The Parted Stream

The Land of Rivers was decorated with vegetation. Tall trees reached towards the heaven, masking their brown bark from the rays of the sun with thick, green leaves that showered them in shade. Wherever there weren’t trees, one could find a small creak, or a stream dripping down a mountain-side. It was truly beautiful. The last time Shichirou had arrived in the Land of Rivers, the trees weren’t as plentiful, the dead bodies of birds littered the earth, and the soil was dry and harsh as a desert. It had seemed that the Land made a recovery within the year, but it was no surprise.

Being a shinobi of Amegakure, he had witnessed the fall of the Eight-Legged Council, the declaration of Izaya as leader, his departure, and the reign of another ruler. Both were different nations—Amegakure is technologically advanced—but both had the same issues the other did. Despite decorating their country, and cleaning their rivers, the land of rivers would be forever forced to indure the tyranny of the Great Nations that bordered it. It was disposable to these larger nations that simply wanted to claim it to get to other lands, use it to supply their troops with medicines, have their soldiers rest in inns to recuperate.

Amagekure, like the Land of Rivers, had been forced to endure the disease, death, weapons, and insanity that succeeded the initial invasion and battles. During Shichirou’s reign, and by extension Izaya’s reign, Amegakure had become a legitimate nation, and their first order of business had been to expand. However, during the course of their invasion, they had encountered resistance. Konohagakure, the natural enemy to the Rain, decided to expand their borders beyond the rivers well into the Land of Wind to establish a more secure trading route between their allies. Both sides have fought to a stalemate; the commanders were called in for negotiations. A large ravine separated the two armies from one another, yet, despite their separation, each soldier tensely stood alert awaiting an attack from the other. In the front of the army, watching as his brunette hair flapped in the breeze stood the commander of the shinobi forces, Shichirou Chiyo, who had been their reason for success in the area. Though a notable shinobi, approximately Jonin-level, what allowed him to prevail during his battle was his cognition. Unlike most generals, Shichirou is a man of very few talents, and having a grasp of weakness is what allows him to effectively judge a situation for what it is. One of the shinobi spoke, “Sir, I believe that it is time to begin the negotiation.” Shichirou nodded in response. “Send a messenger bird. Tell him that I will meet him in the middle of the ravine within ten minutes. Inform him that it should just be us two; no one else,” he ordered.