Her feet sank unevenly into the snow as she ran. Her thin clothes flapped in the wind, the wide belt tight around her waist, and snow slapped against her face before melting into icy water down her collar. The cold seeped in with every step.
When she finally ran out of the Hyuga Clan compound, her foot slipped. She fell hard into the thick snow, and the cold wrapped around her at once. It stole her breath.
"Mm..."
The tears she had been holding back finally spilled over. Warm drops rolled down her frozen cheeks and fell into the snow, leaving small dark marks that vanished almost immediately. She struggled up and kept running.
As she turned the next corner, she ran straight into someone.
"I am sorry, I am sorry."
Hinata Hyuga wiped her tears and stood up, apologizing without thinking as she looked up. She had bumped into one of three boys.
When the boy saw Hinata Hyuga's white eyes, the words he was about to say stopped in his throat. The other two boys beside him also blurted out in shock, staring at her face.
Everyone already knew that war was coming, and the Hyuga Clan was seen as one of the causes. Their position in Konoha had become very awkward. People used to be the ones watched by the Byakugan, and now they were the ones being watched.
As long as someone saw those unmistakable Byakugan eyes, villagers would show disgust and speak harshly. That attitude spread to their children as well. And the cruelty of children was simple and direct.
"Look, her eyes are white!"
"They really are white. She is a monster."
"Is she the same as that thing, some kind of demon?"
The three boys began shouting and laughing. Hinata Hyuga, who had just stood up, was pushed down again. One of the boys even reached out toward her eyes.
Hinata Hyuga froze, her face turning pale as she stared blankly. She looked as if she could not move at all.
"Sto..."
"Hey."
Just as the boy was about to touch her, two voices sounded almost at the same time. The boy turned his head without thinking, and the next moment a palm filled his vision.
Smack!
The slap sent him spinning half a turn before he fell to the ground. A bloody tooth flew out with him and landed in the snow. The sound was sharp and clear.
"Ah!"
The other two troublemakers had just started screaming when Yunchuan Hyuga swung his hand twice more. Two teeth flew out neatly, and both boys collapsed without another sound. They lay still in the snow.
"Hinata Hyuga-miss."
Yunchuan Hyuga looked at Hinata Hyuga, who slowly opened her eyes in fear. He calmly pointed back in the direction of the Hyuga Clan. "It is dangerous at night. If you are done playing, you should go home."
"Y-yes..."
Realizing she had caused trouble for someone else, Hinata Hyuga lowered her head and answered softly. She turned and walked away, her small back gradually disappearing from view. Yunchuan Hyuga then withdrew his gaze and looked behind him.
Crunch... crunch...
A short figure wrapped up so tightly that he looked like a penguin waddled out from behind a utility pole. As he passed the three boys lying on the ground, he casually kicked each of them once with his hands still in his pockets. Then he walked up to Yunchuan Hyuga.
"Big brother, you are amazing."
The "shorty" looked up at him, pulled down his scarf, and revealed a familiar face. His voice was childish as he spoke. "Are you a ninja? Are you a Genin?"
Looking at the boy's blue eyes and the whisker-like marks on his face, Yunchuan Hyuga's gaze grew deeper. Naruto Uzumaki, the orphan of the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, and the current Nine-Tails jinchuriki. He had not expected their first meeting to be like this.
Yunchuan Hyuga narrowed his eyes slightly. "You are not afraid of me?"
Naruto Uzumaki copied the gesture and shook his head firmly. "I am not afraid, because big brother does not hate me." His tone was simple and certain.
Yunchuan Hyuga paused for a moment. He almost thought of Naruto Uzumaki's ability to sense malice, but quickly realized the boy did not have that ability yet. That meant he had noticed it by instinct alone.
"A natural sense and experience?" Yunchuan Hyuga thought, feeling a spark of interest. The current Naruto Uzumaki was far more pleasant than the one he would become later. Still, his identity was too sensitive, and this meeting had come too early.
Even if they met, it should not be like this.
Yunchuan Hyuga gave him one last look, raised his hand, and used Body Flicker to leave. His figure vanished in an instant. Naruto Uzumaki stood there, his eyes shining brightly.
Body Flicker was so cool.
Not long after Yunchuan left Naruto Uzumaki, another figure appeared in front of him. The newcomer wore an ANBU mask and held out two scrolls. "Yunchuan Hyuga Jonin," he said coldly. "These are from the Third Hokage."
The familiar chill gave it away at once. Root. Yunchuan Hyuga took the two scrolls, already understanding the source. When he opened the first one, it was a pass to the Forbidden Technique vault, clearly sent by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As for the second one, his eyes flickered slightly as he read. "We are to investigate Hanzo of the Rain Village in the Land of Rain while heading to the Land of Hot Water?" he thought. Was this Hiruzen Sarutobi's order, or Danzo Shimura's, or both together?
Either way, he did not refuse. "Hanzo," Yunchuan Hyuga thought with a faint smile. "He sounds like a decent puppet."
Land of Rain lies in the central region of the largest continent in the Ninja World. It borders three great nations, Fire, Wind, and Earth, as well as three smaller ones, Grass, Birds, and Rivers. Its position places it at the center of many roads and conflicts.
Between the lands of Earth and Wind and Land of Rain stand towering mountain ranges. These mountains form natural barriers on two sides, shaping the land into a funnel-like valley that blocks moist air from the sea from reaching the lands of Wind and Earth. Forced upward, the air cools and turns into heavy terrain rain.
Because of this extreme geography, most of Land of Earth and Land of Wind are covered in barren rock and desert. This is how the so-called crying country was formed. Endless rain became both a curse and a defining mark.
At the same time, the abundant rainfall gathers into several surging rivers. Like arteries, they flow outward to nourish Land of Birds, Land of Grass, and Land of Rivers. They even create a few rare oases within Land of Wind.
Yet the great nations never thanked Land of Rain. Located between the lands of Earth, Wind, and Fire, Land of Rain became a buffer and sacrifice during both the Second Shinobi World War and the Third Shinobi World War. Each conflict left the crying country more isolated and more wounded.
pata… pata...
At the highest tower in Amegakure, a figure stood before a window and looked out into the rain. A gas mask covered his cold face, and pale yellow-white hair drifted behind him in the wind. The storm beat against the glass, and beyond the small area lit by lamps, the night swallowed everything.