True to its name, the Land of Rain was a country where rain fell all year round. The skies were always gloomy, and torrential rain poured down endlessly, shrouding the entire country. No one could stay in good spirits in weather like this. Worse still, the relentless downpours severely hampered agriculture, and a life of poverty had robbed the people of the Land of Rain of their smiles.
On Tobirama's orders, Kazemori Masaki and Shimura Danzō led twenty-one people through the country toward the Land of Wind. Kazemori Masaki had chosen people he knew well, including Satomi and Hyuga Qi, while Danzo had likewise selected subordinates he was familiar with. This was the scene that greeted Kazemori Masaki upon entering the Land of Rain. He pulled down the brim of his straw hat to keep out the rain and let out a quiet breath.
By this stage of the First Shinobi World War, the smaller countries could no longer stay out of the conflict. With the great nations deliberately using them as buffer zones, the Land of Rain had also been dragged into the mire of war, unable to escape.
Although Kazemori Masaki's idea of a just war and his diplomatic approach had influenced some of the Land of Fire's decisions, problems had still arisen in their implementation. The Samurai Legion stationed in the Land of Rain used the greater cause of Righteousness as a pretext to pressure the country into supplying its needs, breeding widespread resentment. That resentment had yet to erupt only because of the Land of Fire's overwhelming strength and because its conduct was less excessive than the Land of Wind's.
Without the new approach Kazemori Masaki had proposed, the Land of Fire's conduct would only have been worse, and the Land of Rain would have truly