"Naruto: Ice God"Chapter 105: Infiltrating the Land of Rain
"This mission is to infiltrate the Land of Rain and investigate the Iwa ninja encampments within its borders."
With a serious expression, Feng Bai relayed Jiraiya's orders to the other three members of his squad.
According to Jiraiya's understanding of Hanzō, this Iwa unit should have been driven out shortly after the war began. Yet so much time had passed—and with Minato single-handedly defeating Iwa's forces on the main front—this Iwa squad still periodically crossed the border from the Land of Rain to harass Konoha's positions before retreating back into Rain territory.
Something was wrong—very, very wrong.
That "Demi-God" Hanzō, whose name once echoed throughout the shinobi world, had stood up with unwavering determination to change the fate of small nations as mere battlegrounds for the great powers. He had boldly declared war on the Land of Iron, Wind Country, and Fire Country, and in the battles that followed, demonstrated such extraordinary strength that Sunagakure and Konoha were forced to negotiate peace with him.
A man who once vowed to transform the entire shinobi world—how could Hanzō now turn a blind eye to Iwa ninja roaming freely through Rain's territory?
Jiraiya even suspected that Hanzō might no longer be alive.
Or perhaps Amegakure had allied with Iwagakure and was preparing to launch a joint assault on Konoha?
Because Amegakure was so isolated, Jiraiya couldn't obtain reliable intelligence about Hanzō, so he entrusted this mission to Feng Bai.
There was a personal element to Jiraiya's request.
"Well, if possible, I'd also like you to help me find a few people: Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan."
Hearing these three names, Feng Bai understood immediately—even if Jiraiya hadn't mentioned it, he would have sought them out anyway.
After all, Nagato's existence was crucial to Uchiha Madara's plans, and it directly affected his own future retirement prospects.
If events unfolded as expected, it wouldn't be long before the old man learned of the Akatsuki organization's existence and personally led people to Hanzō, directly showing Nagato the meaning of pain and then delivering a Chibaku Tensei to Konoha.
Shaking his head to clear these thoughts, Feng Bai began explaining crucial mission details.
"The primary objective is intelligence gathering. Avoid combat whenever possible, especially with Amegakure ninja. After the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha and Amegakure signed a treaty—any territory under Salamander Hanzō's control is off-limits to Konoha ninja."
"Of course, if our presence is discovered..."
Feng Bai paused.
"Then we'll have to eliminate every last one of them."
Just like that kindly old man from the mountains, tolling the evening bell for his enemies.
...
Armed with the map Jiraiya had given them, Feng Bai and his team set out for the Land of Rain.
And immediately encountered their first problem.
According to the map, there were only two roads leading to the Land of Rain, but the three-way fork before them made it abundantly clear that this map might have some serious issues.
"What the hell, a fake map?"
Huddled together in the grass, the group examined the map from every conceivable angle, but couldn't figure out where this extra road led.
"If we can't sort this out, why not bypass the main roads entirely and take a side path into the Land of Rain?"
Seeing they were getting nowhere, Kakashi—the smartest member of the group—offered a suggestion.
"But taking side paths basically announces that we're coming from suspicious origins, doesn't it?"
Still trying to shield the map from the rain, Feng Bai wanted to give it one more attempt.
"No need to keep looking—check this out."
Patting Feng Bai's shoulder, Kakashi pointed to the lower right corner of the map: "Look here. This shows when the map was created—it's from during the Second Shinobi World War. It's completely useless as a reference now."
Thanks to Kakashi's observation, Feng Bai finally noticed the map's production date and nearly threw it away in frustration.
"Damn that Jiraiya! How am I supposed to find his disciples with this thing?!"
Folding the map away with annoyance, Feng Bai surveyed their surroundings, then punched Obito on the head.
Obito: "Huh?"
Clutching his head, Obito looked completely bewildered—why was he getting hit when he hadn't even spoken?
"That's on behalf of your teacher."
Seeing Obito's confusion, Feng Bai "kindly" explained, then decided to adopt Kakashi's suggestion and take the side path into the Land of Rain.
"By the way, what's this about finding Jiraiya-sama's disciples?"
Rin, having overheard Feng Bai's complaint, asked curiously—he hadn't mentioned this during the mission briefing.
"Oh, that's just some personal business of Jiraiya-sama's."
Feng Bai waved dismissively, indicating that Rin shouldn't worry about such details.
The Land of Rain was like a country perpetually weeping.
Most of the time it remained locked in rainy season; the sky stayed perpetually overcast and oppressive, making it difficult to breathe.
Even though the Second Shinobi World War had ended long ago, ruins and rubble remained everywhere, and the streets were filled with begging civilians.
Feng Bai's team had expected to encounter enemies on the side paths, but they entered Rain territory without incident.
"This place really is..."
Looking at the lifeless city before them, Obito, his form concealed beneath a raincoat, struggled to find appropriate words.
"Only that place seems to have any light."
Kakashi raised his gaze toward the massive tower to the north. Even from this distance, they could clearly see the neon lights flashing atop the structure.
"Be careful—that should be Hanzō's stronghold."
Glancing at the distant central tower, Feng Bai paid it little mind, instead focusing his attention on several Rain ninja nearby.
Making a hand signal for the group to conceal themselves, Feng Bai curiously observed the Rain ninja standing on a platform, addressing the crowd below.
"Under Lord Hanzō's protection, the Land of Rain has enjoyed another year without warfare. To express gratitude for Lord Hanzō's sacrifices on our behalf, this year's protection fee will increase by ten percent and must be settled within ten days."
Hands clasped behind his back and wearing an oxygen mask, the Rain ninja loudly conveyed the leadership's decision to the civilians below.
"Another ten percent increase? My family can barely keep food on the table..."
"My son's pension still hasn't been distributed..."
"Same with my daughter. She joined Amegakure recently, and we haven't heard from her since..."
The previously lifeless crowd stirred somewhat upon hearing the ninja's announcement, beginning to whisper among themselves.
The lead Rain ninja showed no concern for their discussions—he'd delivered the message from above. If these civilians refused to pay the protection fee, all that awaited them were kunai and ninja blades.
If I can't defeat the ninja from the five great nations, I can certainly handle you troublesome peasants.
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