This was an abandoned village, long forsaken. If not for the faint traces of foundations still etched into the earth, one could hardly believe humans had once lived on this desolate land. Yet villages like this were common throughout the Land of Rain. In truth, not only in the Land of Rain—many such ruins could also be found scattered across the Land of Grass.
The Koeda Clan had, for the most part, camped and lodged in these deserted places along their journey.
Though there were no intact houses they could simply move into and rest, with Kyoichi—a jōnin skilled in Earth Release—among them, a single man was worth an entire construction brigade. With ease, he could raise rows of sturdy dwellings from the ground.
"...These abandoned villages are the sorrow of the small nations."
Inside a freshly built stone house, Koeda Dazen sat upon a stone bench, addressing the children gathered around him. Their ages ranged from as young as five to as old as eleven.
They—
were the future of the Koeda Clan.
And for the sake of nurturing that future, Dazen, as clan leader, wasted not a moment. On the road, whenever there was a spare moment, he turned from commander to teacher, instructing those too young to yet be shinobi.
"Why do you say that, Clan Head? Aren't abandoned villages pretty common?"
The eldest boy present—already eleven—raised his hand. "Back when I was still in the village... when I was still at Iwagakure's shinobi academy, we went on many school excursions. Even within the Land of Earth, there are plenty of ruins left over from the Warring States era."
The shinobi academy.
Like the ANBU, it was a system first conceived by the Second Hokage of Konoha. The other Great Villages had simply copied it wholesale, imitating the model. Unfortunately, while ANBU-like units had been reimagined and refined—Kirigakure, for instance, made use of them with a ferocity that surpassed even Konoha—the shinobi academies in most villages were poorly run, chaotic shadows of Konoha's original vision. None of them truly succeeded in cultivating the vast numbers of civilian-born shinobi as Konoha had.
Still, the academy system had become a universal institution within the Five Great Villages. Iwagakure's academy existed as well, but unlike in Konoha, nearly all of its students were heirs of shinobi clans. Civilians were rare, shunned, with little hope of rising through the ranks.
Before the Koeda Clan's failed coup, their children, too, would attend the academy, both to learn and to socialize beyond the family's training in genjutsu. But after the coup collapsed... all students from clans tied to the rebellion were expelled under one excuse or another.
"Kentarō, you said yourself—those ruins you saw were from the Warring States period."
Dazen smiled faintly. "During those trips, did you ever see a village in the Land of Earth that had been abandoned less than fifty years ago?"
Kentarō frowned, pondering the question for a long ten seconds before slowly shaking his head.
"Exactly. In the Land of Earth, no such villages exist. And yet, from the Land of Grass to the Land of Rain, nearly every ruin we've passed in this journey is no older than fifty years."
"That means... all of this happened after the Five Great Nations were founded!"
Another young, piping voice chimed in.
Dazen turned toward it, his smile softening further. "Ah, Sengoku. Then can you tell me why so many villages in the Lands of Grass and Rain have been abandoned within just these fifty years?"
"Because... small countries are the battlegrounds of the great nations?"
Koeda Sengoku, only nine years old, answered softly.
"Excellent. Very good!"
Dazen's face broke into a radiant smile.
After several seconds, the smile faded. He gazed upon the gathered children and said gravely:
"Sengoku is exactly right. These ruins are the sorrow of the small nations. Because the Five Great Nations use these smaller countries as their battlefields, countless villages are left in ruin. Counting even the current war, there have already been three Great Ninja Wars since the founding of the Five Great Nations... and each time, the Lands of Rain, Grass, River, and others like them have been torn apart."
"So that's why we're heading to the Land of Water?"
"Yes. That is why we must go to the Land of Water." Dazen nodded firmly.
This era belonged to the Five Great Nations and their Five Great Hidden Villages. Leaving aside the fact that the Koeda Clan was now hunted by Iwagakure, even without that pursuit, they could never settle in one of the small nations. Becoming a "big fish in a little pond" would only invite destruction.
Better instead to be a phoenix's tail—than a chicken's head.
The Warring States period was over.
A single clan ruling the shinobi world by its own strength alone was impossible now. The annihilation of Uzushiogakure was proof enough. The once-mighty Uzumaki Clan, who had held great influence during the Warring States, were obliterated by the might of the Hidden Villages. How much less could the weaker Koeda Clan hope to stand alone in this far harsher age?
"Today's lesson is this: do not be deceived by appearances. This era is every bit as cruel as the Warring States. It may seem gentler—less constant fighting, less nightly slaughter—but in truth, I believe it is no less merciless."
Dazen's eyes swept across the children—the future of his clan. His voice grew stern.
"In the Warring States, by the time I was six or seven, my brothers and I were already dragging kunai and short blades onto the battlefield to kill or be killed. And even now, in this so-called modern age... it is not uncommon to see the corpses of children younger than ten lying in the mud of war."
As his words fell, a deathly silence settled over the stone house.
The children sat frozen, stunned into stillness. Even those too young to fully grasp his meaning could feel the oppressive weight of the moment.
Then—
"Clan Head! Kyoichi and Yūsuke have returned!"
"And not just them—they've brought back a group of people... and they're not Ame-nin!"
The shouts came from outside the stone house.
"This lesson ends here. Go back to your parents." Dazen dismissed them at once. The children scattered in a rush, their goodbyes echoing one after another as they darted out, leaving the stone house empty.
Dazen himself vanished in a flicker—using the Body Flicker Technique to rush straight to the entrance of the Koeda Clan's temporary camp.
There, he saw Kyoichi and Yūsuke approaching—
along with a group of shinobi clad in standardized black combat gear.