The Glory and Decline of the Land of Grass

But after Hashirama Senju established the one-country, one-ninja-village system, the military strength of the Five Great Nations surged exponentially.

How could the tiny Grass Hidden Corps compare to the newly established five great ninja villages? They were beaten so badly they could not recognize their own mothers, and the so-called Six Paths Treasures were easily sealed away.

The Land of Grass's character and attitude underwent a fundamental change as well, shifting from fiery aggression to singing and dancing. Simply put, they learned that the wise adapted to the times.

Afterward, the Hidden Grass Village established by the Grass Hidden Corps deeply inherited the Land of Grass's philosophy that the wise adapted to the times.

They successfully transformed from "ninjas of Grass" into "whichever way the wind blew."

Of course, they still retained their former pride in their hearts.

Whether it was their dominance during the era of warring states or the days when they had stood above the Five Great Nations thanks to a Sage of Six Paths relic, both bore witness to their past glory.

The successive leaders of Hidden Grass Village and the daimyo of the Land of Grass had always sought ways to restore their former splendor.

Lacking a ninjutsu inheritance? Then imitate the Ashiba Kingdom's method—steal!

Unable to obtain high-value missions? They took on the low-level jobs subcontracted by the five great ninja villages, relying on reselling intelligence among the Lands of Fire, Earth, and Wind for meager rewards while enduring every kind of exploitation.

Though the Land of Grass, skilled in diplomatic maneuvering, was regarded by the great nations as "utterly without principles," they had survived in the end.

Without the foundation of ninjutsu or ninja clans, they could only curry favor on all sides, using the information gaps between nations to gain room for survival and resources for development.

Therefore, aside from reselling intelligence—even profiting from multiple parties—and committing evils such as trafficking descendants with Bloodline Limit potential, what Hidden Grass Village ninjas were most "skilled" at was studying, using, and even deciphering other nations' ninjutsu.

The radicals even believed that if they could learn and decipher all the ninjutsu of the five great ninja villages, then unseal the Six Paths Treasures, Hidden Grass would soon dominate the shinobi world.

Their logic was this:

It was precisely the emergence of ninjutsu and ninjas that had caused their decline. Therefore, as long as they mastered and deciphered all ninjutsu, their opponents would have no options left.

Although the shinobi world had no concept of "ninjutsu patents," behavior like Hidden Grass Village's large-scale, systematic theft of other nations' ninjutsu was exceedingly rare.

In this regard, even the Hidden Cloud Village could only rank second before them, because its style was ultimately simple and crude: just take it by force.

Thus, whether it was Konoha or Iwagakure, their strategies when using Hidden Grass ninjas were astonishingly consistent:

They assigned them only the most dangerous and filthiest missions, even frequently using them as expendable battlefield fodder.

Yet whenever vile Hidden Grass ninjas encountered wounded, isolated ninjas from other countries, regardless of their affiliation, they often killed them without mercy and looted their belongings.

The Land of Grass, surviving in the cracks between great nations, stubbornly clung to life like wild grass!

Just like now, Iwagakure of the Land of Earth had openly occupied half of the Land of Grass.

Konoha's border defense forces had also pushed deep into the Land of Grass, ruthlessly purging spies and intelligence outposts from every nation while fiercely battling the frontline Iwagakure forces.

The Hidden Grass ninjas could only cower in the corners, watching in terror as the two great powers clashed upon their homeland and allowed the flames of war to consume it.

After all, the very purpose of a small nation like the Land of Grass, wedged between great powers like a sandwich cookie, was to create a buffer zone for them.

Whenever the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth went to war, this small country would be turned into a battlefield by the two great ninja villages as though no one else existed, their forces freely moving through its territory.

This world believed even more deeply in one principle—weakness was the original sin, and those who fell behind would be beaten!

Inside the Land of Grass garrison camp of the Northwestern Border Defense Force.

Mokume Koto, the commander here, had a terrible headache and carried a faint worry with him every day.

Mokume Koto was a so-called Village Faction ninja, one of the outstanding first-generation civilian ninjas trained through the Ninja Academy since Konoha's founding.

Although his reputation and strength did not compare to Sakumo Hatake or the Three Ninja, he was still a rare Elite Jonin.

He had also assisted Tsunade and Sakumo Hatake in defeating the Sand Village during the Second Shinobi World War.

This experience was one of the reasons he had been able to become commander of Konoha's border forces stationed in the Land of Grass.

Konoha's Village Faction had distinct traits. As children raised by the ninja village, they especially revered Hashirama Senju, the "God of Shinobi," seeing him as a living deity who had ended the wars.

They regarded the Leaf Village as a homeland to defend to the death, valued collective honor, respected the Hokage, and cherished the bonds between comrades.

In short, Mokume Koto was a first-generation Konoha ninja raised under the teachings of the Will of Fire.

However, this Will of Fire was the will of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Aside from sharing the same name, it was fundamentally different from the Will of Fire currently popular in Konoha after being reinterpreted by the Third Hokage.

Inside the central tent of the Northwestern Border Defense Force's main camp, the tent flap was lifted.

A cold wind carrying grass clippings and a chilling air of slaughter swept inside.

Shin nosuke Sarutobi, deputy commander of Konoha's garrison, strode in.

His young face bore the weathered marks unique to a frontline commander, but his sharp gaze and firm steps conveyed the competence and confidence of Konoha's new generation of elites.

How could he possibly lack confidence? He was the eldest son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and after years of training on the border, even Elite Jonin would greet him respectfully.

"Senior Koto!"

Shin nosuke Sarutobi's voice broke the silence within the tent. He walked to the wooden table and placed a scroll and several intelligence reports upon it.

"These are the latest reconnaissance reports and frontline summaries. Please review them."

"Oh, Shin nosuke, you're here. You've worked hard commanding the fighting on the front lines lately."

Mokume Koto lowered his hand and raised his head, his weathered eyes turning toward Shin nosuke.

"How is the situation now?"

After a brief courtesy, Mokume Koto went straight to the point.

Shin nosuke Sarutobi spoke quickly and clearly:

"I led the frontline forces in fighting Iwagakure's three-thousand-man vanguard near the capital of the Land of Grass for a month. At first, we were evenly matched, and neither side could defeat the other."

"But our reconnaissance forces discovered Iwagakure's Explosion Release Corps. I judge that Iwagakure's main force cannot be far away, and they are very likely preparing to launch a general offensive."

"So, following your orders, I have withdrawn the frontline forces to the vicinity of Hozuki Castle."

"Mm. It seems the frontline fighting has nearly reached its fiercest stage, but our logistics can hardly keep up!"

"Iwagakure's harassment frequency has increased by thirty percent over the past week."

"Their small-unit infiltration tactics have become more skilled and their targets more precise. They specifically target our supply lines and outer sentry posts."

"Yesterday, the Seventh Logistics Supply Squad was ambushed in the buffer zone along the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain. The squad lost twelve men, while three were seriously wounded."

"Over the past month, our logistics forces have lost more than a hundred personnel. Including the seriously and lightly wounded, the total is nearly three hundred."