This kind of fast-paced war gave Konoha a huge advantage. Because their overall strength was far superior to Amegakure's, very few of their ninja would die. But this was only the beginning; the army led by the golden-haired man was nothing but the appetizer.
Konoha's army followed behind Amegakure, slowly advancing deeper into the Land of Rain's territory. The Land of Rain was very small, less than a tenth of the size of the Land of Fire. It was estimated that they could reach Amegakure in a single day. As they went deeper, the terrain became more and more difficult to navigate.
It was always raining in the Land of Rain. Hashirama said that ever since he was a child, he had barely seen a single day of good weather there. But Torifu didn't think it could be that exaggerated. Otherwise, without any economic resources or a way to farm, the small country would have been wiped out long ago. He figured it was likely due to the low-lying terrain and frequent rainfall, which caused standing water everywhere.
"The Land of Wind would like this place," Tobirama said. "If we take it, the Kazekage will probably try to get this land."
Hashirama nodded. "The water here is too abundant. It's perfect for a country full of deserts like the Land of Wind. But the Land of Earth is also short on water. The Tsuchikage would probably want this land, too."
Torifu didn't have any thoughts on the matter. Although the Land of Rain was small, its water content was equivalent to that of the Land of Wind and the Land of Water combined. Even if the Land of Rain were divided into three parts, the water resources would be more than enough. The land was low-lying, gathering almost half of the ninja world's fresh water, which was why it was constantly raining.
"Wait, isn't it a bit early to be discussing how to divide their land before we've even had the final battle?" Hiruzen asked.
Torifu smiled. "As cruel as it sounds, from the day Hanzō declared war on three great nations, the land of the Land of Rain no longer belonged to him."
"No small country can survive an attack from three great nations, and frankly, neither can any other great village besides Konoha."
Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. Hanzō is really going to destroy his own country this time. If he had just focused on its development, the Land of Rain could have had a bright future, but he chose to seek his own demise instead."
Torifu waved his hand. "He's very arrogant, calling himself a demigod."
Naori ran to Torifu's side, smiling. "So what if he's a demigod? We have you, the current God of Shinobi, and our Sensei, the former God of Shinobi. How could we not be able to defeat a half-god?"
Everyone laughed. What Naori said made sense. Torifu alone was more than enough to overwhelm Hanzō. Although Hanzō was strong, he wasn't as ridiculously powerful as Torifu. Torifu was truly cautious of the person behind Hanzō. The mysterious woman had only shown her support ability, which was creating the medicine that increased strength. Torifu knew nothing about her fighting capabilities, which was a bit tricky. But with some caution, it wouldn't be hard to figure her out.
"The Kazekage and Tsuchikage will probably be a bit slower since they have fewer Kage-level ninja."
"Should we go and assist them?" Kagami asked.
Torifu shook his head. "No. Helping them would only result in casualties for us. Our ninja are not cannon fodder for them. If they can't handle it, it just means they are not skilled enough."
"Besides, the terrain of the Land of Rain is very rugged, with all sorts of rivers and lakes. It would be impossible to find them without a guide. All we can do is wait."
Hashirama completely agreed with this. "Torifu is right. We're not familiar with the Land of Rain. If we rush to assist them, it would be very easy for us to get lost or fall into a small encirclement. Not only would we be unable to help, but we might also be completely wiped out. That's a loss we can't accept. We can only hope they show us some of their own strength."
On their way to Amegakure, Konoha's army encountered many ambushes from guerrilla ninja, who launched small-scale sneak attacks from the shadows. There were some casualties, which infuriated Torifu. He immediately killed them all and then sent out many cloud birds to scout every area along the path ahead. If a ninja was found hiding, he would immediately kill them without any mercy.
"Whew, they're running faster now. We can't keep up with them!" Akimichi Torifu exclaimed while running.
And that was exactly what happened. Amegakure, led by the golden-haired man, would initially harass Konoha's army. But they were all easily dealt with by Torifu and the other Kage-level ninja. When all the ninja hiding along the path were found and killed, they suddenly increased their speed. With the advantage of the terrain, they managed to leave Konoha's army behind.
By the time they had completely disappeared from Torifu's sight, and even his cloud birds were a bit lost, Torifu slowed down the pace of his army.
"My ninjutsu can't find their location anymore, but there's a village up ahead. We'll find someone there to guide us."
When the army arrived at the village Torifu spoke of, it was already deserted, with only empty houses.
"Search the area. See if anyone is hiding here. Capture one to guide us, but don't harm them. They are just ordinary people."
At his command, the ninja from the first squad immediately spread out across the village, searching house by house. The rest of the ninja maintained their formation and rested in place.
"It looks like we'll be delayed for a bit. If we leave now, Amegakure's people will have already gotten away."
Torifu waved his hand. "It's fine. Our goal isn't to kill them but to kill Hanzō. Once Hanzō is dead, the rest of these Amegakure ninja will be like headless flies."
Soon, the ninja who were searching the village returned to the squad. A few of them were escorting some people, both men and women. They were all very panicked, bowing their heads in fear of being killed for angering a ninja.
The ninja brought the villagers to Torifu. Although they released them, none of them dared to run away.
Torifu scanned them and then his gaze landed on a young man. "Him."
At his command, Kagami walked up to the man and lifted his head. The man's terrified eyes met Kagami's Mangekyō Sharingan! The mirror-shard-like pupil spun, and the man's eyes became vacant.
"Have you been to Amegakure?"
"Yes."
Torifu smiled. As long as he had been there, one person was all they needed to guide them.
"Release the rest of them. And give them a few food pills. They look like they haven't eaten in days."
Torifu then said to the villagers kneeling on the ground, "This man will guide us, but I will not kill him. Once we reach Amegakure, we will release him and he will return here."