The Three Armies Face Each Other

Once some things began, they were not easily stopped—for example, slaughter.

This was different from fighting. They were entirely different concepts. Whether it was a battle or a war, both involved mutual competition, blows exchanged back and forth. Slaughter, however, was one side beating the other to death.

But precisely because things went too smoothly, it became even harder to stop. Before one had even decided whether to stop, one might casually wipe out another batch of enemies. After all, the side being beaten had no ability to call a halt. That depended on whether the side doing the beating had any decency.

And for those who had no intention of stopping in the first place, there was even less to say.

In the eyes of the upper echelons of the Lands of Water, Fire, and Lightning, the sea folk held a rather significant status. Their living conditions were far harsher than those of mainlanders, and as a large group, they were quite formidable. After all, ninja combat power was not the standard for the general population. This world was still primarily inhabited by ordinary people who could not even produce chakra.

For the Lands of Lightning and Fire, acquiring these sea folk would mean a substantial increase in their naval strength. Unlike the Land of Water, sailors were a genuine technical branch of the military for those two countries. Their training cycles were nearly on par with those of traditional ninja. These sea folk, who had spent their lives dealing with the ocean, were ready-made sailors. With a bit of training, they could be incorporated into the military. Thus, the two countries' policy toward the sea folk centered on subjugation; only those who absolutely could not be subdued would be killed.

The Land of Water's aims were somewhat more