Cycle of Life and Death (4)

A gentle spring rain fell as a middle-aged man sat in a wheelchair at the village entrance.

As time passed, it was now Konoha Year 1. The village had only just been founded.

Near the gates in the distance, an endless stream of people stretched as far as the eye could see. One clan after another, one person after another, slowly entered the village.

In Konoha Year 1, after beginning with only a few clans, the village's population began to grow explosively.

Kagami's father had suffered severe injuries in that final battle and could now only use a wheelchair.

The little girl Mei became Chen's personal driver.

Kagami's father was undoubtedly fortunate. Too many people had died during the Warring States Period. His wife, for instance, had died on the battlefield, as had Mei's parents.

Now, Chen, Mei, and Kagami depended on one another for survival.

Two seven- or eight-year-old children pushing a wheelchair looked rather comical, but none of the three cared. They simply basked in the sun and watched the people coming and going at the village entrance.

"That's the Ino-Shika-Cho three clans."

To avoid trouble, Chen pretended to have amnesia. Kagami therefore kept introducing things beside him, hoping to help him recover his memories.

The Ino-Shika-Cho of today was not yet the Ino-Shika-Cho of later generations. Though the three clans were also allied, their Clan Grounds could not truly be together. Unlike later, when they lived in the same village and had such close ties.

Of course, Ino-Shika-Cho truly rose to prominence by relying on the towering tree that was Konoha, growing stronger and stronger.

After all, the Nara Clan had never made a mistake when choosing sides.

"That's the Sarutobi Clan's leader." Mei peeled an orange as she pointed at a burly man with a full