At seven o'clock the next morning, before the sun had fully risen, soft golden light already bathed Konohagakure. A cool morning breeze swept past the village gates, where a small group had gathered—it was Team Shinku, led by Yuhi Shinku.
After arriving, Uchiha Ran greeted his jōnin instructor and his two teammates, Inuzuka Tsubaki and Shinno. The three exchanged a few words about their training from the previous night, encouraging one another as they warmed up.
Noticing that the merchant caravan hadn't arrived yet, Ran wandered over to the village gate and struck up a conversation with the two gate guards on duty.
At the time, the "gate gods" of Konoha were Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki.
As they chatted, the conversation gradually drifted toward family—and inevitably, children.
Kotetsu and Izumo spoke with pride about how their sons had recently enrolled in the Ninja Academy. For several days straight, the whole family had been overjoyed.
That said, the two kids had been far too lively lately—so much so that academy instructors had come all the way to the gate to complain.
"Your children are…?" Ran asked, even though he already had a pretty good guess.
"Kotetsu," one said proudly.
"Izumo," the other added.
The two men beamed as they spoke. As fathers, they could already sense it—those boys' talent would likely surpass their own someday.
"Those are reliable names," Ran said sincerely. "I'm sure they'll grow into outstanding ninja."
"Thank you, Ran," the two replied with matching smiles.
Time passed quietly, and soon the merchant caravan came into view. The massive gates of Konoha stood wide open as heavy wagon wheels rumbled forward and the caravan began to leave the village.
At that moment, Shinku led Team Shinku toward the merchants.
Standing tall beneath the morning sun, Shinku wore the standard green jōnin vest, his gaze sharp and composed. Seeing the carriages approach, he brought his three students forward.
"Greetings," Shinku said calmly. "I am Konoha jōnin Yuhi Shinku. These are my students—Uchiha Ran, Inuzuka Tsubaki, and Shinno."
Introducing one's students wasn't just courtesy—it helped clients remember who had escorted them. Some clients even preferred to hire specific ninja again in the future.
"Jōnin-sama, and honored ninja," the merchant said hastily, bowing. "My name is Maeda Ōshinno."
His tone was humble, almost overly so.
"I'm merely transporting some Konoha specialties to the capital of the Land of Fire. I never imagined I'd be so lucky—to have a Konoha jōnin and such promising young ninja escorting us!"
Maeda understood Konoha's customs well. When a new team was formed, a jōnin often led their students on lower-rank missions. Even so, securing a jōnin's protection with just a C-rank commission was an absolute steal.
Escort missions paid relatively well among C-rank tasks. A journey from Konoha could take ten days or more, and since C-rank missions rarely involved enemy ninja, they were usually handled by ninja.
Considering this was Ran's very first mission, Shinku—despite knowing his strength—still chose to start him at C-rank.
"Alright, Maeda-san," Shinku said. "If everything is ready, we'll depart."
"Yes, yes—departing!" Maeda hurriedly shouted to his people.
The caravan set off in a long, orderly line, leaving Konohagakure behind.
Normally, one or two ninja would be more than enough for an escort mission. This time, however, four ninja had been assigned. Naturally, Shinku rode atop one of the cargo wagons with Tsubaki and Shinno, while Ran rode a horse at the very front of the caravan.
It was always a little strange—this world had electricity, yet outside the Land of Snow, trains were practically nonexistent. Horses remained the backbone of long-distance transport.
Maeda, clearly a talkative man, soon rode his horse up to Ran and struck up a conversation.
"Amazing," he said enthusiastically. "Jōnin Yuhi mentioned you're a young talent from the Uchiha clan!"
"Oh? You haven't awakened the Sharingan yet, Ran-sama?"
"What—seriously? The Sharingan is that powerful?!"
"And me—haha! My family used to be quite influential too. Times have changed, but we're still minor nobles in the Land of Fire."
Laughing as he spoke, Maeda went on,
"This trip is just transporting Konoha specialties to resell in the capital. You know, Konoha tea is famous—only land as rich as this can produce it."
Then his tone dropped slightly.
"It's scary, honestly. Trade routes have been getting more dangerous lately. Bandits have shown up on several escort missions. If it weren't for ninja, the losses would've been devastating."
From the moment Ran mounted his horse, Maeda's mouth hadn't stopped moving. After asking about Ran's background and the Sharingan, he dove straight into stories about life in the Land of Fire.
Thanks to him, Ran gained a clearer picture of how civilians and nobles survived in the shinobi world.
"Have you ever thought about becoming a private ninja, Ran-sama?" Maeda laughed. "The Land of Fire has plenty of pleasure districts. Lots of wandering ninja work for nobles, you know!"
Ran didn't grow annoyed at all. Instead, he answered patiently.
"Konoha is a good place, Maeda-san. I have no intention of leaving. Besides—I'm an Uchiha."
"Haha, you really don't act like one," Maeda said. "Once, I had an escort mission handled by an Uchiha ninja too."
He laughed loudly.
"I talked just as much back then. That kid put a kunai to my neck! I was already wondering whether I should call him father or grandfather to beg for my life. Damn Uchiha brat…"
He touched his neck, realized it was still intact, and laughed even harder.
"That is a bit extreme," Ran said mildly.
"Exactly! Everyone I know who's hired Uchiha has had similar experiences," Maeda complained. "I thought they were all like that—arrogant to the bone! No idea who's paying whom!"
Ran smiled and replied calmly,
"Alright, Maeda-san, let's stop there. You're speaking to a genuine Uchiha right now—those words aren't very safe."
Then he added lightly,
"And while money is important… ninja are the ones holding the weapons."
Maeda's laughter died instantly. His pupils shrank.
"…I can still go apologize to the other ninja, right?" he asked weakly.
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