"Wow, is this Konoha?"
Fū's eyes lit up as she looked at Konoha's gates not far ahead, waving her arms excitedly as she spoke.
"Yes, this is Konoha, the most powerful ninja village in the shinobi world."
Shinichi slowly raised his head and looked at the gates before him. They were many times larger than Takigakure's.
"Do they have waterfalls here too?"
Fū blinked and asked curiously.
"Hmm, I don't know. They probably do, considering how big this village is."
Wuluo spoke slowly, answering Fū's question.
"Yay! I want to see how the waterfalls here are different from ours in Takigakure."
Fū grinned and closed her eyes in a happy smile, radiant in the orange glow of evening.
"All right, let's head inside first."
Shinichi nodded, then walked toward the gates and met the two gate guardians.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Izumo Kamizuki looked at the three approaching figures and called out as a matter of routine.
"We're from Takigakure. We've come to Konoha for an exchange at Lord Hokage's invitation."
With that, he took out the scroll Shibuki had given him before they left and handed it to Izumo Kamizuki.
Izumo Kamizuki recognized the forehead protectors on the three visitors. He opened the scroll, checked it, and contacted the ANBU.
Before long, two ANBU arrived at the gates.
"Oh, it's you two. We didn't interrupt anything, did we?"
Izumo Kamizuki teased Hayate and Yugao as they arrived.
"It's fine. Duty calls."
Hayate scratched his head, looked at the three visitors, and walked over.
"Thank you very much for Takigakure's trust in Konoha. We'll take you to the place where you'll be staying for the coming days."
Shinichi looked at the man before him. His keen senses warned him that this man was strong.
Stronger than him, at least.
"Hmm,