Water bears at the beginning, wet bone forest eating old people

Outside the village entrance, there was a dense forest, lush and green. At that time, Konoha was not as big as it would be a few decades later, and this place was not included in the territory of Konoha Village.

Logically speaking, an organization like Konoha, which is like a powerful military fortress, should be firmly in the hands of the daimyo.

Even if it's not in the Fire Nation's capital, it should be nearby.

But in fact, the Fire Country has no capital, only Daimyo Prefecture as the center of the Fire Country.

Konoha is not just a ninja village. Its original name is the Hidden Village, which means hidden from the world and also represents that ninjas act in the dark.

That's why Konoha is located in the deep mountains and forests.

All these irrationalities themselves have a certain rationality. The most fundamental thing is that the ambition of the ninjas does not increase with the growth of their strength. Even those as strong as Hashirama and Madara only want to divide or rule the ninjas to achieve world peace, rather than rule the world.

After stepping out of Konoha Village, Jiraiya was like a bird that had escaped from a cage, running around happily in the trees.

"I'll go ahead and explore the way!"

He left a greeting and disappeared.

"Do you want to grow mushrooms..."

Gu Zang watched Jiraiya disappear from his sight speechlessly, then lay down lazily. What was there to see in the woods?

Hiruzen looked at Jiraiya's energetic appearance with a smile, and had no intention of stopping him.

Not long after the First War, although there were occasional fighting on the border, the area around Konoha Village was still very harmonious and there was no need to worry too much.

Soon, Jiraiya grew tired of the monotonous forest and returned to the group.

The group rushed towards the target marked on the mission intelligence.

Along the way, Jiraiya was like a chatterbox, asking questions all the time.

Hiruzen was like an encyclopedia, answering Jiraiya's questions one by one.

"Huruzen-sensei, why are the villages fighting each other?"

Jiraiya didn't understand. There was no war in other parts of the Land of Fire, and civilians lived in peace, but all the wars seemed to be started by ninjas.

"There are many reasons. Different villages have different beliefs and ideologies. As ninjas, there is competition among them."

Hiruzen explained to Jiraiya with a smile, and the old smoker held the cigarette in his hand and smoked it without stopping for a moment.

Smoking in the forest really shows a lack of fire prevention awareness, but for ninjas, fire seems to be harmless?

"But if ninjas fight each other, more people will lose their loved ones..."

Jiraiya was feeling a little down, as he himself was an orphan.

"So, we should advocate peace. Aggression is unacceptable. Protection is the will of the ninja~"

Hiruzen instilled the will of fire in Jiraiya in a mysterious way.

"I can still become a ninja. Those who can't become ninjas and can't do business will become bandits, right?"

Jiraiya suddenly thought of the bandits who were their target.

Hiruzen was silent for a long moment before he could only nod.

"They are also pitiful people, but when pitiful people make things difficult for other pitiful people, they become hateful."

Would a bandit rob a ninja? That's not a bandit, that's a fool.

Would bandits rob samurai? If the value is high enough, it's not impossible to take a chance.

The people that the bandits robbed the most were unarmed civilians and even refugees.

But the bandits themselves also evolved from civilians or refugees.

Are there many bandits in the Land of Fire? Not many, after all, it's a country with a good environment and a prosperous economy.

But bandits in the Fire Nation will always exist, because the fighting will never stop, and refugees will continue to pour into the enclave, and there will always be some among them who will roar through the mountains.

The topic seemed a bit heavy, and there was always something inexplicable stirring in Jiraiya's young head.

Jiraiya, who was originally very energetic, also became much quieter.

Orochimaru is not like Jiraiya. He always follows the team calmly, as if Jiraiya is an orphan and he is not an orphan.

For Orochimaru, it is better to look forward than to look back. He is already on the right path, so he should walk the road ahead well instead of looking back.

Hiruzen rubbed Jiraiya's hedgehog white fur hard twice to comfort him. Hiruzen liked this energetic boy very much. He was like himself.

"We're here."

Gu Zang glanced at the map Tsunade was holding in her chest, then looked at the hill in front of her.

The hill is not high, but it is steep on three sides. For ordinary people, it is a dangerous place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

"The mission is C-level. I won't take any action. This mission will be completed by the three of you."

Hiruzen stood still, then, like an overseer, he jumped up to the tree next to him and squatted on the treetop to look at the three people.

Hiruzen is a Jonin, and also holds the title of the second-generation bodyguard, so the price for asking him to help is not this high.

Jiraiya and the other two gathered together to discuss a strategy to attack the bandits' hideout.

"Hey! We're ninjas! We can just charge in!"

Orochimaru glanced at the carefree Jiraiya and asked, "Are you sure there are no ninjas in the village?"

Jiraiya was choked and curled his lips.

Tsunade giggled. She was happy to see Jiraiya regain his vitality, and even happier to see Jiraiya being choked and defeated.

"Orochimaru, you're the smartest, how do you say we should attack?"

Orochimaru nodded and accepted the title of the smartest, there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"First, the mission intelligence shows a C-rank. A C-rank means there will be no combat involved in the mission or there will be no ninja on the combat side."

"But the mission intelligence is too vague, with only vague data like a dozen or so bandits, so it's not credible enough."

"The worst-case scenario is that there are ninjas on the enemy side. We must be mentally prepared in advance."

"Secondly..."

Jiraiya was dumbfounded, "No, buddy, you really understand!"

What does a C-rank mission represent? He felt dizzy even listening to it. It was like chanting a sutra, more complicated than the theoretical classes in the ninja school. How did Orochimaru remember it?

Orochimaru ignored Jiraiya's glaring eyes that turned white. He was mainly talking to Tsunade.

As for Jiraiya, the same thing applies: just treat him as a wild boar running around recklessly.

"Secondly, we need to conduct our own exploration of the stronghold. The data shown in the intelligence is likely outdated. The number of people or the combat effectiveness of the stronghold may have changed."

"Jiraiya is good at transparent escape, and my snake ninjutsu can also play a certain role in detection. Jiraiya and I can do this."

"We can only make new plans after we have a clear understanding of the situation. If the enemy's combat effectiveness is unclear or inflated, we must consider retreating."

......

Orochimaru explained and arranged the tasks in a very organized manner. Even Jiraiya, with his personality, humbly accepted Orochimaru's arrangements.

Hiruzen squatted on the treetop and looked at Orochimaru quietly.

Jiraiya is the most like him, and he values ​​Jiraiya's growth very much.

But the disciple he admired most was actually Orochimaru, whether it was his theories in various aspects, his combat skills, or his calm personality and high thirst for knowledge.

Orochimaru is too perfect, so perfect that if he were an enemy, Hiruzen would not want such a ninja to grow up.