Path Of War

Chapter 20: Land of Rivers

Arthur slung a backpack over his shoulder.

Inside it were the trade agreement letter and other essentials Hiruzen had equipped him with. Clutched in his hand was a detailed map of his destination, a safe route to take that would be a three-day journey on foot.

As he approached the village gates, the familiar faces of Kotetsu and Izumo came into view. Arthur ignored them; he was not in the mood to play pretend again. He gradually walked past to take his first step out of the village.

It felt like ages since he'd roamed these lands. Beyond the gates was a ribbon of packed earth winding through the dense forest.

Arthur quickened his pace, his legs leaping from tree to tree as if it were second nature.

The Land of Rivers is a hidden country bordering the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire. It doesn't appear much in the story, but Arthur knew of two specific characters that would help him grow stronger: Raiga Kurosuki and his companion, Ranmaru.

Raiga is a member of the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist," the top swordsmen from the Hidden Mist Village. Only the most skilled blade wielders were chosen for this group, with a maximum of seven members at a time.

Each swordsman wields a special, mystical blade that has been passed down through the generations. These swords are so powerful that together, the Seven Swordsmen were almost as strong as the village leader, known as the Mizukage.

Over time, the group underwent many changes. Some members died, while others defected and became wanted ninjas, taking their swords with them. By the Fourth Shinobi World War, only one of the original swords, Hiramekarei, remained in the Mist Village's possession.

During the war, five of the deceased Seven Swordsmen were revived to fight for the enemy. These revived swordsmen were eventually defeated and sealed.

In the aftermath of the war, the remaining six swords were recovered by the village. However, a group of rebels tried to steal the swords and take over the territory. Their attempt failed, but the village did loan the swords to three of the captured rebels to help them fight a new threat.

The seven swords themselves are incredibly powerful and have unique abilities. These include a sword that can absorb chakra, one that can be used to sew people together, and another that can explode things on contact.

Raiga just so happened to be one of these Seven Swordsmen. He was a skilled ninja from the Mist Village, wielding the Boltswords. Despite his skills, he was troubled and questioned the meaning of life. And he was also known for his cruelty, randomly killing people during missions.

Raiga had also served in the Anbu forces before defecting. During this time, he met Ranmaru, a weak but perceptive boy with a special Kekkei Genkai to see things others couldn't.

Raiga offered Ranmaru protection in exchange for using his abilities to help him see. Since then, the two have become very close, with Raiga developing a very unhealthy relationship with the boy, seeing Ranmaru as the only person he cared about.

He eventually deserted the village and formed a criminal group called the "Kurosuki Family." They took over a mining town and forced the villagers to work for them, for which he resorted to burying people alive as punishment if they upset him.

Ranmaru, despite his loyalty to Raiga, was troubled by the violence. He believed Raiga could find happiness without killing but wouldn't come to that decision until Naruto's intervention.

Arthur couldn't afford to be reckless around those two. His priority was to find them first, without drawing unwanted attention. Heading to the Katabami Gold Mine was his best chance of finding them.