Chapter 187: The Ninja World Trembles, Just Before Dawn
"Quick, send word to the Third Hokage, tell him to dispatch more shinobi!"
"No—have the Third Hokage come in person!"
At the Fire Daimyō's estate, the moment the steward reported that the entire Water Daimyō clan had been annihilated overnight by an unknown ninja, the normally calm and composed Fire Daimyō panicked.
He immediately ordered a message be sent to Konoha, requesting more shinobi for protection—preferably led by the Hokage himself.
The Daimyō was terrified!
That day, the fear once instilled by the God of Shinobi returned, and even more intensely.
Because unlike the God of Shinobi, who wouldn't attack them without reason, this maniac who wiped out the Water Daimyō clan would come for them.
Thus, the Fire Daimyō descended into full panic.
And it wasn't just him—news of the Water Daimyō clan's extermination spread fast, and soon the daimyo and nobles of all Five Great Nations were gripped with fear.
They quickly beefed up their personal shinobi guards.
At the same time, they increased financial support to the hidden villages.
Suddenly, every hidden village found itself flooded with unexpected "goodwill" and resources.
And in their hearts, some couldn't help but develop mischievous thoughts.
If next time the daimyo tried to cut village funding again… maybe they could "pretend" to be rogue shinobi and teach them a lesson?
Hmm… no. That would be too risky. A single misstep and they'd be finished.
Still, those dark thoughts had to be pushed aside. First and foremost, they had to find the lunatic bold enough to wipe out an entire Daimyō clan.
Otherwise, they'd have no way to explain themselves to their own daimyo.
So, all the hidden villages activated their ANBU squads to search for suspects.
Simultaneously, especially in the Five Great Villages, emergency stores of military supplies were being restocked—kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, and more.
The Second Great Ninja War had only reached a ceasefire. It hadn't ended.
Some smaller nations had been wiped out, like the Land of Sky, and some minor hidden villages had vanished.
But among the five major powers, none had achieved their strategic goals—or gained any real benefit.
Each nation remained unreconciled, and it was only a matter of time before the Third Great Ninja War erupted.
And now… thanks to Li Yao's destruction of the Water Daimyō clan, the increased financial backing to the hidden villages might trigger that war even earlier than in the original timeline.
But none of that mattered to Li Yao anymore.
As chaos stirred across the ninja world, he had already figured out how to join Nagato's group.
In the Land of Rain, true to its name, the sky never cleared.
Amidst a canyon of reddish-brown rock lay a small village with only a dozen or so households.
Because of the frequent rain, the houses here all had domed roofs for better drainage.
At the moment, half of those roofs had holes in them. Large puddles remained unfilled throughout the village.
All of it bore the scars of war—scars that hadn't yet healed.
As rain trickled down, the villagers remained hidden in their homes. Those with doors shut them tight; those without huddled in dark corners, trembling with fear and helplessness.
At the village entrance, two groups faced off.
On one side: the classic two-male-one-female formation.
The leading boy, though youthful in appearance, had a calm and mature air about him that inspired trust.
The girl was lovely—already showing the budding allure of a grown woman.
The last was a red-haired boy whose long hair covered his eyes. Though he looked timid, his posture was firm—clearly not someone weak.
These three were naturally the very ones Li Yao was looking for—Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
After Jiraiya left them, they had begun traveling across the Land of Rain. Their original intent had been to find Hanzo and join Amegakure to help bring peace to their nation.
But along the way, they had witnessed too many villages left defenseless, attacked by rogue Rain shinobi who opposed Hanzo and stole food from the people.
From captured enemies they defeated, Yahiko learned more about the Land of Rain's condition.
Before the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzo was seen as a god who had brought peace to the Land of Rain, using his strength to keep the warring nations at bay.
But when he suddenly declared war on all three major nations and dragged the Land of Rain into six years of brutal conflict, the country suffered massive devastation. Families were torn apart, casualties soared, and orphans were everywhere.
Surviving Rain shinobi began to question Hanzo's actions—blaming him for the country's ruin.
Had Hanzo not arrogantly believed he could defeat the three great villages, the Land of Rain might never have been so badly ravaged.
Many who lost loved ones in the war no longer accepted Hanzo's authority.
But shinobi were a group that only knew how to fight. To survive, to eat—they resorted to looting.
Now, the Land of Rain resembled a nation whose government had lost control, where malice flourished and chaos reigned.
Amegakure, too, had suffered heavy losses during the war. Postwar, they couldn't control the land either.
So it still felt like a country at war—anarchy everywhere.
Seeing all this, Yahiko changed his mind.
He no longer wanted to join Amegakure just to end up fighting fellow Rain shinobi. They were all from the same country—that would be nothing but fratricide.
And many villages simply needed stability and healing.
So Yahiko made a new decision: he would protect these villages.
From that day forward, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan wore the Amegakure forehead protectors and began accepting commissions from villagers—as shinobi—to guard them.
Their payment? Just enough food to not starve.
At first, the villagers didn't trust them.
But after they helped five villages—asking for no money, no food, and chasing off roaming ninja—their reputation began to grow.
Today was their first formal commission: protect this village for a month.
The reward? Enough food to not starve.
Opposing them now was a group of five, also wearing Amegakure headbands. But neither side was affiliated with the actual village.
The lead attacker held two kunai, his face marked with blue paint. He frowned as he looked at Yahiko's group and asked, "Who are you?"
"We're the village's bodyguards."
Yahiko stood tall with his sword planted before him. Despite his youth, his aura was steady. "From this moment on, this village is under our protection."
"I'm warning you—leave. Now."
His voice held absolute confidence—or rather, the resolve to protect the villagers behind him at all costs.
That confidence triggered something in the opposing shinobi leader. Once, he too had protected villages. But now, just to survive, he had become what he once despised.
Hearing Yahiko speak with such conviction stirred something painful in him.
Anger flared.
"Attack! Kill them!"
He charged with both kunai, followed by two of his teammates. The other two rushed toward Nagato and Konan.
Clearly, this wasn't their first coordinated assault.
Their strategy was sound: three against Yahiko, who appeared to be the strongest, while the other two kept Nagato and Konan occupied.
Once Yahiko was dead, they could regroup and eliminate the others.
Unfortunately for them, the gap between geniuses and average shinobi in this world was enormous.
"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
Yahiko formed a single seal and unleashed a torrent of water, immediately neutralizing the three attackers.
Konan's Paper Style danced through the air, effortlessly blocking the kunai aimed at her. She followed up with paper shuriken, pinning her opponent in place.
The one charging Nagato fared even worse—blown away by a single Wind Style jutsu.
Had Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan intended to kill, these enemies would've died in an instant.
(END CHAPTER)
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