Konoha, Here I Come

Being alive was a wonderful thing!

Being able to set foot on solid ground with his own two legs was even more delightful. The anguish of his clan's destruction had faded somewhat as well.

A port in the Land of Fire, a fairly prosperous little coastal city.

"Katsuki, don't push yourself. Don't leave yourself with any lasting complications." Kushina looked worriedly at Katsuki's legs, considering whether she should shove her little brother back into his wheelchair.

"Pah! Pah! Pah! Bad words don't count, good words come true." Katsuki spat twice in quick succession, his face scrunched up. When would his sister ever fix this habit of blurting things out? "Sis, what nonsense are you saying? I feel perfectly fine now. We're Uzumakis."

Kushina gave an awkward laugh, realizing that what she had just said was inappropriate. Her eyes darted about, and when she spotted strange new things she had never seen on the street, she immediately changed the subject.

Watching the siblings run about the streets, Sakumo finally breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally returned to the Land of Fire. Once he delivered these two precious children back to the village, his mission would be complete.

"Captain, are the Uzumaki Clan really this freakish?" The only medical ninja in the group, an ANBU wearing a fox mask, sounded thoroughly depressed.

As a medical ninja, he had treated countless injured shinobi, but he had never seen such terrifying regenerative abilities as Katsuki's. Both legs had suffered comminuted fractures, yet after only five days drifting at sea, he was already bouncing around again.

He felt as if his entire worldview had taken a fatal blow. He seriously doubted whether this red-haired brat was even human. How could a normal person possibly be this freakish?

"Mm! I'm not entirely sure either, but I suppose it should be true." Sakumo was equally astonished by Katsuki's monstrous vitality. But then he considered that only someone equally monstrous could serve as a Jinchuriki and suppress a creature like a tailed beast, and the thought made it easier to accept.

The journey continued in silence.

Before the sun set, the group arrived at Konoha. Sakumo and his subordinates gave a perfect demonstration of what a human train was—their speed was absurdly fast.

Shaking his dizzy head, Katsuki jumped down from an ANBU's back. Kushina looked much the same. The siblings were practically carsick. This human train was certainly fast, but its shock absorption was terrible. The fact that they had not thrown up was already impressive enough.

"Konoha is right ahead. Hold on a little longer. Once we're back in the village, you can get some proper rest." Sakumo gently encouraged the siblings.

Katsuki frowned, enduring the nausea in his stomach as he gazed at the tall walls and gates ahead—the sight he had seen countless times on a screen. The green-vested guards standing watch at the entrance filled him with emotions too complex to describe. Living on that little island in the Land of Whirlpools, he had not felt it so deeply. But now that he truly saw this iconic scene, bitterness, sweetness, sorrow, and joy all flooded his heart at once.

So he had truly come to this world of bloodshed and violence.

With Sakumo and the Hokage's directly subordinate ANBU leading the way, the green-vested guards at the gate naturally did not dare come looking for trouble. They merely watched curiously as thirteen ANBU escorted two children into the village, secretly wondering who these two kids were.

As they passed through the bustling streets, Kushina was uncomfortable with the tide-like crowds. She gripped Katsuki's hand tightly, afraid they might get separated.

Katsuki sighed helplessly. With Sakumo and such a group of monsters beside them, how could they possibly get lost? Did she not see how wisely the pedestrians were making way for them? The shinobi mixed among the crowd watched their party curiously as well.

Perhaps feeling that being watched like this undermined the ANBU's secrecy, Sakumo tucked Kushina and Katsuki under his arms, one in each hand. With a tiger-like leap, he landed directly on the rooftops, then began hopping from roof to roof. Their speed surged once more, and they soon arrived before that round, crimson building.

The Hokage Building.

This fiery red building was Konoha's true landmark, the place where successive Hokage handled administration. It was the nerve center of Konoha, a village of several hundred thousand people.

Inside the Hokage's office, thick smoke curled through the air. Of course, it was not a fire. The Third Hokage was simply smoking.

The Hokage was one of the five great powers of the shinobi world and vaguely ranked as their leader. He was Konoha's highest administrative official and military commander, a formidable figure who held both political and military authority in his grasp. A single word from him could determine the lives and deaths of thousands upon thousands.

Yet even a person of such stature had troubles unknown to ordinary people.

This shinobi village, founded by the Ninja God Hashirama Senju and Konoha's demon Madara Uchiha through their unmatched power, had inherited their strength as well.

There was no need to mention the Senju and Uchiha, the two peak clans of the shinobi world. Konoha's open policies had also attracted many powerful clans, granting it exceptionally formidable Kekkei Genkai and Secret Technique clans. Of the Three Great Dōjutsu, two were in Konoha, while the remaining one was practically the stuff of myths and legends.

But strength was strength. Konoha occupied the most fertile and prosperous land on the continent, sat at its center, and controlled vital transportation routes. It could hardly have been more favored, but this also made it the fuse for war. No shinobi world war ever lacked Konoha's involvement—or rather, shinobi world wars were fought around Konoha...

Think about it. The Land of Lightning had towering mountains, the Land of Earth had its barren yellow soil, and the Land of Wind had it even worse, with sand everywhere. Then look at the Land of Fire's rich, fertile lands. How could that not make others envious? Who would be willing to eat sand for the rest of their life...

Thus, aside from the First Hokage, the next two Hokage had both worried over how to maintain balance among the Five Great Nations and avoid being besieged by the other four. Konoha was indeed powerful, but it could not truly fight two or three nations at once.

One-on-one was easy enough. One against two was manageable. One against three meant risking everything. As for one against four... heh, perhaps only legendary shinobi like Hashirama and Madara could pull that off!

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, known as the "Shinobi Hero," sat in his chair with a deeply troubled expression. There had been far too many worries lately. Those savages in the northeastern mountains had started making moves again, while the turban-wearing lot in the western desert were also far from peaceful, constantly stirring up trouble in the Land of Rivers.

That alone would have been manageable. Whether north or west, several small countries lay between them, so matters should not escalate anytime soon. What troubled him most was the Land of Rain. Amegakure, that village practically about to grow mold from its endless rain, had produced a monster like Hanzō. Worse, the Land of Rain directly bordered the Land of Fire, and its location was far too sensitive...

The Land of Rain was currently a powder keg that could explode at any moment. Hiruzen had been so busy planning how to deal with that demigod that his head was about to split. Yet at such a critical time, their little brother, the Land of Whirlpools, had been beaten senseless by the Mist Ninja. Even if the Shinobi Hero were made of iron, he could not endure such a pounding!