Land of Lightning (Earth-1529)

The Land of Lightning is one of the five great nations, located on a peninsula northeast of the Land of Fire. The nation is a monarchy led the Lightning Daimyo and is home to most lightningbenders in the world. The nation consists of vast mountain ranges and coasts, where thunderstorms are always seen, giving the nation its name. From these mountains, countless of rivers flow to the Mo Ce Sea, creating a crooked coastline that showcases an oceanic beauty.

The Land of Lightning is the fourth biggest of the five great nations in terms of area, behind the Land of Air, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Fire, and before the Land of Water. It is home to the hidden village of Kumogakure, led by the Raikage.

Origins
During the Era of Raava, the Land of Lightning was home to a lion turtle who sheltered millions of humans on its shell. After Wan, the first Avatar, aided the Sage of Six Paths to seal Vaatu, the lion turtle unleashed the power of lightningbend across the land. As a result of the Avatar Cycle, the Land of Lightning would always be one of the five great nations to shelter their own Avatar, one of which was Kuruk.

Warring States Period and war
During the Warring States Period, the Land of Lightning was the place where Kumogakure was founded by the First Raikage. Shortly after the formation of the hidden villages across the world, the First Hokage of Konohagakure sold the Eight-Tails, which he had captured, to Kumo as a sign of peace. Despite this, war still came in the form of the First Great Shinobi World War. After the end of the war, the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage attempted to formally agree in peace between the villages, but their ceremony was interrupted by the Gold and Silver Brothers, leading to the deaths of both Kages.

Continuing conflicts
Decades later, during the Third Great Shinobi World War, Kumo, then led by the Third Raikage, and Konoha, then led by the Fourth Hokage, once again stood at opposing sides. After the Third Raikage died during the war against 10,000 enemy shinobi, Ay became his successor as the Fourth Raikage.

Despite its status as one of the five great shinobi villages, Kumogakure gained a rather negative reputation among all others. While the major hidden villages ractified a peace treaty to cut back military budhet and reduce the size of their forces in times of peace, Kumo secretly did not honor the agreement, and sought the chance to further improve their forces in the event another hidden village or nation decides to attack the Land of Lightning. To ensure being on top, Kumo's tactics included stealing secrets and kidnaping shinobi from other villages. The Third Tsuchikage stated that such practices only provoked the other villages to use the same tactics.

In 15 AG, shinobi from Kumogakure kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki to study her unique chi, but they were killed by Minato Namikaze. In 22 AG, Kumogakure sent one of its shinobi, Goten, seemingly to sign a peace treaty between the two villages. This act was in fact a cover to acquire the Byakugan by kidnapping Hinata Hyuga, in an event that became known as the Hyuga Affair. After Goten was killed by Hinata's father, Hiashi, Kumo still attempted to gain the Byakugan by feigning their knowledge over Goten's actions and threatening to start a war unless Hiashi's body wasn't turn over to make up for Goten's death. Instead, Hiashi's twin brother, Hiazashi, was given to Kumogakure instead, as his Byakugan was sealed after his death, thus enabling them from acquiring his secrets.

Another of Kumogakure's attempt to secure power for the Land of Lightning was through the tailed beasts. Historically, Kumo struggled to harness the power of the Eight-Tails, one of the two tailed beasts in their possession. The Jinchuriki that served as hosts to the creature were unable to gain control of it and eventually died, releasing the Eight-Tails and prompting it to rampage through the Land of Lightning by destroying everything on its path. However, duo to the Eight-Tails' value, many were killed while trying to seal it. Killer Bee, the most recent Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, as well as Yugito Nii, the Jinchuriki of the Two-Tails, were able to control and tame their tailed beasts, making them highly valuable assets for Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning. Among the nations of the world, the Land of Lightning have the best technology to control their tailed beasts, having built a whole temple for that specific task.

Fourth Great Shinobi World War
After the Akatsuki captured and killed Yugito in the Land of Lightning in 25 AG, they returned five months later and were also able to capture Bee to extract the Eight-Tails from him. Outraged by the loss of two of his village's Jinchuriki, including one being his own brother, Ay, the Third Raikage, called upon a Kage Summit for the nations to devise a plan on how to deal with the Akatsuki threat. While he was suspicious of the other villages duo to them having requested the Akatsuki's services in the past, Tobi's declaration of a Fourth Great Shinobi World War led the Lighning Daimyo to push for the five great nations' ineffective United Republic of Nations into a full-blown military force to deal with Tobi's forces. He was appointed Supreme Commander of the URN's United Forces, overseeing the UF's operations from the United Forces Headquarters at Republic City, in the Land of Fire.

Near the end of the war, the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure were victims of the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Nativity of a World of Trees. The nation was able to endure the attack, and after the war was won by the URN, Kumogakure started to closely work alongside the other major hidden villages at the behest of the Land of Lightning, improving once tense relationships. In 27 AG, two years after the war, the Land of Lightning and Kumo are still consolidating their power, but for the mutual benefit of all other nations and villages.

Locations

 * Island Turtle
 * Kumogakure
 * Land of Lightning Royal Palace
 * Raikage's Office
 * Tailed Beast Temple
 * Valley of Clouds and Lightning