Chapter 250: Engaging the Enemy
Land of Rivers.
A small, lush country with many rivers.
The five great nations do not border each other. Instead, there are many small countries that serve as buffer states. The Land of Rivers is the buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind.
Its weak national power and small ninja force mean that when faced with external threats, they have no ability to resist at all.
They can only suffer in silence.
In times of peace, they can be called buffer states; in times of war, such small countries are just stepping stones for the great nations, the victims of war and chaos.
"This is the situation in the Land of Rivers," Shino said flatly to the two girls in front of the campfire.
The orange-yellow light of the fire illuminated his side profile, making it flicker, his expression unreadable.
It was already dark. After leaving the izakaya, Squad 14 had force-marched all the way and had stopped here. They had temporarily set up camp, lit a bonfire, and were boiling a pot of hot soup to eat dinner.
They had already entered the borders of the Land of Rivers. Shino briefly introduced the situation of the Land of Rivers to the two of them. Although he was a ninja from the Land of Fire, he did not shy away from these matters, but objectively stated the dark side of the ninja world. After all, the two ninja in front of him were also members of the Anbu. They would come into contact with such things sooner or later...
"Apart from the bullying by the great nations, all kinds of underground organizations and rogue-nin groups also like to establish bases in such small countries. This kind of place, where the tentacles of the great nations and great ninja villages cannot reach, is the most suitable for them to develop their forces and carry out clandestine activities," Shino continued. "Sakura, that underground bounty station you destroyed before, its main body is distributed in small countries like the Land of Rivers."
"These underground organizations rarely build their bases within the territory of the five great nations, because they cannot contend with the power of the great ninja villages. Often, a few Anbu squads are enough to annihilate an important base of an underground organization."
"Conversely, because small countries lack the ability to confront them, they can only let them do as they please and act recklessly."
Orochimaru's bases were also mostly established in the territory of these small countries. His experimental subjects, much of the time, were the people of these small countries.
"This kind of country is simply an RBQ..." Sakura said with emotion. (TN: RBQ is Chinese internet slang, roughly meaning "a plaything for anyone")
"What BQ? Barbecue?" Shino turned his head and asked, not understanding.
"It's nothing, Captain, you misheard..." Sakura quickly explained.
The true meaning of that word was too shameful. It absolutely could not be said out loud!
The girl quickly changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, for us to barge into the territory of the Land of Rivers without permission, is that also an act of a great nation ninja despising a small country?" Sakura asked, scratching her cheek.
Shino took a few bites of his dry rations with his hot soup and answered with his mouth full, "Yeah... did you only just realize that?"
This was how the great nations behaved.
Theoretically speaking, for them to pass through the territory of the Land of Rivers in a combat-ready state was an act of trespassing on another country's territory... But in fact, the saying that one needed permission to enter another country's territory only existed between the great nations. For a ninja from a great nation to pass through a small country or to do a mission in a small country, there was never any need to make any report. Even Konoha, which was said to be the friendliest great ninja village in the ninja world, was like this.
This attitude of contempt for small countries had caused a lot of pain to the people here and was a hotbed for breeding hatred...
"Then the lives of the people in the small countries must be very painful... being bullied by the various forces in the ninja world," Sakura said, her gaze wandering, a little absent-minded. "That's why they hate us. It's precisely because there is a soil of hatred that an organization like the Akatsuki can be born, right?"
Sakura now had some understanding of the mentality of small countries hating great nations. In her previous missions in the Land of Waves and the Land of Snow, as well as some clandestine Anbu missions, she had come into contact with some people who held this kind of thinking, believing that the suffering of the small countries was all caused by the great nations.
Or to go a little deeper, it was caused by the current "Five Great Nations" structure and the long-term wars between them.
If Sakura were not a person from the Land of Fire, she would absolutely give this statement a "like."
To a large extent, this statement was correct. But peace could not be obtained by "disbanding the five great nations," as those people imagined.
"Hn, small countries also sometimes produce outstanding ninja, such as Hanzō of the Salamander. If such a ninja were to retaliate against the five great nations out of hatred and without any regard for themselves, it would also be a very troublesome time..." Shino sighed. "But the biggest problem is still the mutual hostility and hatred between the five great nations. This is the source of most of the tragedies in the world. If peace can be achieved between the five great nations, the ninja world will also be much calmer."
"Forget it, don't think too much about it. This is not something we should be considering."
Shino's thoughts were similar to most Jonin.
They had been in contact with many things, had a certain perspective, knew what the problems of this world were, and also hoped for a peaceful life.
—Unless one was a pervert, who would hope to often carry out dangerous missions, living a life of dancing with the god of death every day?
It was just that they didn't know what to do. Perhaps they had some ideas, but they didn't dare to put them into action, knowing that the wall of reality was extremely hard, and they didn't dare to rashly hit it.
Going with the flow was the best description of them.
This was the ordinary thinking of the Jonin, the elite of the ninja world.
Realistically speaking, if Sakura's strength had also stopped at the Jonin level, she would also have become such a person. With great power comes great responsibility. Conversely, if she hadn't even reached the Kage-level, then there was no need to worry about things that weren't her business. That kind of thing was not her business.
"Inheriting old hatreds, creating new ones... If ninja can't break free from this cycle, there will be no true peace in this world," Sakura said faintly.
"Hehe..." Shino made no comment.
"Let's get back to the topic! We're not far from the Yin-Yang Bridge now. We should be able to get there on time tomorrow. However, the mission may be very difficult... We might run into Sasori or even Orochimaru! According to the information gathered by the intelligence department, Sasori of the Red Sand's strength is quite strong, perhaps no weaker than Kakuzu's."
"So, let me reiterate: unless it's absolutely necessary, do not take the initiative to attack the Akatsuki. The opponent is very strong, and the risk of combat is very high. We must try to avoid battle!"
In Shino's imagination, the best way to complete the mission was to secretly observe the intelligence exchange between Sasori and his subordinates, then capture Sasori's subordinates alive, and use a clone to track Sasori, to obtain their intelligence as much as possible without alerting the Akatsuki.
In short, the premise of all actions was to try not to let the Akatsuki discover Konoha's movements.
"That's all." The captain poked the bonfire and glanced at Yūzuki, whose eyelids were showing signs of sticking together. He then said, "Hurry up and finish eating, then rest!"
"For tomorrow's mission, we must build up our strength and be well-prepared tonight!"
"Yes, Captain!"
The night passed quietly.
The next morning, Squad 14 set out against the dawn, rushing through the Land of Rivers, following the river all the way up.
Shino's timing was very precise. As it was approaching noon, he led the two of them to the vicinity of that bridge.
Squad 14 then found a hidden, shady spot by the river and stopped.
The captain looked at the map, compared it with the terrain, and confirmed their location.
"The Yin-Yang Bridge is just ahead," Shino said. He put the map back in his pocket and took a deep breath. "Next, we will use our most concealed movements, quietly approach the Yin-Yang Bridge, and secretly observe—"
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—!
Shino's words were interrupted by dozens of kunai that came whistling through the air!
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