By the stream behind the orphanage.
Lin Ze slowly withdrew the chakra boiling around him and the blue-green dragon scales that had surfaced on his body.
He walked to the stream, washed his face, and looked back on the upheavals that had swept the shinobi world over the past year.
First was Iwagakure, where the fighting had proved far more brutal than many had expected.
That old fellow Ōnoki had withstood the pressure of nearly eighty percent of Kumogakure's main force while still holding his own against Konoha on the border of the Land of Grass.
"The Will of Stone... it really is tough," Lin Ze remarked admiringly.
Under such immense pressure from enemies on two fronts, Iwagakure still had not collapsed-a testament to Ōnoki's leadership and Iwagakure's resilience.
Then there was the news from Kirigakure.
Yagura had successfully risen to become the Fourth Mizukage, briefly leading people to believe that the policies of the "Bloody Mist Village" might change.
Yet not long ago, word had emerged from Kirigakure that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura... had disappeared.
Kirigakure remained deeply secretive about the matter, publicly claiming that he was training in seclusion.
But Lin Ze knew full well-how was this a disappearance?
"Madara Uchiha finally made his move."
Lin Ze's gaze sharpened slightly.
Having lost the Three-Tails, Yagura, a newly appointed Mizukage who had yet to realize his ambitions, already had his fate sealed.
"Meow!"
A clear meow interrupted Lin Ze's thoughts.
He turned to see Chinchilla perched on a rock by the stream, elegantly licking its paw.
"Boss Lin Ze, there's been a development in the frontline news you asked me to watch, meow."
Chinchilla raised its head toward Lin Ze. "Minato Namikaze left camp with his team early this morning. They were heading toward Kannabi Bridge in the Land