Chapter 14 — Kakashi Suspects He's Come to a Very Strange Place
The reforms in the Land of Fields struck the shinobi world like a thunderclap breaking through stagnant skies.
Across the continent, countless eyes turned toward the small nation that was suddenly stirring the peace.
Thanks to Oda Nobunaga's cunningly crafted propaganda—through official papers like The Fields Daily and The Voice of the Land—his reforms spread like wildfire.
Soon, it was nearly impossible to find a single person in the ninja world who hadn't heard that the Land of Fields was changing.
Of course, the official narrative painted Nobunaga's political opponents—men like Lord Murata and his faction—as villains.
They were accused of plotting to seize power from a young, benevolent daimyō under the pretext of opposing the new Sound Village.
The rebellion of the peasants? Merely the result of their scheming.
The truth—that the tax hikes had pushed the people to revolt—was conveniently downplayed.
After all, disputes over taxation were common across the Five Great Nations.
If you made too much noise about such things, it would only invite comparisons best left unspoken… and unity was far more valuable than truth.
Still, behind the scenes, Nobunaga subtly influenced the propaganda.
Hidden between the lines were hints that, with the oppressive aristocracy gone, the nation's people now thrived.
Taxes were fairer, jobs more plentiful, and the peasants enjoyed prosperity unseen elsewhere.
Before long, the Land of Fields came to be known across the continent as a paradise for the common man — a utopia amid the chaos of the shinobi world.
At the same time, with the founding of Sound Village, Nobunaga began openly recruiting shinobi from beyond the borders.
Most of these wandering ninja—unaffiliated with any of the Five Great Villages—were a mixed lot: mercenaries, deserters, drifters.
Their skill levels varied wildly, and their morals were even worse.
But numbers had power. And among the rabble, there were bound to be a few worth keeping.
As for the more unsavory ones… well, wasn't that precisely why Orochimaru was here?
Surely, the Sannin would welcome them—with open arms and an open laboratory.
And so, after a brief period of upheaval, the Land of Fields began to stabilize, bursting with renewed life.
Merchants, vagabonds, and shinobi alike flooded in, each driven by their own ambitions.
What was once a quiet, overlooked country had become the storm's eye of the shinobi world.
---
"So this is the Land of Fields?"
The man who murmured those words wore a familiar mask that concealed half his face.
Hatake Kakashi, operating under orders from the Third Hokage, had made his way into the country with minimal disguise.
He'd joined the steady stream of migrants drawn by rumors of a "commoner's paradise," his visible eye scanning the bustling streets with detached curiosity.
Everywhere he looked, people were moving—building, talking, laughing.
Vendors shouted prices, children ran through the squares, and workers carried goods through streets that pulsed with life.
It was… strange.
Kakashi had lived too long in the shadows—years of ANBU work where every mission was either killing or preparing to kill.
Now, surrounded by vitality and laughter, he felt a quiet unease crawl up his spine.
When was the last time I saw people smile like this?
Even compared to the citizens of Konoha, the people here seemed alive in a way he couldn't quite describe.
He exhaled through his mask, expression unreadable.
"...Boring."
The word slipped out, flat and emotionless, as if to drown out the faint ripple of feeling that had stirred in him.
Mission first. Always mission first.
---
"Hey, you there! Young man!"
A cheerful voice called out from behind.
Kakashi turned slightly, his single visible eye half-lidded in mild suspicion.
A burly merchant with a wide grin was waving at him enthusiastically.
"You're new to the Land of Fields too, aren't you?"
For the briefest moment, Kakashi wondered if this was the start of another infiltration gone wrong.
He sighed inwardly.
...I have a feeling I've come to a very strange place.
After completing his registration under a false identity at the immigration office, Kakashi was about to slip away to begin his reconnaissance when —
A middle-aged woman with the unmistakable air of a hard-working housewife suddenly blocked his path.
"...Now what?"
Kakashi froze. Instinctively, his muscles tensed, his lone visible eye sharpening like a blade.
The woman in front of him was dressed plainly, her face warm with a bright, open smile.
But Kakashi wasn't the kind of man who was easily fooled by friendliness.
Was I discovered already?
He cursed inwardly.
I knew I shouldn't have listened to the Third. Coming in as a migrant worker was a mistake. I should've just infiltrated like a proper shinobi...
Unaware of the suspicion burning behind that half-covered face, the woman looked him up and down, taking in his prematurely white hair and the eye patch.
"Oh, you poor thing," she said with genuine pity. "So young, and already lost an eye... and your hair's gone all white."
She gave his shoulder a few sympathetic pats — and though Kakashi's reflexes screamed at him to dodge, he restrained himself. He was, after all, on a mission.
Then the woman leaned closer and began questioning him with alarming enthusiasm.
"Do you have a job yet? Any relatives here in the Land of Fields? A place to stay?"
Kakashi blinked, momentarily thrown off.
What…?
He stared at her, expression flat but wary, and without replying turned to leave.
But she wasn't letting him go that easily.
After all, she'd come here specifically to recruit workers — and this pale, one-eyed, quietly brooding young man looked like the very picture of hardship. How could she possibly pass him up?
"Ah, wait! I'm Haruko Kamio, owner of the Kamio Fruit Company," she said proudly, puffing out her chest.
Kakashi gave her a blank stare.
"You see, the fact that you came to the Land of Fields means you've chosen the right path," Haruko continued earnestly. "But don't think that just arriving here guarantees you an easy life!"
"Our new daimyō, Lord Oda Nobunaga, is a benevolent ruler — but his kindness is reserved for the diligent. Here in our land, those who don't work, don't eat. Lazy people aren't welcome!"
Kakashi's expression didn't change, but something inside him went cold.
It sounded reasonable on the surface — hard work, self-reliance — but to someone like him, who had seen the darkness behind too many "systems," it rang with another meaning entirely: a new kind of control.
Haruko, of course, took his silence as shyness and pressed on.
"But don't you worry! For newcomers like yourself, Lord Nobunaga has arranged everything to help you adapt. Employers like us are required to set up recruitment stalls right here at the immigration plaza, where both sides choose each other fairly."
"And see over there?" — she pointed toward a bustling corner of the square, where officials were frantically handling stacks of documents — "That's the government labor office. Every employment contract has to be filed there under Nobunaga's new Labor Code."
"Ordinary industries must follow the eight-hour workday, with two days off each week! Oh, and there's also full insurance — medical, pension, unemployment, everything. All funded by the state!"
"Even in service jobs like mine, employers are required by law to provide adequate rest periods."
She wagged a finger with mock severity. "And if any company breaks the rules, you can file a complaint directly with the government! They'll investigate — and don't worry about losing your job, they'll reassign you somewhere else!"
Kakashi stared at her through his half-lidded eye, utterly expressionless.
To him, this all sounded like pure fantasy.
A shinobi who had lived through blood and betrayal, he couldn't even imagine such a world existing.
An eight-hour workday? Weekends? Government protection?
This wasn't a nation — this was a fairy tale.
"...You're joking," he muttered under his breath.
But Haruko laughed, mistaking his disbelief for modesty.
"Oh, you don't believe me? I'm serious! Lord Nobunaga is a merciful ruler. Without those greedy middlemen sucking us dry, everyone's life has improved!"
She beamed with pride. "His lordship always says — 'Man was not born a beast of burden. We live to enjoy life, not to be crushed by it.'"
"And do you know his other favorite saying?" she added, lowering her voice slightly, as if sharing a sacred truth.
"To remain trapped in old rules may not make you useless…
But refusing to break them and embrace a new life—"
She smiled. "That makes you worse than useless."
Kakashi's visible eye snapped wide open. His body went still.
"Worse than useless… break the old rules?" he echoed softly.
For a heartbeat, the noise of the plaza faded from his hearing.
The woman kept talking, cheerfully trying to recruit him, but Kakashi's mind was already elsewhere — the words 'break the old rules' echoing again and again in his head.
...No way.
Could it be?
His heart, long frozen under layers of discipline and indifference, stirred uneasily.
Meanwhile, far away in Oda Nobunaga's estate, another group of visitors was being ushered in to seek an audience with the young daimyō who was rewriting the world itself.