They had followed him to Nanmo Country because they had nothing to tie them down. To them, wherever they went was the same—as long as they had food to eat, a way to survive, and the chance to be ninja, they were willing to continue.
In their hearts, although he was their village chief, he was also like the rumors from the outside world—an existence both righteous and evil. Especially after three months of harsh trials, they were even more convinced of their belief.
But at this moment, the image of him in their hearts slowly changed from black to white. Not only mysterious but now carrying some of the warmth of human life.
On the side, Granny Chen and Brother Wu had smiles at the corners of their mouths. This work, though it looked like farming, was actually not. It was the tempering of will and state of mind, a way to entrust and anchor their feelings.
If these people truly already regarded Nanmo Country as their own nation, the ninja village as their own village, they would choose to accept this task and help the people. If not, then the muddy tidal flats could only remain a place to catch crabs for fun.
In the big ninja villages, missions always started from D-rank, then C-rank, B-rank, A-rank, moving up bit by bit. The highest was S-rank. Of course, many ninja went their entire lives without ever performing an S-rank mission.
But absolutely every single one of them had done D-rank missions before: finding lost cats and dogs, delivering goods, foot-escort jobs, harvesting crops—everyone had done them.
Although they had once been wandering ninja, now they had a ninja village. Why couldn't they do what others did…?
"Shishō (Master), I am willing to take on this mission!" Honglin was the first to speak.
The others quickly raised their hands as well. "Shishō, we are also willing. Nanmo Village is our home. We are willing to work for our hometown!"
"Good! Since that's the case, what are you waiting for? Granny Chen, today's lunch is up to you!"
"Alright, no problem!"
And so, Shigeo led everyone to the western seashore, and the group began their work.
"Shishō, I'm a Doton (Earth Release) ninja. I'll use Doton to reshape the terrain into a levee, so when the tide rises, seawater won't flood into the tidal flats."
"I'm also a Doton ninja…"
At once, six or seven ninja stepped forward.
Others hesitated. Compared to the Doton ninja, some were not suited to this work.
But Shigeo did not want only those who were suited. He wanted everyone to take part.
Sure enough, a Suiton (Water Release) ninja raised his hand. "I can help too. Whether it works or not, I want to contribute!"
"Me too, me too…" Everyone joined in.
Shigeo nodded. "Good. Let's get to work!"
This tidal flat covered two to three hundred mu of land. Turning it into farmland was no small project for these ninja.
At the edge of the forest by the shore, Granny Chen and the villagers were busy preparing food for the ninja. Only with good meals and drinks would they have the strength to work.
Three days later, after everyone completed the tidal-flat task, they returned to the village. After this collective labor, their sense of belonging to Nanmo Village had grown even stronger.
Afterward, Shigeo assigned them positions. Ten were placed into his own secret department in the shinobi world—Aokumon (Blue Direction Gate).
On the surface, Aokumon had vanished with Lute's death. In reality, Shigeo had merely suspended all Aokumon affairs and transferred all its merchandise operations to a new merchant group—the "Kōyō" (Sunward) Merchant Group of East Secret Island.
He intended to build Aokumon into an independent covert organization under his leadership, spread across the shinobi world.
This department could not only carry out Anbu-style investigations but also open up external ninja missions for Nanmo Village.
Eight others entered the Anbu. Five went to teach at the ninja academy. Two entered the ninja hospital. Two were assigned to Kinseki to assist in administrative construction. One was placed in charge of the village library. The rest followed Hongyan to Nanmo City to take on missions in town.
…
Capital of Kawa no Kuni (Land of Rivers). Shigeo appeared in the westernmost slum district of the city with the ten new Aokumon members.
"Shishō, this is the only base left in Kawa no Kuni. Since you eliminated Lute four months ago, all other bases here have been abandoned. Only this one is still under watch." Beside him, Honglin spoke as he opened the dossier in his hands.
Shigeo nodded. He hadn't managed Aokumon affairs for more than four months. It was already commendable that someone had kept this one base in the Land of Rivers' capital running.
"Let's go see…"
"Yes!"
Eleven people walked down the street. Although they did not wear Nanmo Village forehead protectors, their aura was overwhelming. One look and anyone could tell they were ninja.
"Scammers, you old hag. You said you were an all-powerful high-level agency, but even those wandering ninja are better than you. I can see it now—you're just a gang of swindlers. You can't even find a single cat. Give me back my money, old hag. Give it back!"
"Why should I give it back? I found your cat. You lost it again yourself!"
"That cat wasn't mine at all! You're twisting words. Look carefully—my cat looks like this. What high-level agency? You're just a trash agency…"
In front of a dilapidated storefront at the street corner, two old women were arguing.
Shigeo led his ten companions past them without even glancing. Only Honglin stopped, his face awkward. "Shishō, according to the file, this is the place…"
Everyone halted. Shigeo stared in astonishment at the worn signboard over the doorway: "Blue House High-Level Agency!"
"You're sure it's here?"
"Yes, Shishō!"
"Give me my money!" One old lady, furious beyond bearing, lunged and grabbed the other's hair. The two tumbled into a scuffle.
Seeing this, Honglin felt awkward, cleared his throat lightly, and spoke. "Granny Li? Granny Li?"
At last, the two women on the ground stopped moving. The old lady received her compensation and left the scene.
A cold wind blew outside, deep-autumn leaves drifting down from the trees. Inside, the room was pitch black. The little window's glass was already broken—whether from lack of money or to maintain mystery, the panes had been papered over instead.
Granny Li stood before Shigeo, her head bowed tightly. Her hair was messy, her face scored with bloody scratches from the other woman's nails. She apologized. "I'm sorry. There's been no income for four months. I really couldn't stand it anymore, so I hung a sign to take some work. I used to be just a genin. Now I'm old, and my training's lapsed. My chakra's long gone. I don't ask for anything else. I just want a bowl of rice to eat. So… so, Shishō, please don't kill me for opening under your name. I didn't use your name. Really, I didn't…"
(End of Chapter)
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