Through Uchiha Xiao's True Sight Eye, Tsunade's squad had largely avoided the main Rain Ninja forces. Though they occasionally ran into smaller squads, their numerical advantage allowed them to crush them every time.
The Rain Ninja squads couldn't even get a word out or launch a signal flare before the Senju Clan's ninjas slit their throats.
By now, this thousand-strong force was still completely unharmed. They had even reached a village in the Land of Rain without the enemy noticing.
Uchiha Xiao climbed down from Long Yi's back and addressed the troops. "You've been marching for a whole day. There's a village up ahead where you can rest, but let me make one thing clear: we're soldiers, not bandits."
"So I'm laying down these rules. Anyone who breaks them will be executed without mercy! 1. Anyone who trespasses in a home will be killed. 2. Anyone who steals supplies will be killed. 3. Anyone who rapes a civilian will be killed. 4. Anyone who bullies the weak will be killed. 5. Anyone who forces a sale or purchase will be killed."
"These are the Five Killings. I hope you'll remember them. I don't want us to be comrades in the morning and cops and robbers by night! Also, our force must be disciplined. We will not take so much as a needle or a thread from the people! Is that clear?" Uchiha Xiao's voice rang out firmly. The Senju Clan members looked at one another.
At last, Tsunade spoke first. "Understood!" Then the Senju Clan members all shouted, "Understood!"
Uchiha Xiao didn't take it to heart. He could guess that some of the ninjas disagreed with these rules and had only agreed because of Tsunade, the Senju princess. But they didn't know this was wisdom from another world.
"Now, everyone, follow me into the village! Keep your steps light and move slowly!" Uchiha Xiao took the lead. As the battlefield commander, he naturally had to lead by example.
Tsunade was worried about him, so she stayed by his side. Once they entered the village, Uchiha Xiao looked around and saw villagers watching them through windows and cracks in their doors, too afraid to make a sound.
Uchiha Xiao raised his voice. "Everyone, we're ninjas from Konoha. I know that, in your eyes, the ninjas of the great nations are all ruthless killers. I won't deny that.
"But I can promise you that our force will abide by strict discipline and won't lay a finger on the civilians. 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 the villagers to walk through.
"Please don't be afraid. If any ninja commits a crime, tell me, and I'll make sure he's punished on the spot!"
After speaking, Uchiha Xiao ordered the troops to put up rain shelters along the roadside. Some ninjas leaned against the walls of the villagers' houses, while others simply lay on the ground. After marching nonstop for an entire day, with battles breaking out from time to time, they were already physically and mentally exhausted.
He then selected twenty ninjas to patrol. After all, the safety of the force had to be ensured.
Seeing how well-behaved the Konoha ninjas were, the villagers of the Land of Rain couldn't help but feel moved. In the past, those lordly ninjas had burned, killed, robbed, and committed every kind of evil. Why were these troops following the rules so carefully?
They found it hard to believe. That night, the Senju force slept soundly, while the villagers felt uneasy—or, rather, that it all seemed unreal.
They had lived through wars before, but this was the first time they had encountered a force like this, with a commander like this. They felt as if they were dreaming.
Late that night, two Konoha ninjas, covered in wounds, arrived at the village. They went to a random house 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 from Jiraiya's unit. We got separated from the army after a big battle. We saw a village nearby and thought we'd come here to get something to eat," one of the two Konoha ninjas said with a smile.
"Yeah, that's right, brother. We're just here to get something to eat. No need to be so serious!" the other one 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 Xiao's rules. Long Yi didn't care which unit they belonged to. He would take them in first and let Xiao deal with them!
"What are you doing? We're comrades from the same village!" one of them shouted. Then he activated his Sharingan—a Two-Tomoe one—and gripped a Kunai as he glared at the Senju ninjas around him.
"Could it be that your Senju Clan still holds a grudge against our Uchiha?" the other Uchiha said, activating his Sharingan as well. His had One-Tomoe.
"Hmph! You trespassed in someone's home and still dare to resist?" Long Yi used the Senju Clan's technique, Heaven's Foot Pain, and kicked the Two-Tomoe Uchiha unconscious. Then, with a sideways strike of his elbow, he used Mountain Crushing Strike to knock the One-Tomoe Uchiha to the ground.
The other ninjas stepped forward and tied them up. Inside the house, a red-haired child watched what was happening, eyes wide with disbelief.
The people of Konoha had protected us?
The nearby villagers watched through their windows or cracks in their doors. Seeing what had happened, they felt a joy they couldn't put into words.
Uchiha Xiao was under the eaves of a house, thinking about how to deal with Salamander Hanzo. After all, he was a Kage Level powerhouse, known as a demigod. That title wasn't undeserved.
Of course, he couldn't compare to Senju Hashirama or Senju Tobirama, the true God of Shinobi and the Shinobi World's Godspeed. But in this era, considering his strength as a whole, he certainly deserved to be called a demigod.
There were three main reasons the Land of Rain had declared war on the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth. First, the Land of Rain was rife with competing organizations. To expand his influence and become the true leader of Amegakure, Hanzo had chosen to declare war on the three great nations. Whatever the outcome, he wanted everyone to see that he was the one capable of leading Amegakure!
Second, the battlefields of every war between the great nations were in small ninja villages like theirs. The wars impoverished the people and left them without enough to eat. He had to fight this war. Even if he couldn't win, he would show the world that the Land of Rain wouldn't let itself be bullied!
Third, resources were scarce. War was the best way to shift the focus from the shortage of resources within the country. By plundering others, he could make the Land of Rain stronger and more prosperous.
What he hadn't expected was that less than a week after he declared war, Konoha, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure would send troops across the border and straight into his territory.
Only now did he realize that one person's strength wasn't enough to make a country strong. Or, to put it another way, he still wasn't strong enough. He couldn't reach the level of the God of Shinobi, who alone could keep the Five Great Nations in check!