Kumogakure lay amid a range of mountains, earning its name from the clouds and mist that surrounded it all day long.
In ancient times, a group of pale-skinned natives had lived here. Later, after Konoha was founded, the Land of Lightning followed its example of one village per nation. A group of dark-skinned, muscular ninja brimming with martial spirit came here and reached an agreement with the pale-skinned natives. The latter voluntarily surrendered their home and acknowledged the dark-skinned clan as their rulers, with its leader as Raikage, establishing this shinobi village hidden in the clouds.
Centered on the mountain where the Raikage's office stood, layers of barrier ninjutsu extended outward. Roughly every four or five peaks, about ten kilometers apart, another barrier formed a screen. These nested layers stretched all the way to the outermost edge of the mountain range, where an enormous spherical barrier enveloped the entire village.
In the shadow of a barren mountain in the distance, the Six Paths of Pain and Konan emerged from the darkness and gazed toward the peaks and village shrouded in mist.
A faint light shifted in Deva Path Pain's Rinnegan, reflected from those of his true body, Nagato. Studying the enormous nested barriers, he said calmly, "Because of its terrain, Kumogakure's population is far less densely concentrated than Konoha's, so the village covers a much larger area. To sustain barrier ninjutsu on this scale, they established eight inner layers as supports..."
Konan wore an Akatsuki cloak, a paper flower nestled in her purple hair. With purple eyeshadow, a stud beneath her lower lip, and a cool expression, she said evenly, "The eight inner barriers probably have no sensory function. They only supply chakra to the outermost one. After all, Kumogakure's fuinjutsu is inferior to Konoha's overall. They don't have enough