Beyond the Six Great Nations, the Ninja World also had a number of smaller countries.
The Land of Grass, Land of Falls, Land of Iron, Land of Rivers, Land of Waves, and so on.
Though some were nominally countries, in reality they were merely small ninja villages occupying a patch of land.
As national highways were built between the various countries, transportation everywhere became more convenient.
These small villages also gained some development, and their old ways of life changed somewhat.
Lock-Front Village was one such village. They specialized in gathering and decrypting intelligence.
Now that the Ninja World was at peace and technology had advanced, they gradually lost their business.
After the national highways were built, they began selling the various clothes and props they had once made for disguises.
Because their craftsmanship was excellent, Lock-Front Village was doing fairly well.
"Hello, customer. Here is the mask you wanted."
Harei handed a green-faced fanged demon mask to the three customers in front of her.
This kind was used for rituals and needed all sorts of patterns painted on it.
They were generally needed in large quantities. A single ritual could use hundreds or even thousands of them.
After the ritual, these masks had to be burned, making them consumables with fairly decent sales.
Harei now ran a small shop that made all sorts of ritual supplies.
Combined with the subsidies she received as a chunin, she lived a fairly comfortable life.
The three customers before her had come through Lock-Front Village to order a batch of masks.
They had specifically requested that Harei make them.
Today, the customers had come to inspect the sample Karin had made.
"Konoha has been really lively lately. Neji Hyuga, the Hyuga Clan heir, got married."
"Didn't Kakashi propose to Rin Nohara too?"
"Rin