The mission briefing was held not in the soaring Dark Hall Tower, but in a secure, windowless bunker deep beneath the General Corps barracks.
Inspector Kosuke stood before a large map of the Shinobi world. There, the fate of the Lands of Rain was laid bare. Surrounded by three major hidden villages, it would fall as a mere battlefield in the coming years.
If nothing changes, that is.
Amegakure was the ideal geographical location for an outpost for any of those three hidden villages. But it was this exact perk that doomed Amegakure into isolationist policies and neutrality in an era where strategic alliances were widespread.
The moment Ame chose a side would be the day the Lands of Rain would fall.
But Inspector Kosuke had not gathered team 11 to talk about shinobi geopolitics. He had neither the foresight to see past the borders of the country he grew up in, nor the ability to change any of Amegakure's policies. After all, Hanzo's rule was that of an iron fist. The JITE was in his command, strengthening the walls of the village rather than expanding outside.
His vision was not entirely wrong. He was focusing on making Amegakure impregnable, which the first shinobi war proved true. However, the lands of rain was in a dire situation, and his policy on taxes and extreme wariness towards outsiders made trade complex.
If not for the Tsuchigomo Foundry, a massive factory that was supplying Amegakure with shinobi tools of high quality, Amegakure might have faced a massive deficit. Thankfully, Amegakure was self-sustaining.
"Chunin Team 11", Kosuke began, his voice clipped, "Your promotion has been noted, and your skills deemed suitable for a task that falls between standard Corps patrols and outright war. This is a classic Dark Hall operation: deniable, precise, and of critical strategic value."
He tapped a point on the map where a major river near the Southern Borders, the Kawa-no-Sen, flowed from Rain into River Country. "The River Control Dam at Nagare Station. Built twenty years ago as a joint project between the Rain Daimyo and a consortium of lands of River nobles. It regulates water flow for agriculture and prevents flooding in the lowlands. Crucially, it also controls the water level in a network of canals that feed our southern border fortifications"
Ryugo saw it immediately. "Whoever controls the dam controls the battlefield environment on our southern flank. In a conflict, they could flood our positions or leave them parched."
"Correct," Kosuke nodded. "The dam has always been under joint civilian administration. Until three months ago. The chief engineer, a River Country appointee, died in an 'accident.' His replacement is a man named Sato Ren, a bureaucrat with... surprising security. He's fired all the Rain-aligned staff and hired a new security detail. Not River Country samurai. Shinobi."
"Tanigakure?" Ameruyi asked.
"Not officially," Kosuke said, "They wear no insignia. But our intelligence suggests they are either Tanigakure shinobi. Their presence has shifted the dam's operations. Water flow to our canals has become erratic, affecting crop yields and military readiness. The River Country nobles are pleading ignorance, blaming 'technical issues'"
[New Mission: The Dam in the mist (B-Rank)]
[Objective: Infiltrate the Nagare Station Dam. Assess the security detail's true allegiance and capabilities. Neutralize the threat to Amegakure's water security. Method: Your discretion]
[Rewards: 3500 EXP, 70 Dark Hall Promotion Points, 80,000 Ryô, +80 Reputation with the Dark Hall Tower, +100 Reputation with Amegakure Council Of the Rain, Unlock: River Country Intelligence Network, +200 Reputation with Border Commander Batto]
"Your point of contact and operational support will be the General Corps border commander in Sector Seven," Kosuke concluded. "Jonin Batto. He's been dealing with the symptoms—dried-up canals, angry farmers. He'll be grateful for assets who can address the disease"
The mission was quite generous.
A B-rank mission.
Reputation.
And more importantly...status.
The moment they became chunins, they were no longer meat shields for the village. They had proven their talents, and they were now assets of Amegakure. Unlike other villages, Amegakure was small, the number of shinobi in its ranks limited.
This was partly the reason why Mumei had been summoned out of the blue for an ops, why the village was unable to break neutrality in massive conflicts in the series, and why despite a kage-level shinobi like Hanzo, Amegakure never truly stood out.
Ryugo planned to change that fate.
Again, he wanted...needed to survive.