By the time evening approached—
On a small cart, one coachman and three ninja hiding their identities were finally arriving at a village near Amegakure.
After all, as the military stronghold and headquarters of a nation, Amegakure rarely allowed outsiders to enter freely. Even Sunagakure had built its factories outside the village to prevent potential incidents.
So, setting up a nearby village as the recruitment site was the most reasonable solution.
At that moment—
In the designated recruitment area inside the village:
"Should be about time, huh~?" A Rain-nin with messy brown hair and a gas mask under his chin yawned and stretched lazily. He looked at his companion with a tired voice, "We ought to start packing up. Doesn't seem like anyone else is coming at this hour."
"Let's… wait a little longer?" replied the Rain-nin beside him, who had short black hair and half his face wrapped in bandages. He hesitated and said, "Some people's villages are quite far, and it takes a long time to get here. If they don't see us when they arrive late, they might be disappointed."
"There's a recruitment notice posted right at the village entrance, weatherproofed and everything. They'll see it and know to come back tomorrow. Shouldn't be a problem."
"How many people in the Land of Rain can even read, though? Oboro, I know you're tired, but can't you hang in there a bit longer?"
"If you ask me~ Muguri, you had no reason to volunteer for this job." Oboro sighed helplessly, giving up on the idea of ending the shift. He rubbed his stomach and slouched in his chair. "We've got to stay here for a whole month anyway. And if we wait too long, we might miss dinner."
"You're a Rain-nin~" Muguri didn't care for Oboro's complaints. Before Oboro could respond, he added, shaking his head, "I'm just a civilian from the Land of Rain."
"..."
"A completely ordinary civilian. During the Second Great Ninja War, my parents were killed by ninja. After that, I wandered all over the Land of Rain," Muguri continued, smiling faintly as he noticed Oboro fall silent. "When Hanzo the Salamander was defeated, he began consolidating the country—locking down the borders, keeping people from entering or leaving. The harsh rule plunged the Land of Rain into chaos. Back then, I didn't even know where to go. I was just a regular person. A very ordinary person. And on the road... I saw so many people like me, lying on the ground, never to get up again."
"Then how did you...?"
"Strange that I know ninjutsu, right~? You've probably heard of the Akatsuki—the symbol of dawn in the Land of Rain. I heard about them too. I was scared, but I also had hope. In the end... I gritted my teeth and went looking for them," Muguri's eyes turned nostalgic, and he let out a heavy sigh. "I was lucky. They took me in. I trained under the leaders, learning ninjutsu. There were a lot of people like me in the organization—people who dreamed of a better future for the Land of Rain. The leaders have always been striving for peace. Everyone worked hard. Don't be fooled by how powerful Lord Nagato is. Back then… you've probably heard about that battle."
His gaze dimmed again with sorrow.
"Lord Kyusuke and Lord Daibutsu both died. The entire reinforcement unit perished on the way. That victory wasn't as easy as everyone thinks. It was achieved only because Lord Nagato fought alone. So… the longer we wait, the more people we can recruit—and the closer the Land of Rain gets to peace."
"..."
Oboro silently stared at Muguri, saying nothing.
He too had heard of how Hanzo led the elite of Amegakure to join forces with Konoha in a campaign to crush Akatsuki.
But when the battle was over—
They Rain-nin in the village witnessed two figures descend from the sky like gods, floating above them.
In the end, in the name of peace... they surrendered.
They truly did it for peace—not out of fear, or anything else.
"Whatever. Suit yourself~" Oboro rested his head on his hands, speaking with a tone of indifference.
"Just don't blame me if we miss dinner."
But just as he said that—
Clip-clop, clip-clop~
The soft sound of hooves echoed in the distance.
...
A bit earlier—
"This should be the place~" Uncle Mizogure furrowed his brows, glancing nervously and expectantly around the area. "Why is it so quiet?"
Could it be… a scam?
"If… if it's fake…"
"There seems to be something written over there," the eerie young man with long black hair licked his lips and smiled, pointing ahead. After narrowing his eyes to read, he added, "It says, if you want an interview, you have to enter the village up ahead. So the cart... mm~ yeah, we can just drive straight in."
"..."
Kabuto and the red-haired boy exchanged a surprised glance, then fell silent. They didn't say a word.
"Ah? That's how it is?" Uncle Mizogure blinked, then chuckled in relief. "So there's another village up ahead~"
Realizing it wasn't a hoax—just that they hadn't reached the actual site yet—Uncle Mizogure perked up and happily snapped the reins.
"Alright, let's go~! Let's hope we all get hired!"
But what he didn't notice was...
As they drew closer to the destination, a strange glint flickered in the eyes of the three ninja sitting behind him.
———
"Name?"
"Mizogure!"
"Age?"
"Fifty-eight!"
"Bit on the older side, aren't you, old man~"
Oboro looked in surprise at the applicant in front of him. Sure enough—his body was hunched and frail, hair graying. He hesitated a moment.
"This is heavy labor, you know~"
The organization had temporarily pulled ninja back from the border to spread the word, specifically to ease public fear of shinobi and attract more civilians to the workforce. Later, once things stabilized, the guarding ninja would return to their original posts.
Right now, though, there were limited positions—mostly meant for strong, able-bodied young workers. They were trying to ensure that every household had at least one working member, so no family would starve.
So...
"As for you..."
"Not eligible?" Mizogure asked anxiously.
"How many in your household?"
"Three. Including me, there's my grandson and granddaughter."
"How old are they?"
"Grandson's eight, granddaughter's six. They're waiting back in the village for me to bring food home!"
"Any young adults in the family?"
"They're… they're dead."
"..."
Oboro looked silently at the sorrowful old man in front of him. He brushed off Muguri's quiet tug on his sleeve, sighed, and said, "Alright. You meet the recruitment criteria. Go wait to the side—someone will assign you a job soon. Do your best." He handed Mizogure a small slip of paper. "Keep this safe. If you lose it—well, I guess we can reissue it, but it's best not to lose it, alright?"
So don't keep tugging at my clothes—I only have one good-looking outfit!
"Yes, yes! Thank you, thank you, kind ninja sir!" Mizogure bowed repeatedly, overwhelmed with gratitude. He took the slip carefully, folded it, and tucked it securely into his shirt to keep it dry from the rain. "I will work hard, I swear, I'll give it my all!"
"Alright. Muguri, take him over there. Next."
"Name?"
"Sasori."
"Age?"
"..."
"Name?"
"Hebi."
"Age?"
"..."
"Name?"
"Kabuto."
"Yo, another one with a single-character name? You three brothers or something? Still, those names aren't very catchy. You should at least pick something that sounds cool—like, I dunno... something with 'Toad' in it!"
"..."
The hell?! Three brothers my ass!
"Age?"
"Seven."
"Kinda young, aren't you, kiddo?" Oboro closed the register with a soft thud, smiling at him. "Sorry, little guy. You don't meet the requirements."
"..."
Kabuto's pleasant smile froze slightly as he stared at the Rain-nin in front of him.
I swear, I don't know whether I should say this out loud or not!
Where's a Suna-nin when you need one?
Somebody from Sunagakure better show up—I have to get in today.
There are enemy ninja infiltrating!
Those two... are definitely not normal!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin