After Special Training
August, Year 62 of Konoha. Autumn had arrived late.
Autumn came later to the Land of Water than it did to the mainland. The sea breeze blowing in from the north still carried the lingering warmth of summer, but the tips of the needles on the Black Pines in the Kaguya Clan Grounds' courtyard had begun to turn faintly yellow.
The masts of merchant ships in Hidden Mist Port stood even more densely than they had in spring. Refined steel from the Land of Crafts, rice from the Land of Fire, ore from the Land of Lightning...
Seafood and rare minerals also poured in from the three vassal states—the Lands of Claws, Crabs, and Sharks—crowding the harbor until only a few narrow shipping lanes remained.
The lights in the Mizukage Building still burned late into the night, but Mei Terumi no longer looked as tense as she had at the start of the year.
Three months had passed since May. That was enough time for an island nation that had spent years shut off from the world to expand its foothold between the four great nations.
The terms of the Water-Lightning Alliance were being implemented one by one, the grain trade agreement with the Land of Fire was running smoothly, and the Land of Crafts' warship repair project was nearly complete.
The first batch of standard Hidden Mist ninja tools forged from the Land of Crafts' refined steel had already been issued to regular ninja units.
Enrollment applications for the Hidden Mist Ninja Academy's autumn intake had more than doubled from last year. At a senior council meeting, Elder Genshi had thumped his cane and demanded more classrooms, then personally approved the deed for the expansion site.
After the routine council meeting ended and Hidden Mist's senior