Time flew, and before long, Konoha Ninja Village entered its twenty-sixth year since its founding. Over those years, its investments in the Land of Rain had yielded handsome returns. Along with bringing in substantial revenue, they had made the Land of Rain a new center of the shinobi world. Not only the Land of Fire, but also the neighboring Lands of Wind and Earth had begun to participate.
After witnessing Konoha Ninja Village's commercial prosperity, the other four shinobi villages had begun to imitate it and support merchants. Their lack of experience, however, had led them down quite a few wrong turns. They still had a long way to go before they could catch up.
Even with the advantages offered by the Land of Rain, the Lands of Earth and Wind still could not keep pace with Konoha Ninja Village. Moreover, because Konoha had repeatedly sent Medical Teams to treat the people of the Land of Rain, merchants representing the village were more welcome than those from other countries.
As a result, the Land of Fire's economic development far outstripped that of the other countries, whose progress also varied from one to another. It was precisely this gap in economic development that had caused the Second Shinobi World War in the original story.
For now, thanks to Konoha Ninja Village's alliance agreements and commercial ties, no clear trend toward confrontation had emerged among the Five Great Nations. There were early signs, however, and Kazemori Masaki had already dispatched the Anbu to investigate, ensuring that he would receive intelligence as soon as possible.
Although the clouds of war seemed to be gathering, most people in Konoha Ninja Village paid them little mind. They continued to enjoy the village's peaceful atmosphere. This year also brought another much-anticipated event: a new generation of