Kumogakure's Early History

Kumogakure's history is complex and vast, built upon the foundations of war and technological advancements. Kumogakure began its start as two villages built two hundred and sixty years prior to the unification of the nations by the Kage, and has gone through vast advancements in different forms of technology from these villages, from weapons to methods of transportation and agricultural advances. Its history was cruel and grueling for those who lived through it, but the people were able to endure through the periods of war and conflict the two villages fought against each other. The wars would come to an end after nearly two centuries of conflict, and Kumogakure would be created upon the foundations of both villages. This is the history of how the two villages fought towards eventual unity.

Higakure and Hotarugakure, Kumogakure's Foundations
Two hundred and sixty years before the unification of the five nations by the first Kage, the Land of Lightning was beginning its prosperous period with the creation of two villages. Higakure, the village hidden within the clouds, and Hotarugakure, the village hidden within the lightning. Legends say construction began on both villages at the exact same time, each sharing the exact same building plans. As such, both villages were exactly identical. The building processes took six years before both were completely constructed, and it was rough. Ancient building methods required the builders to cart large stones and wood on poorly constructed wagons, which were prone to falling apart. This delayed building by two years from the expected four years. The Land of Lightning's notorious weather took the lives of quite a few of the builders, either by being struck by lightning, pelted by hail, killed by gusts of wind or whatever else the country's dangerous weather had in store for them. After six arduous years, the villages were finally complete as the last stone was simultaneously placed on both villages.

The villages featured technological breakthroughs in building construction, including specially packed stones that helped protect against the Land of Lightning's harsh winds. Having heard rumors of the fledgling Konohagakure expanding trade routes, Hotarugakure and Higakure decided to do the same, though it would be met with mixed success over the coming years. Within days, villagers from the smaller, less technologically villages, each began going to Higakure and Hotarugakure. Within a month, both villages reached maximum population capacity, each capping out at a thousand people from all the small villages that dotted the Land of Lightning. Eventually, these villages were torn down and used to expand on the two villages as they were no longer inhabited. Ten years later, in 244BKM (Before Kage Meeting), each village elected a leader. Higakure named their leader the Kumouja, or Cloud King, while Hitarugakure named their leader the Raiouja, or Lightning King.

Each expanded their respective villages with great pride, though their relationships were slowly becoming strained. Feeling the pressure of expansion, Hotarugakure threw the first stone on 219BKM, sparking the first of many battles against the two as both villages vied to take control over the other. Neither of them were able to overcome the other, their battle strength equally matched. Every one of their battles ended in stalemate until a slight lull in the year 190BKM, when the two villages began expanding on their technological breakthroughs. The discovery of iron from both villages allowed for the creation of things like cooking ranges and useful creations such as weapons and gardening tools, which in turn provided better farming methods. What the two didn't know, but would come to learn, is that this discovery would ignite conflict between the two villages all over again.

Technology Advances, War Begins
Following the events preceded by the discovery of iron, Higakure and Hotarugakure found themselves at war with each other. Starting in 182BKM, two Higakure assassins killed one of the Councillors that aided the Raiuja. This sparked a war between the two villages, one much more brutal than the minor conflicts the two villages had in the past. But like the rest of the conflicts, the war ended in stalemate on the year of 180BKM (Before Kage Meeting), after two years of showing no progression between either side. The Kumouja and Raiuja agreed on a temporary truce to allow their villages to recover from the war that brought destruction to their villages. This time was taken to both repair and improve the villages' infrastructures. During this time, more and more discoveries were being made that improved both villages. Improved transportation allowed for more efficient carrying of iron from the mines where the villages gathered iron from, which was extremely plentiful in the mountains surrounding the Land of Lightning.

Suits of armor were being crafted from the armor, sparking a vast improvement in protection by replacing the old, wooden and thick paper armor used in the past. Amongst the technological improvements, social and economic improvements were taking place as well. Exporting iron to the surrounding villages helped provide new opportunities of trade. The villages would trade iron for important crops that their villages needed. As social bonds began to be formed, families began forming within the villages, which further exasperated the need for expansion. But as both villages were flanked by mountain walls, they couldn't expand outward. This proved to be a problem for both villages as population caps began increasing demand for supply they didn't have. This forced a migration of some of the villagers, some of which would come to found the village of Iwagakure. The pressure to expand sparked another conflict between both villages, bringing another war upon the villages, this one just as brutal as the last.

The constant wars were beginning to wear down on the two kings on the year of 138BKM, the sixth in their hierarchies since the founding of the villages, both of which were hard stressed to come up with a solution. The only solution they could find was absorbing the other village into one village. This would prove difficult as both villages fought tooth and nail to protect their well being. Those who didn't fight, fled to other villages like Konohagakure, which was already a very large village even in its early days, as it had much more land to expand on than the two villages upon the Land of Lightning. This war would once again end in a stalemate and only brought economic ruin to both villages. The year was 61BKM, and both villages were looking at a bleak future after one hundred and twenty years of different wars. Both kings were worried the wars would only drive them to extinction, but with peace treaties no longer an option, all they could do was fight until one side eventually surrendered.

The End of An Era, Kumogakure's Creation
The year 60BKM saw the Land of Lightning villages Higakure and Hotarugakure leading towards economic downfall. Nearly two hundred years of conflict has rendered their villages two of the most dangerous in the world, in a time when the Warring States Period was just beginning. During this way, Higakure and Hotarugakure were waging war against each other, hoping to finally absorb one another into one village to rule. But either side were completely unwilling to give up their village and kept fighting. In the years to come, many villagers would either escape from the villages or hide in their homes, not going anywhere, meaning exports were no longer being shipped which meant no imports for both villages, further pushing the villages to economic ruin. In the year 27BKM, Hotarugakure sent a small group of bandits to watch over Higakure and see what it was like on the inside and what they're up against. They would investigate the village for a year until finally making their retaliatory attack on a small home. This home housed a three year old Ite Shitoyaka and her parents. Though the bandits never saw Ite, the bandits killed her parents in their sleep before trying to escape. They were spotted by neighbors who noticed blood on them. After finding out they were Hotarugakure assassins, war once again broke out between the two villages.

This would serve as the final war between the two, and the longest. Lasting sixteen years, this was the year Hotarugakure began pushing against Higakure, having the aid of a powerful warlord. For years, the two fought against each other, but Hotarugakure was proving to be the dominant force, pushing back Higakure's forces into hiding. While this is happening, young Ite was being trained in the many ways of archery, completely oblivious of the war taking place. Her skills in archery reached their peak when she was nineteen, and this was the day she'd be pulled into the war. She was alone, as the Hotarugakure warlord had essentially pushed them back time and time again. Hotarugakure's army was large, having gained a large morale boost from the warlord. The army were somewhat entertained by the idea of only having to face up against just one archer, even laughing about the whole ordeal. Ite, on the other hand, was not laughing. Her hands were steady, her back quiver full with special arrows tucked in the sash of her kimono. The Hotarugakure forces were about to see a form of archery they had never seen before, one pioneered by Ite by countless forms of archery that were already ancient when the two villages were being built. She combined all of these into a single style of archery she called Yokujinwagou (弋人和合, Lit. Archer's Harmony).

With a bundle of arrows in her draw hand, she fired arrow after arrow with quick, perfect precision. The Hotarugakure forces weren't expecting her to display the master of archery she demonstrated against her enemy. Her arrows never missed, each one making their mark. Despite this, none of her arrows killed, only wounded. But the wounds she inflicted was more than enough to put the opposing forces out of the fight. The Higakure forces found the inspiration they needed to continue fighting back. Wishing to follow Ite's methods, the forces chose only to wound their opposition instead of kill. While the Higakure forces dealt with the remaining forces, Ite went after the warlord. The warlord utilized many forms of combat, including archery. The warlord fired a single arrow towards Ite, which she caught and fired back. The warlord did the same, catching the arrow, but putting it back in his quiver. The warlord came at her with unbridled skill in his sword. Ite had no training in kenjutsu, so she did not know how to fight back against the sword. All she could do was avoid the blade's swaths of damage, which she found difficult given the speed at which the warlord was capable of swinging his sword. Eventually, she found an opening. As the warlord attempted a vertical slash, she moved out of the way, his sword landing into the ground. Pushing the blade further into the ground, Ite pushed away from the sword, pulling her backwards as she fired an arrow straight into a nerve in the warlord's arm, paralyzing him.

Aiming her bow against the warlord's head, the warlord declared the surrender. The wars were finally over thanks to Ite's inspirational push. Two long days of combat were finally over and Higakure emerged victorious, finally breaking the stalemate between the villages. The next day, Ite approached the Kumouja, recommending the merging of both villages into one and recommended the same with the Raiuja. After a week of discussion. an agreement was finally put into place. Both villages would merge, not just by structure, but by followings as well. The village would keep its name, but the leader would bear the name of the land. The Kumouja's son was granted leadership over the new village, which he named Kumogakure, after the Kumouja, and claimed the title Raikage, after the Raiuja, further providing the unity between both villages. Construction began the next day to merge both villages, and after two years of construction, the village was finally completed on 5BKM.