it a few years ago, but when I navigated through the cave, reaching the cliff, the black plants were sitting there.

Heart racing, I approached the plants glossed with poison. If I failed to successfully perform the illusionary jutsu, I could simply try again, but a part of me still fears failure because I half expect the world to see me as less than I truly am since that is how my father portrayed me when I was young…

I pushed all of my negative thoughts away, focusing on what was important. Clasping my hands together with my index and middle finger pointing upwards, I conjured up chakra and focused my attack on one of the herbs. While maintaining an appropriate amount of chakra, I tried to convince the shi herb that it was nightfall. Kurenai sensei can convince someone to fall prey to her illusions in seconds. I, however, could not even trick a plant.

I tried several times, focusing everything I could offer into the plant. On my fifth attempt, I saw the black herb absorb the gloss coating on the outside of it and a mixture of relief and happiness consumed me as I rushed to grab the dormant shi herb. As I reached out to pick it, I heard a whip crack through the air, the sound echoing around me, and before I could react, the whip wrapped around my wrist. I snapped my head in the direction of which the whip came, only to have my heart drop.

The ronin found me.