Fall of the Land of Rivers

The morning sun rose gradually. The late autumn sunlight was not scorching, and paired with the cool breeze blowing from the mountains, it should have been quite a pleasant experience.

However, the civilians of the Land of Rivers were hiding in their humble homes, one after another. Those who had already learned the inside story had spread the news of the Land of Wind's invasion far and wide.

Suffering because the borders were entirely occupied and controlled by Sunagakure ninjas, some of the more quick-witted merchants found it impossible to leave the country.

Villages near the Valley Hidden Village felt the intensity of the war directly; after all, the Valley Hidden Village was situated on high ground, and thick smoke kept rising from it into the sky.

There were also booming sounds and faint, miserable screams...

These undoubtedly told the story that the battle had entered a white-hot stage.

A bolder civilian walked out of his shelter. When he looked up at the high ground, he happened to see a massive expanse of Gold Dust, like a Golden River Waterfall pouring down from the sky, submerging the area above with terrifying momentum.

The Valley Hidden Village had by then turned into a golden lake, its surface filled with glittering sand.

Floating above was a massive Gold Cloud, upon which stood dozens of Sunagakure ninjas, most of them staring blankly at the scene below.

The young man at the front of the Gold Cloud raised his hands, and the Gold Dust below began to flow slowly. However, the direction of the flow defied gravity; instead of falling, it rose into the air.

Soon, the sky was filled with dancing Gold Dust, reflecting a dazzling and mesmerizing golden light under the sun, which was enough to make one dizzy.

As the Gold Dust gathered in the air, the young man performed hand seals. The Gold Dust instantly began to rotate like a golden hurricane, intertwining and overlapping.

Slowly, the Gold Dust became more solid. Then, the young man changed his hand seals, and dense black patterns abruptly appeared in mid-air, directly wrapping around the Gold Dust that had formed into a long shape.

In the blink of an eye, the Gold Dust in the air vanished, replaced by a golden staff covered in black runes.

"Clean up the battlefield and tally the losses!" The young man grabbed the flying golden staff with one hand, slung it diagonally across his back, and spoke indifferently.

"Yes! Lord Souya!" A young Sunagakure ninja beside him immediately knelt on one knee and responded respectfully.

He had only ever heard of Souya's reputation as a genius, but seeing him display such terrifying Magnet Release capabilities with his own eyes naturally made him submissive and impressed.

This method of solidifying and sealing a large amount of Gold Dust to carry around was something Souya had spent a long time experimenting with before succeeding.

After all, one drawback for Magnet Release ninjas was the need to inject Chakra into the ground before a battle to decompose and combine the necessary mineral sands before they could use large-scale techniques.

Such a "pre-cast" period was fatal when facing a surprise attack!

For instance, without a sufficient quantity of Gold Dust to command, Souya's Magnet Release power would be far inferior to high-level elemental Ninjutsu.

The Sunagakure ninjas on the Gold Cloud jumped down to the high ground, looking at the devastation: large swaths of houses had been crushed into ruins, and trees had been knocked down and half-buried in the soil.

Only the dark red bloodstains seeping out from the soil told the story of the despair of those buried beneath.

The Sunagakure ninjas moved quite quickly. Before long, the young ninja from earlier approached Souya, his tone filled with admiration, "Lord Souya, all 369 ninjas of the Valley Hidden Village have been executed. Our side suffered only five casualties!"

"We are currently searching the secret chambers and tallying the wealth!"

Souya stood by the edge of the high ground, squinting slightly as he gazed toward the direction of the Land of Fire.

Below the high ground lay a lush forest, occasionally separated by earthen hills and gullies, dotting the green land with earthy yellow.

Two wide rivers flowed past the base of the high ground. The water was incredibly clear and sparkling, with fish occasionally leaping out of the surface, as if tying two silver silk scarves embroidered with red carp to the high ground.

A light breeze brushed his face, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees. Souya took a deep breath of the air and said with an appreciative tone, "Xin Yin... this is the kind of environment suitable for us to live in!"

"Yes! Lord Souya!" The young man beside him grew excited as well. Compared to the harsh environment of the Land of Wind, this was, of course, a world of difference.

Here, one could breathe deeply to their heart's content without worrying about dust entering their mouth or nose.

"Have the logistics troops come over."

"Once you confirm there are no hidden traps in the Valley Hidden Village, rebuild the defensive fortifications."

"That high tower is a good spot. Before the barrier squad sets up the early warning barrier, send people to guard it day and night and keep a constant eye on the movements of Konoha!"

"As for the original civilians of the Land of Rivers, those willing to stay should be registered and given one year's worth of food as a gesture of appeasement, three years of tax exemption, and the land will belong to them for three generations!"

"Seal the borders for three days. Civilians who wish to leave are free to do so after three days!"

"Those who stir up trouble or refuse to obey the administration—kill them!"

"Send people to conduct a survey of mineral resources, mark the locations, and once the report is written, present it to the Kazekage!" Souya let his mind wander for a moment before rapidly issuing order after order.

Xin Yin responded in a low voice and then vanished from the spot with a swish.

The wind grew stronger, and the forest below the high ground rustled, the branches swaying.

Souya stood in place for a long while before turning back toward the "ruins" of the Valley Hidden Village.

Boxes of high-value goods and paper currency were categorized and placed in the center; many had been scavenged from secret chambers. Two ninjas stood guard with their backs to the boxes.

Seeing Souya, they spoke respectfully, "Lord Souya!"

Souya nodded slightly. The two ninjas' expressions returned to normal as they stood guard silently, though they stood even straighter.

Souya opened the boxes one by one. After reviewing them, he sighed silently; even for such a small village, the amount of wealth they possessed was a staggering figure.

No wonder the civilians of this country didn't live very well...

In this Ninja World of strife and war, only strength was fundamental. To have wealth without the corresponding strength was merely to be a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

"Lord Souya!"

A Sunagakure ninja with injuries and a gray complexion walked over from a distance, shouting anxiously in a hoarse voice.

He was being supported by two other ninjas.

"What's wrong?" Souya turned and asked.

"Kirigakure has launched a surprise attack on our border, and Lady Pakura has sent me to request reinforcements!"

"The people Kirigakure sent include the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!" He forced himself to stay upright, but after relaying the intelligence, he began to cough violently.

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the Sunagakure Ninjas present were filled with astonishment, tinged with a hint of fear.

After all, the reputation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was steeped in blood.

Powerful, bizarre, brutal... whenever the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were mentioned, ordinary ninjas would subconsciously associate these words with them.