In the world of shinobi, hidden vilges were equivalent to the great cities of their respective nations.

  Iwa was located in the mountains, where rainwater aed snow formed stable rivers, ensuring the vilge's water supply.

  Among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Earth could only be described as slightly better off than the Land of Wind.

  Despite its vast territory, the nd was barren, with much of it resembling karst terrain found oh. The northern areas were tundra, and the majority of the popution was trated in the southeast, b the Lands of Rain, Kusa, and Taki.

  Beyond the border with Taki y a small peninsu f a bay area, which taihe try's most fertile nds.

  Of the five great vilges, Suna and Iwa were traditional enemies.

  The ti could be divided into six regions:

  The rocky highnds of the Land of Earth.

  The wester region represented by the Land of Wind.

  The tral piered around the Land of Fire.

  The northern coastal region, including Taki, the Land of Iron, Rice Fields, and Frost.

  The peninsu region represented by the Land of Lightning.

  And the offshion represented by the Land of Water.

  From the names alo was clear that the Lands of Earth and Wind were in the least hospitable areas.

  Uo break through the "tral transition zone" formed by the Lands of Rain and Kusa or the "coastal area" formed by Taki, the Land of Iron, Rice Fields, and Frost, these twions had been locked in flict for years.

  When Suna and Kumo unched a joint atta Konoha, Iwa took the opportunity to attack Suna.

  Suna then turned around and teamed up with Konoha to retaliate against Iwa.

  Iwa's architecture sisted of diamond-shaped fortresses. There were no traditional roads here; instead, the Iwa ninjas hollow out hills to create fortifications, which were then ected by bridges. Roads were avoided to leave more space for water diversion and ste systems.

  Suspensies were the most on sight in the vilge.The tallest fortress was the Tsuchikage's office.

  ōnoki stood on the open baly of the office, surveying his vilge. Among the Five Kage, he and Hiruzehe only living Third Kage.

  Noas the only vilge still in its "Third Kage Era."

  ōnoki was older than Hiruzen—he was 58, while ōnoki was 65. Among the Third Kage, he was the stro in terms of offensive power, surpassing eveack-oriehird Raikage.

  ōnoki didn't like Hiruzen much, viewing him as a rascal.A Kage peeping on the women of his own vilge while they bathe?

  Having been short his entire life and always looking up, he had grown tired of seeing peaks but no faces. What was there to look at anyway?

  Moreover, Hiruzee being younger, was able to retire earlier—a fact that irritated ōnoki to no end.

  Why couldn't Iroduce more talented individuals?

  As the grandson of the First Tsuchikage and the protégé of the Sed, he had to admit ohing: i years, Irodu of talent had clearly fallen behind.

  To crify, the output of genin and in was still robust, but the upper echelon was aory. There were very few truly high-level shinobi.

  Most were "elite" at best, not "powerhouses."

  Thinking about a young shinobi he had personally discovered brightened ōnoki's mood.

  That boy's only fw was his mi. If he could fix that, he'd undoubtedly bee an excellent Tsuchikage, ensuring ōnoki's granddaughter wouldn't struggle to find a husband.

  "Father." Behind ōnoki, a man opehe door and stepped onto the baly.

  "How many times must I remind you, Kitsuchi? During work hours, it's 'Tsuchikage-sama.'"

  As ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi's strength was uionable, reag the level of a "powerhouse." However, ōnoki didn't approve of his thinking.

  Kitsuchi advocated allying with Konoha to front Kumo and Suna, but ōnoki was staunchly against alliances.

  Iwa's strength y in its ability to remain unaligned, choosing strategies flexibly. F alliances would only tie their hands.Publicly aligning with one side might seem advantageous, but to ōnoki, it was a disaster.

  "Times have ged, Tsuchikage-sama. We 't hold onto old grudges forever."

  "Old grudges? Those 'old grudges' are the reason I'm still alive today!"

  Konoha was the least trustworthy!

  Ba the day, Hashirama had invited him and his master to form an alliance, only for them to be severely beaten by Madara at the gate.

  See? That was Konoha for you! From that day on, he swore o trust shinobi from other vilges.

  Even Hashirama had proven unreliable, so why trust this shinobi world at all? Hashirama was the only outsider he had ever admired, but the people around him?

  Not one of them was det.

  Kitsuchi looked helpless. The old man's mood swings were impossible to keep up with.

  "The troops are ready, Tsuchikage-sama."

  "Hmm." ōnoki nodded, satisfied. "Ensure no issues with supplies."

  "Of course. Akatsuki will also ehe safety of our routes."

  "And you trust these meraries with our supply routes?" ōnoki's eyes narrowed. "What about Hanzō?"

  "Ame cims rality."

  "Hanzō cowers behind 'rality' like a child behind his mother's skirt." ōnoki spat disdainfully over the railing. The Samander has grown soft. In our world, hesitation meah.

  "Tsuchikage-sama, please don't spit off the baly."

  "Don't lecture me! He's just scared of Konoha. Is Konoha that terrifying?"

  "His cautiarding Konoha isirely unfounded," Kitsuchi didn't want tue, but his father always baited him into it.

  "Tch! What's there to fear? And ahing, losing to a bridge—Kitsuchi, you've really let me down!"

  "That situation was already unfavorable by then, and you said so yourself!"

  ōnoki gred. "If you were more reliable, I wouldn't have to worry about retiring!"

  "..."

  "Fet it. You're old enough; I won't scold you anymore."Seeing his so, he calmed down. Pig on Kitsuchi was one of his favorite pastimes.

  "For this mission, Deidara will lead the Explosion Corps. It's a good ce for him to gain experience."

  "Uood. Everything has been arranged." Kitsuchi hesitated, then brought up his daughter's request. "Kurotsuchi has been training hard... she wants to join the main forces this time. What do you think?"

  "What would she do there?" ōnoki immediately refused. "She should stay with the Explosion Corps. She o learn to work with Deidara. Such a troublesome girl."

  "Her skills have improved signifitly..."

  "Still no. With her current level, she's better off staying in the Explosion Corps, where her Lava Release be useful."

  "Uood. Tsuchikage-sama, just to firm, is our mission to take over the Land of Rain?"

  "Yes. Your task is to hold Konoha's main forces in the Land of Rain. The Explosion Corps will sabotage Konoha's rear lines, f them to iate with us.""

  "Then we'll see what this Yellow Fsh is truly made of."

  ---

  The news of Iwa invading the Land of Rai shockwaves throughout the ninja world.

  To be fair, the ninja wot shakey easily...

  Whenever any of the five great powers made a move, the whole shinobi world teo dramatically gasp, clutch their pearls, and shout, "This is a big deal!"

  The Iwa ninjas had never beero, but their power had always been steady.

  The key was their numbers. Every time they mobilized, it was iens of thousands. Some even suspected that Iwa couldn't afford to feed so many people and thus periodically sehem out to "reduventory."

  When the massive Iwa ninja army ihe Land of Rain, the try—known for its bandit-filled chaos—uedly experienced improved public order.

  This operation by Iwa was entirely a mission hired by the daimyō of the Land of Earth. The true reason, however, y in the Land of Earth's inability to tolerate the Land of Rain's chaos any longer.

  After disc that the Land of Fire had begun infiltrating th Rain Daimyō's court, the Earth Daimyō chose the most direct solution.

  Thus, upoering the Land of Rain, the first thing the Iwa ninja army did was... exterminate bandits.

  It was like using a on to shoot a chi.

  This naturally provoked a rea from Ame.

  Hanzō, leader of Ame, finally left his isotion because the Iwa's army was nearing the vilge—and included the presence of Akatsuki. The legendary shinobi's appeara the battlefield caused even the Iwa forces to pause momentarily.

  He couldn't fet the boy with the Rinnegan and khey were mortal enemies.

  Once a Samander determio expand the Land of Rain's territory, Hanzō had now lost all ambition. He only wao defend his small domain. With the Iwa's army at his doorstep, he had no choice but to ad once again decre Ame's rality.

  It was useless.

  ōnoki came in person.

  The Iwa ninjas, prepared for battle, all carried gas masks.

  After a fierce skirmish, the Ame ninjas, specializing in water jutsu, were overwhelmed by the earth-based teiques of the Iwa ninjas.

  Hanzō narrowly escaped death from ōnoki's attack.

  His strategies had long been deciphered by neighb powers, leaving him with no room to maneuver. If not for his own strength, he would have fallen.

  Hanzō returo Ame battered, cursing under his breath. From then on, Ame closed its gates and vanished from the battlefield, ging stubbornly to its rality.

  As for the Rain Daimyō, they decred that no fighting was allowed he daimyō's pace... and that was the end of their involvement.

  The Rain Daimyō showed no i in g the regions that had desded into self-rule.

  Iwa's army, to their credit, respected the daimyō's wishes. Not only did they avoid fightihe pace, but they also cleared out more bandits and refrained from troubling refugees heading toward the pace.

  This uedly turhe pto the Land of Rain's only true haven.

  Having secured the Land of Rain, the army began advang toward the Land of Fire.

  It was at this point that Konoha's ninja forces ehe Land of Rain.

  Uhe war with Kumo, this time, Konoha's forces were not led by Jiraiya.

  Instead, the ander was Hiashi.

  This choice was reended by the new Hokage Advisor, Fugaku.

  Hiashi's first move was tanize a searit posed of ninjas from the Uchiha, Hyūga, and Inuzuka s.

  Iwa's army was known for its tralized approach.

  Their units typically sisted roups to maximize the stag advantages of Earth Release. Only when multiple jonin teamed up did you see smaller squads.

  Usually, it was a main force supported by special operations teams.

  These special ops were typically the Explosion Corps, the ninja world's most notorious explosives experts.

  The searit's job was to locate the Explosion Corps. To Hiashi, these special ops units posed areme threat; if they reached Konoha's rear lines, entire supply routes could be destroyed.

  Without food, even Kage-level ninjas coouldn't fight effectively.

  Konoha's visible Kage-level force for this operation sisted of only Masashi. However, the army was exceptionally elite this time, especially the Uchiha , who fielded their best.

  The Uchiha couldn't afford to falter.

  Even Shisui resent. While many regarded him as Kage-level, his ck of experieh the Susanoo made his true bat potential uain.

  To be sidered Kage-level, one had to demonstrate "army-level" impa warfare.

  Just as "Kage" refered to a vilge leader, the term "Kage-level" was tied to effectiveness in rge-scale battles rather than pure personal strength.

  Although the two factors often correted.

  As the only reized Kage-level fighter in the unit, Masashi was assigwo teammates: one Hyūga and one Inuzuka.

  The ninja s builded retionships this way. If someone died, nes were held—but the favor remained.

  Masashi didn't mind.

  His two panions were skilled, both holding the rank of special jonin.

  The Hyūga was a sharp, ing girl. The Inuzuka was a hot-blooded, reckless boy.

  To Masashi, both were obedient.

  "Captaieror clear. No signs of enemy chakra signatures," the Hyūga reported during one of their patrols.

  "Hey, I was about to report that!" the Inuzuka protested.

  Masashi watched the iion with amusement.

  During a break in their patrol, he decided to test their coordination. "Show me your trag formation."

  "Traditional or modified Konoha pattern?" the Hyūga asked, her pale eyes already sing the area.

  "Surprise me."

  Their attempt at coordination was det, but Masashi could see the fws. "You're both thinking too much about your teiques and not enough about teamwork."

  The Hyūga girl adapted quickly to his feedback, seamlessly incorporating his suggestions into her movements.

  The Inuzuka boy, despite his enthusiasm, struggled to keep up. He was sistently outpyed by the Hyūga girl, to the point where even Masashi felt sorry for him.

  So, he pulled the boy aside for a "pep talk."

  It didn't help.

  Hot-blooded recklessness was a talent—hard to teach, harder to fix.

  Masashi gave up. At least the kid seemed to enjoy it.

  Ba the Land of Rain, the biggest ge since his st visit was the ck of bandits.

  The arrival of the Iwa and Konoha forces had devastated the bandit industry, taking out its most promi groups.

  But travel ditions remained poor—not that it mattered much to ninjas.

  Masashi's assigned area, near Kusa, had dense forests, rge trees, aively less rain. The terrain made it ideal for stealth.

  After pleting a search, his team stopped to rest uhe trees, replenishing food and water.

  "How's your Byakugan holding up?" Masashi asked the Hyūga girl.

  "Doing fine, Captain," she replied, her wide eyes gleaming obediently.

  Konoha's famed visual prowess families, the Uchiha and Hyūga, were known for produg stunningly attractive members—Uchiha men and Hyūga women in particur.

  While the Uchiha were seen as brooding alpha types, the Hyūga were known for their polite, demure demeanor.

  He disagreed with such stereotypes.

  The girl before him fit the Hyūga mold perfectly.

  "Good. Pace yourself," he said, patting her head. "o strain unnecessarily."

  The Hyūga girl blushed, closing her eyes in enjoyment.

  The Inuzuka boy watched enviously. He g his dog, sighed, a back to eating.

  "And you, Inuzuka," Masashi called out. "Eat up; we 't rest for long."

  "Why do you keep calling me 'Inuzuka'?"

  "It's a term of endearment, signifying your unbreakable bond with your partner. Mase and noble, don't you think?" Masashi gestured to the boy's ninja dog.

  The dog tilted its head, looking puzzled.

  "Oh, that's awesome! Captain, you really get me!"

  "Keep it cool. A man should be posed."

  "Yes, Captain!"

  As the boy attacked his rice ball with renewed vigor, Masashi reflected.

  Was it bad to mess with kids like this? Nah, kids o fall for a few tricks to grow up.

  "I'll scout the area. You two, stay here," he said, vanishing into the forest.