Naruto: Kurotsuchi Mayuri

The Land of Rivers lies between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. It's a hilly country, filled with forests and crisscrossed by rivers.

It's a nation rich in natural resources. But unfortunately, that same terrain has made the country extremely chaotic inside.

Not only does it suffer from the pressure of both the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, but because of its geography and environment, it's also become a haven for rogue and wandering ninja.

Bounty Stations are scattered throughout the Land of Rivers.

Officially, it's governed by the daimyo of the Land of Rivers. But in reality, the daimyo has little actual control. The internal situation is simply too mixed and disorderly.

Because of its wealth of resources, many major nations have also set their sights on it, supporting local nobles and proxy powers for their own interests.

Some rogue or wandering ninja might secretly be spies from the ANBU of one of the major ninja villages.

Among all the nations, the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire have the greatest influence over the Land of Rivers.

Caught between the two, the Land of Rivers doesn't even have an officially recognized ninja village under its command.

During times of peace, the Land of Rivers could offer many missions to Konoha and Sunagakure ninja.

But when war is looming or recovering, it's often drained heavily to make up for the losses of others.

The current chaos in the Land of Rivers was actually beneficial to both the Hidden Sand and Hidden Leaf villages.

Because of the instability, merchants and nobles from the Land of Rivers who wanted to do business had no choice but to hire ninjas from the Leaf and Sand villages to escort and protect them by issuing missions.

The Land of Rivers was rich in resources, and both the merchants and nobles had strong needs to trade and communicate with the outside world. Likewise, the Land of Fire and Land of Wind had great demand for those resources.

The ninjas from both villages, who understood the complex situation in the Land of Rivers, knew very well that most missions there would likely involve encounters with enemy ninjas.

Asuma didn't mind this at all. Having experienced the Great Ninja War—even if only at the end—he and Itachi were both calm and composed when it came to normal ninja battles.

Perhaps the only one in the team who hadn't truly experienced the trials of battle was Kabuto.

But even he had witnessed many deaths as a child. Besides, his role in the team was that of a medical ninja. As long as he protected himself during combat, that would be enough.

"One kilometer ahead, there are ninjas lying in ambush."

Since entering the Land of Rivers, Hizashi had occasionally activated his Byakugan to check their surroundings and ensure the team's safety. He knew very well how dangerous this country could be.

Not only ninjas—there were also bandits, strange cults, and even ordinary people. The poisonous insects and wild beasts in the dense forests could all be threats.

The three kids in the team were far from ordinary. Even Kabuto had the backing of Nono Yakushi, Tsunade's trusted right hand.

"Are they targeting us?" Asuma immediately pulled out his weapon. Itachi and Kabuto also got ready for battle.

"Don't be so tense. There aren't many roads people can walk on in this terrain. The enemy might just be targeting the merchant caravan traveling along this one."

"If there's no conflict of interest, they might not even want to clash with us."

Hyūga Hizashi glanced at Nara Kagetsu. Seeing that he didn't speak, he took the initiative to calm the three kids, who were acting like they were facing a deadly threat.

Unless they had taken a mission or were eyeing the money and goods of the merchant caravan, not every ninja who makes a living on the edge of a blade would want to fight Konoha ninjas for no reason.

As long as they retreated once they noticed us, it would mean they had no real hostility.

And that's exactly what happened.

The ambushing ninjas never attacked, even when the group broke through their encirclement. Once they saw the Konoha headbands, they quickly fled.

"I thought there was going to be a fight," Asuma said as he put away his weapon and let out a breath of relief.

Even though having a powerful teacher nearby gave him a sense of security, anything could happen once you left the village on a mission.

He and Itachi weren't the kind of people who liked fighting or killing. If they could reach their destination safely, that was definitely better.

"There are fights happening all the time in this region. Some places don't even have order, just chaos. But aside from a few lunatics or people with ulterior motives, most try to avoid pointless battles—especially the Konoha and Sunagakure shinobi active around here."

Hyūga Hizashi explained to Asuma and the others. The Hyūga Clan had good relations with some nobles and big merchants in the Land of Rivers, so he was quite familiar with the local situation.

A few days later, Kagetsu and the others finally arrived at their destination.

It was a village near the coast of the Land of Rivers. Waiting for them were a member of Konoha's ANBU and a fat merchant with gold rings on his fingers.

"Why are there kids here?" the merchant said with a slightly displeased tone when he saw the three children in the group. "Whatever. Let's talk about the mission requirements."

"I need your help to take control of that mineral deposit. Once it's secured, I'm willing to share the profits with the Land of Fire. But because you're late, my competitors might find it before I do."

"No need to worry about that, Mr. Kalan. But before we move forward, can I see more of that ore?" Kagetsu stepped forward and spoke to the merchant.

This was a wealthy merchant from the Land of Rivers who had long been supported and courted by the Land of Fire. He was also a regular client who hired Konoha shinobi for long-term escort missions. So Kagetsu wasn't completely unfamiliar with him.

From the reports, aside from the arrogance that most major merchants and nobles in this world seemed to share, this man was also extremely shrewd.

Or rather, ruthless enough when needed.

"Show him," Kalan waved his hand. Immediately, a rogue ninja behind him stepped forward and placed a thumb-sized stone on the ground in front of Kagetsu.

Kagetsu bent down, picked up the stone, and used chakra to carefully sense its internal structure.

A familiar energy immediately surfaced in his perception. It was a vast and restless power.

Natural energy?

No, it felt more like a byproduct formed from chakra and natural energy blending together. In other words, chakra infused with unique properties!

"So? I came to Konoha the moment I suspected there might be a vein of this ore here." Kalan saw the faint chakra glow radiating from the stone in Kagetsu's hand, and his eyes sparkled with greed as he asked.

He wasn't one of those clueless merchants—he understood very well the immense value hidden within this kind of ore.

That's why he'd gone straight to the Hidden Leaf Village, playing by the rules right from the start.

****

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