Chương 133: A Gift is Indispensable

The Land of Water, the Hidden Mist Village.

Springtime has passed, and before we know it, summer is here. On Asagiri Island, the weather is mild in winter and cool in summer. As always, the mountains and fields are shrouded in white mist. This mist usually dissipates a bit in the afternoon, but it thickens again at night. The mist is heaviest from dawn to early morning every day, and occasionally, the sun will shine through for a day or two.

The weather was exceptionally good today, a rare sunny day. The sunlight shone down, and the lakes in the mountains shimmered with golden light. Under the undulating bridges, the water flowed gently. Looking around, in the Hidden Mist Village, newly built houses of various colors rose and fell, some of which were built by ninja clans and had their own unique characteristics.

The architecture of the Uzumaki clan is quite distinctive, consisting entirely of square cement buildings that rise and fall closely together, creating a compact space with narrow streets, much like the fortresses of the Land of Whirlpools. In the central area, there is a newly built, ancient shrine, the Namen Hall, which enshrines the yokai sealed by the Uzumaki clan throughout the ages. Most of their auras have dissipated over the years, except for one Death God mask, whose aura remains as fresh as ever.

As the guardian of this generation, Mito took them with him when he left the village.

Originally, these masks would have appeared at the far end of Konoha Village when Mito got married, as a special facility left behind by the Uzumaki clan, and were forgotten by Konoha.

In the future, if Orochimaru wants to use the Impure World Reincarnation to resurrect the First, Second, and Fourth Hokage, he must come to Kirigakure to find the mask.

And on its streets, just like in the Land of Whirlpools, statues of gods of all sizes can be seen everywhere.

As the office of the Second Division, it is located in a bustling area near the center of the village, with a large flow of people coming and going, and is also a lively shopping street in the village.

A few streets away is the Fifth Division's guard building. This building, constructed by the Snow Clan, is like a castle keep, luxurious and imposing, covering a vast area. What is most famous in the village is its numerous and infamous underground dungeons.

Every day, all sorts of ninjas, for all sorts of reasons, take a three-day or one-day trip to the dungeon.

Not far away was the hospital of the Fourth Division's medical unit, built against the mountain. The hospital in Kirigakure was nothing special, with conventional buildings and ordinary doctors. These doctors had unique skills or prescriptions passed down through generations, which were kept secret as their livelihood. However, in Kirigakure, with Shishikagura bringing in medical ninjas carefully selected from various ninja clans, this was not a big problem.

The big problem is that, due to the terrain, although the hospital buildings are connected, they are scattered across different areas on different levels, resulting in a lot of mountains to climb.

Entering and leaving the hospital involves walking up and down seemingly endless stone steps, plus going through procedures and navigating between disjointed buildings. It's manageable for ninjas, but very grueling for ordinary people.

The area around the hospital is very quiet and peaceful, surrounded by green hills, clear waters, and stone bridges, making it a very comfortable place to recuperate.

Not far away is the school, which has been officially renamed the Ninja School. It is located in a mountain valley and is a boarding school. Although it is a primary school, it is basically a prison. Students are allowed two days a week to go home for fresh air.

Bai Lian agreed with Jie Luoti's suggestion, saying that the little devils should focus on their studies and that providing free food and lodging for a few hundred little devils was not a big deal for the village at the moment.

With the limited power of Kirigakure, it is currently impossible to widely popularize ninja education. Many children are still managed by their respective ninja clans. The establishment of schools is more about giving the common people of the village a choice. Byakuren personally handled this matter, holding the title of principal.

On a distant mountain peak, there are numerous man-made caves, densely packed together, located outside the village. This is the base of the Sixth Division's combat troops, also known as the Training Cave. Its unique feature is the many large and small battlegrounds inside the mountain, making it the best place for the village's ninjas to duel.

Modified by ninjas, it contains numerous mechanisms and traps.

Every now and then, a loud, booming explosion would ring out, accompanied by flames spewing from the cave entrance, before gradually subsiding.

There was only one person who could have made such a commotion that reached the village.

Ghost Lantern Gengetsu, the cave on the mountain was basically blown out by him.

Their actual camp was a series of tents nestled in the mountains.

On the opposite side is Mount Enma, located in the village. On the mountain, a huge statue of Enma sits, overlooking the entire Hidden Mist Village. Sitting on the statue, with her palms clasped together in front of her chest, Yura swings her little feet in mid-air, overlooking the scenery.

Mizukage Fortress is the base of the Third Division's Shadow Guards. No new base has been built there. The First Division's base is not very conspicuous in the village and is quite hidden. It's not because it's hidden away and there are no ninja clans or money behind it.

Currently, Kirigakure's fighting force has been fully assembled, and the entire Land of Water has been successfully brought under Kirigakure's control. After the territories were consolidated, they were handed over to the Daimyo for economic recovery after the war. Kirigakure has completed one step of its war preparations ahead of schedule.

The next step is to seize the time to cultivate mid-to-low-level ninja combat power, prepare food and weapons, and continue ninja economic activities as usual, handling mission assignments and establishing Kirigakure's good reputation in the ninja world. After that, there will be a long period of stable development. This is the final sprint before the First Shinobi World War.

Who will rule the ninja world in the future depends on the outcome of this battle.

If Konoha manages to barely win the First Shinobi World War...

Jie Luo's eyes were deep and dark, his scarlet eyes sweeping across the scene before him. In mid-air, a ninja hawk flew and circled several times with rhythmic cries. The ninjas of the entire Hidden Mist Village were in an uproar, each taking action, shuttling between rooftops, stone bridges, river surfaces, and mountain paths, continuously converging on the location of the Mizukage's Fortress from all directions.

This is a summons for ninja from Kirigakure.

The ninja hawk circled and flew back into the Water Shadow Fortress.

Jieluo stood up and looked towards the village entrance in the distance. The procession could be vaguely seen among the mountains and forests. Looking as far as he could, he could only see some dark figures.

He's here, he's here.

They've come with the tailed beasts.

Jieluo's lips curved into a smile.

Hashirama Senju was such a kind person.

How could I possibly accept this? It's far too kind of you.

Later, I'll send two Tailed Beast Balls to your village as a return gift. After all, Kirigakure doesn't really have anything worthwhile to offer, so consider this a token of my appreciation.

In the Konoha ninja ranks, under the bright sunshine, Tobirama Senju looked up at the distant silhouette of Kirigakure.

The first thing you see is the enormous Yama statue built on the mountain in the distance, and not far to the left of the statue is the conspicuously large Water Shadow Fortress.

The statue has three heads and six arms, with a ferocious and menacing expression. Its three huge eyes seem to be looking down at you with ill intent. After scanning the area, the statue pauses for a moment, then locks onto the figure in front of it.

It's you!

Oni-hime!

She gazed at Tobima from afar, and smiled faintly.

"Here you are, bro."

Thus, her lips parted slightly, moving silently.

Tobirama's face darkened as he looked at his older brother, who was peering out with curiosity, and then at the tailed beasts being escorted behind him.

Must we give away this tailed beast?