Land of Redaku

The is a small, distant country first mentioned in Kakashi Retsuden.

Overview
Millions of years ago, the territory that would become the Land of Redaku was predominately wetlands roamed by dinosaurs; the only identified types are Pterosaur, Ornithopoda, and Pachycephalosauria, with others matching descriptions of Tyrannosaurus and a non-specific titanosaur. At some point a meteorite struck the region, wiping the dinosaurs out. As the earth shifted over the following millennia, the wetlands changed into a vast mountain range, at the summits of which the dinosaurs' fossilized remains can commonly be found. Humans that dig up these fossils more generically refer to them as "dragons".

The Land of Redaku lies in a valley high in the mountains. It is almost entirely cut off from the outside world, partly because of the mountains that surround the country, but also because of how remote it is: it takes over two weeks to travel there from the Land of Fire. Redaku in fact does not share its borders with any neighbouring countries. The original settlers of Redaku did this deliberately, as they knew that to have neighbours will inevitably lead to war. Redaku is therefore incredibly peaceful, such that most citizens never experience any sort of physical conflict, the country has no standing army, and the very idea of war is difficult to process. These peaceful conditions made Redaku a favourite of the Sage of Six Paths, who would often visit the country with the tailed beasts.

Because of its remoteness and its lack of neighbouring countries to trade with, Redaku must be self-sufficient; the country's settlements grow their own crops and raise their own livestock, which are relied upon to sustain them through the winters. Redaku is much less developed than other parts of the world, with many of its buildings being made out of mud, rocks, and bricks. Traders travel to Redaku at times, but their most valued goods are tales about shinobi, the stories about the Sixth Hokage being especially favoured by children. Citizens of Redaku enjoy hearing about the battle-loving shinobi because it is so different from their own lives, but the stories are commonly perceived as fairy tales, jutsu in particular being thought of as an impossible magic.

Redaku is an arid country, having incredibly hot summers and incredibly cold winters. There is in fact not enough naturally-occurring water in the country for its people to live off of, with the area surrounding the capital city being particularly vulnerable to drought; although conditions are not as bad in some of the outlying settlements, these settlements rely on the capital city for their own survival. To alleviate this, the Sage of Six Paths gave the Shuigu to Redaku's royal family, and in the centuries that followed the country's monarchs have borne the responsibility of using the Shuigu to provide water to the people. A year prior to the events of Kakashi Retsuden, Redaku's King dies suddenly, and the knowledge of how to use the Shuigu is apparently lost. The resulting lack of water in the capital causes a famine, which motivates the country's Prime Minister to plan an invasion of the Land of Fire in order to acquire a new source of water.

Nagare Village
is a small settlement near Redaku's border, taking three days to get there from the capital by horseback. The village is built on the slope of the country's valley, so one cannot get anywhere from the village without going uphill or downhill. Nagare is the closest settlement in Redaku to the Land of Fire, making it the selected staging area for the Prime Minister's planned invasion. Nanara, the previous King's son, convinces the villagers to oppose the invasion, leading them to rebel against the Prime Minister's makeshift army: although some of the village is damaged in the fighting, nobody dies, as none are willing to kill their own countrymen. The villagers prevail against the army, the invasion is called off, the Prime Minister is arrested for his actions, and Nanara (with help from Kakashi Hatake) rediscovers how to control the Shuigu.

Trivia

 * "Redaku" is written with retsu (烈), which can mean "extreme", and taku (陀), which means "steep". The former character may reference Redaku's extreme temperatures, while the latter may reference the mountains surrounding it.