Arriving in the Land of Rain

The ninja world, the Land of Rain.

Amidst the endless drizzle, Uchiha Shūichi led the three ninjas behind him as they stepped into this nation.

As a country where it rained over 300 days out of 365 each year, Uchiha Shūichi was genuinely surprised that the Land of Rain hadn't turned into a swamp. He could only chalk it up to the unique geography and climate of this world—if this were Earth, not only would such a rainy land be unlikely, but even if it existed, it would have long since become a marsh, or even a lake.

But even though the Land of Rain hadn't become a swamp, its environment was still far from suitable for human habitation. Most crops struggled to grow here, and the common folk of the Land of Rain subsisted mostly on a special type of mushroom.

Gloomy and damp, the Land of Rain was only fit for mushrooms to thrive in such conditions. With the scarcity of plants, animals were naturally sparse as well.

It could be said that, purely in terms of environment, the Land of Rain ranked among the harshest of the smaller nations. Only places like the Land of Snow or the Land of Frost could compare in natural adversity. The Land of Iron had a brutal environment too, but it was rich in iron and coal mines, far surpassing the Land of Rain in natural resources.

Along the way, the four of them—disguised and hiding their identities—saw many struggling civilians of the Land of Rain. Even in this era of peace in the ninja world, countless ordinary people here were barely scraping by.

Uchiha Shūichi's expression remained flat, indifferent to the near-refugee-like citizens of the Land of Rain. Yamanaka Fū, hailing from Root and bound by its rules, and Hyuga Homura, a stickler for protocol, paid them no mind either. Only Yūhi Kurenai occasionally showed a flicker of pity in her eyes when she saw them.

Yet even with that slight stir of emotion, Kurenai made no rash moves. Ninjas adhered to rules far more strictly than most professions.

"Lord Shūichi, there are people ahead!"

That day, as the four were still traveling, Hyuga Homura, his eyes covered by a black cloth, suddenly spoke up.

The Byakugan of the Hyuga Clan was too distinctive, hence the cloth to conceal it. Since the Byakugan could see through objects once activated, there was no worry about blindness.

Hearing Hyuga Homura's words, Uchiha Shūichi raised a hand, and the four halted: "Can you tell who they are? Which village's ninjas?"

"I can only sense that their chakra is quite strong, but they're not wearing any identifying insignia."

Hyuga Homura's answer didn't surprise Uchiha Shūichi. Just like their own group, they too had omitted Konoha headbands and clan emblems on this trip.

The Land of Rain was a complex environment, and everyone was playing it cautious—standard for ninjas, a profession that thrived on stealth. That was precisely why ninjas with Sensory Ability were so prized in their villages. Fortunately, among the four, two were specialized sensory ninjas, especially Hyuga Homura, whose Byakugan's clairvoyance was practically cheating even among sensory types.

Thus, Hyuga Homura had easily detected the other ninjas entering the Land of Rain.

"No need to engage yet, Homura. Let's tail them and figure out which village they're from first."

The others naturally had no objections to Uchiha Shūichi's plan. Hyuga Homura kept his Byakugan active, following the group from behind.

As night fell, those ninjas entered a town. Half an hour later, the Konoha team followed suit.

"Those guys are likely from the Land of Wind!"

In their room, Hyuga Homura spoke seriously: "From the shape of their mouths when they talk, they carry a Land of Wind accent. Their conversations frequently mention the Land of Wind and Sunagakure, and their muscle and bone structure is closer to that of Land of Wind natives."

Ninjas from the five great nations had slight differences in muscle and bone structure—subtle, but easily spotted by Hyuga Clan members. Lip-reading to confirm accents and topics was a required course for them. With eyes as powerful as the Byakugan, not learning such skills would be a waste.

"Land of Wind... Suna ninjas? In a place like this, those sand-players can't go all out."

Sunagakure lived up to its name. Besides standard Wind Release, they specialized in a variant—Sand Manipulation Technique. Even the Magnet Release favored by past Kazekages evolved from this sand-controlling secret art. Not all Suna ninjas mastered it, but those who did were elites. In the Land of Rain, with its constant drizzle, that technique's power would be reduced by at least twenty to thirty percent.

"Lord Shūichi, they probably wouldn't send such ninjas here. From my observations, one of these Land of Wind ninjas is likely a Puppet Master, and the rest specialize in Wind Release."

Wind Release, Sand Manipulation Technique, and Puppet Technique—these were the main paths for most Suna ninjas. Other techniques existed, but none matched these in ceiling or refinement. Sand Manipulation, pushed to its peak, could evolve into Magnet Release—the highest tier. Puppet Technique's normal ceiling was only Kage-level floor, but its floor was high; mastery meant roughly chunin level, making it an elite path. Only Wind Release was the most common, but its vast user base naturally produced many elites.

"A Puppet Master leading a few Wind Release ninjas?"

Uchiha Shūichi stroked his chin, voicing his guess. Hyuga Homura shook his head: "The strongest isn't that Puppet Master. I can tell one of the Wind Release users has both physical ability and chakra reserves at the peak of Elite Jonin level. The Suna ninjas call him Baki the Jonin."

Baki? Uchiha Shūichi's mind turned, recalling the name—Gaara's teacher, the Fourth Kazekage's trusted aide. After the Fourth Kazekage's death, he was briefly considered a successor, nearly becoming the Fifth Kazekage. Of course, that wasn't because Baki had reached Kage-level strength, but because Sunagakure had no one else to step up. Still, it showed Baki was top-tier among Elite Jonin.