The Land of Iron.
Snowflakes kept drifting from the gloomy sky, and the cold seeped into the earth.
A cold wind swept past, making people shiver involuntarily.
"Winter all year round. What a remarkable climate."
Shihōin Naraku stood in a warm room, gazing through the window at the expanse of white outside.
It was still midsummer elsewhere in the shinobi world, yet upon entering the Land of Iron, the climate had instantly shifted from summer to bitter winter.
Even Naraku could not help marveling at such unusual terrain.
"With this cold climate, and the Land of Iron's mountainous terrain making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, no wonder the major shinobi villages have no intention of invading."
Holding his hot tea, Naraku looked at the snowy scenery outside the window, growing rather relaxed and carefree.
Knock, knock, knock...
The knocking broke the languid atmosphere.
"Come in!"
Naraku turned around and set his hot tea on the table beside him.
"Lord Naraku, the ninja from every village have all arrived. We need you to arrange our next steps," said Mifune, dressed in military attire, as he pushed open the door and walked in.
"All right, I'll take a look."
A spacious indoor training ground.
The twenty-odd ninja gathered from the various villages murmured among themselves. Occasionally, hostile gazes met, but everyone remained as restrained as possible.
Past grudges and conflicts between their villages meant the atmosphere among these ninja was not exactly harmonious.
That was understandable. After all, some of them might have fought each other on the battlefield, yet now they were comrades who would soon have to fight together.
Such a drastic change was indeed difficult to accept.
Of course, before setting out to assemble in the Land of Iron, they must have received instructions from