Among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Water was the only country with a formidable navy, something inseparable from its unique island geography. Even the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, both of which bordered the sea, had failed to develop naval forces capable of rivaling it. As the Third Mizukage sailed toward his destination with his ninja troops and samurai army, ships of all sizes set out from other islands, racing toward the Land of Whirlpools.
The ships carrying the Kirigakure Ninja arrived first. While they were still some distance from the Land of Whirlpools, the ninja leaped into the water and used stealth techniques to slip ashore underwater. A little later, the other ships arrived, and the samurai aboard immediately jumped onto land. Each ship carried a different number of samurai, but once they assembled, their combined force was immense.
Through various means, these samurai had previously taken the places of pirates operating nearby. As the major power in these waters, the Land of Water had long since brought the pirates under its control. Now, using them as cover, it had swiftly gathered its forces in the Land of Whirlpools. They numbered roughly a thousand, the most Kirigakure Ninja Village could conceal.
Yet even if there were only a thousand of them, they were the Land of Water's elite samurai. Hardened by internal strife, their strength was far beyond anything the Land of Whirlpools' army could match. Even if the Land of Whirlpools fielded ten thousand men, the invaders were confident that these thousand alone could utterly rout them.
The nearby town showed no reaction to the Samurai Legion assembling. Once the troops had gathered, their commanding general shouted an order, and the army advanced, reaching the town without encountering any obstacles. The samurai general