The ninja forces at the border of the Land of Wind were now divided into three groups.
Hatake Sakumo led one group. To carry out the plan to block Kumogakure's advance route, they had already assembled and set off.
Another group remained in place, following Hatake Sakumo's orders and watching for any possibility that Sunagakure might launch another attack.
The last group, and the most crucial one, was Uchiha Yū alone, heading to Amegakure! The chances of a battle were slim. What mattered most was persuading the other side, and that was not something an ordinary ninja could accomplish.
Persuasion relied on skill and brains, not on the usual ninja approach of building tomorrow with one's own two hands.
Traveling north from the camp, the landscape gradually changed. The desert gave way to a vast Gobi wasteland, and eventually to ordinary soil.
Amegakure's environment was no worse than Konoha's. Unfortunately, its geographical position was terrible. Located at the center of the great nations and devoted to the ninja way of life, it had become a place feared by the major villages.
After an unknown amount of time, dark clouds filled the sky. A drop of water struck Uchiha Yū's forehead. Looking into the distance, he saw that he had fully entered Amegakure's territory.
"Akatsuki should be busy gathering villagers and stirring up trouble right now. Judging by the timing, Ibuse Hanzō has probably already noticed this organization."
Akatsuki had expanded rapidly on the eve of the Third Shinobi World War. Many villagers had lost their homes to the chaos of war and become refugees. Whenever Akatsuki came across them, they took them in, gradually forming a force that others had to fear.
"I haven't seen Shan Juhua in a long time. Since I sent her here to monitor Akatsuki's development,