Strange Village

"This village is in a really good location."

Uchiha Jin and the other two stood on a mountain peak, looking down at the village below.

This village's location was truly crucial. It stood at the border junction of the Land of Fire, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Grass.

And if Iwagakure wanted to come this way, they would definitely have to pass through this village.

Although the ninjas of the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls were weak, they were still nations.

Though ninjas and nobles jointly ruled those nations.

Nobles naturally held a higher status than ninjas.

If the daimyos of the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls complained to the daimyo of the Land of Earth, even cutting off Iwagakure's funding would be enough to make them suffer.

Naturally, if Iwagakure entered Konoha in large numbers, their route would have to run along the border between those two nations.

The border between the two nations was a no-man's-land. Though it counted as national territory, it was not actually governed by either country.

In that case, the daimyos of the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls would have nothing to say.

If the number of people was small, they could come and go freely as long as they were not caught red-handed.

Though it was forbidden on the surface, ninjas came and went without a trace. It was not something they could easily stop.

That way, it would not count as invading the two nations.

This route was also the main battlefield between Konoha and Iwagakure.

The Kannabi Bridge, where Minato Namikaze would deal with the Iwa ninjas in the future, was located along this route.

"They're pretty lucky."

Anyone passing through this place might end up covered in shuriken.

The fact that this village could still exist along this route made one have to marvel at their luck.

"Let's go."

Minato Namikaze and the other two swiftly ran toward the village. The smoke rising from cooking fires and the figures they could see showed that it was safe for now.

The three soon arrived at the village entrance.

An elderly man guarding the gate was dozing off.

"Snore..."

His snoring was deafening, and Jin could feel his eardrums vibrating.

Anyone who didn't know better would think a battle was going on somewhere.

And a Kage-level battle at that.

"Hiss." Jin suddenly thought of something and sucked in a breath.

"Don't tell me the old man's snoring scared off the Iwa ninjas?"

"Hiss!" Minato Namikaze also looked shocked.

Terrifying indeed.

"You two! Use your brains!!"

Thud! Thud!

Jin and Minato Namikaze rubbed the bumps on their heads and stared at the steam rising from Kushina's fists.

The brainless one had beaten up the two with brains.

Was there any justice in this?

"We were just saying."

"Just saying?"

Minato Namikaze looked at Jin in surprise.

Kushina's forehead veins bulged faintly.

The commotion between the three woke the sleeping old man. He opened his eyes and looked at them in confusion.

"Where did these kids come from? Go play somewhere else."

He waved them away with utter disdain, closed his eyes, and tried to go back to sleep.

"Can't you see I'm guarding the gate?"

They absolutely could not!

How could this village still exist like this? There was simply no justice in the world.

"Hello, Grandpa. We're from Konoha and came to learn about the situation here," Minato Namikaze asked with a smile.

Only then did the old man fully wake up. Seeing the forehead protectors the three wore, he shot to his feet and suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The ninja lords are here!"

That one sentence seemed to activate some incredible switch. In an instant, countless figures came rushing out of the village.

A dark mass of people.

The three immediately went on guard, drawing their kunai and aiming them at the crowd.

Fortunately, those figures stopped some distance away.

The poorly dressed villagers stared at the three with shining eyes.

It was... rather frightening.

A simple-looking, honest-faced man stepped forward, his face piled with smiles.

"Three young ninja lords, I'm the Village Chief of this village. Please ask me anything you wish."

Faint discussions could be heard behind him.

"The ninja lords are so tiny! They look so cute!"

"Those two boys are handsome too. They'll definitely grow into great-looking men."

"That girl is the cutest. I really want to hold her in my arms."

The last person to speak was a burly man.

Kushina shuddered.

That was definitely a pervert!!

So scary! This village was terrifying!

The honest-looking Village Chief scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed.

"Because the ninja lords of Konoha have always looked after our village, everyone is very enthusiastic toward ninja lords."

Wasn't this a little too enthusiastic?

Jin helplessly watched the villagers with their burning gazes. Even he could not help taking a few steps back.

He was afraid that if he wasn't careful, these villagers would tear him apart.

Why hadn't they mentioned this when assigning the mission!?

As the team leader, Minato Namikaze could not retreat. He could only force himself to speak with the Village Chief and gather intelligence.

"Village Chief, I received information that Rogue Ninjas often appear around here."

"That is true." The Village Chief's expression turned more serious as he nodded. After all, it concerned the village's safety.

"A few months ago, Rogue Ninjas did appear nearby quite often. But after several ninja lords came to investigate, those Rogue Ninjas disappeared without a trace."

The Village Chief's words could only be treated as partially reliable intelligence. They would have to investigate the rest themselves.

"We came to confirm it again. We may have to trouble everyone for the next few days."

Minato Namikaze forced a smile, because as soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted from the crowd behind him.

He had never encountered something like this before.

It made his scalp tingle.

"Of course, of course."

The Village Chief nodded repeatedly, looking afraid they might run away.

If the three had not still been holding their kunai, the Village Chief might have rushed over and picked all three of them up.

The Village Chief enthusiastically led the way for them, while everyone else continued following. The intense stares were truly more than the three could bear.

Seeing their discomfort, the Village Chief's face darkened as he shouted at the others.

"What are you looking at? Go do what you're supposed to do!"

At his shout, the others reluctantly dispersed.

After all, Konoha ninjas did not appear often.

Who knew when they would get another chance to see them?

Jin watched everyone leave one by one without looking back, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

Something felt wrong, but he could not put his finger on it.

The Village Chief led the three to a house.

"This is a residence specially built for ninja lords. I live next door, so just call out if you need anything and I'll come right over."

"Thank you for the trouble."

The Village Chief's enthusiasm made Minato Namikaze feel embarrassed.

"Not at all. Without you, how could we live so peacefully?"

The Village Chief hurriedly waved his hands, his attitude full of gratitude.

After thanking them for quite some time, the Village Chief finally left, leaving only the three of them inside the house.

"Very strange." Jin found the state of this village strange.

Minato Namikaze nodded in agreement.

"Indeed."

"What are you two talking in riddles about?!" Kushina did not understand anything at all.

"I think the villagers are very enthusiastic. What's strange about that?"

It was the first time Kushina had received such treatment, and she even enjoyed it a little. It was for this kind of support that she had to become Hokage.

"They're too enthusiastic."

Jin shook his head.

"Is enthusiasm bad?"

Kushina still did not understand, but all she got in response was a look from Jin as if he were looking at an idiot.

That made Kushina furious.

"What kind of look is that? Got the guts to fight me one-on-one?!"

She still had not properly settled the score with him over what happened last time.

Jin turned his head away.

"My family told me not to play with idiots!?"

"Your family?" Kushina looked at Jin in confusion. Wasn't he the only one left in his family? What family was he talking about?

Wait!!? Jin was calling her an idiot!!?

"I'll fight you!"

Kushina rose up again. With the Monstrous Strength Technique, she was no longer the same as before.

But before she could charge at him—

"Little White, bite her."

A small white snake shot out from Jin's collar. A familiar creature, a familiar motion, a familiar target.

"My nose! Let go of my nose!!"

Kushina covered her nose and ran back and forth, trying to yank the little white snake off with force, but afraid of leaving a wound on her nose.

Bang!

Running around without watching where she was going, she slammed into a pillar. Only then did Little White release her and crawl down to Jin's feet before climbing up his leg.

She never learned.

Kushina stared at the ceiling, touching the fresh wound on her nose. She felt like crying. She had actually been bullied by a white snake.

"Enough, Kushina." Minato Namikaze stepped in to mediate. If those two started fighting, he had no room to interfere at all.

He also explained to Kushina.

"Ordinary civilians are usually more afraid of ninjas. Villages like this rarely show such respect toward ninjas."

They were the kind of village most likely to witness the cruelty of ninjas.

That left Kushina even more confused.

"But didn't they say it was because Konoha ninjas had always looked after them?"

"Idiot." Jin mocked her without mercy.

"The most important things for an outpost are concealment and gathering intelligence. How could they possibly spend time and effort maintaining a village unless everyone in that village was one of their own?"

But the people who assigned the mission had not said anything about them being allies.

"So this village..."

Jin and Minato Namikaze both wore serious expressions.

"Is definitely not as simple as it appears."

In the silent village late at night, with no one in sight.

Jin and the other two concealed themselves in the darkness, leaping swiftly across the rooftops.

The three were searching for what was strange about this village.

But the entire village appeared completely normal. After searching for most of the night, the three found nothing.

"If only we had a detection ninjutsu."

Jin sighed. Though he had deduced another new technique, unfortunately, it was not a detection type.

"Detection ninjutsu? I have one!?"

Kushina gave Jin a strange look.

"You have a detection ninjutsu?!"

Jin and Minato Namikaze both stared at Kushina in surprise.

"Why didn't you say so sooner!!"

Kushina scratched her cheek. "Didn't I say?"

She remembered saying it.

"You must have said it in a dream."

Jin rolled his dead-fish eyes.

Kushina snorted and raised her fist.

"Hurry up and use it. Why are you dawdling around here like a girl?"

"I am a girl!"

"I never would've known if you hadn't said so."

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Alright, alright."

Minato Namikaze hurriedly stopped the two from fighting again. Being their captain really wasn't easy.

"Kushina, please scout the area."

Kushina gave Jin a cold snort before forming hand seals with both hands.

"Mind's Eye of the Kagura!"

Her eyes suddenly widened.

"Enemy ninja!!"

"Where?"

"Beneath our feet!!"