Early this morning, the teams from Iwagakure and Sunagakure had set off to carry out missions in their respective Land of Rain territories. This was before Yahiko and Konan went to look for Kaito, so they had left extremely early.
It was just unknown when they would return.
"The streets are so deserted. It feels like a lot fewer people are around."
Yahiko nodded: "We noticed that this morning. It's probably because people are out on missions, and some Konoha ninja have left, and the entire Land of Iron contingent is gone. It's bound to feel much emptier."
The central city had only been prosperous for a few days before it began to gradually decline, which undoubtedly came as a shock to many people who had invested in businesses here. However, this wasn't really a place for business; the air was simply too damp, and goods easily became moldy. Even if the Hokage had caused the sun to shine every day, the water vapor from underground would evaporate, making even the rooms full of moisture. These investors hadn't properly investigated the situation here, and their rash actions led to tragedy.
"Ultimately, the central city can only thrive during specific periods. Unless something major happens, people probably won't want to visit the Land of Rain a second time, because all it has is dampness and a supermarket."
Torifu had almost worn out the System Store searching for something particularly effective at dehumidifying, so he could only ask the ninja to bear with it.
The three of them wandered past every shop in the central city but never made a purchase. This made the bankrupt, debt-ridden shop owners too lazy to even acknowledge them.
"Why do those three kids act like they'll never grow up?"
After having gone to the office, Torifu was observing everything in the central city through the cloud mirror. When he saw Yahiko and the others aimlessly wandering the streets, Torifu knew they were simply too idle.
"They've completed their mission. What's wrong with letting them rest?"
Naori advised with a smile on the side: "If it weren't for Minato needing to practice his jutsu, they'd probably be back in the village by now, and they wouldn't be this bored."
Naori could understand the feeling. She had been idle the very day she completed her mission, spending her days helping Torifu with this and that. She had originally said she wanted to admire the scenery of the Land of Rain, but she ended up staying in the office every day, which was quite exhausting.
"Alright, alright, just do as you like. It's not a huge deal."
Naori smiled slightly: "That's good. If you ask me, we shouldn't worry about them. Just let them be."
With that, Naori began to focus on organizing her kunai and shuriken—essential tools of war, true artifacts for killing and acquiring wealth.
"By the way, how are the people sent by the other two villages doing? Have there been any casualties yet?"
Torifu closed his eyes for just one minute and shook his head: "No. Their strength is quite good, though sometimes they overdo it a bit."
Torifu waved his hand, and a mirror appeared in the office. It currently reflected the appearance of Ebizō. He was seriously fighting two Kage-level enemies and was currently gaining the upper hand.
"This guy, his luck is pretty good. If he'd run into four of them at once, he'd be in for a rough time."
Ebizō's spy ninja were trained in the early days to infiltrate other countries and obtain intelligence. As such, he had many methods, dabbling a little in Jutsu, ninja tools, swordsmanship, and knife techniques. However, his knowledge was broad but not specialized, meaning he lacked any one-hit kill methods. He was only able to attack by constantly dodging and looking for openings in the enemy. He looked rather haggard, but when Torifu asked if he needed backup, Ebizō smiled and shook his head.
"These small-time figures are still quite easy to deal with."
Torifu pouted when he heard this. Fine, since he said so, Torifu didn't plan to support him. He instead adjusted the mirror's perspective to another person's location.
But as soon as the camera switched, the area was hit by a great upheaval, and the crystal flowers Torifu had planted were all shattered.
"Well now, who is this person? So capable in a fight? Why haven't I heard of him before?"
Torifu and Naori were both shocked by the fierce offensive of this person. At the same time, Torifu could see the progress bar for the first mission rising rapidly.
"Faster, just a little faster, and I can directly unlock the second mission."
The closer the battle came to its end, the more anxious Torifu became. He wished he could step forward and kill the person himself, so that the ninja could all get back to their respective duties—Kage-level ninja fighting Kage-level enemies, and regular ninja quickly clearing out the camps.
The number of camps remaining was now only a few hundred. With such a large group of ninja, the mission should be completed very soon!
Torifu could finally catch a glimpse of the second mission's true face. After dangling this in front of Torifu for so long, he should at least get a little something good.
"I hope it's a simple mission with generous rewards to make up for getting nothing last time except for a broken boat. What good is that?"
Torifu complained, but as if he had been heard, the ninja watching the action from the periphery suddenly took action. They began to scatter, searching the map for nearby camps to clear out.
The progress bar began to slowly rise again. At this rate, the first mission was estimated to be completely finished before lunch today. Whether there would be a reward was unknown, but the second mission should open up simultaneously, which was what Torifu was truly concerned about. Rewards weren't really important; Torifu didn't particularly care about those trivial things. He mainly wanted to know the content of the second mission so he could quickly complete this Chaos Event. The reward after the event ended was what Torifu truly wanted.
"Phew, come on, everyone! Just a few hundred more camps until we're completely free!"
Seeing Torifu wildly gesticulating, Naori didn't know what to say to him.
"The mission is only just about complete. Don't get so excited; we haven't even found the mastermind yet."
Torifu knew he had been a little undignified, so he rubbed his face to regain his composure.
"I know, I'm just a little anxious, worried that those ninja won't go clean up the camps and will instead be wiped out themselves."
Naori looked helpless: "What nonsense are you talking about? You know full well how weak these camps are. How could they possibly counter-kill the allied ninja forces?"
"I'm truly not sure why they put such a large pile of garbage out in the open. It feels completely useless. Is it purely meant to be annoying?"
In fact, even Torifu himself wasn't sure about this. Perhaps it was a trick by Blaze, or perhaps it had another purpose. However, it didn't matter what the reason was, because they would all soon become ruins.