"Lady Pakura, please follow me."
Miyamoto Ichirō's voice pulled her from her thoughts.
On the way to the Dragon Release building, Pakura could not help observing her surroundings.
The village was larger than she had initially imagined. By her rough estimate, there were probably close to a thousand resident ninja.
That already exceeded the size of many small ninja villages.
Miyamoto Ichirō seemed to notice her scrutiny and gave a brief introduction as they walked:
"The village was established a little over a year ago. We currently have nine hundred and eighty-seven registered ninja. More than seventy percent are wandering ninja and missing-nin from small countries whom we recruited from outside and put through screening and preliminary training. The remaining thirty percent or so are orphans and youths we took in and trained ourselves."
"Unfortunately, training our own takes time. We still have too few core members capable of handling things on their own."
As he spoke, two figures emerged from the training ground exit ahead.
One was a white-haired boy with a stern face and a bone sword on his back. His movements carried an innate rhythm of combat.
The other was a delicate-featured, black-haired boy with a gentle smile, but a solid presence.
Upon seeing Miyamoto Ichirō, both bowed respectfully.
"Lord Ichirō."
"Mm, finished training?"
Miyamoto Ichirō's expression softened a little. "Kimimaro, Haku, this is Lady Pakura, who has just joined us."
Kimimaro and Haku looked at Pakura, their gazes appraising but maintaining basic courtesy.
Pakura, however, was inwardly startled.
She had fought countless battles and had a discerning eye.
The white-haired boy named Kimimaro had concentrated chakra and a strong physique. His strength had definitely reached chunin level, if not higher!
As for the boy named Haku, his chakra was pure and icy cold in nature. Though