Perceiving that Reina had already woken up, they were going to the Land of Rice Fields after Reina finished washing up, believing that the Eight Trigrams Eight Man Squad had already completed their mission.
"Reina, thank you for your hard work, and for taking care of me."
On the Paper Dragon, Tsukimi Rin thanked the refreshed Reina.
"Taking care of Tsukimi Rin is my pleasure. As long as Tsukimi Rin needs me, I will never leave Tsukimi Rin."
Reina liked to be needed, and even more so, she liked to be needed by the person she wanted to rely on. She loved Tsukimi Rin the most; she was willing to do anything for him.
In the Land of Rice Fields, Tsukimi Rin brought Reina to the gathering point of the Eight Trigrams Eight Man Squad, which should be one of the Ninja Village locations they had chosen.
"Gan, is the leader you mentioned really that strong? And can we really join this new Ninja Village?"
After one of the Rogue Ninja organization leaders was subdued by Gan, he passed Gan's vetting, so he was invited to join the newly established Ninja Village with some of his subordinates.
"The leader's strength can rival the Kage of the major Ninja Villages. I was just a Chunin before, but with the leader's blessing, I now possess this strength."
Gan and the Eight Man Squad had subdued about fifty-plus people this time; the others did not pass the vetting. Finding fifty-plus Rogue Ninja with a bottom line in the Land of Rice Fields was already quite a lot.
If this were in Taki no Kuni, it's estimated that less than one in a hundred would survive. The Land of Rice Fields is near the Land of Fire, within Konoha's sphere of influence.
However, with the war approaching, the Land of Rice Fields' mission quotas were no longer being fulfilled by Konoha Ninja, so these Rogue Ninja had a much better time recently.
"The leader is here. Remember to be respectful when you see him, or don't blame me if you die."
As the Eight Trigrams Eight Man Squad cautioned the fifty-plus Rogue Ninja, these Rogue Ninja also put away their distracting thoughts.
They also wanted to see what kind of existence could make eight Chunin and Genin now possess Jonin strength. If they performed well, perhaps they could also receive a reward.
As a giant Paper Dragon flew above their heads, these Rogue Ninja never expected the leader to arrive in such a manner.
When the Paper Dragon landed, the strong winds and sand it stirred up made them stumble and unable to open their eyes, let alone peek at what the leader looked like.
Tsukimi Rin and Reina jumped off the Paper Dragon and then walked in front of the Eight Trigrams Eight Man Squad. Tsukimi Rin looked at these mixed-quality Rogue Ninja; only two had Chunin-level Chakra, while the others were Genin or even less.
"Has the Ninja Village's base been chosen? How many? The Great Shinobi War is about to break out, and our Ninja Village needs to hide its existence as much as possible. It won't be long before the Land of Rice Fields turns into a battlefield."
Second Body surveyed the surroundings. This place was backed by mountains and bordered by water, but it was still too conspicuous. One wrong move and they would be caught in the war between Konoha and Kumogakure.
"Leader, we have selected five suitable locations. This is just the one closest to the sea, making it convenient for your arrival."
Gan smiled somewhat fawningly, but Tsukimi Rin didn't mind Gan's flattery.
"Immediately proceed to the most secluded location." Tsukimi Rin didn't want to waste time here.
"Leader, there are two most secluded locations. One is a large sinkhole near the Land of Iron, and the second is a valley between the dead volcano clusters near the Land of Hot Springs."
Gan unfolded his marked map and respectfully handed it to Tsukimi Rin. Five locations were specifically marked on it, and the so-called sinkhole was the closest to their current position.
"Then let's go see the sinkhole first, and then that volcanic valley." Tsukimi Rin put away the map, intending to depart immediately.
"Leader, Gen is currently guarding the sinkhole, you can go directly to inspect it, and Dui is currently in the volcanic valley."
Gan knew that Tsukimi Rin possessed a space-time Ninjutsu, so he smartly arranged Gen and Dui at the five Ninja Village locations.
"Very good, you are very diligent. Come here, I will heal your hand first."
Tsukimi Rin was very satisfied with Gan's efficiency. He didn't mind giving some rewards. Relying solely on the Orochi Tongue Seal made it difficult to gain truly loyal subordinates; it also required a combination of brainwashing and clear rewards and punishments.
Indeed, this was learned from the old ghost Danzo, but Danzo was extremely unscrupulous, preferring to arrange for his subordinates to undergo various acts of kin-slaying to obliterate their humanity.
Tsukimi Rin used Enka's Reversal Technique and easily regenerated Gan's severed arm. This miraculous Jutsu completely stunned Gan and the group of Rogue Ninja.
Tsukimi Rin left some Shadow Clones to apply the Orochi Tongue Seal and Flying Thunder God Mark to these Rogue Ninja, while he sensed Gen's location and then left the place with a Flying Thunder God.
With Reina's assistance, applying the Orochi Tongue Seal was very fast. Tsukimi Rin inspected the two secluded locations, and considering resource issues, he still chose the valley between the volcanoes as the Ninja Village's base.
If enemies capable of large-scale Earth Release Ninjutsu were encountered at the sinkhole, they could bury the place with a single move. However, the valley in the middle of the volcanic cluster was surrounded by mountains on all sides.
Few Ninja would come here, as volcanic ash and some toxic gases are not just empty words. But in that valley, due to its special topography, there was no toxic gas, and volcanic ash couldn't settle there.
Moreover, due to geothermal heat, there was a forest there, which was simply a miracle. The soil was also very fertile, making it very suitable for cultivation.
Tsukimi Rin led fifty-plus people to start building many treehouses here using the towering ancient trees. It must be said, having Wood Release was incredibly convenient.
After completing the construction of the Ninja Village houses, Tsukimi Rin and Reina began to set up the barrier covering the entire valley. Fortunately, they had the Konoha barrier blueprints; otherwise, they would have needed to design the barrier before setting it up.
This Konoha barrier blueprint was actually found in the Uchiha's library. The Uchiha had also participated in the barrier's setup back then, so they naturally knew the original version of the Konoha barrier.
Although Konoha's barrier has been updated and iterated, it is still only an improvement and replacement based on the original foundation.
Meanwhile, in Konoha, Second Body, after a day of adaptation, completely adapted to the Stigma. Because her own mutated cells were used, there was almost no rejection reaction.
There was only a slight discomfort when the mutated cells changed her own cells within the Stigma on her back, but it quickly ended.
Second Body's Chakra volume has now doubled, reaching around sixty to seventy units, and with the Sage Art Chakra provided by the Stigma, Second Body's Sage Art Yin Seal pool was also completed.
Her Sage Art Chakra is now stored in the Sage Art Yin Seal pool. Originally, she had wanted to complete the Bloodline Limit transformation of Wood Release, but she was conscripted to the border defense line with Orochimaru.
Second Body was somewhat displeased with the Third Hokage's plan to engage in a protracted war of attrition with Hidden Sand Village. If it were her, she would have concentrated all forces for a lightning strike.
She would have pushed directly into the Land of Wind, invaded Sunagakure, and captured the acting Kazekage, Rasa. However, she also understood that the Third Hokage was old and only sought stability.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"