Changes in the Shinobi World's Landscape
"Hmm? You're interested in this?" Orochimaru knew that Shuichi's parents had died in the Second Great Ninja War, but he didn't expect him to ask about it.
"Because I think the Shinobi World War is very likely to break out again, I want to learn some things from my teacher as soon as possible, so that my survival rate on the battlefield will be greatly improved." Shuichi's expression remained unchanged, but his words surprised Orochimaru.
Orochimaru became much more serious after hearing this. The village had discussed this many times, and most people believed that since the last Shinobi World War was only a few years ago, there shouldn't be another war. Now, after hearing Shuichi's thoughts, he didn't refute them. His disciple always had unique insights on many things.
"Then let me explain. The First Great Ninja War was too long ago, so I don't know much about it. But the Second Great Ninja War, which happened a few years ago, was triggered by Amegakure's expansionist ambitions, and it involved both territorial disputes and national interests."
During the Second Great Ninja War, Amegakure, dissatisfied with its country's status in the Shinobi World, wanted to expand its territory and increase its strength, which triggered suppression from several major powers.
Meanwhile, Sunagakure may have also wanted to take this opportunity to gain more territory and resources, but ultimately lost and gained nothing.
"Now that I've mentioned this, let me first explain why the five major countries have this unique geographical distribution."
Shuichi had a deep impression of the geography of the Naruto World. He also read many books at the Ninja Academy. After Orochimaru's detailed explanation, he unexpectedly gained information he didn't know before, and his understanding of the Naruto World became clearer.
In general, the territory of the Land of Fire has actually been undergoing subtle changes.
During the First Great Ninja War, the Land of Land of Fire's territory was probably larger than it is now. Also, because the system of One Country, One Village was just emerging at that time, the mindset of the leaders of various countries had not yet shifted from the Warring States period.
In the early days of the Second Hokage, the death of the First Hokage stirred up other villages, Konoha fought tooth and nail for every inch of the Land of Land of Fire's land. This led to a serious problem: the battles were unprecedentedly fierce.
The border area was too vast, making it extremely difficult to protect it all, and the rules prohibiting attacks on civilians were not as robust as they are now.
While other countries destroyed villages on the Land of Fire Border, Konoha could also destroy villages of other countries. Everyone fought tooth and nail for their territory and to weaken their opponents. In the end, many Kage died in the First Great Ninja War. The Senju Clan, who led from the front in Konoha, suffered heavy casualties, and the other clans fared no better.
One reason is that the scope of care is too large, even for a highly mobile profession like a ninja.
Therefore, after the First Great Ninja War, it was actually the smaller countries that profited from the chaos that benefited. As a result, a tacit understanding was formed among the Five Great Nations: they were forbidden from attacking civilians. Even if they did so in secret, they could not let other countries find out, otherwise they would become public enemies.
Once this unspoken rule was established, it immediately proved effective. Most ordinary people were unwilling to leave their hometowns, and as their living conditions improved, the population movement caused by war subsided.
Meanwhile, it wasn't over yet. Taking the Land of Fire as an example, they began to centralize resources and relocate the population from the border areas to the center as much as possible. Centered on Konoha, the Land of Fire developed according to the range of Konoha's military influence.
"The results of this approach have been quite good. The basic territories of the major powers have been secured, and the benefits of attacking other countries' borders have declined significantly. To continue advancing, they would face the huge disadvantage of fighting on foreign soil and in unfamiliar terrain. The smaller countries caught in the middle no longer have any chance to turn the tide in the chaos, but instead have become the battlefield for the great powers' power struggle," Orochimaru said in a deep voice.
"I see." Shuichi's thoughts suddenly became clear. Even in his previous life, geography was the primary factor in wars throughout history, and this remained true in the world of ninjas.
"As a result, multiple lines of defense were formed between the Five Great Ninja Villages. I'll take Konoha and Sand Village as examples."
The first line of defense is the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain. Using small countries as battlefields can avoid the impact of war on their own domestic affairs.
The second line of defense consists of border cities used for defense by various countries. Kikyo Castle on Kikyo Mountain Konoha was once a large city, but its distance from the center of the Land of Fire made Konoha very uncomfortable. The casualties in World War I were due to the large number of similar border cities.
After World War I, the Land of Fire moved most of its population inland and transformed it into a castle, turning its living cities into a base for border defense.
The third line of defense is the forest of the Land of Fire, and on the other side is the vast desert of the Land of Wind. Our village is more familiar with this area, so we can make the most of the terrain advantage in battle.
After this situation was established, the Five Great Nations suddenly felt comfortable, and even the emergence of figures like Hanzo within the Land of Rain during the Second World War could not reverse the situation.
However, this also creates new problems. Konoha has the wealthiest Land of Fire, so losing a little territory is not a problem. They can use their abundant resources to keep getting stronger.
The Land of Wind is the most eager to acquire land. Nearly 20 years after World War I, its internal resources are insufficient. Even though the Land of Rivers' resources are far inferior to those of the Land of Fire, they are still much stronger than those of the Land of Wind.
"Most of the S-rank mission during peacetime are related to this." Orochimaru and Shuichi talked about the main missions of Konoha Jonin, Anbu, and Root during non- Shinobi World War periods.
Simply put, Konoha's bottom line is to maintain the existing structure and not allow Sunagakure to possess land outside the desert, because strengthening Sunagakure would threaten Konoha's position.
These tasks are basically about preventing the resources of the Land of Rivers from being used by the Sunagakure. Peaceful development is fine, internal strife is fine too, as long as it's not Sunagakure faction, Konoha won't interfere.
Once they discovered that the Sunagakure Village was backing them, they began harassing and attacking them, making it impossible for them to develop their power in secret.
"So, the disappearance of the Anbu was done by Sunagakure? And there's also a large influx of unfamiliar ninja into the Land of Rivers."
Orochimaru neither denied nor confirmed, "It's hard to say what will happen in this situation. It's also possible that other countries want to stir up conflict between Konoha and Sand Village. The disappearance of the Anbu members can basically be ruled out as death, so our main objective is to find out the situation in the Land of Rivers."
Shuichi thought about it and felt a chill run down his spine. In each of the surrounding small countries, there were probably Anbu and spies from the five major villages. It was a complete mess, and it was almost impossible to figure it out.
After a day of high-speed travel, Orochimaru and Shuichi were nearing the border of the Land of Fire, and the two planned to rest before entering the Land of Rivers.
After eating and drinking their fill and recovering, and after studying the mission information, they decided to transform into Rogue Ninja and infiltrate the group. Their first task was to find out why there were so many unfamiliar ninjas.