The Swamp Country's Conundrum

Since he had contracted the Umibozu as a summoning beast, Touma no longer needed to go through the trouble of using Ryūchi Cave as a transit point to return to the mainland.

Given the speed at which the Umibozu could use the Body Flicker Technique in the ocean, it could easily transport him from the archipelago of the Land of Islands to the mainland within three hours.

This was an innate instinct of the Umibozu, and also the core method it used to avoid being captured by ninjas.

Especially under Touma's deliberate guidance, its speed while flickering through the water grew faster and faster, directly resulting in the creation of a massive amount of supersonic cavitation bubbles before them.

Within the Water Release system, Water Release Body Flicker techniques are generally divided into two categories: one is the surface-based Body Flicker, originating from the "Water Walking Technique," and the other is the underwater-based Body Flicker, originating from the "Water Flicker Technique."

The "Water Walking Technique" gradually evolved to spawn a series of Body Flicker techniques with different focuses, such as "Water Surface Slash," "Water Chaos Step," and "Sea Walking." These techniques are not particularly difficult, and most ninjas specializing in Water Release can perform a trick or two.

Conversely, techniques like "Wave Riding Strike," "Hidden Serpent Technique," "Hidden Dragon Technique," and "Water Burst Flash Technique," which evolved from the "Water Flicker Technique," not only require talent in Water Release but also impose rigid physical limitations on the ninja due to the unique environment of underwater flickering.

The faster one flickers underwater, the greater the water pressure one faces. Once it exceeds a ninja's capacity to endure, those ninjas using underwater Body Flicker techniques are highly likely to die without warning from inexplicable water pressure.

Much like the Water Release ninjas in Kairan Village, most suffer from decompression sickness precisely because they frequently use Body Flicker techniques underwater for long periods without taking care to slowly decompress their bodies afterward, thus triggering various ailments.

Fortunately, with the help of the Umibozu's underwater flickering, Touma did not need to worry about such issues; the pressure he would have had to endure was transferred entirely to the Umibozu. He could even dive into the deep sea, hundreds or thousands of meters down, without needing any professional diving equipment.

As Touma neared the mainland, the Xiao-Destroying Bug in his insect jar finally reacted, beginning to hum and buzz. This was Shibi sending out a broadcast message to all the Digestion Bugs that had absorbed his chakra.

Previously, whether he was at that unnamed holy land or on the deserted islands of the Land of Islands, the communication distance had exceeded the range the Xiao-Destroying Bug could sense, making it impossible to receive the broadcast.

Now that he was closer to the mainland, there might be Digestion Bugs nearby that could indirectly help relay the message, allowing it to reach Touma.

Touma did not hesitate; he immediately used his chakra to stimulate the Xiao-Destroying Bug, copying and sending his location information back along the same path.

Based on the climate, the place where he was about to land should be on the side of Hell Valley belonging to the Land of Lightning.

Although the Hell Valley region was shared by the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, the cold and dry parts near the coastline belonged to the Land of Lightning, while the warmer and more humid parts near the interior belonged to the Land of Fire.

The Land of Fire did not occupy the parts of Hell Valley that possessed a coastline; this was the content of an agreement signed by the two countries after repeated consultations following the end of the First Shinobi World War.

Because most of the Land of Lightning's coastline was blocked by mountain ranges, it lacked ports capable of large-scale cargo transport, which was quite fatal for a country that relied on foreign trade to meet the basic needs of its population.

Therefore, the point of contention between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning during the First Shinobi World War was the ownership of the large ports in Hell Valley.

The Land of Fire certainly did not lack those ports in Hell Valley, but cutting meat directly from the Yuan Clan was simply impossible. If the Yuan Clan had been that easy to talk to, they would never have been able to seize the authority of the Daimyo's court at the end of the Warring States period.

Thus, with the tacit understanding of the two countries' Daimyo courts, a war between Konoha and Kumogakure inevitably broke out, and the ninja collectives led by the Second Hokage and the Second A began a war that lasted for nearly a decade.

However, neither Senju Tobirama nor the Second A were men of blind loyalty, and the intensity of the war was always maintained at a very low level.

It was only later that the Mei Clan, the Daimyo family of the Land of Lightning, secretly contacted the brothers Ginkaku and Kinkaku, inciting them to stir up trouble and promising them the position of the next Raikage, which caused the scale of the war to escalate continuously.

To be honest, the will of the low-level ninjas in both Konoha and Kumogakure was very easy to guide. After Kinkaku and Ginkaku successfully ambushed the Second A, they managed to control a large number of low- and mid-level ninjas in the village without much effort.

Although there were many opponents among the high-ranking officials of Kumogakure, they could do nothing in the face of the emotions of the low-level ninjas stirred up by the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers. After all, no matter what, they could not bring themselves to strike at their own fellow villagers.

Therefore, even when Konoha later noticed the change in the intensity of the war, Senju Tobirama could not gather enough strength to provide support in time, and could only hold the front line himself, burning out the last of his value!

Although the Third A later brought his "AB Brothers" out of seclusion early, killed the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers, and reclaimed the authority of Kumogakure, the seeds of conflict between the two villages had already been sown. Even now, if any Konoha ninja appeared on the side of Hell Valley belonging to the Land of Lightning, it would trigger a strong reaction from the garrison troops.

To avoid meaningless combat, Touma had no choice but to change his appearance and sneak into a passing merchant ship.

Touma's message was still a step too late; the unit Sarutobi Hiruzen had sent out to search for Touma had actually already pushed into the Land of Swamps.

Interestingly, the person leading the team this time was none other than Shimura Danzō, who had just returned to work in Root after his period of confinement.

His initiative in securing this mission was not solely due to his interest in Touma, but also because he was truly curious about the interior of the Land of Swamps.

As mentioned earlier, the Land of Swamps served as a place where the filth of the ninja world was hidden, and it had managed to develop to this day without being destroyed precisely because of the extremely mysterious Daimyo family behind it.

Mainstream opinion speculated that the Daimyo family of the Land of Swamps was a suspected remnant of the Emperor's family from the Land of Ancestors, and that they were only able to possess such strong power after inheriting part of the Emperor's family's legacy.

On the surface, most of the Secret Ninjas of the Land of Swamps were converted from groups of rogue ninjas and wandering ninjas. In reality, the intelligence systems of most major countries knew that after these rogue and wandering ninjas became Secret Ninjas, their strength improved significantly.

This was why the Bounty Exchange never accepted missions involving Secret Ninjas; their strength was difficult to assess. A wandering ninja who might have originally possessed only Genin-level strength could, after being recruited by the Hidden Secret Village, reappear capable of displaying the strength of a Chunin or even a Jonin.

If a bounty mission failed, it was one thing, but if it succeeded and the bounty hunter claimed the opponent's strength had increased, the Bounty Exchange had no way to verify the truth of the claim. Increasing the bounty amount was a minor issue; the real problem was the collapse of credibility. The Bounty Exchange had been able to develop for so many years precisely because of its well-earned reputation.

Shimura Danzō had also arranged for Root to infiltrate the Land of Swamps many times to dig up intelligence on what lay behind it. However, large numbers of people sent in disappeared without a trace, like mud oxen entering the sea.

Now, with the support of the Hokage, things were different. In addition to Danzō, who was at the Kage level, this unit included three Jonin from the Jonin squad, six Jonin from the Anbu, and three Root combat squads that Danzō brought with him, with an average strength above that of a Special Jonin.

With this configuration, they could easily take down even some small ninja villages; therefore, Danzō could be said to have full confidence in this operation.

However, just after entering the border barrier of the Land of Swamps, this unit of theirs, which possessed such decent strength, ran into trouble. Whether it was due to the miasma of the Land of Swamps or the effect of the barrier, they actually got lost within the Land of Swamps, and everyone was separated from one another!