The Land of Hot Water.
This was a nation where the "country and village were one," different from the Five Great Nations, similar to the former Land of Whirlpools and Uzushiogakure.
Blessed with abundant natural and scenic resources, and with a deeply ingrained dedication to pacifism from top to bottom, it was one of the ninja world's rare neutral nations.
It had been remarkably fortunate, remaining untouched during both the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. As the fighting strength of the Hidden Hot Spring Village dwindled with the fading of war, it earned the moniker "the village that forgot war."
It was precisely the restlessness and disgust towards such a village that led Hidan to slaughter everyone around him, becoming a missing-nin and joining the "Jashin Cult."
Of course, the Land of Hot Water was still peaceful now. It was only its border that had been shattered.
First, a brief earthquake. Then the sound of a violent explosion. Finally, the aftershocks of battle, audible for dozens of kilometers.
No one dared to approach, so they notified the ninjas of the Hidden Hot Spring. But the Hot Spring ninjas had already been warned by Kumo not to approach that area, so they could only report to the Land of Lightning.
Swish, swish.
In the darkness, a four-person team moved swiftly through the forest. A biting wind whistled past their ears, and the rustling of leaves masked their footsteps.
The leader was a tall, well-built female ninja with shoulder-length pale blonde hair and fair skin.
Samui. One of the "Killer B" disciples in sword technique. Known for her cool-headed personality and leadership abilities, she had been promoted to Jōnin by the Fourth Raikage.
However, Samui's expression was unusually grave at this moment, not her typical indifferent, unfeeling look.
Upon receiving the news, the Fourth Raikage had immediately dispatched her, leading her own team, to the border of the Land of Hot Water to investigate.
Initially, the Fourth Raikage had already received word from the border garrison. Their report mentioned detecting anomalous sounds from the southwest and that they were taking a team to investigate.
At the time, the Raikage hadn't paid it much mind, merely using a communications beast to contact the garrison for details. But he received no reply.
It wasn't until the report from the Hot Water ninjas arrived that the Fourth Raikage finally sensed something was wrong, prompting him to send Samui's team to check.
"Sis, this should be the handover location agreed upon with Konoha, right?"
A man with the character for "heat" tattooed on his shoulder, following behind Samui, frowned. "It's probably those Konoha bastards up to their tricks again. If it really was them…"
"Atsui, calm down," Samui called his name, interrupting with a flat tone. "Even if it was Konoha's doing, we don't need to do anything unnecessary. We only need to gather intelligence and return safely to Kumo. Lord Raikage will make the decision."
The siblings' personalities matched their names—one "cold," one "hot." The elder sister and Jōnin was rational and indifferent; the younger brother, a Chūnin, was optimistic and reckless.
Swish, swish.
The four-person team finally emerged from the dense forest. Samui, at the forefront, halted. The three behind her instinctively stopped as well.
"Sis, why'd you stop all of a sudden?" Atsui asked.
"We've arrived," Samui's voice was inexplicably low.
Hearing this, Atsui was momentarily stunned. He looked at the scene before him—a completely flat area—and instinctively turned his head, searching around.
"Stop looking." Samui let out a breath, raising a hand to point into the distance. "Over there... that's our intelligence outpost. The handover location agreed upon with Konoha."
The other three followed her pointing finger, only to be met with the sight of a deep, shadowy depression.
Their gazes swept over the entire area. An unimaginable thought suddenly surfaced, causing their eyes to widen in unison.
"This... is the port?"
In their memories, this port, built jointly by the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Lightning, was a place of scenic beauty—green trees and rolling river waves.
Many fishing boats would be moored on the water. The trees would dye the ripples a verdant green, reflecting the vast, dark blue sky.
But now...
Utter deathly silence and a completely flat expanse. Only a desolate, empty wasteland remained.
Ignoring the trio's stunned disbelief, Samui crouched down and touched the ground.
Feeling the distinct spiral gouges etched into the earth, a chill also rose in her heart.
So it was true.
The port hadn't vanished overnight.
Everything on the surface of this area had been sheared away, like a pencil drawing on paper erased by a giant eraser, leaving only a bleak blankness.
Crack.
Atsui, who had instinctively taken a step forward, seemed to step on something, producing a crisp sound.
He looked down and saw a piece of metal buried in the soil. Picking it up and wiping away the dirt, he finally recognized the dense scratches covering it and the blurred Kumogakure symbol.
"This is... a village headband?" Atsui said, his expression aghast.
As if understanding something, Samui slowly stood up and walked towards a slightly raised section of ground in the darkness ahead.
The other three subconsciously followed her, but also drew kunai, gripping them tightly. Their footsteps became cautious.
However, as they drew closer to the raised ground, a familiar bloody stench also reached their noses.
Squelch…
Samui stepped into a puddle of blood that had not yet fully congealed. Dark red splattered onto her pant leg, staining it.
Looking at the mangled flesh and white bone beneath her feet, at the purple hair soaking in the blood, Samui couldn't help but fall into a heavy silence.
"Purple hair…" Atsui's throat bobbed, his voice dry. "This… could this be Senior Toroi?"
His words hung in the air, met with silence.
The only things they could sense were the bloody smell so thick it felt like you could taste it on your tongue, and the trivial noise of the biting wind whistling past their ears.
The moonlight fell upon them, offering neither warmth nor heat. Chilled by the cold wind blowing from afar, they suddenly felt a profound coldness.
The chill seemed to seep into their hearts along with the moonlight.
An aura of cold and death filled the entire space. With every breath, they could clearly feel that death was not merely a concept, but a real, tangible smell on an olfactory level.
They understood perfectly. If this pool of blood came from just one person… it would mean that person had been squeezed dry alive.
Even for them, seasoned shinobi, such a manner of death still sent a chill down their spines, evoking terror and rage.
Toroi, the renowned Magnet Release ninja, a powerful shinobi long-famous throughout the ninja world… had died in such an eerie, horrifying way?
"Who did this? Konoha?"
Samui's heart was filled with uncertainty and fear. As if thinking of something, she looked again towards the deep crater in the distance.
Instinct told her that something else was hidden there.
.....
Meanwhile, in Konoha Hospital, the moon hung high in the night sky outside the window, casting a cold, clear light onto the corridor floor.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, clad in his Hokage robe, stopped outside a ward.
He peered through the observation window, his gaze flickering.
Drip… drip…
Inside the white ward, liquid dripped from an IV tube. On the heart monitor, a line rhythmically pulsed.
Akimichi Chōza lying on the hospital bed slowly opened his eyes. His first sensation was a tingling numbness in his calf. Lifting his head, he saw a mess of long black hair.
"Hmm…"
Hyūga Kumokawa was sitting in a chair beside the foot of the bed, his head resting on Chōza's leg as if asleep, even emitting faint snores.
"This kid…" A bitter smile appeared on Chōza's face, but he also felt a twinge of emotion.
He glanced at the time on the wall. Roughly an entire day must have passed since he had collapsed after forcing himself to return to Konoha.
If he had to guess, this kid had probably been watching over him at his bedside the entire day.
"Cough! Cough!"
His scorched throat itched slightly, and Chōza couldn't help but cough.
Kumokawa was startled awake. He jolted upright, eyes snapping open to look at Chōza on the bed.
"Senior Chōza!"
Seeing Chōza coughing repeatedly, Kumokawa hurriedly reached for medicine. "Your condition right now…"
Click.
The ward door opened. He subconsciously turned to look.
Recognizing the face of Hiruzen Sarutobi illuminated by the moonlight, Kumokawa froze appropriately for a moment, blurting out, "Lord Third?"