The Villagers of the Land of Rain

Thanks to Uchiha Kō's True Sight Eye, Tsunade's squad had mostly avoided the main Rain Ninja forces. They had occasionally run into smaller squads, but with their numerical advantage, they had crushed them every time.

The Rain Ninja squads hadn't even had time to speak or fire a signal flare before the Senju Squad's ninjas slit their throats.

By now, the thousand-strong unit was still completely unharmed. They had even reached a village in the Land of Rain without the enemy noticing.

Uchiha Kō climbed down from Long Yi's back and addressed the troops. "You've been marching all day. There's a village ahead where you can rest, but let me make one thing clear: we are Konoha Ninja, a village of love founded by Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi."

"Since that's the case, once we enter the village to rest, you must not act recklessly or disturb the ordinary people of Amegakure!" Uchiha Kō's eyes gleamed.

"So I'm laying down these rules. Anyone who breaks them will be executed without mercy! 1. Trespass in someone's home, and you die. 2. Steal supplies, and you die. 3. Rape or molest a civilian, and you die. 4. Bully the weak, and you die. 5. Force someone into a sale, and you die."

"These are the Five Kill Rules. I hope you'll remember them. I don't want us to be comrades in the morning and enemies by night! And this unit must have discipline: don't take so much as a needle or a thread from the people! Is that clear?"

Uchiha Kō's voice rang out with conviction. The Senju Clan members looked at one another.

At last, Tsunade spoke first. "Understood!" Then the Senju Clan members echoed her in loud voices. "Understood!"

Uchiha Kō wasn't bothered. He could guess that some of the ninjas disagreed with these rules, and had only agreed because of Tsunade, the Princess of Senju. But they didn't know these were lessons from another world.

"Now, everyone, follow me into the village! Keep your steps light and move slowly!" Uchiha Kō led the way. As the battlefield commander, he had to lead by example.

Tsunade didn't trust him to go alone, so she stayed by his side. Once they entered the village, Uchiha Kō looked around. He saw villagers peeking at them through windows and cracks in doors, too afraid to make a sound.

Uchiha Kō raised his voice. "Villagers of the Land of Rain, we're ninjas from Konoha. I know you think that ninjas from the Great Nations kill without batting an eye. I won't deny it.

"But I can promise you that our unit will obey the rules and won't harm a single civilian. We only want to rest for one night. Don't worry—we'll sleep along the sides of the street and leave a path down the middle for you to walk through.

"I hope you won't be afraid. If any ninja does anything wrong, tell me, and I'll punish him on the spot!"

After speaking, Uchiha Kō ordered the troops to put up rain shelters by the roadside. Some ninjas leaned against the walls of the villagers' homes; others simply lay down on the ground. They had marched all day without stopping and fought from time to time. They were exhausted, body and mind.

He then assigned twenty ninjas to patrol. The unit's safety had to be ensured.

Seeing the Konoha Ninja obey the rules so strictly, the villagers of the Land of Rain couldn't help feeling moved. The ninja lords they'd known before had burned, killed, looted, and committed every kind of evil. Why was this unit following the rules so carefully?

They couldn't quite believe it. That night, the Senju Squad slept soundly, while the villagers felt uneasy—or rather, as if none of it were real.

They had experienced war before, but this was the first time they'd encountered a unit like this, led by a commander like him. It felt like a dream.

Deep into the night, two Konoha ninjas, covered in wounds, arrived at the village. They picked a house at random and were about to open the door and take shelter when a Senju Clan jōnin on patrol called out, "Hey! What are you doing? Which unit are you with?"

The shout woke more than two hundred ninjas nearby. They drew their weapons and turned to face the two wounded Konoha ninjas.

"We're ninjas from Jiraiya's unit. We got separated from the army after a major battle. When we saw a village nearby, we figured we'd come here for a bite to eat." One of the two Konoha ninjas smiled.

"That's right, brother. We're just here for a bite to eat. There's no need to be so serious!" the other said with a laugh.

"Someone, tie them up!" The ninja on patrol was Long Yi. He admired the commander immensely; without him, their unit would have suffered countless casualties. Now ninjas from another unit were trying to break Kō's rules. He didn't care whose unit they belonged to—he'd take them in first and let Kō deal with them!

"What are you doing? We're comrades from the same village!" one of them shouted. He activated his Sharingan, revealing two Tomoe, and held a Kunai as he glared at the Senju ninjas around him.

"Could it be that your Senju Clan still holds a grudge against us Uchiha?" the other said, activating his Sharingan as well. His had one Tomoe.

"Hmph! You trespassed in someone's home, and you still dare to resist?" Long Yi said. He used the Senju Clan's martial art, Heavenly Foot of Pain, and kicked the Uchiha with two Tomoe unconscious. Then, with a Mountain Crushing Strike, he swept his elbow across and knocked the one with one Tomoe to the ground.

The other ninjas rushed forward and tied them up. Inside the house, a red-haired child watched everything unfold, eyes wide with disbelief.

Konoha's villagers protected us?

The villagers nearby watched through windows and cracks in their doors. When they saw what had happened, they felt a happiness they couldn't put into words.

Uchiha Kō was beneath the eaves, thinking about how to deal with Salamander Hanzō. After all, Hanzō was a Kage Level powerhouse, known as a demigod. That title was no empty boast.

Of course, Hanzō couldn't compare to Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama, the true God of Shinobi and Godspeed of the Ninja World. But in this era, taking all aspects of his strength into account, calling him a demigod was no exaggeration.

The Land of Rain had declared war on the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth for three main reasons. First, the Land of Rain was rife with factions. To expand his influence and become the de facto leader of Amegakure, Hanzō had chosen to declare war on the three Great Nations. Whatever the outcome, he wanted everyone to see that he was the one who could lead Amegakure!

Second, the battlefields of every war between the Great Nations lay in small ninja villages like theirs, leaving the people impoverished and starving. He had to fight this war. Even if he couldn't win, he would show the world that the Land of Rain couldn't be bullied!

Third, resources were scarce. War was the best way to redirect attention from the shortage at home. By plundering resources, he could make the Land of Rain stronger and richer.

What he hadn't expected was that less than a week after he declared war, Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure would send troops across the borders and into his territory.

Only now did he realize that one person's strength wasn't enough to make a nation strong. Put another way, he still wasn't strong enough to be like the God of Shinobi, who could deter the Five Great Nations all by himself!