Land of Waterfalls

Three days had passed in a flash, and sunlight spilled over the land of the Land of Fire for the first time in a long while, seeming to sweep away the century-long gloom that had weighed heavy on everyone's hearts.

Beneath a cliff in the Land of Fire, artisans were bustling about constructing houses. A large clearing had been cleared from the originally dense forest, and rows of foundations were driven neatly into the ground. Relaxed smiles hung on everyone's faces, presenting a thriving scene.

Two figures stood in silence atop the cliff, clad in loose kimonos, gazing down with heavy expressions at the busy scene below.

"Brother, we've received intelligence that the Uchiha Clan left the Land of Fire this morning. Their exact destination remains unclear."

"Hmm." Hashirama merely nodded absentmindedly, clearly feeling a sense of loss at failing to fulfill his childhood dream together with his best friend.

Seeing this, Tobirama said with a displeased tone, "Brother, are you still thinking about Uchiha Madara? Do you have any idea what that Uchiha Yan Hong took away from us? A full six jutsu, and two of them were S-rank super jutsu! We should have kept all of them back then!"

"Tobirama, the war is already over. Let some things pass." Hashirama shook his head, though the lost expression had already vanished from his face. "However, you're right about one thing: now that we have a ninja village of our own, I won't let anyone come and destroy it again, even if that person is Madara!"

Seeing that his older brother finally had some sense knocked into him, Tobirama, despite being the younger brother, instead wore an expression of relief, his tone softening considerably, though a trace of wariness lingered in his eyes. "There's one more thing: Sarutobi Sasuke is dead. Originally, I only meant to ask him to fight Uchiha Yan Hong, but I never expected him to be killed by him in return. This fellow's level of danger has already surpassed Izuna. A powerful enemy is not terrifying; what is terrifying is his vision and intellect."

"Madara truly has two good younger brothers." Hashirama thought for a moment. "That's right, doesn't Sasuke have a son?"

Tobirama recalled for a moment. "Ah, it seems his name is Sarutobi Hiruzen. I caught a glimpse of him once before in their clan's territory; his natural talent looks quite good. Why do you ask, Brother?"

"What do you say if we take him as a disciple?" Hashirama's tone carried guilt. "After all, Sasuke died because of our Senju Clan, and I want to do something to compensate him."

"Very well, consider it a way to appease the Sarutobi Clan." Tobirama nodded. "I've already negotiated with the Daimyo Palace side in the Land of Fire. They agree to our establishing a ninja village and will provide a certain amount of material support. At the same time, they'll bestow the title of 'Naruto' upon each village head. Well then, Brother, you shall be the First Naruto. As for the name of the ninja village, you should choose it."

"A name?" Hashirama raised his head, looking at the green leaves dancing in the air, and seemed to see the sight of himself and Madara standing together on this cliff in their childhood once again, murmuring, "What do you say to calling it the Hidden Leaf Village?"

During the Warring States Period, besides the five great nations, the surrounding small countries also burned in the flames of war. However, because the resources of small nations were far from as abundant as those of the great powers, they were basically second- and third-rate minor clans contending with one another for land, though there were two exceptions among them.

One was the Whirlpool Country. Although it was a small nation on an island, it possessed a prominent, major clan like the Uzumaki Clan.

As for the other, it was the Land of Waterfalls. Situated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, its unique geographical environment gave the entire nation the natural advantage of being easy to defend and hard to attack. At the same time, it possessed abundant resources, making it a high-quality minor nation second only to the five great powers.

Precisely because of this, the internal wars within the Land of Waterfalls had likewise lasted for nearly a hundred years. The factions headed by two top-tier, second-rate clans—the Shemu Clan and the Riverflow Clan—had been slaughtering each other to this day. Yet the originally evenly matched situation underwent a distinct change after the Shemu Clan accidentally acquired a treasured artifact known as Hero's Water.

With the blessing of the treasure, the Shemu Clan suppressed the Riverflow Clan for a time, and a short while ago, they struck a fatal blow to the Riverflow Clan in one go.

Just when the Shemu Clan thought the overall situation was settled and they would be able to unify the ninjas of the Land of Waterfalls, a bunch of bizarre eccentrics emerged from who knows where, hacking their way into the Land of Waterfalls all the way from the outer edges. After conquering territory, they didn't even occupy it—taking a patch and abandoning a patch, as if they had simply come to wage war.

The crucial point was that this bunch of eccentrics possessed extremely strong combat power, astonishing all-over defense, and fearless determination. Ordinary ninjas simply had no way to deal with them. Having clashed for a mere three days, the Shemu Clan lost nearly forty percent of their territory, while the already crippled Riverflow Clan seized this opportunity to rise from the ashes, making the originally certain victory a murky and unpredictable mess once again!

"Bastards! Where on earth did this bunch of madmen pop out from!"

Inside the Shemu Clan's encampment, current clan head Shemu Xin slammed his fist angrily onto the desk before him. Following a muffled bang, the decorative items on the desk all leaped up and heavily dropped back down onto the tabletop once more.

The clansmen below maintained a frightened silence one and all, none wishing to add fuel to the fire at this critical juncture.

Shemu Xin vented his emotions alone for a moment before turning his head to look at his second-in-command. "What's the situation now?"

The second-in-command's expression was likewise extremely unsightly as he cautiously replied, "The situation isn't very good. Our eastern territory is about to be completely overrun; we're barely holding back the invaders' onslaught under the blessing of Hero's Water, and the remnants of the Riverflow Clan in the west are also beginning to rise up in desperate resistance at this time, making it hard to eradicate them in a short period."

"Have you investigated the identities of those madmen?"

"We've investigated. If there's no mistake, they should be the Taketori Clan from the Water Country."

"Ha?" Shemu Xin looked at the second-in-command in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? The Water Country has the Land of Fire separated right between us and them. Do they have nothing better to do than come all the way from such a distant place to fight a war here?"

"Er..." In truth, the second-in-command was also unable to believe it the very first time he received this news, but after thinking it over carefully, a possibility suddenly occurred to him. "Clan Head, do you suppose it could be because the Riverflow Clan knew they had no hope of winning, so they spread the news of our possession of Hero's Water, thereby attracting the attention of the great powers?"

Shemu Xin frowned. "Even so, wouldn't the families from the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire closest to us come first? There's no way it would be the Water Country's turn!"

"Clan Head! This is bad! Another clan has entered the Land of Waterfalls!"

Just at that moment, a flurry of hurried footsteps approached from afar, and a ninja ran over in a panic. "Clan Head, according to intelligence from the front lines, another clan entered the interior of the Land of Waterfalls a quarter of an hour ago!"

"What! They're here again!" Shemu Xin finally couldn't help standing up. "Who is it this time?"

"Unknown. The other party hasn't displayed any clan flags regarding their identity, but judging from their numbers, they are clearly not some minor clan."

"Dammit! Could it really be that the Riverflow Clan leaked the news about Hero's Water?" Shemu Xin lowered his head and pondered for a moment, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes. "Bastards, you all think we're easy to bully, don't you? This cannot be allowed to continue any longer. We must use thunderous means to project deterrence, or else this will never end!"

"The drawbacks of Hero's Water are far too obvious; top-tier clans would definitely look down upon it. Whoever is coming will only be second- and third-rate minor clans." Having figured this out, Shemu Xin waved a large hand!

"Gather all clansmen, accompany me to take down this newly arrived clan, and subsequently capture that Taketori Clan in a pincer maneuver! I want to make everyone not dare look down on our Shemu Clan ever again!"

"Yes!"