Chapter 55: The Land of Rain

The Land of Rain.

A nation cursed with the absolute worst luck. It bordered three Great Nations simultaneously: the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind. In both the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, it had been reduced to a battleground for these three powers.

Furthermore, its climate was characterized by perennial overcast skies and rain, a stark contrast to the sand-strewn Land of Wind to its southwest—two complete extremes. This unique climate led to severe insufficiencies in food production. Compounded by the intermittent devastation wrought by ninjas from the three major powers, the already scarce opportunities for cultivation became even rarer.

The ninjas of the Great Nations naturally paid no heed to such matters. The bitter consequences, as a matter of course, fell upon the residents of the Land of Rain.

Poverty, hunger, emaciation to the point of visible bones, clothing insufficient to cover the body, a future devoid of hope… Any word symbolizing hardship could be aptly applied to the people of the Land of Rain without seeming out of place.

Holding an umbrella, Naruto slowly walked through a town. Numbness, helplessness, emptiness—these were the uniform expressions on everyone's faces here. Home invasions, street robberies—such incidents occurred at every moment. The strong preyed on the stronger, while the weak, more often than not, preyed on those even weaker. Years of constant warfare had long since stripped the Land of Rain's society of its most basic order.

When bullied by ninjas from other countries, some would kowtow and silently endure; others would erupt from their silence, sacrificing their precious lives for their country, for their kin. Yet, such actions were seen as utterly laughable by those who chose to grovel. Perhaps the heroic deeds of these brave individuals deeply stung their own base and pathetic self-esteem. These very people who knelt would then, in turn, intensify their oppression of their own compatriots, their actions more vile, more cruel than those of the so-called 'invaders.'

In a shadowy alleyway, a gaunt woman with a sallow, famished complexion was being forcefully dragged into the darkness by two young ruffians. Onlookers seemed long accustomed to such sights, merely glancing over before returning their attention to their own struggles for survival. The woman being dragged, too, seemed to have endured such suffering before; though she struggled, her efforts were tinged more with resignation and pain.

"Do you need help?"

At the alley's entrance, a boy dressed in an open-chested kimono softly inquired of the woman.

"…Go, quickly!" Far from showing any excitement, the woman frantically shook her head, urging him away in a hoarse voice. Those who have fallen into darkness particularly cherish any ray of light that pierces through the heavy clouds to shine upon them.

The ruffians exchanged glances, hesitation evident in each other's eyes. In the chaotic Land of Rain, clean and tidy attire was, to some extent, a symbol of status and strength. If they dared to raise their fists against the strong, they wouldn't be mere street thugs.

"Understood." Naruto nodded slightly, slowly closing his umbrella. With a few steps, he positioned himself before the two ruffians. Though he was the one looking up, for some reason, it was the two ruffians who kept backing away. Perhaps they sensed upon this boy the distinct aura of a powerful individual.

"To be honest, I look down on you."

The instant his words fell, Naruto's figure abruptly vanished. The two ruffians were sent flying as if struck by a high-speed war chariot, slamming heavily against the walls on either side. After a brief pause, they slid slowly down the walls.

The woman stared at this scene, then looked at him with excitement. "Are you… a ninja-sama from the Light of Dawn?"

"No, I'm just a passerby." Naruto helped her up, shaking his head slightly.

The Light of Dawn, also known as the Akatsuki organization, was a resistance group born out of dissatisfaction with Amegakure's inaction amidst the oppression by ninjas from the three Great Nations. In the eyes of most citizens of the Land of Rain, the ninjas of the Light of Dawn were the beacon of hope that would soon dispel the dark clouds enveloping their country.

"Thank you," the woman said, bowing in gratitude.

Naruto reopened his umbrella, looked her up and down, and asked, "Where are you from?"

"The Land of Birds," the woman replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"May I ask what you did before?" Naruto inquired. The woman's speech and demeanor were unlike those of an ordinary woman. "It's fine if you don't want to say." He offered her the umbrella.

"My mother was once a shrine maiden," the woman said, holding the umbrella over both their heads.

"Is that so." Naruto nodded slightly, not pressing further. He bent down and retrieved the money from the two ruffians. He then offered these funds to the woman.

"I don't need it," the woman said, shaking her head in refusal.

"It's not much, but it should be enough for you to live on for a while." Naruto placed the items in her hand. Prolonged malnutrition had pushed her body to the brink of collapse. Compared to him, this money was clearly of greater use to her. Money, for him, was sufficient as long as he had enough; too much was a waste. What he truly desired, ordinary money could not buy.

"Thank you," the woman hesitated for a long moment before finally accepting it, bowing once more in gratitude.

"I can escort you to the next town." Naruto glanced at the wolf-like, prying eyes outside the alleyway and made the suggestion to the woman.

"Then I'll have to trouble you."

Evidently, she also understood that she could no longer get by in this town.

"May I ask where you are heading?"

"To find the 'Light of Dawn.'"

"…So, what have you decided?"

A younger version of Shimura Danzo inquired of the masked samurai not far away.

"Agreed." The samurai stared into Danzo's eyes for a moment before slowly nodding.

"The correct choice. The future of the Land of Rain will continue through your hands."

"Information regarding the 'Akatsuki Organization' will be delivered to you sequentially." Shimura Danzo nodded with satisfaction, then rose and departed, his leisurely posture suggesting he was the master of this place.

However, the surrounding Amegakure ninjas, including Hanzo of the Salamander, who sat in the primary seat, all turned a blind eye to this. And Shimura Danzo, it seemed, had long anticipated this.

In terms of strength, two of him wouldn't be enough to fight the Demigod, Hanzo of the Salamander. After all, this leader of Amegakure was the only individual after the First Hokage to be honored with the epithet of 'god.' It was precisely because of his existence that the Land of Rain and Amegakure had managed to maintain their current, precarious state amidst the repeated devastation by the three Great Nations.

But it was also a pity: his origins in a small country destined him to never become a true 'god.' So what if Hanzo of the Salamander's strength was immense? In the current shinobi world, individual martial prowess, no matter how great, could only take second place. The strength of the whole, the strength of the village—that was true power.

If Hanzo dared to make a move against him now, Konoha's ninjas would be at their gates tomorrow. One ninja couldn't defeat him, ten ninjas couldn't defeat him, but what about a hundred? A thousand? The continued existence of Amegakure today was largely because it was merely a 'chicken rib'—tasteless to eat, yet a pity to discard; a piece not worth the Great Villages spending too much effort on.

The reason the three Great Nations chose to open battlefronts in the Land of Rain wasn't due to its 'rich' resources, but simply because, compared to other options, the Land of Rain was more suitable.

If the Land of Rain had maintained its neutrality as in the past, Danzo wouldn't be here. But unfortunately, the recently active 'Akatsuki Organization' in the Land of Rain had significantly obstructed Konoha's interests there. This was true no matter how righteous the Akatsuki's actions appeared to the people of the Land of Rain.

In Danzo's view, anything that hindered Konoha's interests had to be eliminated. As for so-called 'justice,' that was something only victors had the right to write.

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