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After the Second Great Ninja War finally ended, the shinobi world spent a few quiet years licking its wounds. Villages that had been battered nearly to the ground slowly regained their strength. And just when things seemed to be stabilizing, the Hidden Leaf began stirring again.
This time, though, Konoha's eyes weren't on another great nation. Their focus was on the Land of Rain—more precisely, on Hayato.
Hayato had once been one of their own, a Leaf shinobi. But he defected to the Land of Rain, and in the Leaf's eyes, the Second Great Ninja War had been sparked largely because of him. Worse still, he possessed a power unlike anything the ninja world had ever seen—strength rivaling a tailed beast. Konoha's leaders couldn't resist the temptation. After years of recovery, they were once again itching to make a move.
But when Konoha's spies finally slipped into the Land of Rain, what they found stopped them cold. The Rain wasn't the same fractured, miserable country it had been years ago. It had changed—completely. And at the heart of it all, Hayato wasn't just alive and thriving. He was the Rain's leader.
That little detail left the spies dumbfounded. They had no choice but to return and report directly to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"What? Hayato Hayato is the leader of the Land of Rain now?!" Hiruzen's brows furrowed deeply, smoke trailing from his pipe as his eyes flickered with unease. His hatred for Hayato ran deep—thanks to Danzō.
Hiruzen and Danzō had been comrades once, teammates, bound together the way Naruto and Sasuke were. That bond had carried over to the rest of Konoha's advisory circle. Which meant when Hayato had killed Danzō, it was personal. Very personal.
It was like imagining someone killing Sasuke—Naruto would never let that go. But Hiruzen wasn't just a grieving comrade; he was the Hokage. No matter how heavy the bond, he couldn't put personal vengeance ahead of the village's survival.
"Hmph. The Land of Rain… if it weren't for the other villages watching, I'd…" Hiruzen's voice was ice as he exhaled smoke.
On paper, wiping out a country like the Land of Rain—especially under Hanzo's old rule—wasn't something beyond Konoha's reach. But the shinobi world was a delicate balance. One wrong move, and the entire system would spiral. If the Leaf attacked the Rain, Iwa and Suna, who both shared borders with it, would almost certainly pounce. Another great war would erupt in an instant.
And without that war, Hiruzen couldn't avenge Danzō.
He wasn't alone in his hatred. The Uchiha, Hyūga, and many of the old clans all had their grudges—clan members of theirs had died by Hayato's hand during the war. But Hayato wasn't just some rogue missing-nin anymore. He was the recognized leader of a nation.
Konoha had no clean way to touch him now. At least not openly. Not without sparking a Third Great Ninja War.
And so, while Konoha grudgingly set aside its revenge for now, another nation had already begun moving in the shadows. The Land of Earth.
Iwagakure.
Little by little, they'd been extending their reach into the smaller countries around them. Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki had no intention of letting his nation stay weakened—he would rebuild its power piece by piece, even if it meant bleeding others dry.
At first, their tactics against the Land of Rain were no different than those used on the Lands of Waterfalls, Grass, or Birds. And honestly, after the Second Great Ninja War, the Rain had been left in such ruins that Iwa hadn't seen it worth the effort. But then the Rain began to change.
Policy after policy came down, strengthening the country bit by bit. The Land of Rain was rising, stronger than any of the other small nations. Stronger in resources, stronger in stability, stronger all around.
Iwa couldn't ignore it anymore. If they wanted to recover quickly—and surpass their rivals—they had to crush the Rain before it grew too powerful. Their infiltration and raids increased in scale, sharper, more aggressive.
"Big Brother Hayato," Konan said with a deep frown, frustration etched all over her face. "Lately, Iwa's shinobi are showing up more and more inside our borders. They're even stealing our resources. And in the villages along the border between the Land of Earth and the Land of Rain… they've started massacring people. Damn Iwa shinobi!"
"Iwa-nin, huh? Tell our shinobi to stop holding back. From now on, if we catch Rock ninja inside our borders, they die. No exceptions." Hayato's brows drew together as he spoke, his voice cold. This land was supposed to be Konan's dream, her sanctuary. He wouldn't allow it to be ruined.
Konan hesitated. "But… if we do that, won't it provoke them? What if they decide to retaliate and declare war on us?"
The words themselves stirred something in her—part of her liked his decisiveness—but reality loomed large. The Land of Rain was still a small country, while the Land of Earth was one of the Five Great Nations. Iwagakure's strength was nothing to underestimate.
Hayato shook his head. "You're thinking about it the wrong way, Konan. If we back down now, they'll only push harder. The only way to deal with bullies like the Rock ninja is to hit back so hard they realize we're not easy prey. Then they'll fall in line."
He leaned back slightly, calm in contrast to her worry. "And as for war? Don't lose sleep over that. Iwa won't start one now. Not while they've still got to watch their backs against Suna and Konoha."
"Is that… really true?" Konan asked softly, her expression still clouded with doubt. She had seen with her own eyes how much the Land of Rain had changed, but a part of her still couldn't believe they had the strength to stand up to one of the Great Nations.
"Trust me on this," Hayato said firmly. "Do as I say. If Iwa does decide to gamble on a war, I'll make sure they regret it. This isn't the same Land of Rain anymore. We're not weak like before."
He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Our jōnin have nearly doubled in number. The chūnin? More than doubled. And as for the genin, we've got far more than we used to. Konan, we're not small and fragile anymore. Not by a long shot."
"....."