He had worked his way up to Chunin in Amegakure. If he had not carelessly exposed himself, he could even have made Jonin.
It was now the beginning of Year 37.
Hyuga Akira looked at snow-covered Konoha. The seasons and weather here followed a normal pattern.
Unlike Amegakure, where rain fell year-round and snowflakes were nowhere to be seen.
"Big bro, we'll be rivals in this year's Chunin Ninja Exams." Nawaki rubbed his nose with a finger and grinned.
He only had half a semester left at the Ninja Academy now.
Then he would graduate, just in time for this year's Chunin Ninja Exams.
Learn to stop stepping on Explosive Tags first.
Hyuga Akira patted Nawaki's shoulder. "Let's hope so."
The two were looking at houses. Housing in Konoha was scarce; aside from the various Shinobi clans' compounds, few homes were available to outsiders.
The main reason was that the world outside was simply too chaotic. For safety's sake, countless people fought tooth and nail for a place in Konoha.
No matter how turbulent the outside world became, Konoha stood firm.
Anyone with a little money headed for Konoha.
In just one day, they had visited practically every vacant house in Konoha.
In the end, Hyuga Akira settled on a house with a courtyard and a basement.
"Five thousand ryo a month." The landlord was a middle-aged man with a kindly smile. Judging by the size of his belly, he ate well.
He was in Konoha's real estate business, after all.
Hyuga Akira decided to take it. Five thousand ryo was a fair price for the house he was renting.
Just as Hyuga Akira finished negotiating with the landlord, a figure jogged up to Nawaki and bowed his head. "Big bro Nawaki."
"Oh, Sagara! What are you doing here?" Nawaki