The Stench of Blood Couldn’t Be Suppressed Anymore (Help! Please Keep Reading!!!)

Pitch-black storm clouds coiled like serpents above the lakes of the Land of Rain.

The falling rain smashed into the river, kicking up countless splashes, making it look as though it was raining both in heaven and on earth.

The fierce wind carried the torrential rain with it, pulling the black flags at the harbor taut and making the moored ships creak and groan.

Bang!

Inside the rust-stained harbor watchroom.

The gaunt old man locked the window tight, put on a pair of fluffy earmuffs, and curled up in his chair with a cup of sake, ending his utterly perfunctory "work" early.

"Anyway, no idiot would come in this damned weather, right?"

The exhausted old man gazed toward the distant Rain Capital, where towering steel buildings flickered in and out of sight through the raging rain.

Besides, given the Land of Rain’s current situation, even countries that had established trade relations no longer dared to come here to do business.

This old fellow in charge of managing ship berths was now nothing more than a formality himself, so naturally, he did not need to stay awake all night.

Coincidentally, someone else had the same idea.

Wooo!!

A long, haunting whistle, like the song of a blue whale, gradually tore through the black stormy night.

"It’s so, so huge!"

Yahiko’s excited shout came from within the rain curtain.

The enormous black shadow was clearly reflected in his raised orange eyes.

Amid the explosive crash of waves, the shadow crushed its way across the river.

It was shockingly a gigantic ship painted the same color as the stormy night!

It soon cleaved through the oncoming waves and came to a steady stop before the harbor, not far from the shore where they stood.

Wooo!!

Yun Chuan put his fingers to his lips and let out a clear whistle, as if responding to the enormous ship.

"Get on board."

When a gangplank was lowered from the ship, he glanced at the little ones beside him and said, "The people here to pick us up have arrived."

Without wasting any words, Yun Chuan led Yahiko and the others leisurely up the gangplank.

Five figures in black raincoats stood side by side on deck, looking down at the many ships docked in the harbor.

"Whoa!"

Yahiko shaded his eyes with a hand and bounced around like a monkey, looking everywhere as he gazed down at the harbor. "There are actually so many ships here…"

He had never seen the spectacular sight of nearly a thousand ships docked in one harbor at once.

"You live off the mountains when you’re by mountains, and off the sea when you’re by the sea. You adapt to local conditions."

Yun Chuan slowly held out his hand. Rainwater struck it and splashed upward, making him squint as he smiled. "The Land of Rain’s environment is harsh, but it has its advantages too."

The Land of Rain lay in the center of the largest continent in the entire ninja world, bordering the three great countries of Fire, Wind, and Earth, as well as the three smaller countries of Grass, Birds, and Rivers.

The border between the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Rain consisted of towering mountain ranges. In other words, high mountains formed barriers to the southwest, northwest, and due west of the Land of Rain.

Together, they formed a funnel-shaped mountain basin, with the only opening facing east toward the Land of Fire.

Compared to the frigid ocean north of the Frost Country, the ocean southeast of the Land of Fire was mild and was one of the regions in the ninja world with abundant ocean currents and moist air.

One only had to look at the Land of Fire’s rich granary regions to see the ocean’s effect on its climate.

Thus, whenever the northwestern monsoon over that ocean blew inland, it carried a great deal of warm, humid air with it.

But the mountain ranges of the Lands of Earth and Wind were too high. They blocked the warm, humid air from the sea, forcing the moisture-laden currents to rise, condense into vast amounts of orographic rain, and fall over the Land of Rain in concentrated downpours.

As a result, more than half the Lands of Earth and Wind were covered in barren rocky ground and deserts, and their annual rainfall did not even reach one-tenth of that of the Land of Rain.

It was precisely this terrain, extreme to the utmost, that created this "weeping nation."

The abundant rainfall converged into several surging rivers that flowed toward the surrounding countries like arteries.

"So developing river transport is something the Land of Rain is uniquely suited for."

After giving a simple explanation, Yun Chuan seemed somewhat helpless and could not help sighing. "Still, it ultimately can’t compare to the Land of Fire…"

It seemed that even Hashirama Senju, naive enough to give tailed beasts away to other great countries, was not a completely brainless fool.

Of course, it might also have been Tobirama Senju’s idea. Yun Chuan truly did not have high expectations for Big Pillar’s intelligence.

"…"

"…"

"…Ah." Yahiko nodded thoughtfully. "So that’s how it is?"

Konan turned to look at him, her tone surprised. "Yahiko, you understood that?"

"Of course I understood." Yahiko raised his head and said matter-of-factly, "If we just flatten the mountains between us and the Lands of Wind and Earth, it won’t rain anymore!"

You clearly didn’t understand at all!

Do you think you’re leveling someone’s grave mound or something?

"Ahahahaha!"

Just then, a burst of hearty laughter suddenly came from inside the cabin.

Before the startled Yahiko could turn around, he felt someone pat his shoulder.

"Don’t worry, child."

The man behind him smiled like an old fox, his tone full of schadenfreude. "You’ll learn this basic geographical knowledge later on, ahahaha."

"Huh? I-I can still get off the ship now… Mmph!"

Yahiko finally could not hold it in any longer and was about to let out a bratty wail when Jiyun expressionlessly covered his mouth from beside him.

Konan turned around and gave the person behind Yahiko a slight bow, saying with embarrassment but sincere apology, "Sorry, Yahiko has caused you trouble."

He was an old man with a full head of white hair, though his body was not stooped, and a hearty smile still rested on his face.

"Hahaha, don’t be so polite. You’re all children brought back by Lord Yun Chuan. From now on, we’re family."

The old man casually waved his hand, then looked toward the smiling, silent Yun Chuan. His attitude became exceedingly respectful. "My apologies, Lord Yun Chuan. I arrived late today."

He did not make excuses for being late. He simply felt genuinely apologetic about it.

Even though he was only a few minutes later than expected.

"Uncle Plum Rain." Yun Chuan smiled somewhat helplessly. "Weren’t you supposed to go to the Water Country to transport goods today? You didn’t need to come all the way to pick me up."

"How could that be a bother? I only have what I do today thanks to you."

The old man called Baiyu shook his head, his expression turning somewhat grim. "Besides, there’s been a little trouble on the Water Country side as well…"

Jiyun suddenly asked from the side, "Does this make a lot of money?"

Uncle Plum Rain came back to his senses and examined Jiyun’s little face. Seemingly recalling something, he showed a kindly smile and humbly said, "Probably a bit more than the bounty an ordinary ninja earns."

Then he shook his head again, his tone bitter. "But old fellows like us are like duckweed. Once the wind picks up, we vanish into the water. Without Lord Yun Chuan…"

On land, there were countless mountain bandits who made their living by robbing merchant caravans.

Naturally, there were also water bandits on the rivers, making their living by robbing merchant ships.

Tap, tap, tap!

"Big Brother Yun Chuan!"

A little girl who had only just learned to walk came staggering over in oversized cloth clothes. Holding out a bowl to Yun Chuan, she said in a babyish voice, "Drink water."

"Thank you, Little Rain."

Yun Chuan smiled and patted the girl on the head, then took the water and drained it in one gulp.

However, after setting down the bowl, his gaze slowly shifted into the distance.

"Seriously, even that stench of blood can’t be covered up anymore."

In his deep blue eyes, a ship of nearly identical size was moored on the river. A faint reddish mist seemed to linger around its hull, making it look like a ghost ship.