Upon entering the Land of Rain region, one must don a raincoat to shield from the rain.
In this country where it rains all year round, the seasonal changes don't manifest in obvious ways; however, in winter, the rain becomes bone-chillingly cold.
During wartime, many people from the Land of Rain froze to death in the icy rain.
If the weather is too cold, even a ninja's combat ability would be affected.
But right now, it's still summer, with autumn yet to arrive, so the rain isn't too cold and is still within bearable limits.
Along the way, one can see the towns and villages of the Land of Rain struggling to recover. During the Third Ninja Realm War, sixty percent of the towns and villages in the Land of Rain were destroyed, as it was a major war zone.
Only a very few large towns were protected and not severely damaged.
However, after the war, the Land of Rain's economy is certainly in decline. Describing it merely as an economic decline would be an understatement because the entire economic system collapsed post-war. The country faced food shortages, and the population was nearly a quarter less compared to before the war.
Some died in the ninja wars, while others fled to other countries seeking a living.
Families with young and strong members especially took their parents, spouses, and children to leave this troubled land of the Land of Rain as soon as possible, leaving behind more elderly and helpless children.
This environment is ripe for breeding crime.
Strangely, though, there hasn't been much lawlessness within the borders of the Land of Rain.
Bandits and rogue ninjas have been thoroughly eradicated, leaving people to earn a living honestly, providing a good foundation for the development of the Land of Rain.
Such stability is undoubtedly driven by the Hidden Rain Village.
The Hidden Rain Village deployed the majority of its ninjas, roaming throughout the Land of Rain, providing stability to the region.
While the authoritative power of the Daimyo and nobility completely waned, people no longer trusted the high-ranking personnel who abandoned the country and the people during wartime. Instead, the Hidden Rain Village earned the respect and love of the Land of Rain's people, especially after Leader Hanzou heroically sacrificed himself to resist invading forces.
It can be said that nowadays the Hidden Rain Village fully captures the hearts of the people within the Land of Rain.
The power of the Daimyo and nobility has been completely sidelined.
The soldiers no longer obey the incompetent, cowardly Daimyo and nobility but have instead allied with the Hidden Rain Village's ninjas, acting under Hidden Rain's commands to stabilize the domestic environment.
This is the current state of the Hidden Rain Village.
Ninjas and soldiers assist the people in rebuilding their homes; such scenes can be seen everywhere.
This gives Obito and Lin a familiar sense of déjà vu reminiscent of the early development and construction of the Land of Demons.
Though the manpower and resources mobilized are incomparable to those of the Land of Demons at the time, they have indeed chosen the most friendly approach to the people.
Logically, the Hidden Rain Village only needs to focus on its own development, to restore the vitality of the country, which is the task of the Daimyo and nobility.
Yet, all these are being performed by the Hidden Rain Village now.
It is conceivable that the forces of the Daimyo and nobility in this country have weakened to the limit, opening up the possibility of embarking on a different path.
However, according to Obito and Lin's knowledge, the surrounding great nations won't let Hidden Rain have its way comfortably.
They have already started secretly funding the Daimyo and nobility of the Land of Rain, attempting to rival the Hidden Rain Village and instigate another internal conflict in the Land of Rain.
This way, the environment surrounding these great nations will stabilize and achieve long-lasting peace.
Thus, the Land of Rain will definitely experience various upheavals internally, forcing the Hidden Rain Village to compromise.
If the Hidden Rain Village does not want to expose Akatsuki's existence, compromising is Hidden Rain's only option.
Revolution requires opportunity and soil, also needs power; the current Hidden Rain does not have such stable environment or strength to directly confront the great nations.
Therefore, Akatsuki urgently needs this batch of military supplies from the Land of Demons.
Despite the fact that the finances of Akatsuki and Hidden Rain Village are likely nearing deficit, they must use ninja techniques and various research data for equal exchange with the Land of Demons to pay for the procurement of large amounts of military supplies.
"We can already see the Hidden Rain Village now. After walking a bit more, we'll be able to enter."
Wearing a hooded raincoat, Lin has a light purple mask with patterns on her face. Through the eye holes of the mask, her slightly bright eyes see the towering Hidden Rain Village at the center of the inland sea.
It's like a steel city, standing solemnly in the rain, desolate yet heroic.
A hazy halo spreads through the air, in the dark sky, guiding the way ahead for Lin and Obito.
"Are Akatsuki's members inside there? Speaking of which, that guy named Afei inside, I haven't settled my old grudge with him yet."
Obito wears a black raincoat like Lin, though it's a size larger.
On his face is a white mask with a Magatama pattern, revealing a Three-Tomoe Sharingan through each side's eye holes, radiating red light.
He speaks with dissatisfaction, seemingly still resentful about losing that Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Don't act rashly, Obito, we still have five years before our agreement with them."
Lin reminds Obito.
"Don't worry, Lin, I'm not that foolish. The rest doesn't matter, but the guy with the Rinnegan, that's a real problem."
Obito nods.
Having crossed the age of twenty, he is no longer the impulsive youngster he once was.