The Hidden Rain Village.
To Akira, this place was nothing short of a must-farm experience zone.
What opinion could he possibly have? As a player, his judgment was naturally based on experience yield and item drop rates. After changing classes to Hunter, his affection for the Hidden Rain ran deep—many valuable resources could be farmed here.
Of course, none of that could be said out loud.
If he dared speak like that, Hanzō would probably demonstrate what it meant to split a man in half on the spot.
And that man would almost certainly be him.
After quickly weighing the difference in strength between them, Akira decided that a little… artistic processing was necessary.
After a brief moment of consideration, he spoke:
"In my view… the Hidden Rain Village is crying."
Hanzō's interest was immediately piqued. This was the first time he had heard someone describe the village in such a way.
"Oh?" Hanzō said. "Explain."
Akira had already prepared his words.
"To speak of the Hidden Rain Village, one must first speak of the Land of Rain. The Land of Rain lies at the intersection of three great nations, treated as a buffer zone. The major powers—and the villages under them—have continuously inflicted damage upon this land."
"The Hidden Rain Village, as the protector of the Land of Rain, has failed to resist the invasions of the three great ninja villages. Instead, it has allowed them to ravage the country at will. Worse still, the village is consuming itself with internal strife."
"A protector that cannot protect anything… the Hidden Rain Village can only weep."
These words were tailored precisely to Hanzō's psyche.
Akira might not fully understand this Hanzō yet, but he knew all too well what Hanzō would do in the future.
Leading a small village like the Hidden Rain to directly confront the three great ninja villages—and even striking back onto their own territory—was something unprecedented in shinobi history.
If the Hidden Rain Village had simply turned a blind eye to the great villages, it would have suffered little direct loss. The ones to be devastated would have been the Land of Rain itself.
Yet Hanzō still chose to stand up.
That alone proved he had risen for the sake of the Land of Rain.
Though he ultimately failed, his actions instilled fear in the three great villages. During the Third Shinobi World War, they completely abandoned the Rain's territory.
Akira didn't believe the title "Hanzo the Salamander, the Demigod" was merely recognition of strength—it was fear of his madness.
Hanzō was clearly pleased. This answer had struck directly at his heart.
The Hidden Rain Village was crying, yet his teacher—the village leader Shōzō—refused to see it.
Instead, Shōzō clung obsessively to power, jealous of talent, and even sought to eliminate Hanzō in secret.
A village leader who couldn't see as clearly as a mere genin—no, not a genin anymore, a chūnin—was truly laughable.
The purpose of the Hidden Rain Village was to protect the Land of Rain.
And he, Hanzo of the Salamander, was that justice.
The more Hanzō looked at Akira, the more satisfied he became—though he showed none of it on his face. He simply waved his hand.
"That's enough. Go with Murakami Hana, collect your equipment, and familiarize yourself with your duties."
"Yes!" Murakami and Akira replied in unison.
Murakami led Akira to the equipment room—
—or rather, the equipment counter.
Akira watched as Murakami leaned forward and said to the attendant behind the counter:
"One standard chūnin set."
…You're ordering a combo meal now?
Akira watched the exchange with deep sorrow. Hiruko had once told him to take whatever he wanted, yet here it was—straight to a preset package.
Murakami shrugged. "Can't be helped. Our budget's tight. All equipment is issued in fixed sets."
The staff member disappeared through a small door behind the counter and returned with a bag, placing it down.
"Chūnin set. Two kunai, twenty shuriken, three explosive tags, two steel wires, one respirator mask. Please check."
…This is charity-level equipment.
Then where did all of Hanzō's explosive tags come from later, when he launched full-scale wars?
Akira knew very well how many tags Hanzō burned through afterward.
"When Lord Hanzō becomes the leader of the Hidden Rain," Murakami sighed, "things will finally get better."
Akira understood immediately.
So Hanzō's later supplies came from inheriting the village's resources.
Right now, times were simply hard.
Whether he'd still be in the Hidden Rain by then… was another matter entirely.
Shōzō, you really deserve to die.
Still, Akira quietly accepted the gear. Small as it was, it helped replenish his stockpile a bit.
From now on, he'd have to be more careful with his equipment.
Murakami waved to the attendant and led Akira away, heading to the intelligence division on the same level.
Inside were multiple partitions. Murakami lifted a curtain and brought Akira into one section.
Two shelves filled with scrolls lined the walls, while a table in the center held summoning scrolls.
"Intelligence is divided into A, B, C, and D ranks," Murakami explained. "As a chūnin, you have access to C and D. When you reach jōnin, you'll gain B-rank access. A-rank intelligence is reserved for Lord Hanzō and his most trusted confidants."
He casually picked up a scroll from a nearby shelf and tossed it to Akira.
"This is C-rank. Mostly intelligence on other villages."
"B-rank concerns matters that directly affect the Hidden Rain Village. A-rank concerns threats that could potentially destroy the village."
Akira nodded. For him, C-rank intelligence was the most important.
Konoha didn't really care how the Hidden Rain fared.
He opened the scroll—it detailed movements from Sunagakure.
The Sand Village had already begun advancing into the Land of Rain, establishing forward bases.
"…Isn't this too fast?" Akira frowned.
Wasn't the Second Shinobi World War supposed to start in Year 37?
Rain officially entered the war in Year 38. In other words, at the beginning, the conflict had nothing to do with the Hidden Rain at all.
Yet Sunagakure was already making aggressive moves.
Konoha was still in a probing phase, setting up front lines mainly as a precaution.
But the Sand Village looked ready to start a full-scale war.
"Can I read these here?" Akira asked, waving the scroll.
Murakami smiled. "You're quite concerned with the outside world, huh?"
"Well," Akira sighed, "it's directly tied to the fate of the Land of Rain."
That much was undeniably true. If the great villages went to war, the Rain would never be spared.
"I remember—you grew up outside the village," Murakami said, patting Akira on the shoulder. "Go ahead. Just remember to put everything back when you're done."
Outside the village?
Oh—he meant Kiuame, not Hyūga Akira.
Right. That made sense.
Murakami left without disturbing him further.
Akira immediately buried himself in the intelligence room.
This place shouldn't be called an intelligence office at all.
It should be called—
Hiruko's Paradise.
Every single scroll here was exactly the kind of information Hiruko desperately needed.
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