How large is Konohagakure? That depends on how you define it.
In the narrow sense, Konohagakure includes only the main urban area of considerable size that is half-encircled by towering walls, along with several large training grounds in the forests near the Hokage Rock—among them the legendary Forest of Death, Training Ground No. 44.
This is the area under Konoha's primary protection. From the shelters beneath the Hokage Rock to the surrounding walls, sensory barrier arrays are in place. Beyond the perimeter of each large training ground, traps are densely laid, and ninjas conduct cross-patrols and routine maintenance on a daily basis.
In the broader sense, Konoha is many times larger. Surrounding the main city are numerous villages, with farmland and ranches interwoven among them, providing the people within Konohagakure with essential living supplies such as grain, meat, eggs, dairy products, and medicinal materials.
The Nara clan's deer-raising forest ranch is located in one of these outer areas.
There are also several distinctive and prosperous small towns nearby. Some are industrial in nature, producing daily necessities for Konoha—such as various snacks, semi-processed foods, and everyday household goods. Well-known brands sell widely throughout the Land of Fire and even across the ninja world.
Otherwise, where would the potato chips and cup noodles that Chōji and Naruto eat come from?
Others are oriented toward entertainment and tourism, such as casinos, hot springs, and izakaya. While such places also exist within Konohagakure, those inside the village are all properly regulated, unlike the ones outside, which tend to have a certain "special" character.
Konohagakure occupies a very special position within the Land of Fire. This vast region is effectively a designated autonomous zone, extensive in area, governed by the Hokage, and bound up in complex interest ties with the major clans of the village.
Konoha's primary function is to train ninjas and safeguard the security of the Land of Fire.
The surrounding functional zones, meanwhile, exist to provide the necessary nourishment for this populous fortress of war.
In short, aside from the military funding allocated by the daimyō, Konohagakure itself possesses a complete internal circulation system capable of operating stably on its own.
This wasn't something Konoha built as a special project. Rather, after Konohagakure was founded, ordinary people in the surrounding area, seeking the protection of ninjas, gradually gathered here of their own accord.
As the population grew, the Konoha side also deliberately guided things, and only then did this kind of complementary model slowly take shape.
The advantage of this model is that it makes life far more convenient for Konoha's people. Centered on Konoha, it formed a prosperous belt second only to the Land of Fire's capital.
The downside is also obvious: among the Five Great Nations, Konohagakure has the worst secrecy. The other four great hidden villages all wish they could hide themselves as deep as possible.
...
A new day. Morning, inside the mission hall.
Higashino Makoto met up with his teammates and, under Gekkō Kumomi's lead, came here.
Choosing a mission and handling the procedures for leaving the village was a simple process. Over the past few days, the three members of Team Kumomi had followed behind their teacher and had already been taught the whole routine once.
The mission hall only had D-rank, C-rank, and a small number of B-rank missions that weren't very difficult. High-difficulty B-rank missions and above weren't handled here; the Hokage's office would assign those directly to a suitable squad based on intelligence.
So the Hokage himself rarely appeared in the mission hall. Only under special circumstances would he come over to oversee things, and even then it might only be a shadow clone.
The old Third Hokage was extremely busy—there was no way he could sit here all day like an ordinary staffer, slacking off. Besides, isn't the crystal ball in the office more enticing?
Using a large number of shadow clones to handle work, doing it like some kind of model workhorse—that's probably something only the Seventh Hokage could pull off. An ordinary person's body couldn't take it.
Higashino Makoto looked over the mission hall. There were quite a few people here, like them, to pick up missions. A small number of teams had a squad leader with them—probably newly formed teams from this year's graduates.
Some teams had only three people, and the members also looked somewhat older.
After arriving at the iconic Konoha gate, they verified their leave permit. Once outside, Uzuki Yūgao seemed to suddenly become much more cheerful. She leapt up to the treetops and looked at the unfamiliar scenery in the distance, as if she were seeing a new world.
The ninja villages' management of ninjas was still quite strict. Leaving the village without a mission or proper procedures was equivalent to becoming a rogue ninja.
Even before graduation, ninja trainees and reserves couldn't leave the village without permission or without 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 a bit speechless. "Of course there's no difference. The area you're seeing now is still under Konoha's jurisdiction."
"Hey, Makoto-nii, have you never been curious about the outside world?"
Higashino Makoto shook his head in denial. "No, I'm very curious. But we'll have plenty of time to explore it later. Come down—it's time to depart."
Gekkō Kumomi smiled and didn't say anything. He took the lead in leaving the main road, leaping through the forest, heading straight east.
That's how ninjas are. Roads? What are roads? To them, the straight line between two points is the shortest. They don't bother with the main roads that ordinary people and ox carts use.
With chakra, everywhere is a road. Efficiency is what they care about most.
The villages and towns around Konoha were distributed all around it like stars encircling the moon. None were very far from the central Konohagakure, and at a ninja's speed, they could be reached in no time.
However, they encountered another team along the way. This team had only three members, all male, dressed in ordinary clothes. The Konoha forehead protectors on their heads marked their identity. There was no squad leader with them. The youngest looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, while the oldest seemed to be in his twenties.
Higashino Makoto recognized the three—not because they were famous, but because he had seen them earlier in the mission hall. When Makoto's group had just arrived, these three had just finished their procedures and left.
They were quite friendly. The oldest, who seemed to be the team leader, greeted them warmly. "Yo, senpai—and you cute kōhai. Are you heading out to do a nearby mission too?"
Gekkō Kumomi glanced at the three, said nothing, and simply nodded with a smile in response before flashing past them.
Gekkō Hayate had always been taciturn, and Uzuki Yūgao was only lively in front of people she was familiar with. Like Gekkō Kumomi, she just nodded in response.
From the very beginning, the trio had tacitly acknowledged Higashino Makoto as their leader. Even though Hayate had graduated a year earlier, he had no objections. It was a habit formed since childhood.
Higashino Makoto replied simply, "Yeah, senpai—you are too, right? Then let's all do our best. See you!"
"Mm, let's do our best together. See you!"
Higashino Makoto's group of four moved even faster, with no intention of lingering to chat. The two sides separated the moment they made contact.
After putting some distance between them, Uzuki Yūgao asked curiously, "Sensei, those senpai looked pretty old. They're not still genin, are they? They didn't seem to have a squad leader with them."
Gekkō Kumomi explained to his students, "They are genin. It's normal not to have a teacher. A jōnin squad leader isn't a nanny. Under normal circumstances, they usually only lead newly graduated genin for one year, at most two. The subordinate relationship ends once the subordinate is promoted to chūnin."
"And what if they don't get promoted to chūnin?" she asked.
Higashino Makoto quietly added, "If they can't be promoted to chūnin after two years, then the squad-leading jōnin is even less likely to waste their time."
Gekkō Kumomi said nothing, clearly tacitly agreeing with that statement.
The ninja world was realistic and cruel.
Between a squad-leading jōnin and newly graduated genin, the relationship was essentially that of superior and subordinate, a senior guiding a junior. The superior had a responsibility to re-educate newly graduated subordinates, including imparting experience and ninjutsu, among other things.
But if the subordinate lacked talent, or if they failed to form a sufficiently strong bond with their direct jōnin, then the squad leader would not keep acting as a nanny, let alone take them on as disciples and establish a sensei–disciple relationship that was almost an interest-bound tie.
The future Konoha 12 were special and could not be used as the standard to assume all teams were like that.
Gekkō Hayate then revealed a more realistic side of some ninjas to Uzuki Yūgao. "Those three were definitely a team that was reorganized later on."
"My former squad-leading jōnin once said that some ninjas not only have limited strength but also lack mental resilience. After witnessing the cruel side of the ninja world and seeing the deaths of teammates, it's easy for them to leave psychological scars. From then on, they only dare to take low-level missions within the village and muddle through their days."
"I think the three we just met are probably in that situation."
Uzuki Yūgao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled brightly again. "Hey, Makoto-nii, Hayate-nii—we must never become like that. Never!"
Gekkō Kumomi did not encourage her. He only silently hoped in his heart that, after she and Higashino Makoto came to truly understand the cruelty of the ninja world, they would still be able to hold fast to their convictions and press forward without hesitation.
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