"Didn't they say the Raikage was seriously injured?"
As they moved swiftly through the forest, Hyuga Arin asked with some curiosity.
After all, the Hyuga clan head had nearly taken the Raikage's life.
With the Raikage gravely wounded, Kumogakure was still fighting this desperately—ninjas really were remarkably efficient tools.
"The one who was seriously injured was only the Raikage," Orochimaru explained calmly.
"The rest of Kumogakure's forces didn't suffer much loss."
"As long as the Raikage can still issue orders, that's enough," he continued.
"The actual fighting can be handled by the other ninjas."
"Kumo's morale has dropped somewhat," Jiraiya added from the side,
"but they have no intention of withdrawing."
Nawaki and Aburame Mushihime looked a little out of place.
They couldn't really join the discussion, nor could they analyze the situation properly.
That was normal—most freshly graduated ninja were like this.
Tsunade walked alongside them in silence, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.
"Kumo ninjas…" Arin muttered with clear disdain.
"They mostly drop close-combat-type abilities."
The only things that really interested him were things like Demon Brain and Breathing Techniques.
The group slightly increased their pace.
Their current speed was still moderated mainly to accommodate Nawaki and Mushihime—both were strong, but compared to the other four, the gap was still obvious.
The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning was different from other regions.
Between them lay two countries.
One of them was the famous Land of Hot Water.
However, the core battlefield wasn't there—it was in the country bordering both the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Lightning.
The Land of the Moon.
This country had a sparse population and nothing particularly famous about it.
It didn't even have a ninja village.
For reasons unknown, the Land of Lightning hadn't annexed it, instead allowing it to exist independently.
And this was exactly where Kumogakure and Konoha were clashing.
In essence, it lay closer to the Land of Lightning, meaning Konoha's supply lines were extremely long and vulnerable to Kumogakure raids.
The Land of Lightning itself was also somewhat different from other nations.
It had no real intention of annexing the Land of Fire.
The true hawks were Kumogakure.
This war was largely driven by Kumogakure alone, unlike other countries where the daimyō sought to seize Fire Country territory and issued orders to their ninja villages accordingly.
At its core, ninja wars were just powerful lords being dissatisfied with their land.
As for Kumogakure—they simply wanted to become the strongest ninja village in the world.
So they stirred trouble everywhere like a stick in muddy water.
And yet, no matter how much they stirred things up, Konoha still sat firmly on the throne as the Number One Ninja Village.
What exactly were they hoping to gain?
The group passed through the Land of Hot Water.
Arin had suggested taking a short break there—it was a famous resort destination, after all.
Even during the Second Shinobi World War, it still had some reputation.
Another place of note was Yugakure, the Hidden Hot Water Village.
In later generations, it would be known as a village that forgot war, but at this time, it was a well-known mercenary village.
They accepted employment from other villages and fought in wars for money.
Other ninja villages relied on funding from nobles and merchants—
Yugakure, on the other hand, took missions directly from ninja villages.
The village was infamous for producing madmen.
But only small villages ever hired them.
When the Five Great Ninja Villages went to war, the smaller villages didn't stay idle—they fought among themselves as well.
The major villages looked down on Yugakure's combat power.
Even if Yugakure ninjas were crazy, on a battlefield they were often just one more corpse—
and worse, they consumed precious supplies.
The pinnacle of mercenary forces would later be Akatsuki, but at this point in time, Akatsuki didn't yet exist.
Yugakure would eventually disappear due to war and transform into a peace-loving settlement.
A bitter irony.
Unfortunately, Arin's proposal was rejected by both Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
"We need to reach the battlefield as quickly as possible," Jiraiya said during a brief rest.
"We can't afford to waste time."
"Once the war is over, you can do whatever you want," Orochimaru added.
This was wartime—everything revolved around the war.
"Ah…"
Four simultaneous sighs echoed.
Hyuga Arin.
Nawaki.
Aburame Mushihime.
Tsunade.
All four wore expressions of deep regret.
"Tsunade!! Even you want to slack off?!" Orochimaru roared.
What kind of teammates and students were these?!
Couldn't they take things seriously?!
"I just haven't rested in a long time," Tsunade muttered, rubbing her shoulders.
Jiraiya quietly poked Orochimaru with his finger, his face slightly red.
"Well… it's not completely impossible."
"EVERYTHING YOU'RE THINKING IS WRITTEN ALL OVER YOUR FACE!!!"
Tsunade roared and punched Jiraiya straight into the ground.
There was absolutely no way she was going to a hot spring with Jiraiya.
"Now! Immediately! We're heading to the battlefield!!"
Tsunade suddenly became the most resolute one about not resting.
Nawaki patted the half-buried Jiraiya and shook his head with a sigh.
Arin also stepped forward, patted Jiraiya's shoulder, and sighed.
Mushihime looked at the two of them, then copied their actions and patted Jiraiya as well, letting out an imitation sigh.
"If you don't understand what's going on," Jiraiya said faintly,
"you really don't have to copy them."
Mushihime scratched her head awkwardly.
After several days of nonstop travel, they finally entered the Land of the Moon.
The country was dominated by towering mountains that pierced the clouds.
The roads were empty, like an uninhabited land.
There were, however, many animals—and even ninja beasts.
"The Land of the Moon is famous for its ninja beasts and mountains," Orochimaru explained slowly.
"There are no cities here, only villages."
"And those villages are usually well hidden—not easy to find."
"What a strange country," Arin muttered.
Soon, they spotted a constructed ninja military camp.
Two sentries stood guard—both members of the Hyuga clan.
"Yo, Big Brother Daikū. Didn't expect to see you here," Arin greeted one of them casually.
Hyuga Daikū looked at Arin with a complicated expression.
He didn't respond verbally, only nodding coldly.
The two were relatively close blood relatives.
Though all Hyuga shared a lineage, many branches were separated by vast genealogical distances.
Arin's branch, for example, traced back to the Warring States period—and even further back than Senju Hashirama's era.
The main family of that branch had already gone extinct during the Warring States period.
When a main family line died out, someone would be adopted from another main family.
Really—was close-kin marriage in the Hyuga clan actually okay?
Hyuga Daikū and Hyuga Arin belonged to the same branch.
Daikū shifted his gaze to the people behind Arin, especially Tsunade, and spoke respectfully:
"Tsunade-sama. Orochimaru-sama. Jiraiya-sama."
Another Hyuga branch member nearby activated his Byakugan to inspect the group.
After confirming there were no issues, he also greeted them:
"Tsunade-sama. Jiraiya-sama. Orochimaru-sama."
The two stepped aside to let them pass.
Seeing that Daikū had no intention of acknowledging him further, Arin didn't press the issue and followed the others into the camp.
But as he entered, his eyes caught a figure training on a nearby field.
The corners of Arin's mouth curled upward.
"So… Hyuga Hiashi is here too."
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