Chapter 34: The Strange Village

"This village is in a really great spot," Uchiha Jin remarked as he and his teammates stood on the peak, looking down at the village below.

The village's location was indeed critical, situated at the intersection of the Land of Fire, the Land of Taki, and the Land of Grass. 

Even if Iwagakure were to launch an invasion, they would have to pass through this village.

Although the shinobi from the Lands of Grass and Taki were weak, they were still part of nations. Despite being lands ruled jointly by ninja and nobles, the nobles naturally held a higher status than the shinobi.

If the daimyos of the Land of Grass or the Land of Taki reported any movements to the daimyo of the Land of Earth, and if the latter decided to cut Iwagakure's funding, it would be quite problematic for them.

Therefore, if Iwagakure were to launch a large-scale invasion of Konoha, they would have to take a route that passed through the borders of these two countries.

The borderland between the two nations was a no-man's land. Although it was technically their territory, neither nation had actual control over it.

Even the daimyos of the Land of Grass and the Land of Taki wouldn't be able to say much about it.

As long as they kept their numbers small and weren't caught in the act, shinobi could come and go as they pleased.

Officially, it was forbidden, but given how shinobi operated, there wasn't much the governments could do to stop them. 

This route would also serve as a key battleground in future clashes between Konoha and Iwagakure.

It was along this very path that Minato Namikaze would one day bring an end to the Iwagakure forces at the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.

"They're pretty lucky, really," Jin continued.

In a place like this, you'd expect anyone passing through to get pelted with shuriken.

The fact that this village managed to exist here was nothing short of miraculous.

"Let's go," Minato said.

The three quickly made their way toward the village. The smoke rising from the chimneys and the distant figures going about their daily routines indicated that, for now, the village was safe.

They soon reached the village gate.

An old man, sitting by the entrance, was dozing off.

"Snore..."

The sound was thunderous, so loud that Jin could almost feel his eardrums vibrating.

It was like a battlefield-level clash of kage-level forces.

"Jeez..." Jin inhaled sharply, suddenly struck by a thought.

"Could it be that this old man's snoring scared the Iwagakure shinobi away?"

"Hiss!" Even Minato looked shocked.

"Terrifying," Minato muttered.

"You two! Stop being ridiculous!" Kushina snapped.

Thud! Thud!

Both Jin and Minato rubbed the fresh lumps on their heads, looking up at the smoking fist of Kushina.

Was there no justice? How was it that the two who had the brains were the ones who got beaten?

"We were just joking around..." Jin grumbled.

"Just joking around, huh?" Minato said, giving Jin a sidelong glance.

This only made Kushina's forehead vein twitch with irritation.

The commotion stirred the old man awake. He opened his eyes and squinted at the three of them, his expression sleepy and confused.

"Where did these kids come from? Go play somewhere else," he muttered dismissively, waving them off as though they were a nuisance. He then closed his eyes again, ready to resume his nap.

"Can't you see I'm busy guarding the gate?" 

You could hardly say he was guarding it! 

How had this village survived like this? It was unbelievable.

"Excuse me, sir, we're shinobi from Konoha. We've come to check on the situation here," Minato said politely with a smile.

The old man, finally fully awake, noticed the headbands they were wearing and shot up from his seat, suddenly wide-eyed. 

"Shinobi! The shinobi have arrived!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

It was as though he had triggered some sort of alarm. In an instant, shadows came rushing toward them from the village.

A black mass of people swarmed out, heading directly toward them.

The three of them immediately went on high alert, pulling out their kunai and preparing for the worst.

Luckily, the crowd stopped a short distance away.

The villagers were dressed in ragged clothes, their eyes gleaming as they stared at the trio.

It was... unsettling.

An honest-looking man with a simple face stepped forward, a broad smile plastered across his face.

"Welcome, noble shinobi! I'm the head of this village. If there's anything you need, feel free to ask me," he said warmly.

Behind him, whispers could be heard coming from the crowd.

"Look how small those shinobi are! They're so cute!"

"Those two boys are so handsome! They'll be real lookers when they grow up."

"That girl's the cutest! I just want to scoop her up in my arms!"

The last comment came from a burly man, making Kushina shiver.

This place was definitely full of creeps!

The village head scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Konoha's shinobi have been protecting our village for so long that everyone has come to really appreciate them."

It seemed more like they were overappreciating them. 

Jin found himself taking a few steps back, unable to shake off the eerie feeling from the villagers' fervent gazes.

How had the mission briefing not mentioned this?

As the team leader, Minato had no choice but to press on, despite his own discomfort, and began gathering information from the village head.

"Village Chief, we've received reports that wandering shinobi have been spotted around here," Minato said.

"That's true," the village chief replied, his expression turning serious. After all, the safety of the village was at stake.

"Several months ago, we had frequent sightings of rogue shinobi near the village. But after a few visits from Konoha shinobi, those rogues disappeared."

The chief's words could be considered partial information, but they still needed to verify it themselves.

"We've come to confirm the situation. We might need to stay here for a few days," Minato explained with a forced smile, which only prompted cheers from the crowd behind them.

He had never encountered such an enthusiastic reception before, and it made his scalp tingle.

"It's only right!" the chief said, nodding eagerly. He seemed afraid the shinobi would leave.

If it weren't for the kunai in their hands, the chief might have tried to hug them all.

The chief led the trio through the village, the crowd following behind, their piercing gazes making the three of them more than a little uncomfortable.

Noticing their unease, the village chief turned to the villagers and shouted sternly:

"What are you all staring at? Go back to what you were doing!"

Reluctantly, the villagers dispersed, though it was clear they were disappointed.

After all, it wasn't every day Konoha shinobi visited the village.

Who knew when they'd get the chance to see them again?

Jin, watching the villagers depart, rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Something didn't feel right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

The chief eventually led them to a house.

"This place was built specifically for Konoha shinobi. I live next door, so if you need anything, just call."

"Thank you," Minato said, feeling a bit embarrassed by the chief's enthusiasm.

"It's nothing. Without you, we wouldn't have peace," the chief replied, waving his hand in gratitude.

After a bit more conversation, the chief finally left, leaving the three shinobi alone in the house.

"This place feels... strange," Jin commented, his suspicions growing.

Minato nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it does."

"What are you two talking about?" Kushina asked, utterly confused.

"I think the villagers seem really nice. What's so strange about that?"

It was Kushina's first time experiencing such warmth from people. This kind of treatment was exactly why she wanted to become Hokage.

"They're too nice," Jin said, shaking his head.

"Since when was being nice a bad thing?" Kushina asked, still not understanding. 

Jin shot her a look like she was an idiot, which infuriated her.

"What's with that look?! Want to settle this with a fight?"

They still hadn't resolved their previous quarrel.

Jin turned his head away.

"My family told me not to mess around with idiots."

"Family?" Kushina blinked, puzzled. Wasn't Jin the only one left in his family? Where would he get advice from?

Wait—was he calling her an idiot?!

"I'm going to kill you!" Kushina roared, ready to charge at him.

"White, bite her," Jin commanded.

A small white snake slithered out from Jin's collar, swiftly sinking its teeth into Kushina's nose. 

"Ah! Let go of my nose! Let go!!"

Kushina flailed around, trying to pull the snake off without leaving a mark on her nose.

Thud!

In her blind panic, she ran straight into a pillar, causing the snake to finally let go and slither back to Jin's feet before climbing up his leg.

Will she never learn?

Kushina lay on the ground, staring at the ceiling and rubbing the new wound on her nose. She felt like crying. How could she keep getting bullied by a little white snake?

"That's enough, Kushina," Minato intervened, stepping in to stop the bickering. When these two started fighting, there was nothing he could do.

He explained further, trying to calm her down. 

"Normally, civilians are more afraid of shinobi. It's rare to see a village so respectful toward ninja like this one."

Villages like this one had likely witnessed the brutality of shinobi firsthand.

Kushina still didn't get it. 

"But they said Konoha shinobi have always protected them, right?"

"Idiot," Jin scoffed, not holding back his insult.

"Outposts are meant to be secretive and to gather intelligence. There's no way they'd waste time and resources protecting a village unless that village was working for them."

The mission briefing certainly hadn't mentioned anything about the village being an ally.

"So, this village..." Minato and Jin both looked serious as they exchanged glances.

"There's definitely more to this village than meets the eye."

---

Late at night, as the village lay silent, Jin and his teammates moved through the shadows, blending into the darkness. They quickly leaped across the rooftops, scouring the village for anything unusual.

Yet, despite their efforts, they found nothing out of the ordinary.

"We could really use a detection jutsu right about now," Jin muttered, frustrated. Despite having developed a new jutsu, it wasn't useful for reconnaissance.

"I have one," Kushina said, glancing at Jin in confusion.

"You have a detection jutsu?!"

Both Jin and Minato stared at her in shock.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?!"

Kushina scratched her head awkwardly. "Didn't I mention it before?"

"No, you must have said it in your sleep," Jin replied sarcastically.

Kushina clenched her fists.

"Hurry up and use it already. Stop wasting time like some weakling."

"I am a girl, you know!"

"Yeah, I never would've guessed."

"I'm going to kill you!"

"All right, enough!" Minato intervened, trying to prevent another fight. Being the team leader was definitely not easy.

"Kushina, please help us out with your detection jutsu."

Huffing, Kushina shot Jin a cold glare before performing the hand seals.

"Kagura Mind's Eye!"

Her eyes widened in alarm.

"There are shinobi here!"

"Where?" Jin and Minato asked simultaneously.

"Right beneath us!"