The Land of Hot Water

In the original story, Nagato and Naruto once talked about this.

The Second Shinobi World War had been started by Konoha's hardliners.

And who were Konoha's hardliners? It went without saying.

That's right—it was that old schemer, Danzo, again.

But he'd had Sarutobi Hiruzen's support behind him. Otherwise, Danzo wouldn't have had the authority or the ability to do it.

The main goal of Konoha's leadership in this war was to demonstrate their strength.

After the First Shinobi World War, the nations had enjoyed nearly twenty years of peace. During those two decades, the major hidden villages had all worked hard to develop their politics, economies, and military strength.

But thanks to its advantageous location, Konoha had developed the fastest. By the time the other villages caught on, Konoha's overall strength had already surpassed theirs by a wide margin.

As a result, the hardliners in the various villages were itching for a fight, their eyes fixed on Konoha's rich lands.

But at that time, both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō were at the peak of their powers. Hiruzen was even known as the Shinobi Hero. Seeing the other villages growing restless, he knew it was no time to lie low and keep developing.

So, after discussing it, Konoha's leadership chose Sunagakure, the weakest village overall, and went straight to war against it.

The Anbu Captain, Hatake Sakumo, led the force, joined by the Hokage's students—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru—as they attacked Sunagakure.

But once a war began, it was like a boulder rolling downhill: difficult to stop.

Konoha eventually gained the upper hand, but the conflict took a heavy toll. More importantly, it shattered the fragile balance, giving the other villages an opening and sowing even more seeds of hatred.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had stopped Danzo from going after the Uchiha Clan at that moment because Hatake Sakumo had taken a large number of shinobi to the Sunagakure front. Konoha's defenses were now somewhat depleted. If another village tried to take advantage of the situation and strike Konoha, the Uchiha Clan would make a very useful weapon.

Though neither Sarutobi Hiruzen nor Shimura Danzō liked the Uchiha Clan much, thanks to their teacher, Senju Tobirama, they had to admit that the clan was undeniably powerful.

If Danzo went after the Uchiha Clan now and drove them into rebellion, Konoha would be left vulnerable from within. If Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure attacked at the same time, Konoha would be in danger.

As Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen was calmer than Danzo and had a better grasp of the situation.

"Still, we need to pursue Uchiha Shaoyu and his group. They possess one of Konoha's most powerful Kekkei Genkai. It would be disastrous if it fell into the hands of another village."

With that, Sarutobi Hiruzen straightened up and quickly wrote an order.

Since he'd cut Danzo's funding, he needed to give him something to do, somewhere to channel his anger and energy, so he wouldn't cause more trouble in the village.

"Come in," he said to the empty corner of his office.

An Anbu shinobi appeared without a sound and knelt on one knee.

"Deliver this order to Elder Shimura Danzō."

Sarutobi Hiruzen handed over the scroll, his voice calm. "Tell him to mobilize Root's elite forces at once and pursue the missing-nin Uchiha Shaoyu and his twelve accomplices with all their might."

"Alive or dead, we need proof. Pay special attention to the routes they might take toward the Land of Lightning or the Land of Earth. Our operatives stationed in the countries along the way may assist, but the operation must remain covert and must not cause a diplomatic incident. Also, recover the stolen Uchiha clan secrets, or confirm their destruction—especially the maps and other documents."

"Yes!" The Anbu shinobi took the scroll with both hands, then vanished in a blur.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked out the window again. Sunlight now bathed Konoha, but it did nothing to dispel the gloom in his heart.

"Let's hope this is resolved cleanly."

Meanwhile, far beyond the northern border of the Land of Fire—

After fleeing desperately for a full day and night without rest, crossing the dense, dangerous Forest of Death and scaling the rugged border mountains, Uchiha Shaoyu and his twelve companions had finally entered the neighboring Land of Hot Water.

The Land of Hot Water was known throughout the Shinobi World for its natural hot springs, found across the country, and its relatively peaceful, neutral stance.

There was no major hidden village here, and law enforcement was comparatively lax. It was a place where travelers, merchants, and even wandering shinobi from all countries could stop to rest.

The forest's damp chill and the mountain wind's bite gave way to warm, sulfur-scented air. Along the road, hot springs steamed gently, and inns with a relaxed, welcoming style began to appear. Even the most steadfast Uchiha felt their taut nerves ease a little.

Thanks to his Six Eyes, he hadn't expended much energy.

"Shaoyu," Uchiha Renhuo said, slowing down and drawing closer. His voice was hoarse with exhaustion. "Everyone's... almost at their limit. We need to recover our chakra, and we can't keep up this pace much longer. We're already in the Land of Hot Water, so it's relatively safe. Should we... rest for a while?"

Shaoyu stopped and looked over the clan members behind him.

Sweat dampened Renhuo's brow. His eyes were still sharp, but exhaustion showed through.

The two jōnin, Mihuo and Qianying, were breathing more heavily than usual. The chūnin, including Uchiha Rei and Uchiha Mei, all looked pale after the long journey. The youngest, Shisui, was leaning against his leg, his little face scrunched up as he stubbornly tried not to complain. But his eyelids were already drooping.

After all, not everyone had the Six Eyes like he did. They hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a whole day and night, and even his own body was starting to feel tired.

Besides, he had plenty of confidence in himself. As long as Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't come after him personally, he could handle whatever came. And Hiruzen had to remain in Konoha; he couldn't personally pursue him.

"We do need to rest."

Shaoyu nodded, his voice steady.

"We've been traveling nonstop, and our condition is deteriorating. That's when mistakes are most likely. The Land of Hot Water is neutral, and the hot springs will help ease our fatigue and restore our strength. We'll find a secluded but reliable hot spring inn, rest for half a day, replenish our supplies, and then continue."

Everyone perked up at the prospect of a rest.

They tidied away the traces they'd left behind, doing what they could to throw off their pursuers.

Before long, they found a clean, modest-looking hot spring inn in a secluded corner of the border town of Yunosato. A couple of elderly people ran the place. It was tucked against the mountains and had few guests—just what they wanted.

After paying enough to reserve a private courtyard at the back of the inn, complete with a small outdoor hot spring, they could finally let go of the tension of their flight, at least for a while.

The steaming hot spring chased away the exhaustion and chill that had sunk deep into their bones. Everyone washed up and changed into clean, casual clothes bought at the inn.

Uchiha Rei checked everyone's condition and confirmed that no one had hidden injuries or lingering effects from overexertion.

Shisui soaked in the hot spring, so comfortable he was nearly asleep. Shaoyu lifted him out, dried him off, and tucked him into warm bedding. The little one fell fast asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Shaoyu didn't rest right away. He asked Renhuo and Mei to stand guard, then quietly left the inn with Uchiha Mihuo to buy essential supplies in town.

Yunosato wasn't large, but its hot spring tourism had brought a wealth of shops, and it had a decent selection of goods.

Shaoyu and Mihuo split up to shop carefully, avoiding attention. Mihuo handled the usual supplies, while Shaoyu focused more on gathering information.