How big is Konoha Village? That depends on how you define it.
In a narrow sense, Konoha Village only includes the large main city area partially enclosed by high walls, plus some large training grounds in the forest near Hokage Rock, including the legendary Forest of Death, Area 44.
This is the core protected area of Konoha. From the shelter under Hokage Rock to the surrounding walls, Sensory Barriers are set up. Outside the various large training grounds surrounding it, traps are dense, and Ninjas conduct cross-patrols and regular maintenance daily.
In a broad sense, Konoha is many times larger. Surrounding the main city, there are many Villages, with farmland and pastures interspersed among them, providing the people inside Konoha Village with necessary living supplies like grain, meat, eggs, milk, and medicinal herbs.
The Nara Family's deer-raising forest is located somewhere in this outer area.
There are also some characteristic bustling small towns nearby. Some are industrial in nature, producing daily necessities for Konoha, such as various snacks, semi-processed foods, and daily household items. Famous brand goods are sold throughout the Land of Fire and even the Ninja World.
Otherwise, where would the potato chips and cup noodles that Choji and Naruto eat come from?
Others are for entertainment and tourism, such as casinos, hot springs, and izakayas. These places also exist within Konoha Village, but those are formal, unlike the ones outside which have more 'local flavor'.
Konoha Village has a very special status in the Land of Fire. This large area is equivalent to a designated autonomous region. It covers a vast area under the jurisdiction of the Hokage and has complex interests intertwined with the various major families in the Village.
The main function of Konoha is to train Ninjas and protect the safety of the Land of Fire.
The surrounding functional areas provide the necessary nutrition for this populous war fortress.
In short, besides the military funds allocated by the Daimyo, Konoha itself has a set of internal circulation Systems that can operate stably.
This wasn't specifically built by Konoha; rather, since Konoha's founding, ordinary people from the surrounding areas spontaneously gathered to seek Ninja protection.
As the population increased, Konoha also intentionally guided it, slowly forming the complementary model seen today.
The advantage of this model is that it makes life more convenient for Konoha people. With Konoha as the center, a bustling belt second only to the capital of the Land of Fire has formed.
The disadvantage is also obvious: Konoha Village has the worst secrecy among the Five Great Nations' hidden Villages. The other four hidden Villages wish they could hide themselves as deeply as possible.
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A new day, morning, inside the Mission Hall.
Higashino Shin met up with his teammates and arrived here under the leadership of Gekko Yun Jian.
Selecting a mission and handling the procedures to leave the Village was a simple process. Over the past few days, the three members of Team Yun Jian had already been taught the process by their teacher.
The Mission Hall only has D-rank, C-rank, and a few low-difficulty B-rank missions. High-difficulty B-rank missions and above are not here; the Hokage Office assigns them directly to a suitable squad based on intelligence.
Therefore, the Hokage himself rarely appears in the Mission Hall. Only under special circumstances does he come to oversee things, and even then, it might just be a Shadow Clone.
The Sandaime old man is very busy. It's impossible for him to sit here all day slacking off like an ordinary staff member. Isn't the crystal ball in his office better?
Using a large number of Shadow Clones to handle work and acting like a model worker—only the Nanadaime could probably pull that off. An ordinary person's body couldn't take it.
Higashino Shin looked around the Mission Hall. There were many people here to pick up missions like them. A few teams had a leading Ninja, likely this year's new graduate classes.
Some teams only had three people, and the members were older.
Upon arriving at the iconic Konoha gate and verifying their exit permits, Yūgao Uzuki seemed to suddenly become much more cheerful once they were outside. She jumped onto a treetop, looking at the unfamiliar scenery in the distance as if seeing a new world.
The hidden Village manages Ninjas very strictly. Leaving the Village without a mission or proper procedures is equivalent to becoming a Rogue Ninja.
Even before graduation, as a Ninja Reserve, one cannot leave the Village without permission or an adult leading them.
She spread her arms and said happily, "So this is what the outside world is like. It doesn't seem much different from the Village."
Gekkō Hayate was somewhat speechless: "Of course there's no difference. The area you're seeing now is still under Konoha's jurisdiction."
"Hey, Shin-niisan, aren't you curious about the outside world at all?"
Higashino Shin shook his head in denial: "No, I am curious, but we'll have plenty of time to explore in the future. Come down quickly, it's time to set off."
Gekko Yun Jian smiled and said nothing, taking the lead to leave the main road, leaping through the forest, heading straight east.
Ninjas are like this. Roads? What are roads? For them, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line; they won't take the main roads that ordinary people and horse-drawn carriages use.
With Chakra, everywhere is a road. Efficiency is what they care about most.
The Villages and towns around Konoha are distributed like stars around a moon, not far from the central Konoha Village. At a Ninja's speed, it doesn't take much time to reach them.
However, they encountered another squad on the way. This team only had three people, all male, wearing ordinary clothes. The Konoha Forehead Protectors on their heads indicated their identity. There was no leading Ninja, and the youngest appeared to be fifteen or sixteen, while the oldest looked to be in his 20s.
Higashino Shin recognized these three people, not because they were famous, but because he had seen them in the Mission Hall earlier. When they had just arrived, these three had just finished their procedures and left.
They were quite enthusiastic. The oldest one seemed to be the captain and greeted them warmly: "Yo, Senior, and cute juniors, are you also heading nearby for a mission?"
Gekko Yun Jian glanced at the three of them, didn't speak, but just smiled and nodded in response, then flashed past.
Gekkō Hayate was always a man of few words, and Yūgao Uzuki was only lively in front of people she was familiar with; she also nodded in response like Gekko Yun Jian.
From the beginning, the trio had defaulted to Higashino Shin as their leader. Even though Hayate had graduated a year earlier than the two of them, he had no objections; this was a habit formed since childhood.
Higashino Shin replied simply: "Yeah, Seniors, you guys too, right? Well then, let's all do our best! Goodbye!"
"Yeah, let's do our best together, see ya!"
Higashino Shin's group of four was faster and had no intention of staying to chat more. Both sides separated after a brief encounter.
After putting some distance between them, Yūgao Uzuki asked curiously: "Teacher, those Seniors look quite old, could they still be Genin? They don't seem to have a leading teacher!"
Gekko Yun Jian explained to his Disciples: "They are Genin. It's normal not to have a teacher. A leading Jonin isn't a babysitter. Usually, they only lead new graduates for one year, at most two. The subordinate relationship ends after the subordinates are promoted to Chunin."
"What if they don't get promoted to Chunin?"
Higashino Shin added silently: "If they can't be promoted to Chunin in two years, the leading Jonin won't waste any more of their time."
Gekko Yun Jian said nothing, clearly agreeing with this statement by default.
The Ninja World is realistic and cruel.
The relationship between a leading Jonin and new graduates is essentially that of a superior and subordinates, a relationship of the experienced leading the new. The superior has a responsibility to further educate the newly graduated subordinates, including passing on experience and Ninjutsu.
But if the subordinates have no talent, or if they fail to form a sufficient bond with their direct Jonin, the leading Jonin won't keep acting as a babysitter, and it's even less likely they'll take them as Disciples to establish a Master-Disciple relationship, which is almost like a binding of interests.
The future konoha 12 are special. You can't use them as a standard and assume all squads are like that.
Gekkō Hayate then revealed a more realistic side of some Ninjas to Yūgao Uzuki: "Those three are definitely a re-formed team from the Late Stage."
My former leading Jonin said that some Ninjas not only have limited strength but also lack a resilient Heart-Nature. After witnessing the cruel side of the Ninja World and seeing the death of teammates, it's easy to be left with mental shadows. From then on, they only dare to take low-level missions in the Village to get by.
I think those three just now are in that situation."
Yūgao Uzuki was silent for a while, then suddenly smiled happily again: "Hey, Shin-niisan, Hayate-niisan, we must never become people like that, definitely!"
Gekko Yun Jian didn't encourage her, but silently hoped in his heart that after witnessing the true cruelty of Ninjas, she and Higashino Shin could still remain firm in their beliefs and forge ahead.