The structure of the Land of Iron was… complicated.
Their system still followed the ancient samurai order — warriors who trained in both chakra and swordsmanship. The administrative hierarchy too, remained unchanged since old times.
For example, the samurai leader, Mifune — his title was General.
Above him stood the Daimyō, as well as officials of equal standing responsible for domestic governance.
However…
Most of the time, it was still Mifune who handled external affairs. Especially when it came to ninja matters, everything went through him. That was one of the main reasons why the Land of Iron remained prosperous to this day.
Another reason, naturally—
was its unique position.
True to its name, the Land of Iron was a nation rich in iron ore and metalworks. Much of the weaponry across the shinobi world came from here, especially for the smaller ninja villages.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages relied on their powerful nations — even if their own mines weren't abundant, they had access to resources. But for minor villages, many were built in harsh, mineral-poor terrain, and thus could only purchase their weapons from the Land of Iron.
Of course… no one ever thought having too many weapons was a problem.
Even the Five Great Villages, despite having their own supply lines, continued to place orders here. Stockpiling arms and metal was far preferable to depleting one's own reserves.
Because of this, the Land of Iron — as a neutral nation — was left unprovoked by all sides.
After all, they were not weak, and they were the shinobi world's main weapons supplier. To make an enemy of them was simply unnecessary. Thus, for decades, aside from merchants and the occasional official envoy, the Land of Iron rarely saw ninja activity.
Even rogue shinobi avoided it — getting caught here meant imprisonment or deportation.
---
Kyoichi and Jiraiya, after a round of disguise, avoided unnecessary chakra expenditure by moving through the ground with Earth Release.
Partly to avoid trouble, but mostly…
to keep from being detected by Madara or Black Zetsu's forces, while also surveying underground terrain — if they stumbled upon the enemy, they could deal with them immediately.
However…
After half a day of travel, they still found nothing.
Finally, they reached the capital of the Land of Iron.
"Mifune's residence is just ahead. You go meet him; I'll stay below with your clone to keep watch," Jiraiya said.
"Got it."
Kyoichi left a wooden clone behind, then surfaced and walked toward Mifune's manor.
Mifune wasn't difficult to locate.
His chakra was the strongest in the area — and its nature different from others — making it easy for Kyoichi to pinpoint him.
Moving quietly, Kyoichi approached…
But as he neared the room, Mifune sensed him instantly.
The moment Kyoichi emerged from the floor—
A flash of steel shot toward him, faster than lightning. Chakra condensed along the sword, forming an invisible edge that nearly struck him the instant he appeared.
It was fast.
Yet—
In the next instant, Mifune realized his sword had stopped mid-swing, as though frozen in air. The closer it came to the target, the heavier it felt — like being trapped in mud.
When the sword was just about to strike a vital point, it halted completely, as if an unseen hand had seized it.
"Who are you?!"
Mifune's heart sank to the bottom.
Such power… was terrifying.
There was only one man he could think of —
Uchiha Madara.
Only Madara could exude such overwhelming force, making even the swing of a sword impossible.
Mifune tried to pull the blade back, but it was held firm by an invisible grip.
With no choice, he released his sword and prepared to leap away to sound the alarm—
At that moment, Kyoichi rose calmly from the ground.
"My apologies for the intrusion. I mean no harm… Allow me to introduce myself — I'm Kanda Kyoichi, currently serving as Captain of Konoha's Anbu."
Kyoichi bowed slightly in apology.
That strike hadn't hurt him, but it had clearly left a scar on Mifune's nerves — and for that, he genuinely felt sorry.
The technique he'd used was a new jutsu he'd developed, blending the Frog Kata with Yin Release properties. It allowed his Sage Chakra to form a defensive field at the moment of contact.
That was what had stopped Mifune's sword.
Mifune, though shaken, quickly steadied himself. As a general, he reacted with calm discipline — his judgment sharp and swift even after realizing the intruder outclassed him.
He didn't turn on the lights. Under the pale moonlight, he studied Kyoichi carefully, then gave a slight nod.
"You do match the description in our intelligence reports… and you don't appear to be using any transformation jutsu."
"If you still have doubts, here's my identification."
Kyoichi produced an Anbu credential scroll bearing the Hokage's seal — impossible to forge.
Mifune examined it carefully before respectfully returning it.
He had heard of Kanda Kyoichi — the man's name was known across the shinobi world since the Third Great Ninja War. Every other village had marked his squad in their intelligence: if a mission conflicted with Kyoichi's team, withdrawal was permitted.
But…
he hadn't expected Kyoichi to have taken the Anbu captain's seat instead of leading a standard squad.
That was… unexpected.
Mifune returned the document, then looked toward the window. "You wouldn't come here under cover of night unless it was something important. There's a cellar nearby — shall we talk there?"
"Sure."
They descended into the cellar — secluded and soundproof.
Once the lamps were lit, Mifune couldn't help but remark,
"You're even younger than I imagined. I thought you'd be twenty-four, twenty-five at least. Truly a genius."
Kyoichi smiled faintly.
"Every era has its prodigies. Why can't this era's be me? Haha — but enough about that. Let's get to the point."
He handed over a scroll — the intelligence report they had prepared in advance.
Mifune read it carefully.
When he reached the part about Madara's possible whereabouts, his brows knit together.
The Land of Iron?
It wasn't impossible…
But if that were true, a war could break out right here.
That worried him.
Still, he was relieved that he'd convinced the Daimyō and the council to reach out to Konoha — otherwise, they'd still be in the dark.
It also seemed… Konoha had only recently reached this conclusion.
He pondered deeply.
"So, what do you plan to do?"
"I intend to survey the underground regions of the Land of Iron. But since your nation has many mines, I didn't want to risk misunderstanding — that's why I came to inform you first."
Kyoichi spoke with clarity.
Mifune smiled faintly. Such consideration made his own position much easier.
He nodded.
"Based on this intelligence, it's indeed possible. Most of our people are concentrated in the south-central areas — the north is mostly mountains and mines. If Madara is truly here… he's likely hiding in the northern range."
"Could I have a map of the northern region? A general one will do."
"Of course."
Without hesitation, Mifune fetched a simplified map and handed it to him.
Kyoichi studied it, nodding lightly.
The north…
Yes, that was the most probable location.
"Thank you. Jiraiya and I will head north to investigate underground. If we find traces of them, I'll use Flying Thunder God to transmit the report immediately. Please be ready to evacuate your people."
"Understood…"