Outside Konoha

How big is Konoha? That depends on how you define it.

In the narrow sense, Konoha consists only of the sizable main city area partially enclosed by tall walls, plus some large training grounds in the forests near the Hokage Rock, including the legendary Death Forest No. 44.

This is Konoha's primary defense zone. From the shelters beneath the Hokage Rock to the surrounding walls, sensory barriers are installed. The outer perimeters of the various large training grounds are densely packed with traps, with ninjas conducting regular patrols and maintenance.

In the broad sense, Konoha is many times larger. Outside the main city, numerous villages, farmlands, and pastures are interspersed, supplying the people inside Konoha with essential goods like grain, meat, eggs, milk, and medicinal herbs.

The Nara Deer Farm is located somewhere out in that area.

There are also some distinctive bustling towns nearby, some industrial in nature, producing daily necessities for Konoha—things like snacks, semi-processed foods, and household items. Well-known brands sell well across the Land of Fire and even the Shinobi World.

Otherwise, where would Choji's potato chips and Naruto's instant noodles come from?

Others are entertainment and tourism-oriented, such as casinos, hot springs, and izakayas. Konoha has these establishments too, but they're all legitimate, unlike those outside, which have a bit more "flavor."

Konoha holds a special position in the Land of Fire. This vast area functions like an autonomous region, large in scope, under the jurisdiction of the Hokage, while also entangled in complex interests with the village's major clans.

Konoha's main purpose is to train ninjas and protect the Land of Fire's security.

The surrounding functional zones provide the nourishment needed for this populous war fortress.

In short, aside from the military expenses allocated by the Daimyo, Konoha itself operates a stable internal circulation system.

This wasn't deliberately built by Konoha. After its founding, ordinary people gathered spontaneously around it seeking protection from ninjas.

As the population grew, Konoha guided the development, gradually forming today's complementary model.

The advantage of this model is that it makes life more convenient for Konoha's residents, creating a prosperous belt second only to the Land of Fire's capital, centered on Konoha.

The downside is obvious: Konoha has the worst secrecy among the Five Great Ninja Villages. The other four Great Ninja Villages would rather hide themselves as deeply as possible.

A new day, morning, inside the Mission Hall.

Higashino Shinichi met up with his teammates and, led by Yugao Gekko, arrived here.

Selecting a mission and going through the procedures to leave the village was simple. Over the past few days, the three members of the Yun Jian Squad had followed their teacher and been taught the process.

The Mission Hall only had D-rank, C-rank, and a few low-difficulty B-rank missions. High-difficulty B-rank missions and above weren't here; the Hokage Office would directly assign them to an appropriate squad based on intelligence.

So, 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 was a busy old man. He couldn't just sit around here all day like an ordinary staff member slacking off. Wasn't his Crystal Ball in the office tempting enough?

Using a ton of Shadow Clones to handle work, acting like a model worker—that was probably something only the Seventh Hokage would do. An ordinary person's body couldn't handle it.

Higashino Shinichi looked around the Mission Hall. There were quite a few people here to pick up missions, just like them. A few teams had squad leader teachers, probably this year's newly graduated squads.

Some teams only had three members, and the ninjas were older.

Arriving at the iconic Konoha Gate, they verified their exit permits and stepped outside. Uzuki Yugao suddenly seemed much livelier. She leaped to the top of a tree, gazing at the unfamiliar scenery as if seeing a new world.

Ninja villages had strict management over their ninjas. Leaving the village without a mission or proper procedures was equivalent to becoming a rogue ninja.

Even before graduation, ninja trainees couldn't leave without permission or an adult escort.

She spread her arms and said happily, "So this is what the outside world looks like. Doesn't seem much different from the village."

Hayate Gekko was a bit speechless. "Of course there's no difference. The area you're seeing now is still within Konoha's jurisdiction."

"Hey, Makoto, aren't you ever curious about the outside world?"

Higashino Shinichi shook his head. "No, I'm curious. But we'll have plenty of time to explore later. Come down now. We need to get going."

Yugao Gekko smiled without saying anything. He led the way off the main road, leaping through the forest in a straight line eastward.

That's how ninjas were. Roads? What roads? For them, the shortest distance between two points was a straight line. They never took the main roads that ordinary people and oxcarts used.

With chakra, everywhere was a road. Efficiency was what they cared about most.

The villages and towns around Konoha were scattered like stars around the moon, all not far from the central village. At a ninja's speed, they could reach them in no time.

However, they encountered another squad along the way. This team had only three members, all male, wearing ordinary clothes. The Konoha headbands on their heads identified them. They had no squad leader teacher. The youngest looked about fifteen or sixteen, the oldest around twenty.

Higashino Shinichi recognized these three, not because they were famous, but because he'd seen them earlier in the Mission Hall. When they'd just arrived, these three had just finished their procedures and left.

They were quite friendly. The oldest, who seemed to be the captain, greeted them warmly. "Yo, seniors, and cute juniors! Are you heading out to do missions nearby too?"

Yugao Gekko glanced at the three, said nothing, just smiled and nodded in response, then flashed past.

Hayate Gekko was usually quiet. Uzuki Yugao was only lively around people she knew well. She nodded back like Yugao Gekko.

From the start, the trio had defaulted to Higashino Shinichi as their leader, even though Hayate had graduated a year earlier. It was a habit formed since childhood.

Higashino Shinichi replied simply, "Yeah, seniors. You too, right? Well, let's all do our best! See you!"

"Yeah, do your best! See you!"

Higashino Shinichi's group of four was faster. They didn't linger to chat. The two sides parted ways quickly.

Once they'd put some distance between them, Uzuki Yugao asked curiously, "Teacher, those seniors look pretty old. Are they still genin? They don't seem to have a squad leader teacher!"

Yugao Gekko explained to his students, "They're genin. It's normal not to have a teacher. A leading jonin isn't a babysitter. Usually, they only lead newly graduated squads for a year, two at most. The subordinate relationship ends when the subordinate is promoted to chunin."

"What if they don't get promoted to chunin?"

Higashino Shinichi added quietly, "If they can't become chunin in two years, the leading jonin won't waste any more of their own time."

Yugao Gekko said nothing, clearly tacitly agreeing with the statement.

The shinobi world was realistic and cruel.

A Leading Jonin and a newly graduated genin were essentially superior and subordinate, a relationship of the experienced guiding the new. The superior had a responsibility to further educate the freshly graduated subordinate, including passing on experience and jutsu.

But if the subordinate lacked talent or failed to form a sufficient bond with their direct superior, the Leading Jonin wouldn't keep playing babysitter forever, much less take them on as disciples and establish a near-binding master-student relationship.

The future Konoha 11 were special; they couldn't be used as the standard to assume all teams were like that.

Hayate Gekko then revealed a harsher truth to Uzuki Yugao: "Those three were definitely a team that was reorganized later.

My former Leading Jonin once said that some shinobi not only have limited ability but also lack mental fortitude. After witnessing the cruel side of the shinobi world and seeing a teammate die, they easily develop a shadow in their hearts, daring only to take low-level missions in the village to coast by.

I think those three just now are that kind of case."

Uzuki Yugao was silent for a moment, then suddenly broke into a happy smile: "Hey, Makoto Brother, Hayate Brother, let's never become people like that. Never!"

Yugao Gekko didn't encourage her. He only silently hoped in his heart that after she and Higashino Makoto witnessed the true cruelty of the shinobi world, they could still hold firm to their resolve and press forward fearlessly.