It could be said that the Hyuga clan's Byakugan was the nemesis of most Mist ninjas.
After all, the assassination techniques learned by the majority of them relied on the Hidden Mist Jutsu to weaken an enemy's vision and senses. Without the convenience of this jutsu, their strength would be reduced by at least thirty percent.
Of course, the Mist still had some ninjas whose fighting styles did not depend on the Hidden Mist Jutsu. But the Hyuga clan was no pushover either. Besides the Byakugan, their Gentle Fist was also renowned throughout the ninja world.
However, the Hyuga clan and the Kaguya clan of the Mist were distant relatives. Since the Warring States period, the two had been sworn allies, much like the Senju and Uzumaki. After the world entered the era of the ninja villages, due to their respective locations, the two clans had joined Konoha and the Mist Village respectively. Even though they were no longer in the same village, their relationship had not been severed.
Every so often, the Hyuga and the Kaguya would meet in secret to exchange intelligence and deepen their bond. Although the Hyuga did this with great secrecy, they could not hide it from the ANBU. Therefore, if the Mist Village were to also launch an attack on Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi was prepared to personally go to that battlefield to oversee the situation. At that time, it would be up to the Hyuga clan to decide where their loyalties lay.
…
"He's here?"
In her tent, Tsunade's eyes snapped open.
She stood up and walked out, her gaze fixed on the distance. In her senses, from the direction of the Land of Rain, a powerful aura was approaching at an incredible speed.
Under normal circumstances, ninjas fought by concealing themselves as much as possible, waiting for an opportunity to kill the enemy. But for top-tier powerhouses, they had already passed that stage. When they had become the very faith of their subordinates, their actions could no longer be hidden. Instead, they had to declare openly to the enemy, "I have arrived!"
This was a deterrent to the enemy. At the same time, it was a way to instill unwavering confidence in their own troops.
The ninja was a profession of the shadows. Stealth, surprise attacks, assassination... But the deeper one was in the darkness, the more one yearned for the light. This was why many ninjas followed those with great prestige. Lacking the strength to walk in the sun themselves, they placed their hopes for the light onto others, dreaming that one day, they too could follow behind their leader and bask in the sunlight of their renown.
Boom!
After taking a deep breath, Tsunade's expression hardened, and she then unleashed her own aura. A green flame of chakra ignited around her, and an immense chakra pressure emanated from her body, surging forward.
Rumble.
The clouds in the sky were caught in the clash of their auras, colliding in the air and erupting in a series of thunderous roars. Streaks of lightning flashed through the cloud layer. If a master of lightning-style ninjutsu were present at this moment, they might have been able to harness the lightning from the clouds for their own use, unleashing even greater power.
In the camp, the eyes of the many Konoha ninjas who looked at Tsunade were filled with adoration and reverence.
This is our Lady Tsunade, the princess of Konoha!
"Since our guests have arrived, it wouldn't be right to keep them waiting."
"Let's go!"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!"
Instantly, a crowd of Konoha ninjas followed closely behind her, rushing towards the border.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh
Figures appeared one after another in the treetops.
Tsunade glanced at the surroundings. Seeing that many of the strategic locations were guarded by Root ninjas, she said nothing more. Her battlefield was not here.
Looking out, on the banks of the river that formed the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire, over four hundred Rain ninjas had already gathered. Although she didn't sense any particularly strong chakra from them, their aura was in no way inferior to that of the Konoha ninjas. In fact, the fanatical battle intent in their eyes even surpassed it.
This was something Tsunade could understand.
Before the appearance of Hanzo of the Salamander, the Rain Village was no different from the other small villages, serving as a strategic buffer zone for the five great nations. The era of peace was not true peace for the entire ninja world, but merely a time when the five great villages were not at war with each other. However, the clashes between ninjas were everywhere. In order not to cause damage to their own lands, the five great villages had a tacit understanding to use the small countries and villages as arenas for small-scale combat drills.
If ninjas from different countries met in their own territory, under normal circumstances, the foreign ninja would usually make some concessions. But if they met in these small countries, the battle between them would not be so easily stopped. In any case, for the ninjas on both sides, the destruction caused by fighting in these small countries did not need to be borne by their own villages.
Therefore, for the ninjas of the small villages, the five great nations were a source of both envy and fear. They envied their status, strength, and position, and feared their arrogance, their utter disregard for the people of the small nations.
Unfortunately, the ninja world did not believe in tears. Only great strength could earn its recognition and respect.
It was at such a time, in the vortex of the First Great Ninja War, that Hanzo had begun to rise from the Rain Village. He had led his people to grow stronger step by step, defeating the many ninjas who had caused chaos in the Land of Rain, as well as the rogue ninjas who intended to plunder it.
After stabilizing the situation, Hanzo had not rested. He had led the Rain Village on campaigns to the east and west, building a great name for himself and seizing a considerable amount of resources. Not only had he earned the title of "Demigod," but he had also made the Rain Village the strongest village below the five great ones.
Hanzo was the hero of the Land of Rain!
In the hearts of its ninjas, his status was in no way inferior to that of Konoha's God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
And Hanzo had never concealed his ambition.
He wanted to make the Rain Village the sixth great ninja village!
Having come from a small village and walked this path to the present day, how could the ninjas of the Rain not want to become ninjas of a great village themselves?
Therefore, although they were about to fight the number one great village in the world, not a single one of them was afraid.
What they feared was a future without direction.
But now, Lord Hanzo had given them a dream!
For this dream, they were willing to give their lives!
The fervor in their eyes was so intense that even Tsunade was a little taken aback. At the same time, she was filled with relief that she had handed the task of holding them back to Danzo Shimura.
Compared to these Rain ninjas, who were filled with battle intent and conviction, the troops under her command, who had once been backstabbed by Danzo and treated as political sacrifices, had basically no will to fight to the death.
But Danzo's Root was different.