Northwest of the Land of Rain lay the Iwagakure of the Land of Earth.
Surrounded on all sides by mountains and hills, it possessed a fortress-like natural defense formed by treacherous terrain.
At a glance, nearly all the village's buildings were forged from stone, displaying a deep gray hue.
At this moment, inside Iwagakure Hospital, waves of miserable wailing continuously echoed through the halls.
"Ow, ow! My back! Easy! Easy! Aaaah!!"
"Tsuchikage-sama, please stay strong! It'll be over soon!"
On the hospital bed, several nurses pinned down the limbs of a short old man while a large, burly head nurse pressed against his lower back.
"You people make it sound easy! I, AOOOW!!"
Crack!
With a crisp sound, the small old man who had buried his face in the pillow suddenly raised his head and let out a howl mixed with agony and pleasure.
"All done."
The head nurse skillfully clapped her hands together and looked helplessly at the old man sprawled across the bed.
"Tsuchikage-sama, please stop moving around recklessly."
"Your last back injury hasn't even healed yet. We told you to rest in the hospital, but you refused. Then after we repeatedly told you to recuperate properly at home, only a few days later you hurt it again. You really don't cherish your body at all."
If she hadn't said it aloud, no one would have believed that this old man lying on the bed, groaning in oddly satisfied pain, was actually the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
As the grandson of the First Tsuchikage and the direct disciple of the Second Tsuchikage, his strength was exceptionally formidable.
He possessed the renowned title "Ōnoki of the Two Scales," not only mastering Earth Release ninjutsu, but also wielding the Kekei Tota surpassing Kekei Genkai, Dust Release.
Unfortunately, even he could not escape the erosion of time.
"What would you know?"
Feeling his dignity had been damaged, Ōnoki wrinkled his large red nose and straightened his back while grumbling dissatisfiedly: "I… I'm not even fifty yet! I'm still in my prime! This little injury is nothing!"
"Iwagakure can't function without me! You, ow!!"
Ōnoki was still loudly rambling when the towering head nurse ignored him entirely and directly fastened a support brace around his waist, causing the old man to howl once more.
"Yes, yes, Tsuchikage-sama. Everyone in Iwagakure knows you're our pillar of support."
The head nurse curled her lips and flipped the old man over before reminding him:
"But you absolutely must take your health seriously. You have far too many old injuries. As you age, they'll all gradually resurface."
"If you strain your back again, this condition will follow you for the rest of your life. It'll severely affect both your daily life and combat ability."
Ōnoki let out a dissatisfied grunt but finally stopped being stubborn.
He obediently lay on the hospital bed and impatiently said: "Fine, fine. I'll stay in the hospital and rest for a while."
"Mhm."
The head nurse nodded in satisfaction and grinned.
"Tsuchikage-sama, I'll help escort you to the bathroom."
"W-Wait! I don't need the bathroom right now!"
Ōnoki's expression changed dramatically.
"Even if I did, I could go myself!"
"Be good, Tsuchikage-sama. You can't move right now."
"N-No, I can use ninjutsu! Do you know the Light-Weight Rock Technique? I can fly!"
"I'm not a ninja, so I know nothing about light rocks or heavy rocks."
Knock knock.
A somewhat heavy knocking sound came from the door.
The head nurse instinctively paused.
Ōnoki immediately sighed in relief and hurriedly shouted:
"Come in!"
Although she appeared rather disrespectful toward Ōnoki, it was merely a doctor's concern for a patient.
The head nurse naturally understood boundaries and tactfully exited the room.
Bang.
An extremely large figure walked inside, accidentally smacking his head against the doorframe before rubbing it and looking toward Ōnoki on the bed.
"Father, how is your condition?"
The newcomer wore a red ninja hat and a red combat uniform layered beneath brown jōnin armor.
His frame was tall and massive, and his large nose looked exactly like Ōnoki's.
It was none other than Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi.
"ANBU intelligence?"
Still lying on the bed, Ōnoki took the scroll from Kitsuchi and frowned after skimming through it.
"Arata? A member of the Hyuga Clan?"
He sounded surprised.
"No wonder Hiruzen Sarutobi managed to unify Konoha's clans and react so decisively. So a Hyuga clansman was cooperating with him."
"Tsk tsk, just listen to this, 'If our heads are already inside the tiger's jaws, reason alone cannot save us.'"
"And this came from a kid?"
Ōnoki clicked his tongue in amazement while a trace of envy and jealousy flashed through his eyes.
"A Hyuga clan member who abandoned taijutsu to cultivate ninjutsu instead… that's truly rare."
"That kind of decision isn't something just anyone could make. And not only did he succeed, his temperament is excellent too…"
Konoha truly was a land overflowing with talent.
Every time people thought Konoha had fallen into decline and reached a desperate situation, another young genius would emerge to hold up the collapsing heavens.
Barring accidents, this boy named Arata would soon step onto the battlefield in an even stronger form.
With Konoha's immense reserves of ninjutsu and secret techniques, as long as one displayed sufficient talent and value, there would always be some technique suited to them.
'The Sannin of old.'
'Minato Namikaze.
'Now Arata.'
'And who would come next?'
Looking at Arata's image in the intelligence report, the young man wearing a gentle smile, Ōnoki turned toward Kitsuchi beside him.
Goods only reveal their worth when compared.
This appearance gap was massive.
Thinking of that, Ōnoki smacked Kitsuchi on the head, causing the latter to scratch his head in confusion.
Continuing to read, Ōnoki's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
"The abyss in the Land of Hot Water… terrain-altering power… a monster suspected of escaping a seal…"
He muttered the contents of the ANBU report.
Only when he reached the part stating that both Kumogakure and Konoha had secretly dispatched teams to the Land of Hot Water did he close the scroll and thoughtfully narrow his eyes.
If only Kumogakure had moved, it wouldn't mean much.
Those brainless brutes swung first regardless of whether there was anything there or not.
But now even Konoha had temporarily reassigned personnel during such a crucial pre-war period to investigate the Land of Hot Water.
That could only mean one thing.
There was truly something valuable there.
"Father, should we do anything?" Kitsuchi asked at the perfect moment.
Ōnoki nodded.
Then quickly shook his head.
"We will, but not personally."
"Those Kumogakure meatheads chase after our people like we murdered their fathers whenever they see us."
He ground his teeth resentfully before pulling another scroll from his robes and handing it to Kitsuchi.
After opening it and seeing the names listed inside, Kitsuchi looked surprised.
"Kakuzu, the Xuanyuan Group, the Hannya Group, the Jashin Cult… and all kinds of bounty ninja teams…"
He raised his head and asked: "Father, do you intend to hire bounty ninja to investigate the Land of Hot Water?"
The Xuanyuan Group possessed enormous fame in the black market.
They claimed allegiance to no village or master, taking only paid jobs to eliminate disasters for clients.
They were known as "ninja hunters who hunt ninja."
As for Kakuzu, the so-called "Immortal," there was no need to elaborate.
His mission completion rate in the underground black market approached one hundred percent.
He possessed multiple records of killing A-rank missing-nin and jōnin.
As for the Jashin Cult, it was itself an extremist religious organization native to the Land of Hot Water.
Kitsuchi would never underestimate bounty ninja.
Anyone capable of gaining fame clearly possessed real ability.
The black market was a chaotic place filled with all sorts of people,
Except good people.
Anyone able to survive there and establish a fearsome reputation was inevitably someone stained with countless lives.
"These bounty ninja and organizations all have significant utility. They're experienced fighters."
Ōnoki spoke bluntly, "As long as the money is sufficient, even missions with near-certain death will attract them like moths to a flame."
"If used properly, they can bring us excellent returns."
"I don't just want them investigating the Land of Hot Water. I also want them probing the Land of Rain so we can precisely enter the battlefield in the future."
Even honest and straightforward Kitsuchi voiced no objections to his father's words.
He merely nodded in tacit agreement.
If Iwagakure dispatched its own ninja, they would likely be jointly targeted by both Kumogakure and Konoha.
There was an extremely high probability they would all die.
Far better to hand such dangerous work over to bounty ninja who sold their lives for money.
For Iwagakure, success or failure would merely cost some funds.
The resources required to cultivate an elite jōnin far exceeded the price of hiring a missing-nin of jōnin caliber.