60BKM: The End of An Era

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.