"This mission is to infiltrate the Land of Rain and investigate the Stone Ninja strongholds within its borders."
With a serious expression, Kazashiro relayed Jiraiya's orders to the other three members of the team.
Based on Jiraiya's understanding of Hanzo, this Stone Ninja unit should have been driven out by the enemy shortly after the start of the war.
However, even though so much time has passed and the Stone Ninja on the main battlefield have been dealt with by Minato alone, this Stone Ninja force still occasionally crosses the border of the Land of Rain to attack the Konoha positions before fleeing back to the Land of Rain.
Something's not right. Something's nine out of ten things is wrong.
The renowned "demigod" Hanzo, whose fame resounded throughout the Shinobi World, stood up resolutely to change the fate of small countries being relegated to the battlefields of great powers. He declared war on the Land of Iron, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Fire, and displayed extraordinary strength in the ensuing battles, forcing the Sunagakure and the Konoha to negotiate peace with him.
How could Hanzo, who once aspired to change the entire Shinobi World, now turn a blind eye to the Stone Ninja traversing the Land of Rain?
Jiraiya even doubted whether Hanzo was still alive.
Or perhaps Amegakure and Iwagakure have already joined forces to attack Konoha?
Because Amegakure was too isolated, Jiraiya was unable to obtain accurate information about Hanzo, so he entrusted this task to Kazashiro.
Jiraiya had some personal motives for undertaking this mission.
"Well, if possible, I'd appreciate it if you could also help me find a few people named Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan."
Upon hearing these three names, Kazashiro understood. Even if they didn't say anything, he would find a way to contact them.
After all, Nagato's existence was related to Madara Uchiha's plans, as well as his own future retirement.
It's important to understand that, if the story unfolds as it should, Old Deng will soon learn of the Akatsuki Organization's existence and personally lead a group to cause trouble for Hanzo. At that point, he will make Nagato understand the pain and then launch a massive attack on Konoha.
Shaking his head, Kazashiro ended his reminiscence and began explaining some important points to note during the mission.
"The main objective of this mission is to gather intelligence and avoid combat as much as possible, especially within the territory controlled by Amegakure ninja. After the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha and Amegakure signed a peace treaty, stipulating that Konoha Ninja are not allowed to enter any territory within the Land of Land of Rain controlled by Hanzo of the Salamander."
"Of course, if our tracks are exposed..."
Kazashiro paused for a moment.
"Then we'll have no choice but to kill them all."
Like a kind old man in the Yamanaka, tolling the evening bell for the enemy.
Holding the map given to them by Jiraiya, Kazashiro and the others embarked on their journey to the Land of Rain.
Then they encountered their first problem.
On the map, there are only two roads leading to the Land of Rain, but the three forks in the road ahead clearly suggest that there might be some problems with the map.
"What the heck, a fake map?"
Several people squatted head to head in the bushes, looking at the map from all four directions, but still couldn't figure out where the extra road led.
"If that doesn't work, how about we skip the main road and take the side paths to enter the Land of Rain?"
Seeing that they couldn't figure out a solution, Kakashi, the smartest among them, made a suggestion.
"Wouldn't taking the back road be tantamount to telling the other party that we're of unknown origin?"
Kazashiro, who was trying his best to shield the map from the rain, heard Kakashi's words and wanted to try one more time.
"I think we don't need to look anymore, look here."
Kakashi patted Kazashiro on the shoulder and pointed to the bottom right corner of the map. "Look here, this shows the map's creation date. It's a map from the Second Shinobi World War, so it's practically useless for reference."
Reminded by Kakashi, Kazashiro then realized the map's production date, and nearly threw it away in anger.
"Damn Jiraiya! With this map, how am I supposed to find his disciple?!"
Folded the map away in annoyance, Kazashiro looked around, and then punched Obito on the head.
Obito: "Huh?"
Clutching his head, Obito was completely bewildered. Why was he getting beaten up even though he hadn't said a word?
"This was made on behalf of your teacher."
Seeing that Obito couldn't understand, Kazashiro "kindly" explained it to Obito, and then prepared to take Kakashi's suggestion and take a shortcut into the Land of Rain.
"So, what's the story behind finding Lord Jiraiya's disciple?"
Lin heard Kazashiro's complaint and asked curiously, since Kazashiro hadn't mentioned anything about this in the previous mission introduction.
"Ah, that's just some personal matters of Lord Jiraiya."
Kazashiro waved his hand, indicating to Lin not to worry about these details.
The Land of Rain is like a country that is always crying.
This country is in the rainy season for most of the year, the sky is always overcast, and the oppressive atmosphere makes people feel suffocated.
Even though the Second Shinobi World War is long over, ruins are still everywhere, and there are still many beggars on the streets.
Kazashiro and his companions, who had expected to encounter enemies by taking a shortcut, entered the Land of Land of Rain without any hindrance.
"This place really is..."
Looking at the lifeless city before him, Obito, who was hiding his figure under his raincoat, couldn't think of a suitable adjective for a moment.
"That's the only place with any light."
Kakashi looked up at the huge tower to the north. Even from a distance, they could clearly see the flashing neon lights on the tower.
"Be careful, that should be Hanzo's stronghold."
Kazashiro glanced at the central tower in the distance but paid no attention to it. Instead, he focused his attention on the Rain Ninjas not far away.
Kazashiro gestured for the others to conceal themselves, then curiously observed the Rain Ninjas standing on the high platform, speaking to the crowd.
"Under Lord Hanzo's protection, the Land of Rain has once again enjoyed a year without war. To express our gratitude for Lord Hanzo's contributions, this year's protection fee will increase by 10%, and must be settled within ten days."
With her hands behind her back and wearing an oxygen mask, Yu Ren loudly conveyed the superiors' opinions to the civilians below the stage.
"Are they going to raise it by another 10%? My family is already starving..."
"My son's death benefit still hasn't been paid..."
"My daughter is the same. She joined Amegakure a while ago, and then we never heard from her again..."
The previously lifeless crowd perked up somewhat after hearing the ninja's words and began to whisper among themselves.
The leader of the Rain Ninja didn't mind the other party's discussion at all. In any case, he had already conveyed the message from above: if these civilians refused to pay the protection fee, all that awaited them were Kunai and Ninja Blade.
If I can't beat the ninjas of the Five Great Nations, surely I can beat you commoners?