Naruto: The rise of Uzumaki Kingdom

The people living in the Land of Rain suffered the most.

The Land of Rain was a peculiar country. It was a small nation where it rained every single day, and the rain never stopped throughout the year. Because of this, very few people came to the Land of Rain, as the weather was too damp. If one wasn't careful, it was easy to develop rheumatism or bone diseases.

At the same time, because its territory bordered the three great shinobi villages, the country's development was largely controlled by them. To prevent spies from other villages from infiltrating, the Land of Rain was extremely hostile toward outsiders. Once someone was suspected of being a spy, the usual outcome was...

Adding to that, the country was torn apart by civil war, with battles raging year after year. It could be said that life in the Land of Rain was miserable. The people struggled to survive in the cracks, living in fear and numbness.

...

"This is the area we're responsible for, right?" Keita looked at his surroundings and compared them to the map in his hand. "When will this damn weather ever stop?"

"Not possible," another Uzu-nin said helplessly. "We'll just have to drink some ginger water when we get back. Even though shinobi bodies don't usually catch colds, the weather in the Land of Rain is seriously cursed. It rains all year without pause." He glanced up at the drizzling sky. "By the way, Keita, I heard you adopted a kid?"

"Honestly, you're not even married yet. Why would you adopt a child?"

"Ugh, it's a long story," Keita said with a pained expression. "Let's not talk about it. We should focus on completing the mission."

Adopted? What a joke!

For some reason, that brat Shijō had been staying at his house instead of going to the orphanage, and now...

His meager salary had to support not only his girlfriend but also a kid. Worse, Shijō, unable to use ninjutsu, was determined to become a taijutsu specialist, so his appetite was three times that of a normal person. Thankfully, Lord Jun was kind enough to waive Shijō's training medical fees. Otherwise, Keita wouldn't even be able to pay his mortgage.

"Someone's up ahead," Yūketsu suddenly stopped Keita and said. "Probably civilians from the Land of Rain. Their life signatures aren't strong."

"How many?" Keita immediately became serious, scanning the area warily. "Any shinobi nearby?"

Because they needed to speed up the recruitment of refugees, most of the sensor-type shinobi had been deployed for this operation. Yūketsu was one of them.

"Not many. About two people, one of them a child," Yūketsu frowned. "But the adult seems sick. Their life force is fluctuating."

After hearing this, Keita exchanged a glance with Yūketsu and decided to act. Their unit had brought several medical-nin for situations like this.

According to Lord Jun's orders, their mission was to take every person they encountered back to the Land of Whirlpools.

Following Yūketsu's directions, Keita arrived in front of a rundown wooden hut and knocked on the door. "Anyone there?"

However...

The sounds inside immediately stopped.

Keita looked at Yūketsu, who nodded in confirmation. The people inside had heard the knock and were now terrified. After all, this was the Land of Rain. Years of war had made the people paranoid. A single misstep could cost them their lives, so they rarely opened the door for strangers.

But...

The Uzu-nin were different!

A flimsy wooden door couldn't stop them.

"Fellow countrymen, open the door!" Keita shouted. "We're Uzu-nin! We're organized and disciplined. We won't hurt you!"

However...

Click—!

Silence.

Yūketsu stared at Keita in disbelief. Did he just say they were shinobi? This country was in its current state precisely because of shinobi. Great. Now he sensed the adult's life force weakening even further—probably from fear.

"Break the door," Yūketsu said helplessly. "Otherwise, they might die!"

If someone died because of this, they'd be punished.

Keita sighed and raised his foot. As expected, Lord Jun's approach didn't work. In the end, they'd have to resort to force to bring these people back.

The rest could be handled by the professionals.

Bam!

The wooden door split in two under Keita's kick.

"Fellow countrymen..." Keita and Yūketsu glanced at the shattered door, then looked up to see a blue-haired, emaciated little girl trembling as she held a kitchen knife toward them...

Keita forced a smile. "Don't be afraid. We're not bad people!"

But the little girl didn't listen. Gripping the knife with shaking hands, she stared at them fearfully and said, "G-Get out of here!"

"We're Uzu-nin. We're not bad people," Keita raised his hands to show he meant no harm and spoke gently. "Put the knife down. We won't hurt you."

"Little sister," Yūketsu also smiled. "Don't worry. We're Uzu-nin, an organized and disciplined force. We don't harm innocent civilians."

"Get out," the little girl clenched her teeth, her voice trembling. "Get out, shinobi!"

She wouldn't believe a single word shinobi said. The Land of Rain was like this because of them. Her father had also...

She hated shinobi!

"I hate you. Get out of here!" Tears welled up in the little girl's eyes as she shouted. "Because of you all..."

Keita and Yūketsu exchanged exasperated looks. It seemed the people of this war-torn country really despised shinobi.

Yūketsu blinked at Keita.

Keita paused, then nodded subtly. "Fine, we'll leave then."

He and Yūketsu turned around.

Seeing the shinobi preparing to leave, the little girl relaxed slightly, her grip on the knife loosening. But at that moment...

"Little sister, you have to hold a knife tightly, or it's dangerous," Keita suddenly appeared beside her in a shunshin, grabbing her and taking the knife with a smile. "Don't worry. We won't hurt you."

"We just want to take you—" Yūketsu began, but before he could finish...

A pale, ragged woman stumbled out, leaning against the wall. Seeing the little girl captured, she immediately fell to her knees in terror. "Sh-Shinobi-sama, Konan didn't mean to offend you. Please let her go. If you must... I-I..."

Keita and Yūketsu exchanged another glance. The person with the unstable life force was probably this woman.

"Don't worry. We mean no harm," Keita slowly released Konan. "We're soldiers from the Land of Whirlpools. We're—"

But before he could finish, the woman collapsed to the ground, unconscious.