Konoha was getting closer and closer.
A knife handle lifted the brown curtain from below, and a curious face poked out. Mao, holding a short blade, stood on the carriage and braced herself against it, gazing at the line of vehicles stretching like a long dragon along the smooth, flat road.
Looking at the towering wooden gate that seemed to reach the clouds, she sighed. For the first time in her ninja career, she'd encountered a traffic jam. It was quite the novelty.
She jumped down from the carriage and walked through the sunlight toward her older brother, who was moving alongside the convoy. Her gaze passed straight over the towering wooden gate to the bustling streets beyond, and she exclaimed in amazement, "Konoha Hidden Village has grown this large in such a short time?"
"Enough chatter. Don't block the vehicles behind us." Hagoromo Jun stepped out of the carriage, straightened his clothes, and interrupted the siblings before they could stand in the middle of the road to talk.
The gridlocked gate had made a deep impression on the Hagoromo Clan. They'd never encountered a traffic jam of this scale before.
The entrance to Konoha was busiest in the morning, when the convoys heading out and those heading in all met at once, creating a spectacular scene unlike any other in the Shinobi World.
The long wait made Mao tap the deep ruts in the ground with her toes. She wiggled them to nudge around the gravel, easing her impatience. Fortunately, the ninjas kept everything running in orderly fashion, and the wait wasn't too long.
"This one's clear."
The woman beneath the canopy marked with the Police Force insignia spoke gently. Veins bulged beside her clear white eyes as chakra coursed through them. She took in the inside of the