The Five Great Nations.
Konoha had forests and plains.
Sunagakure had sand and gold.
Kirigakure had the sea and thick fog.
Iwagakure had gemstones and black soil.
Kumogakure had towering mountains and muscleheads.
Kumogakure ranked second among the five great villages, and every Raikage had been immensely powerful.
Naruto housed one of the tailed beasts, the Nine-Tails, while Kumogakure had two tailed beasts of its own.
The Two-Tails, "Cat Demon Matatabi"!
The Eight-Tails, "Octopus Gyuki"!
Tailed beasts were essentially natural nuclear bombs, far beyond what an ordinary Kage could contend with.
But none of the Raikage had been ordinary. The Third Raikage was said to possess the "Strongest Shield" and the "Strongest Spear." He had fought the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, head-on with his human body, and the only scar on him had been self-inflicted.
The Fourth Raikage was no pushover either. He had perfected the art of strengthening his body with lightning release chakra, had once snapped off Gyuki's left horn, and moved as fast as a streak of lightning.
What a dangerous place. And there isn't even much scenery to enjoy...
Chinatsu raised a hand and rubbed her forehead. All she had to do now was travel from the Land of Lightning's border to Kumogakure. It was still a long way, but compared with the distance she had already covered, it was practically nothing.
Chinatsu walked across the Land of Lightning. Its geography could be summed up as "mountains, mountains, and more fucking mountains." Being a ninja in this country had to be exhausting. There was barely any cover at all.
Kumogakure ninja probably carried out assassinations by finding their target, charging straight up, and kicking them. Once the target was dead, they immediately retreated.
Witnesses? Just kill the witnesses too, right?
Chinatsu muttered to herself as she walked. Suddenly, her foot struck something, nearly sending her little body sprawling.
Fortunately, her reflexes were quick enough to save her face from an intimate encounter with the ground.
"Phew... That scared me to death. I thought I was about to eat dirt. What tripped me up... Huh???"
Chinatsu lowered her head in confusion. Whatever had tripped her didn't seem to be a rock. She initially meant to grab it with her hand, but her slight aversion to dirt won out. Instead, she washed the object with Water Release, loosened the soil with Earth Release, then reached down and pulled it out.
It turned out to be a forehead protector. Judging by its emblem, it belonged to a Kumogakure ninja.
A ninja wouldn't casually lose their forehead protector. This one had practically become part of the ground, so it had clearly been there for a long time.
There were any number of possible explanations, but the most likely one was still...
Chinatsu gulped. It was perfectly normal for ninja to die in battle, but could there be a whole pile of bones buried beneath her feet?
The thought gave Chinatsu goosebumps. Corpses and bare bones were two very different things. Her hand trembled slightly, and she nearly dropped the forehead protector, but she managed to resist the urge.
After all, a Kumogakure ninja's forehead protector had considerable strategic value, no matter how she looked at it. Having it was better than not having it.
Chinatsu took a deep breath, quickly calmed herself, and tucked the Kumogakure forehead protector into her pocket.
It might come in handy someday, though Chinatsu sincerely hoped it wouldn't. If she actually needed it, the situation would definitely be a real headache.
That was what Chinatsu thought, but the heavens seemed determined to pick a fight with her. She was quietly making her way toward Kumogakure when, not long after finding the forehead protector, she discovered something else on the ground.
No, this time it wasn't a thing. It was a damn person!
The corner of Chinatsu's mouth twitched. She had been sprinting along in a ninja run, trying to make good time, when something strange on the ground suddenly entered her field of vision. She stopped for a closer look, and-good grief, why was it a person???
Oh my god. Finding a forehead protector is one thing, but what's with finding a whole person?
Chinatsu stared broodingly at the unconscious person lying on the ground. Despite her muttering, she never stopped looking them over.
Female, 170 centimeters tall, wearing a forehead protector. A Kumogakure ninja. Long, beige-brown hair reaching her waist. Looks to be in her early twenties. Fairly pretty, but not as pretty as me...
Chinatsu rested a hand on her chin as she studied the woman. It wasn't because she was captivated by this female ninja. Mostly, Chinatsu couldn't shake the feeling that she looked familiar.
"I should remember all the main characters. She must be a supporting character with a bit of screen time, but something about her feels familiar. Important, not important, important, not important..."
Chinatsu pinched her chin with one hand, narrowed her eyes, and racked her brain. Suddenly, inspiration struck, and she finally understood exactly what felt familiar about this woman.
This person... is a bit like Naruto?
Of course, it wasn't her appearance. It was the aura emanating from somewhere deeper within her.
Just as the truth was about to dawn on her, the woman lying on the ground suddenly opened her eyes. She pulled a kunai from an inner pocket of her clothes and swiftly thrust it at Chinatsu.
But Chinatsu had been ready. She quickly stepped back and tilted her head aside, dodging the lethal thrust.
"Who are you!"
The woman fixed Chinatsu with a piercing stare, murderous intent radiating from her. Still, Chinatsu could tell she was badly wounded and running on fumes. She posed no threat at all.
Yes, that was how it should have been...
Just as Chinatsu calmly prepared to start showing off, the woman's aura changed.
Chakra. Chakra visible to the naked eye actually burst out of the woman's body.
The chakra resembled blue flames, and its sheer volume far surpassed Chinatsu's. If Kakashi were used as a unit of measurement, the chakra before her would have amounted to at least twenty or thirty Kakashis-and that was nowhere near its limit.
At that moment, Chinatsu finally confirmed her suspicion, though even she felt that realization had come a little too late.
Yugito Nii, a Kumogakure Jonin and a tailed beast jinchūriki just like Naruto. The tailed beast dwelling within her was the Two-Tails, Matatabi!
Eerie blue chakra enveloped her body. The weak, near-death aura she had radiated moments before was instantly overwhelmed by this terrifying chakra presence.
Chinatsu forced a strained smile. Honestly, this situation couldn't have been much worse. Yet another hellish turn of events...
Before you continue