It was a beautiful, sunny morning. As usual, Konoha Village opened its gates in the early morning to welcome customers and villagers who came to work.
As the strongest and largest village in the Shinobi World, Konoha's business is undoubtedly booming. At this moment, a considerable number of people, though not a large one, were already waiting outside the various gates. Once the gates opened, they began registering and verifying their identities one by one...
It's not that they're always this organized. The composition of these people is quite complex, ranging from nobles to commoners, as well as Konoha Ninja returning to the village, servants of nobles, and all sorts of other people. The reason why such a diverse group of people is so well-behaved is simply because this is Konoha Village, the number one military stronghold in the Land of Fire. Even nobles wouldn't display their nobility here.
It's not that they don't consider themselves noble, but nobles who would do such a thing basically only exist in reality. No one would do such a boring thing that only nouveau riche would do. Although there are no absolutes in the world and there are exceptions, even if there really were such a brain-dead person, his family would never send such an extreme person to Konoha Village.
The nobles, representing ordinary people and controlling social resources, and the ninjas, representing supernatural powers and controlling military strength, are the cornerstones of most powerful nations today. Their land-granting system results in nearly half of a nation's land being the direct fiefdoms of various nobles, while the remainder belongs to the strongest noble, the daimyo, who is also the nation's representative to the outside world. Regardless of the specifics, this distribution method firmly binds their interests to the nation's interests. If anything happens to the nation, no one can remain indifferent. This is completely different from the one-family system of Qi's previous life; it is a true feudal system. The power structure of ninja villages also follows this pattern, except that the resources of ninja villages are not substantial social production resources, but rather the ninja techniques they possess.
This integrated model of interests ensures that anyone with a foothold in the Land of Fire is fiercely committed to protecting the Land of Fire's national interests. With this mindset, naturally no one will cause trouble in Konoha, just as Konoha would never allow anyone to cause trouble in the Land of Fire.
So, when Qi returned here from the capital, the harmonious scene before him stirred a deep emotion within him...
"Should I... has Lao Tzu, Hu Hansan, returned?"
Looking at the gate before him, he was filled with mixed emotions...
Is it easy for him? Although he's been in Konoha for quite some time, he's spent far too little time in the village. Instead, he's always wandering the country, killing people outside...
The tasks Konoha gave him were endless, one after another. Wasn't this child labor abuse? Like now, even though the war was over, he still had to go to the Land of Waterfalls to fight. He'd barely finished one round trip when the Feudal Lord of Fire told him he had to go to the Land of Water next month to pick someone up...
When will he finally have some free time? When can he try sleeping until noon without having to get out of bed?
Please show your receipt.
While he was lost in thought, he heard a sound coming from ahead, which made him realize that he had already followed the crowd to the door.
"OK."
Coming to his senses, he quickly took out the one-time access pass he had received when accepting the mission and handed it over.
"Hmm... Kagetsu Qi..."
The Konoha Ninja at the entrance carefully checked the credentials, then frowned.
"You seem to have returned quite late, past the deadline. Could you please explain why?"
Upon hearing this, several Konoha Ninja immediately approached him.
When ninjas go on missions, they are usually given a fixed time limit. Once the time limit is exceeded, they must be questioned. Although it may sound inhumane, it is actually for the safety of the village. After all, there are quite a few examples of ninjas being captured and controlled by hostile forces with ulterior motives while on missions. Even a strong village like Konoha is not immune to this. Once such a situation occurs, it is almost impossible for these people to return to the village on time. Completely controlling a person's mind is not so simple.
Of course, it wasn't that they necessarily suspected Qi; you could tell from their expressions that they were just going through the motions. But that's how the procedure was set, and they had no choice but to follow it. Anyway, there were always unlucky guys who had to go back to the village and have tea and chat with the interrogators for various reasons. They were just late for the day. Catching the real deal was basically harder than winning the lottery. Ever since the ninja village existed, with its strict censorship system, this kind of infiltration method has been generally regarded by various organizations as an absolutely impossible relic of the old era.
"..."
Having anticipated this question, Qi remained silent and instead pulled out another voucher that Feudal Lord of Fire had given him.
" Daimyo's Residence?"
Upon seeing the unique mark of the Daimyo's Residence on the certificate, the ninja was stunned, and even the Konoha Ninja had gathered there showed expressions of surprise.
They weren't surprised to see the Daimyo's Residence's credentials here. However, every ninja who had dealings with the Daimyo's Residence was a heavyweight in their village—a group of freaks who had earned their place as elite Jonin, the highest rank in the ninja village. No village would be unfamiliar with an elite Jonin. Although Qi was dressed in Jonin attire, they didn't recognize him at all, so he certainly wasn't an elite Jonin. In the Daimyo's Residence's eyes, an ordinary Jonin was no different from a Genin, let alone warrant a special credentials.
"Excuse me, please come with us, we need a little more time."
This group of colleagues, clearly driven by curiosity, politely invited Qi to the side, and then found a guy who didn't seem like a ninja to scratch and feel Qi's credentials.
"Yes, it's genuine."
This guy, who belonged to Konoha Village but wasn't sure if he was a ninja, nodded.
"Not only is it genuine, but it was also personally signed by Feudal Lord of Fire."
"Oh..."
"No wonder it's different from before."
"That is..."
The bored and irritating "security guards" looked like the kind of people who would stop and watch something funny on the street and then feel very satisfied. This made Qi very helpless, because he just wanted to go home and sleep as soon as possible. He was a guy who was sensitive to his own bed and hadn't slept in his own bed in a long time.
"Brothers, can I leave now...?"
He had to speak up and remind his colleagues, who were bored with guarding the goal and looking for something to do to pass the time...
"Oh, sorry, no problem, you can go now."
Realizing that their attitude was rather unreliable, one of the Konoha Ninja returned the receipt to Qi with embarrassment.
But suddenly, he looked thoughtful.
"By the way, I feel like your name sounds familiar. Have we met before?"
"No, I don't think so..."
Qi was certain he didn't know anyone present.
"I remember now!"
The ninja suddenly looked enlightened and clapped his hands.
"You're Hatake Kakashi Kagetsu Qi and Obito Uchiha. The village is currently focusing on the three of you; you're the strongest trio among this generation of rising stars."
He looked at Qi with a grin, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"You don't know yet, do you? A few days ago, the village held a public ceremony specifically for the three of you to advance. One of your companions became the Anbu Captain, and the other became the captain of the Police Force. Now that you're back, you'll probably have a new position soon too. Congratulations!"