The Land of Silence.
In an unnamed space.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki slowly opened his eyes.
He felt the power of the Ōtsutsuki again.
"Soon, I will reclaim everything that is mine."
Isshiki's eyes shifted... "This is the location of the space-time tunnel through the moon. Can it be reopened?"
In the space that once traversed the moon, Ninjas wearing the exclusive attire of exploration Ninjas were detecting their surroundings.
Exploration Ninjas, Ninjas holding this certification, could hire people for protective exploration in various countries.
They would not be directly expelled by that country.
This was a system established by the Ninja Association for different types of Ninjas.
"It's a bit difficult, but not impossible."
A Ninja familiar with space Ninjutsu said this.
"Be careful. If Konoha discovers us exploring illegally, we might be kicked out."
Exploration Ninjas are not allowed to use violent means for illegal exploration; they can only conduct protective exploration.
Otherwise, they would not be recognized by the Ninja Association.
This would give Konoha an excuse to expel them.
So they had to be careful.
But without violent exploration, it wouldn't work.
The space here was different from the outside space.
The Ninjas with spatial abilities they brought could only perform violent exploration.
"Why do we have to open the space tunnel? Can the things inside really make us stronger?" a Ninja asked doubtfully.
Ninjutsu training always involves learning.
It's not possible to become stronger just like that.
"As long as there's a sliver of possibility, we can't let it go.
Otherwise, how can we contend with the Five Great Nations?"
The leader Ninja said.
He was a Ninja from the Spring Country.
The Spring Country was like spring all year round, but its population was sparse.
This was because spring there was different from spring elsewhere.
Affected by an unknown force, only a small part of the Spring Country could be cultivated during spring.
And the recent establishment of the World Ninja Association was squeezing their country's living space.
It was about to assimilate their Spring Country.
They could only resort to this desperate measure.
They wanted to obtain power that could contend with the Five Great Nations.
"Understood, we will definitely complete the mission."
His subordinates replied... "They're too naive. As soon as they start violent Ninjutsu exploration, we'll escort them back."
In the shadows, Inuzuka Kiba led his newly formed team and spoke.
His team consisted of three people.
All of them were young Ninjas who had graduated in the past two years.
But they were also the cream of the crop in recent years.
All of them had special talents in a certain area.
With the establishment of the World Ninja Association, the method of evaluating titled Ninjas led to various countries' Ninjas reforming their Ninja learning methods.
Konoha was at the forefront of this.
The Ninja Academy had already launched a specialized Ninja training program.
In addition, the Ninjutsu training developed by Satoru had officially entered widespread use.
Current Ninjas not only included new Ninjas like Inuzuka Kiba, who had exceptionally strong abilities in certain areas and powerful combat capabilities.
Inuzuka Kiba had also begun his journey of leading a team.
"Understood."
The three young ones said seriously.
This was their first combat mission against Ninjas from other countries.
The establishment of the Ninja Alliance had made battles between Ninjas very rare.
Most battles were about dealing with wild beasts and Summoning Beasts in the wilderness.
Now they finally had a chance to use the combat abilities they learned in school.
They were quite excited.
Inuzuka Kiba grinned and muttered, "Heh heh heh, becoming Hokage starts with cracking down on bandits."
He hadn't fought in a long time either.
He felt his body was getting rusty, moving stiffly.
Boom!
Just then, the Ninjas from the Spring Country in the distance activated some kind of ritual.
The entire space vibrated.
From time to time, stalactites and other things fell down.
They landed on the lake below, making 'plop plop plop plop' sounds.
All around were various rune formulas.
"It's a success! In another fifteen seconds, we'll open the passage to the moon.
Then we'll see what kind of power moved the moon."
The Spring Country Ninja's face showed excitement.
The leader looked at the formula excitedly, his hands trembling.
He had put in a lot of effort to trick the Daimyo of the Spring Country into believing that if they didn't do this, the Spring Country would disappear.
In reality, the Spring Country showed no signs of disappearing.
Instead, after the establishment of the Ninja Association, it began to thrive.
Because the Ninjas of the Spring Country had special abilities that could provide plants with abundant nutrients, allowing them to grow better.
Within the Spring Country, food could only be cultivated in small areas.
However, outside, it could make cultivated food proliferate in large quantities, leading to high yields.
Ninjas from the Spring Country generally had a high probability of having the potential to obtain a one-star Ninja title in agriculture.
Their development could be very good.
It was only to gain power that he did such a thing.
He absolutely had to find that kind of power.
He also had special abilities; perhaps he could steal it.
Whoosh!
"Everyone, don't move."
Several Shuriken flew out, embedding themselves in the exposed parts of the formula runes.
"Secret Art: Barrier Disappearance Jutsu."
The unknown formulas around them suddenly broke, absorbed by the Shuriken.
The surrounding vibration also disappeared instantly.
"Who?"
The leader of the Spring Country looked at the newcomers in shock.
A young boy appeared before him.
Bang bang bang!
Just then, an explosion suddenly occurred in the air.
The Spring Country Ninjas seemed to be blown away by an invisible force.
Even their leader was no exception.
Swish swish!
In the direction they were blown, several Iron Wires suddenly appeared, encircling and entangling all of them.
There were also several talismans on them.
"How is this possible?"
When they tried to counterattack, their Chakra had already been sealed.
They couldn't move.
"A small country is just a small country. This power is too weak."
A boy walked out leisurely, holding the Iron Wire.
The power to seal enemies was his Chakra nature.
"It is indeed a bit weak."
The other two also walked out, a little disappointed.
They had thought that Ninjas from other countries would have some ability, but they didn't expect them to be so weak.
"It's not that they're weak, but that you're too strong.
Other countries don't have our Konoha's Ninja training technology.
Especially Sensei Satoru's Ninjutsu Training System, which has put our Ninja Academy far ahead of theirs.
You are very fortunate."
Inuzuka Kiba said to them.
Their training back then was not systematic enough; they didn't have the conditions that today's children have.
"Sensei Satoru, is that the one who founded the Ninja Association, the honorary chairman, the hero of the Ninja World, a rare three-star Ninja, the Deputy Director of the Technology Development Bureau? Teacher Kiba, do you know him?" The boy rattled off a string of titles.
The others' eyes also turned to Inuzuka Kiba.
This was a legendary figure! They didn't expect Teacher Kiba to actually know him!
"Heh heh, when I was little, he was my private tutor. Half of my strength is thanks to Sensei Satoru."
Inuzuka Kiba recalled his youth.
He was only five years old then, tricked by his older sister, father, and mother into studying.
He was also tricked by Sensei Satoru.
Sensei Satoru said that doing so would make him Hokage. Now, Akamaru still fondly remembers the dog festival.