The Land of Rain.
Heavy rain shrouded it year-round, with the dark clouds clearing only a few days each week.
The Land of Rain had also been embroiled in civil war for years.
War, disease, famine, death-it seemed every misery could be found here.
Some also called it the place the light could not reach.
Yet as the world beyond its borders gradually descended into chaos, the Land of Rain's long-running civil war had instead subsided, leaving the entire country in an eerie calm.
Like the eve of a storm.
Hyuga Akira and Hiruko had changed their appearances and were walking through a city in the Land of Rain.
The city's roads were all dirt. Years of heavy rain had softened the soil, leaving a pit with every step.
"Teacher, where are we going?" Hyuga Akira glanced around.
The Land of Rain really was nothing like the Land of Fire. At the very least, people in the Land of Fire's cities had enough clothing to cover themselves.
Here, that seemed to be the norm.
Many people wore patched clothes, while others wore clothes that did not fit.
The clothes he and Hiruko wore were covered in patches, but even the two of them looked relatively wealthy here.
Hiruko glanced around. "To draw out the people from Amegakure, of course."
He looked around but saw no sign of any shinobi.
The two of them had entered openly through the Land of Rain's border.
With such an obvious trail, if Amegakure knew about them, they would surely investigate the pair.
Unfortunately, no one had.
"They really know how to sit tight." Hiruko sighed.
Paying so little attention to their borders and completely ignoring shinobi entering from other countries-they had no intention of protecting their country at all.
Foreign shinobi, especially wandering ninja, could cause considerable chaos.
Wandering ninja roamed the Land of Fire too, but would any of them dare let Konoha hear about their movements?
Not a chance.
They were as cautious as they could possibly be in the Land of Fire.
That was the deterrent power of a ninja village.
Yet the Land of Rain had no defenses at all.
"Use your Byakugan to see if there are any shinobi nearby." Giving up on trying to draw them out, Hiruko spoke directly to Hyuga Akira.
"Byakugan!" A silver gleam flashed through Hyuga Akira's disguised eyes.
Hiruko glanced at him curiously. "Your Transformation Technique is pretty good."
Ordinary Transformation Techniques could not be maintained after using ninjutsu.
Yet Hyuga Akira had not changed back.
Ignoring Hiruko, Hyuga Akira quickly scanned their surroundings, then pointed at two houses near the city entrance.
"There are chakra fluctuations on both sides, but they're only at genin level."
Hiruko looked at the two three-story buildings. They offered a clear view of the city entrance.
And they were so far from the entrance that anyone without a sensory shinobi would have trouble discovering them.
"Looks like they must be from Amegakure." Hiruko nodded in understanding.
These people had not completely given up after all. Though they took no action, they still kept watch.
"Let's go!"
Both figures vanished instantly.
Muyu sat by the window, his eyes covertly sweeping over the city entrance.
Though called an entrance, it was really just a wall built from a few square stones.
He had to record everyone who came and went.
"When is this ever going to end?" Muyu sighed helplessly.
He had thought peace would come to the Land of Rain once the civil war ended, but Amegakure's current policy was actually to go into hiding.
They accepted no missions and let no one else discover them.
He had heard that tensions abroad were rising, but what did that have to do with the Land of Rain?
He did not understand.
Suddenly, he felt pain in his neck. Puzzled, he turned his head and saw two figures inside the room.
When had they come in?
With that question, he sank into deep darkness.
Chapter 37: Going Undercover in Amegakure
Name: Muyu. Genin of Amegakure, serving under Amegakure chunin Kusen.
Mission: Monitor the city near the Land of Fire's border and record the identifying features of everyone suspected of being a shinobi.
Muyu opened his mouth and spilled everything he knew.
A red cursed seal glowed on his forehead.
Hiruko was maintaining his ninjutsu.
Puppet Curse.
"Teacher, I want to learn this."
Hyuga Akira looked at Hiruko with shining eyes.
It directly turned people into his puppets. If he raised it to level ten, it would probably have some unexpected effects.
"This curse technique is very difficult. I'll teach you when you come back," Hiruko said.
Puppet Curse was an A-rank ninjutsu, similar to sealing jutsu. Not just anyone could learn it.
Moreover, it was a ninjutsu he had developed himself.
"All right." Hyuga Akira smacked his lips twice.
He just did not know whether Hiruko would still be in Konoha by the time he returned.
"We know his identity and mission now. From this moment on, you'll take his place and become a member of Amegakure, gathering intelligence for Konoha," Hiruko said solemnly.
"Of course, if you're about to be exposed, reveal your identity. Amegakure won't dare do anything to you."
Small ninja villages rarely dared provoke a Large Ninja Village, much less Konoha, which was vaguely regarded as the foremost ninja village.
Not necessarily. Hyuga Akira curled his lip but did not say it aloud.
In another couple of years, when war broke out, Amegakure's leader, Hanzo, would take the initiative to attack the Three Great Shinobi Villages.
It was the only small ninja village in shinobi history to stand against the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"Got it."
Seeing that there were no more benefits to squeeze out of Hiruko, he no longer wanted to keep up the pretense.
Noticing Hyuga Akira's reluctance to engage with him, Hiruko did not invite a snub. He looked at the vacant-eyed Rain Ninja. "He's no use anymore."
Whoosh!
A blade flashed across the Rain Ninja's neck. His headless corpse fell to the floor, and his head rolled twice before stopping at Hiruko's feet.
[Experience: 112] [Skill: Nen Bullet (unusable)]
"Teacher, I'll leave him to you." Hyuga Akira grinned, even scooping blood off the floor and smearing it on himself.
"You..." Hiruko stared at Hyuga Akira's grinning face in surprise. Was this guy really all right?
He took another person's life without mercy and showed no aversion to the corpse.
That attitude.
It was, admittedly, very much that of a shinobi.
Suppressing the stirring in his heart, he hurriedly took out a Sealing Scroll and sealed the corpse inside.
"Clean up this blood yourself." Hiruko glanced at the blood spreading across the floor.
"Don't worry. I guarantee we won't be exposed." Hyuga Akira patted his chest in assurance, taking something from his pocket as he spoke.
"Wait, why are you taking out an Explosive Tag?!" Hiruko stared wide-eyed at Hyuga Akira. Hadn't they already settled everything? Why was he taking out an Explosive Tag?
"To clear up any suspicions, of course!" Hyuga Akira detonated the Explosive Tag outright.
Boom!!
Flames engulfed the room. Hyuga Akira fell from the window, already looking like the dead genin, and suddenly shouted, "Konoha Ninja attack!!"
At that moment, several hidden figures suddenly appeared and surrounded Hyuga Akira.
Their gazes turned toward the room filled with flames.
A figure slowly paced out through the shattered window.
Slightly blackened by the blast, Hiruko lowered his head and gave Hyuga Akira, protected by a group of Rain Ninja, a long look.
A gust of wind blew past, and Hiruko vanished.
Hyuga Akira could not hold on any longer either. His eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.
"You're awake?" A cold voice rang out. He looked in confusion at the person before him.
"Who are you?"
The newcomer frowned as he looked at the bandages wrapped around Hyuga Akira's head.
"I'm your superior, Kusen," Kusen said coldly. "Why did that Konoha Ninja attack you?"
"What Konoha?" Hyuga Akira clutched his head, pretending to be in pain.
It really did hurt. Something had struck his head at the instant of the explosion, and he had deliberately chosen not to dodge.
"I'm Musen. I don't know anything?"
[Naufra]
Naufra could not only block pain but also actively control his emotions, something he had learned after raising it to an advanced level.
Now he wore the bewildered expression of someone who had lost his memory. Even an award-winning actor could not have told whether he was faking.
Rather than impersonating the original person and dealing with his existing relationships, he might as well scrap everything and start over.
That meant pretending to have amnesia.
Of course, this behavior would also draw suspicion from the Rain Ninja.
But he would always have a way to dispel it.
Kusen's eyes shifted. He abruptly drew three shuriken and threw them at Hyuga Akira, aiming for three vital spots: between his brows, his throat, and his heart.
Hyuga Akira slapped his hand down, lifting his entire body and dodging all three shuriken. He kicked hard against the wall, using the recoil to launch himself straight at Kusen.
Kusen shifted slightly to the side, dodging Hyuga Akira's attack.
As they passed each other, he suddenly raised his knee and slammed it hard into Hyuga Akira's stomach.
Yet Hyuga Akira seemed to feel nothing. He kicked Kusen in the face, sending him flying.
Thud! Kusen struck the wall. Before he could react, Hyuga Akira had already rushed over, straddled him, and begun hammering his head with punch after punch.
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