The border area where the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain meet.
A somewhat dilapidated Village stood here.
The entire Village relied on farming for survival, and if war broke out, the villagers would become homeless refugees.
Those who rely on farming fear drought and flood the most, as they lead to reduced or even no harvest.
And this year was a drought year. Many villagers were already despairing, but no matter how desperate they were, no one would help them; they could only fend for themselves.
To both the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, these villagers were refugees. Taking them in offered no benefits, and thus, no meaning.
Just as the villagers despaired, the appearance of two people gave them hope.
The two who appeared were both wearing clothes with the Uchiha Clan emblem.
Although they were Ninja, they did not act superior towards the ordinary villagers.
Indeed, these two were Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui, who planned to travel throughout the Land of Fire.
After leaving Konoha, their initial goal was the towns and Villages around Konoha Village.
In the towns and Villages surrounding Konoha Village, although not as prosperous as Konoha Village, the common people could eat their fill and had clothes to wear.
However, the further they traveled towards the outer regions of the Land of Fire, the more they witnessed the hardships of ordinary people's lives.
No, for them, this wasn't living; it was merely existing.
The two entered various impoverished Villages, hoping to spread their red ideology.
But reality taught them a harsh lesson.
In the hearts of these impoverished common people, there was no concept of right or wrong, no values; their only concern was food.
They cared nothing for knowledge or ideology.
At this point, Itachi realized just how difficult the path he had chosen truly was.
However, no matter how difficult, Itachi and Shisui were determined to continue.
After this period of observation, they also discovered the problem with this world: it was sick, and very seriously so.
Even in resource-rich countries like the Land of Fire, there were so many people who couldn't eat their fill or afford clothes. What about other countries?
Calculated, it's estimated that more than half of the world's population still couldn't eat their fill.
And what were those who could eat their fill doing? They were still fighting for profit, starting wars, completely disregarding the lives of ordinary people.
What is peace? Only when the people at the bottom can eat their fill and stay warm, that is true peace.
Having understood everything and seen through the world, Itachi and Shisui became even more steadfast in their belief in the red ideology.
It was precisely because of this that the two came here, to a place not recognized by either the Land of Fire or the Land of Rain.
They would use their strength to change this place, and this would be their first stop in changing the world.
At the farmland outside the Village.
Uchiha Shisui was using Water Release to help the villagers irrigate the cracked land.
Watching the clear water flow into the fields, the surrounding villagers immediately cried out in excitement.
Seeing this scene, Shisui was deeply moved.
After all, although their Uchiha Clan was not well-regarded throughout Konoha, the children of the Uchiha could all eat their fill, stay warm, and even study.
But what about the people here? Simply not starving to death was already a luxury.
While Shisui was helping to irrigate the fields, Itachi was inside the Village, using the printing machine Naruto had given him to start printing books.
Itachi did not immediately print red books, but instead printed some basic literacy books.
Too few people here were literate; even if he gave them red books, they wouldn't understand them.
So, Itachi decided to first popularize basic knowledge.
Incidentally, Itachi and Shisui could also teach the children here and discover if there were any children capable of becoming Ninja.
This place, as the first stop for the red cause, was perfectly suitable.
Here, neither the Land of Fire nor the Land of Rain would govern, and at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, there were even more people from both countries who couldn't eat their fill.
Once this place developed, it was estimated that those suffering in the surrounding areas would also flock here.
That would be the beginning of Itachi and Shisui's red cause.
They believed that as long as they could spread the red ideology, this wave of red ideology could absolutely usher in a new era.
Midnight.
After a day's work, Itachi and Shisui returned to the room the villagers had prepared for them.
The villagers also knew that these two great Ninja were the ones who brought hope to their Village, so every household sent over the best things they had.
"How was today, Itachi?"
Shisui asked, while gathering Chakra to replenish his day's expenditure.
"Hmm! It went very smoothly. Thanks to this printing machine Naruto gave me, I estimate we can distribute the basic books tomorrow!"
"Then, we will not only have to help irrigate the land but also help teach the young people in the Village!"
Shisui nodded and said, "That would be great."
At this point, Shisui's expression suddenly turned serious.
"Itachi, I heard the villagers talk about something today that concerns me."
"What is it?"
Seeing Shisui's tone suddenly become serious, Itachi also put down his work and looked at Shisui with some confusion.
"In the Land of Rain, there seems to be an organization that maintains peace, called Akatsuki. The leader of this Akatsuki Organization is called God."
"I'm not worried about the Land of Fire side, after all, we are very far from the center of the Land of Fire. But the Land of Rain side isn't that far; I'm afraid our actions might attract the attention of that Akatsuki Organization."
After listening to Shisui's account, Itachi pondered for a moment and said,
"Akatsuki Organization? I haven't heard of it, but if it's God, it might be the legendary Hanzou!"
"However, the peace envisioned by the Akatsuki Organization should conflict with our ideals, or they wouldn't let these refugees fend for themselves here."
"I've realized that this is actually a Ninja mindset. In the eyes of Ninja, as long as there are no wars between Ninja Villages, that is what they call peace."
"But they never considered beyond Ninja, or rather, the entire Ninja World."
"Before I left Konoha, I thought like many Ninja, believing that no war now meant peace, and since it was peaceful, ordinary people wouldn't be doing too badly."
"Even if they were doing poorly, they could still eat their fill and stay warm, so we only needed to maintain harmony between the Ninja Villages and within them."
"This reminds me of five words from a book I read before."
"Why don't they eat meat porridge!"
"Why don't they eat meat porridge," Shisui murmured these five words.
Shisui naturally knew what these five words meant. He had read all the books Itachi mentioned, and because of his Sharingan, the content of the books was etched in his mind, making it very difficult to forget.