Chương 40: Outside Konoha Village

How big is Konoha Village? That depends on how you define it. In the narrow sense, Konoha consists only of the large main urban area partially enclosed by high walls, plus some massive training grounds in the forest near the Hokage Rock—including the legendary Training Ground 44: The Forest of Death. This is the core protected zone of Konoha. From the shelters beneath the Hokage Rock to the surrounding walls, sensory barriers are in place.

Beyond the various training grounds on the perimeter, traps are densely packed, with ninja patrols crossing paths and performing regular maintenance. In the broad sense, Konoha is many times larger. Surrounding the main city are numerous villages, with farmlands and ranches interspersed between them, providing the inhabitants of Konoha with essential supplies like grain, meat, eggs, milk, and medicinal herbs. The Nara clan's deer-raising forest is located somewhere in this outer region.

Further out are specialized, bustling towns. Some are industrial, producing daily necessities for Konoha such as snacks, semi-processed foods, and household items; famous brands from here are sold throughout the Land of Fire and even the wider shinobi world. After all, where else would the potato chips and cup noodles that Choji and Naruto eat come from? Others are for entertainment and tourism, featuring casinos, hot springs, and izakayas.

While such places exist within Konoha, those inside are strictly regulated, unlike these outer ones which have a bit more...

"character." Konoha's status within the Land of Fire is unique. This vast territory is essentially a designated autonomous region under the jurisdiction of the Hokage, with complex interests tied to the various clans within the village. Konoha's primary function is to train shinobi and protect the safety of the Land of Fire, while the surrounding functional zones provide the necessary nutrients for this populous war fortress.

In short, besides the military funding allocated by the Daimyo, Konoha possesses its own stable internal economic cycle. This wasn't specifically built by Konoha but formed naturally after the village's founding as ordinary people gathered nearby seeking the protection of shinobi. As the population grew, Konoha intentionally guided this growth, slowly forming the complementary model seen today.

The advantage of this model is that it makes life much more convenient for the people of Konoha, forming a prosperous belt second only to the capital of the Land of Fire. The disadvantage is also obvious: Konoha is the least secretive of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. The other four would prefer to hide themselves as deeply as possible. A new day, morning, inside the Mission Hall. Dongye Zhen met up with his teammates and arrived here under the leadership of Yunmi Gekko.

Selecting a mission and processing the paperwork to leave the village was a simple process; over the past few days, the three members of the Yunmi Squad had been taught the routine by their sensei. The Mission Hall only handled D-rank, C-rank, and a few low-difficulty B-rank missions. High-difficulty B-rank missions and above were not found here; the Hokage's office would assign those directly to suitable squads based on intelligence. Consequently, the Hokage himself rarely appeared in the Mission Hall.

Only under special circumstances would he come to oversee things, and even then, it might just be a Shadow Clone. The Third Hokage was a very busy man; he couldn't sit here slacking off all day like an ordinary staff member. Isn't the crystal ball in his office much more appealing? Using a massive number of Shadow Clones to handle work like a model laborer was something likely only the Seventh Hokage would do; the body of an average person couldn't take it. Zhen scanned the Mission Hall.

There were many people like them picking up missions; a few squads had leading ninja, likely the new classes that graduated this year. Other teams consisted of only three people, with members who were significantly older. Arriving at the iconic Konoha Gate and verifying their departure permits, they stepped outside. Yugao Uzuki suddenly seemed much more cheerful, leaping to the top of a tree to look at the unfamiliar scenery in the distance, as if seeing a new world.

The village's management of shinobi was very strict; leaving the village without a mission or proper paperwork was equivalent to becoming a rogue ninja. Even before graduation, those in the ninja reserve were not allowed to leave without permission or an adult guardian. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She spread her arms and said happily, "So this is what the outside world looks like. It doesn't seem that different from the village."

Hayate Gekko was somewhat speechless.

"Of course there's no difference. The area you're looking at right now is still under Konoha's jurisdiction."

"Hey, Zhen-niisan, aren't you even a little curious about the outside world?" Zhen shook his head.

"No, I am curious. But we'll have plenty of time to explore in the future. Come down, we're heading out." Yunmi Gekko smiled but said nothing, leading the way off the main road. He leaped through the forest, heading straight east. This was the way of the shinobi. Roads? What were roads? To them, the shortest distance between two points was a straight line; they would never take the main roads meant for ordinary people and horse-drawn carriages. With chakra, everywhere was a path.

Efficiency was what they cared about most. The towns and villages surrounding Konoha were distributed like stars around a moon, none of them very far from the center. At a ninja's speed, it wouldn't take much time to reach them. However, they encountered another squad on the way. This team had only three members, all male, wearing ordinary clothes. The Konoha headbands on their foreheads identified them.

They had no leading ninja, and the youngest appeared to be fifteen or sixteen, while the oldest looked over twenty. Zhen recognized these three—not because they were famous, but because he had seen them in the Mission Hall earlier. Just as they had arrived, these three had finished their paperwork and left. They were quite friendly, and the eldest, who seemed to be the captain, called out warmly, "Yo, senior, and cute juniors! Are you heading out for a mission nearby too?"

Yunmi Gekko glanced at the three but said nothing, merely giving a smile and a nod in response before flashing past. Hayate was always a man of few words, and Yugao was only lively around those she knew well; they both responded with nods like Yunmi. From the beginning, the trio had defaulted to Zhen as their leader—even though Hayate had graduated a year earlier—which was a habit formed since childhood. Zhen replied simply, "Yeah, seniors! You too, right? Well then, let's all do our best! Goodbye!"

"Yeah, let's do our best together. Goodbye!" Zhen's group was faster, and they had no intention of staying to chat; the two parties separated instantly. Once they had gained some distance, Yugao Uzuki asked curiously, "Sensei, those seniors look quite old. Are they still Genin? They didn't seem to have a leading teacher." Yunmi Gekko explained to his disciples, "They are Genin. It's normal not to have a teacher. A leading Jonin isn't a babysitter; normally, they only lead new graduates for a year, two at most.

The subordinate relationship ends once the subordinates are promoted to Chunin."

"And if they aren't promoted to Chunin?" Zhen added quietly, "If they can't be promoted to Chunin within two years, then a leading Jonin certainly won't waste any more of their time." Yunmi Gekko said nothing, clearly silently agreeing with that statement. The shinobi world was realistic and cruel. The relationship between a leading Jonin and new graduates was essentially that of a superior and subordinates—an "experienced leading the new" dynamic.

The superior had a responsibility to provide further education to the recent graduates, including passing on experience and ninjutsu. But if the subordinates lacked talent, or if a sufficient bond wasn't formed with the Jonin, the Jonin wouldn't keep acting as a babysitter. They certainly wouldn't take them as disciples, which would establish a master-student bond that was nearly a total merging of interests. The future Twelve Genin were special; they shouldn't be taken as the standard for all squads.

Hayate Gekko then revealed a more authentic side of some shinobi to Yugao: "Those three are definitely a re-assembled team. My former leading Jonin said that some ninja not only have limited strength but also lack mental resilience. After seeing the cruel side of the shinobi world and witnessing the death of teammates, it's easy for shadows to be left in their hearts. From then on, they only dare to take low-level missions in the village to get by. I think those three are in that situation."

Yugao was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled happily again.

"Hey, Zhen-niisan, Hayate-niisan, let's make sure we never become people like that. Definitely!" Yunmi Gekko didn't offer her encouragement. He only silently hoped in his heart that after she and Zhen witnessed the true cruelty of the shinobi world, they would still be able to hold onto their beliefs and forge ahead.