Naruto: Fooling the Ninja World, I'm Hailed as a Savior

The Land of Hot Water.

This was a "nation-village integrated" country. Unlike the five great nations, it was similar to the former Land of Whirlpools and Uzushiogakure. Because of its rich natural and scenic resources, coupled with a deep-rooted pacifist ideology from top to bottom, it was one of the very few neutral countries in the shinobi world.

It had been fortunate enough to remain untouched by both the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. As the wars faded, the combat strength of Yugakure dwindled, earning it the moniker, "the village that forgot war." Hidan became a rogue ninja and joined the "Jashin cult" precisely because he grew anxious and disgusted with Yugakure.

Of course, the Land of Hot Water was still very peaceful now. However, this peace was broken at its border. First, there was a brief earthquake, then violent explosions, and finally, the aftershocks of battle, which could be heard for tens of kilometers. No one dared to approach, so they notified the ninjas of Yugakure. But Yugakure had already been informed by the Hidden Cloud to stay away from that area, so they could only report to the Land of Lightning.

Rustle.

In the darkness, a four-person squad swiftly moved through the forest. A biting wind swept past their ears, and the rustling of leaves covered their footsteps. Leading them was a tall, curvaceous female ninja with light golden, shoulder-length hair and fair skin.

Samui, one of Killer B's sword-style disciples, had been promoted to jōnin by the Fourth Raikage due to her calm demeanor and leadership abilities. However, at this moment, Samui's expression was somewhat solemn, unlike her usual emotionless self. Upon receiving the news, the Fourth Raikage immediately dispatched her and her squad to the border of the Land of Hot Water to investigate the situation.

In fact, the Fourth Raikage had already received news from the border guards, whose letter reported that they had detected unusual sounds in the southwest and were leading a team to investigate. At the time, the Fourth Raikage hadn't paid much attention, simply contacting the border guards via ninja beast communication to inquire about the cause. However, he received no reply. It wasn't until he received the report from Yugakure that the Fourth Raikage finally realized something was wrong, prompting him to send Samui's team to investigate.

"Sis, that should be the rendezvous point we agreed on with Konoha, right?"

Behind Samui, a man with a "Heat" tattoo on his shoulder frowned and said, "It's probably those Konoha bastards' doing again. If it really is them…"

"Atsui, calm down." Samui called out his name, interrupting him in a flat tone. "Even if it truly is Konoha's doing, we don't need to do anything extra. We just need to safely return to Kumogakure with the intel, and Lord Raikage will make his decision."

The personalities of this brother and sister were like their names—one "cold," one "hot." The older sister, a jōnin, was rational and detached, while the younger brother, a chūnin, was optimistic and reckless.

Rustle.

The four-person team finally passed through the dense forest. Samui, at the front of the team, stopped, and the three behind her instinctively followed suit.

"Sis, why did you suddenly stop?" Atsui asked.

"We're here." Samui's voice was strangely low.

Atsui paused, then looked at the scene before him. He saw only a flat expanse and instinctively turned his head to look around.

"Don't bother looking," Samui exhaled, raising her hand to point into the distance. "Over there is our intel outpost, the rendezvous point we agreed on with Konoha."

Atsui and the other two looked in the direction she was pointing, only to be astonished by a deep, dark shadow downwards. Their gazes swept over everything around them. An incredible thought suddenly emerged, causing all three to widen their eyes in unison.

"This… is the port?"

In their memories, this port, built jointly by the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Lightning, was a place of beautiful scenery, with green trees and river waves. Many fishing boats would dock on the river, and the trees would dye the water an emerald green, reflecting the vast, dark blue sky.

But now…

It was utterly silent and flat, leaving only a vast, empty wasteland.

Not bothering with the three stunned and bewildered figures, Samui crouched down and touched the ground. Feeling the distinct spiral scratches on the surface, a chill involuntarily rose in her heart.

Sure enough.

The port hadn't vanished overnight. Instead, everything on the surface of this area had been stripped away, like a pencil drawing on paper, erased clean by a rubber eraser, leaving only a desolate blankness.

Crack.

Atsui, subconsciously taking a step forward, seemed to step on something that made a crisp sound. He looked down and saw a piece of metal buried in the dirt. Picking it up, he wiped off the mud. Then, he finally saw the fine scratches on the metal and the blurred Hidden Cloud Village symbol.

"This is… a village forehead protector?" Atsui said with a shocked expression.

As if understanding something, Samui slowly stood up and walked towards a raised section of terrain in the distant darkness. The three behind her subconsciously followed, also pulling out their kunai and gripping them tightly, their footsteps becoming cautious. However, as they got closer to the raised ground, all four of them smelled a familiar, foul stench.

Splatter…

Samui stepped into a still-wet pool of blood on the ground, the dark red blood splattering onto her pant leg and staining it. Looking at the rotting flesh and bones under her feet, and the purple shredded hair soaked in blood, Samui fell into a silent contemplation.

"Purple hair…" Atsui's throat bobbed. His voice was dry. "This… this couldn't be Senior Toroi, could it?"

At these words, silence fell. One could only smell the stench, so thick it could be tasted on the tongue, and hear the rustling of the cold wind blowing past their ears. The moonlight on their bodies was neither warm nor hot. A gust of cold wind from the distance made everyone suddenly feel a chill.

The coldness and the scent of death permeated the air. With every breath, they could clearly feel that death was not just a concept, but a truly existing smell. They knew very well that if this pool of blood was from just one person, it would have to be a person literally drained dry. Such a death, even for them as ninjas, still caused a chill and a sense of fear and shock.

The formidable Magnet Release Ninja Toroi, a powerful ninja famous throughout the shinobi world, had died in such a bizarre and terrifying manner?

"Who did this? Konoha?"

Samui's heart was filled with alarm and uncertainty. As if thinking of something, she looked towards the deep pit in the distance. Her intuition told her that something was still hidden there.

Meanwhile, at Konoha Hospital, the moon hung high in the night sky outside the window. The corridor floor reflected a cold, clear light. Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in his Hokage robes, stopped outside a hospital room. He looked through the observation window into the room, his eyes flickering slightly.

Drip… drip…

Inside a white hospital room, fluid dripped from an IV bag. On a heart monitor, lines pulsed rhythmically. Akimichi Doto, lying on the hospital bed, slowly opened his eyes. His first reaction was a slight tingling in his calves. He lifted his head and saw a mess of black, long hair.

"Hmph…"

Hyuga Kawa sat on a chair at the foot of the bed, his head resting on Doto's leg, seemingly asleep. A faint snore even escaped his lips.

"This kid…" Akimichi Doto offered a wry smile, but at the same time, he felt a warmth in his heart. He glanced at the time on the wall. It had been an entire day since he had pushed himself back to Konoha and collapsed. If he wasn't mistaken, this kid had stayed by his bedside for the whole day.

"Cough cough!"

His burned throat itched slightly, and Akimichi Doto couldn't help but cough. Hyuga Kawa was startled awake, abruptly opening his eyes and sitting upright, looking at Akimichi Doto on the bed.

"Doto-senpai!"

Seeing Akimichi Doto coughing, Hyuga Kawa quickly grabbed medicine and offered it to him. "Your body now…"

Click.

The hospital room door opened. He instinctively turned to look. Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's face in the moonlight, Hyuga Kawa feigned a perfect moment of surprise and blurted out, "Third Hokage?"