The Way of the Ninja Villages

Thud, thud!

At the entrance, Shikamaru had just finished arranging his shoes when the light behind him was blocked by a broad shoulder.

"You're back?" Shikaku Nara asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm back."

"If something is troubling you, you might as well say it. Clearing up your doubts is also part of a father's duty." Shikaku Nara stepped aside to clear the way.

Shikamaru paused. After a moment, he asked, "Dad, can you play a game of shogi with me?"

"Sure." Shikaku Nara nodded slightly.

In the courtyard, father and son sat facing each other across the board.

Shikamaru made the first move. "Dad, who exactly is Naruto?"

That cold winter, the reason he had met Naruto was actually because his father had left him there.

He had once thought it was fate, but now that he looked back on it, it was full of suspicious details.

"He is the Fourth Hokage's child. He is a hero. He used his body to contain the Nine-Tails that wreaked havoc on Konoha back then. It was merely that certain people deliberately twisted that truth." Shikaku Nara explained everything.

"...Is that so?" Shikamaru nodded, but the slight tremble in his arm showed that he was far from as calm as he appeared.

"That's pretty ironic."

"It is indeed ironic, but that is politics." Shikaku Nara turned to look at the ancient pine in the courtyard and sighed softly.

"What about the Fourth Hokage's inheritance? Naruto's living conditions have nothing to do with being well-off." Thinking of how Naruto sometimes had to go out to look for food, Shikamaru asked.

He did not believe that the inheritance of a Hokage could not even support a child's life.

"The Fourth Hokage's home was reclaimed by the village, on the grounds that the Jinchuriki's identity could not be exposed. It was later awarded to Sarutobi Shin'nosuke, who had rendered great service."

"The Fourth Hokage and his wife's assets were used to cover that year's deficit at Koharu Utatane's suggestion."

Shikamaru held a piece between his fingers for a long time without placing it. He suddenly realized that there seemed to be something wrong with the Konoha he loved so deeply.

Whoosh!

A fierce gust swept through.

Yellow sand rose into the sky, making it seem as though the entire heavens had been obscured.

"The dust storms in the Land of Wind are as bad as ever!" An old man with a goatee in the middle of the caravan laughed.

"Does Grandpa He Yan travel this road often?" Naruto asked curiously. White cloth was wrapped around his head, leaving only his eyes exposed.

This was the survival wisdom of the Land of Wind's people. White cloth wrapped around the head could both shield them from the scorching sun and protect them well against wind and sand.

"Once every two or three years, I suppose." He Yan stroked his beard. "But my family has been merchants for generations. I've traveled this road five or six times myself."

"Then you must have been to a lot of places, Grandpa?" Naruto asked. Joining this caravan had also been a coincidence.

Originally, he had planned to travel alone while making his way toward Sunagakure.

But he had happened to encounter Grandpa He Yan's caravan. They had exchanged a few words by chance, found that they shared similar interests and the same destination, and so they had decided to travel together.

"Of the Five Great Nations, I've been to all of them except the Land of Water, which is separated by the sea." He Yan smiled proudly.

"Could you tell me about them in detail?" Naruto quickly asked for guidance.

"Of course." He Yan laughed heartily. Sharing their glorious past was something every old person loved to do.

"Among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth have very similar climates, terrain, and landscapes. The Land of Fire has the most pleasant climate. The Land of Lightning has the most unique terrain, especially Kumogakure, which was built atop sheer cliffs..."

Once He Yan began speaking of his past, it was as though he had opened a floodgate. Story after story poured from him without end.

When he was young, a woman from the Land of Lightning had taken a liking to him and nearly dragged him home to become her live-in son-in-law; while doing business in the Land of Earth, local wandering samurai had held a blade to his neck; his wondrous hot spring journey through the Land of Hot Water...

Naruto listened and nodded from time to time, giving the old man even more motivation to continue.

At the same time, he quietly committed all the places the old man mentioned to memory. If he had the chance, he could visit them someday.

Just as the two were deep in conversation, a youth rode over on an ostrich as large as two men.

"Grandpa, there's a group of Wandering Ninja causing trouble up ahead," the youth said.

"Causing trouble? What about the ninja we hired?" He Yan raised a brow. Merchants who traveled year-round could hardly avoid encountering bandits, so hiring ninja to protect their goods had become an essential expense for caravans.

"Those Sunagakure ninja are negotiating with the Wandering Ninja," the youth said helplessly.

"..." He Yan frowned. Though dissatisfied, he could only sigh helplessly.

Whether they were Sunagakure ninja or Wandering Ninja, they were all after money. If they could earn it peacefully, no one would be willing to fight to the death.

After a long while, the cargo wagon at the very front slowly began moving again.

Clearly, the Sunagakure ninja had reached an agreement with the Wandering Ninja.

Naruto watched the Sunagakure ninja return to the caravan and silently shook his head. As someone born a ninja, he naturally understood the tricks involved.

Dealing with those Wandering Ninja was no problem at all for Sunagakure.

But what happened after they dealt with them?

Even Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, had to eat. With so many people under its care, how could it possibly survive on the meager military funding allocated by the Daimyo alone?

A steady volume of missions was the foundation of a ninja village's existence.

If Sunagakure, or any other ninja village, wiped out all the Wandering Ninja who survived by robbing and looting in one go, who would still hire ninja from the villages to protect them?

Yet ninja villages were ultimately a nation's military force, so they could not simply allow such people to run rampant.

Therefore, how to keep bandits within a reasonable range in the country was a required lesson for every ninja village.

Some ninja villages even deliberately allowed Wandering Ninja to emerge in order to guarantee their mission volume.

Though the practice was shameful, it was an unspoken rule understood by every ninja village.

"Ninja really are disgusting..." He Yan muttered quietly.

Having been a merchant all his life, he naturally understood the ins and outs of ninja villages. It was precisely because he understood that he felt so helpless.

"The ninja of the Five Great Ninja Villages are still alright. Once you hire them, there generally won't be any problems. Those small ninja villages are different. Even after you hire them, they'll join forces with Wandering Ninja to squeeze you for more money, all while claiming, 'To avoid suffering even greater losses, you should give them some money...' Disgusting!"

Perhaps thinking Naruto might not understand, He Yan explained in a low voice.

Naruto froze. This was something he truly had not known.

"They really want to be whores and still put up a memorial arch."

It took He Yan a moment to understand what he meant. Then he nodded in agreement.

"That's exactly it."

"Grandpa, aren't you raising some Ninja Beasts?" Naruto asked.

From his senses, the caravan's mounts all possessed at least some chakra. Every one of them could serve as a combat unit.

"They're only the last line of defense." He Yan shook his head. "If you don't hire ninja, you'll run into more than just this one group of Wandering Ninja."

"For safety's sake, it's still better to spend some money hiring ninja."

"Is that so?" Naruto nodded slightly. "Grandpa, how much longer until we reach Sunagakure?"

He Yan estimated the distance. "We should arrive tomorrow."

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