Year 40 of the Land of Night. (Year 31 of Konoha)
The cold air was gradually receding, but the weather had yet to warm up.
Nestled among the mountains, the Hidden Cloud Village was far colder and damper than most of the Ninja World.
Most villagers living here were still bundled in thick padded clothes. Only the ninja dressed much more casually, though quite a few of them also wrapped scarves around their necks.
After all, ninja only needed to produce a tiny amount of chakra to sustain their daily lives.
And the physical and spiritual energy consumed in producing that tiny amount of chakra was replenished far faster than it was spent.
As Kumogakure's current Raikage, the Third Raikage had high hopes for this new year.
After years away from the flames of war, combined with everyone in the village working together toward its development, the Hidden Cloud Village had long since regained its former strength.
Like the Land of Night, the Hidden Cloud Village had been among the first ninja villages to actively develop its military power after the death of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
The number of students admitted to the Ninja Academy increased each year, constantly injecting fresh blood into the village and producing many capable Jonin and Chunin.
The Third Raikage had witnessed all this development and growth.
As the village regained its former strength and grew even stronger, the Third Raikage's ambitions continued to swell.
Looking at the ever-improving village, the Third Raikage always felt uneasy if he did not send people out to stir up some trouble.
But before he could dispatch the Anbu to investigate which small countries and minor ninja villages still possessed secret techniques worth their intervention, a piece of news from Kirigakure disrupted his plans for the year.