Land of Rain.
The endless rain washed over the cold, towering structures.
The sky was shrouded in heavy, lead-gray clouds, making it hard to breathe.
Chiba stood atop the pooled water in a black Hokage Cloak, his hands clasped behind his back.
Raindrops were automatically repelled by invisible Chakra when they came within half an inch of his body.
Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, and more than a dozen Anbu elites wearing animal masks followed closely behind Chiba.
Everyone's clothes had been soaked through by the rain.
Jiraiya wiped the rain from his face, his expression filled with confusion and anxiety.
"Chiba."
"The various fronts are all advancing."
"As the Hokage, why did you come to this godforsaken place of all places?"
Jiraiya finally could not hold back any longer and demanded loudly.
Kakashi's mask was soaked as well, and his Sharingan gave off a faint red glow through the curtain of rain.
He did not understand either.
The Land of Rain was merely a small country sandwiched between great powers.
Though its terrain was complicated, it was hardly worth the Fifth Hokage personally leading a campaign here.
Chiba did not turn around.
He tilted his head slightly upward and watched the raindrops falling from the sky.
"Jiraiya."
"Do you think..."
"That once we crush those major ninja villages, the Ninja World will truly be unified?"
Chiba's voice was quiet, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly through the downpour.
Jiraiya froze for a moment.
"Isn't that the case?"
"As long as we defeat the three major ninja villages, who else can stand in Konoha's way?"
Chiba gave a soft laugh.
There was a cold indifference in that laughter, as though he looked down upon all living things.
"Those three half-crippled villages..."
"Even tied together, they aren't as dangerous as this rain-soaked dump."