A Faint but Clear Sense of Distance

Their village was now the undisputed Sixth Great Ninja Village.

In the previous war, their village had defeated Kirigakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, at little cost. Lord Naruto had easily beaten the Mizukage of the time, and was soon to be recognized throughout the Shinobi World as the Sixth Shadow—the First Snow Shadow!

An equal mindset.

A position on equal footing.

That was how most people in Snow Ninja Village felt at that moment.

Along the way,

Kakashi, Shikaku, Iruka, and even Shikaku and Shino, who were among the group, observed the village's basic buildings and the lives of its residents. Looking at things from the ground level offered the most authentic firsthand information. Without a doubt, what they saw was nearly identical to what they had seen in Lin City and Kazahana Castle: the residents of Snow Ninja Village enjoyed a good standard of living, and their spirits seemed high.

All the data they gathered bit by bit

gave the Konoha delegation a much deeper understanding of Snow Ninja Village.

People who were good at thinking considered the pros and cons of a matter from every angle, especially when their goals were clear. Setting aside the task Tsunade had given Kakashi and Shikaku, even the reason the young ninja team had come to Snow Ninja Village called for a comprehensive assessment. Shikamaru was the one in their group who needed to consider things most carefully, and the quietest among them, Shino, was much the same. The others, however, tended to be more straightforward and simple-minded.

Kiba, Lee, Tenten, Sakura, Choji, and the others, all intent on pulling their teammate back onto what they believed was the 'right path,' weren't going to think too deeply about things. Or perhaps they innocently believed they could achieve what they