Land of Water, Haku

After signing a peace treaty of non-aggression with the Land of Lightning, most of the Konoha Ninja returned to their peaceful lives, including Shuichi.

Riding on the glory of defeating Cloud, the village has recently seen a surge in new clients. The Third Hokage, of course, greets them with great enthusiasm, as this indicates that the number of missions for Konoha has increased significantly.

Shuichi's missions in recent months have mostly been related to this. In addition to patrolling the village, he has personally taken on some commissions from newly minted major employers, perfectly helping the village expand its market share.

One day, he went to the most popular Toy Store in the village as usual. It was a long-established store that had stood the test of time for many years, and it was the place where he bought marbles when he was a child.

However, Shuichi is no longer an ordinary customer; he has now become the big boss of Toy Store, which is one of his businesses.

A few years ago, this shop faced the crisis of closing down. The long war had caused the birth rate in Konoha to drop significantly, so the shop owner was preparing to close down and change careers.

When Shuichi, Shuichi frequent customer, found out, he decisively invested money to help him through the difficult period.

Peaceful days soon arrived, and the Toy Store's business gradually improved after it weathered the storm.

To enrich his entertainment life, Shuichi brought over all sorts of board games from his previous life, creating games like Five Nations Kill, Monopoly, and various fancy Wargame. He also made toys suitable for children to play ninja games, and many of these games were even purchased in large quantities by the Ninja Academy.

These creative ideas became the shop's signature, and after Shuichi's efforts in promoting them, they became popular in the Land of Fire and Konoha, quickly making him a fortune.

After all, a well-made board game costs less than a full-service massage, so such a generous entertainment facility naturally made the Konoha Ninja open their wallets.

"It's Shuichi-kun! Your order is ready!" Inside the shop, the middle-aged man's face showed increasing signs of aging; he was almost an old man.

However, he was in a good mood. The child who was like a little adult back then had become the famous Purple Aurora in the Shinobi World. He planned to let his son take over after he died and keep the Toy Store open forever to maintain this relationship.

Shuichi smiled and responded, then took a large box from his hand. Inside the custom-made new board game was a letter.

Every so often, news from the Land of Water would reach this shop. His underling Izushi, was indeed working very hard; it seemed he could take some time to give him a reward.

"The internal conflicts within Kirigakure are escalating. The main perpetrators this time are suspected to be the Kaguya Clan, who have been pushed to the edge of the village..." Shuichi walked, mentally calculating the time. "It seems about time. I should make a trip to the Land of Water as soon as possible."

The next day, just as he was thinking about how to take a long trip, the Third Hokage very considerately called him to the Hokage's Office and handed him a small booklet.

"This is the latest Missing-nin Bingo Book in the Shinobi World. Has it been updated recently?" Shuichi took it and flipped through it, then quickly asked with some surprise, "How come there are so many more missing-nin from Kirigakure?"

"Yes, we've been receiving more and more requests from the east these past few months," the Third Hokage explained. "According to intelligence from the Anbu, even the black market in the Land of Fire has seen a surge in Kirigakure. The chaos within the Land of Water is intensifying, and many Mist Ninja are beginning to leave the village..."

After the Third Shinobi War, and through a series of unseen power struggles, the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, came to power a few years ago. It took quite some time for the outside world to learn of this.

He clearly wanted to resolve the internal conflicts of the Land of Water and do his best to restore the reputation of Kirigakure. In order to attract more employers to come and place orders, the village shouted a resounding slogan: Mist Ninja will complete the mission even at the cost of their lives.

Although the situation in the Land of Water did not improve much afterward, it was at least not too bad.

However, less than a year ago, the resurrected Three-Tails was sealed inside Yagura's body, and not long after, the internal conflicts in Kirigakure began to intensify again.

Many rumors suggest that the Fourth Mizukage's lust for power swelled after obtaining the Tailed Beast Power, and that the Third Mizukage had conflicts of interest with many clans with Kekkei Genkai, which even led to his downfall.

No Kage would want to be a puppet of these clans. Yagura, having become Jinchuriki, is already unstoppable. So, the next step is naturally to consolidate power. Whether they are Bloodline Clan or ordinary ninjas, they should all be tools to serve the village.

"... It seems there really isn't a problem. If it were me, I'd also want to have all the power. At least these families aren't good people. They were the ones who caused the darkness in Kirigakure before!" Shuichi thought to himself.

Although he guessed that Yagura might have been controlled by Obito, Obito's approach to Obito Kirigakure was not wrong; the Civilian Ninja had long harbored resentment towards those clans.

Now that the Mizukage is leading the crackdown on the clan, of course he will have many supporters following him, as this is to gain benefits for himself! If no one agreed with Yagura's actions, it would be impossible for one person to create such a big commotion.

"The official guidebook's version of Kenji is probably a joke..." Shuichi was speechless. Obito had successfully exploited the desires and darkness in the hearts of Civilian Ninja, and with a large number of White Zetsu helping him cause trouble, Kirigakure was already rushing headlong towards the Bloody Mist Village.

"How about this? I'll personally make a trip to Kirigakure to gather as much information as possible about the Land of Water," Shuichi suggested to the Third Hokage, closing the missing-nin handbook without making a sound.

"Oh?" The Third Hokage looked at him with some suspicion. Could it be that Shuichi's resolve had suddenly improved after he had given him the qualifications to be Hokage candidate? Otherwise, he would never have accepted such a time-consuming and extremely tedious task before.

After much thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen also felt this was a good thing, so he agreed, "Thank you for your trouble. I'll give you a few ways to contact the Anbu; hopefully, it will be able to help them."

In the Land of Water, it was already nearing spring, and most areas were permeated with a cold and damp feeling, as the winter winds had not yet dissipated.

However, unlike the plains, some high-altitude areas still experience heavy snowfalls, and despite the harsh climate, many people still live in the snow-capped mountains.

Outside a snow-covered village, a thin, frail figure slowly made his way through the wind and snow, continuing forward until he reached a shallow riverbank before stopping.

Upon closer inspection, it was a boy who was only a few years old. He had medium-length black hair and a delicate, picturesque face. Despite wearing only a simple linen garment in such cold weather, he was not shivering from the cold.

He squatted on the riverbank, hesitant. He hadn't had enough food for several days, and his body was starting to go numb from hunger. If this continued, he might face death, but he didn't know what to do.

"Tap tap tap..."

Just then, the sound of footsteps in the snow grew clearer. Upon hearing it, he immediately stood up and turned around. Due to insufficient energy, he felt slightly dizzy, but he quickly recovered.

"Crackling..."

Shuichi walked over with a sunny smile, as if he could melt away even the snow.