Konoha Year 16 —
It had been a year since the end of the Shinobi World War, and the ninja villages no longer needed to maintain wartime alert.
Aside from the Anbu ninjas who were still on alert missions, the overall atmosphere leaned towards relaxation, a prosperous scene of peace and contentment.
Because Tobirama intentionally promoted the emergence of civilian ninjas, and to encourage civilians to send their children to school, he implemented several measures beneficial to civilian life.
Even those civilians who rented land from ninja clans found their lives not much different from families who independently obtained land.
Compared to the past, civilians in Konoha Ninja Village lived much better.
They didn't have to worry about other things, only needing to diligently cultivate their land, and unknowingly developed a sense of belonging to the village, which was exactly what Tobirama hoped to see.
Besides civilians, there were also people who traveled thousands of miles to Konoha Ninja Village, mainly composed of merchants, artisans, or fallen samurai families —
Some adventurous merchants saw business opportunities behind the complex relationship between Konoha Ninja Village and the Land of Fire, hoping to expand their businesses further.
Of course, some also came to Konoha Ninja Village because their businesses were not going well and they decided to gamble on their future there;
During the First Shinobi World War, the demand for ninja tools in Konoha Ninja Village was astonishingly high; ninja clans alone could not meet the demand.
Therefore, artisans who saw this opportunity flocked to Konoha Ninja Village, benefiting mutually;
In the First Shinobi World War, besides the ninja villages, the status of samurai once again declined.
Various conflicts caused by the war deprived some samurai families of their means of livelihood, making them almost indistinguishable from civilians.
After intense ideological struggle, they decided to change course, abandoning their inherited samurai status and instead joining the new ninja groups.
The Hatake family was one of them.
Their ancestors were also renowned samurai families, but the ninja village system established by Hashirama Senju impacted samurai, shaking their beliefs.
Those stubborn samurai who refused to change went to the Land of Iron, while the remaining ones, though not all abandoning samurai traditions, had at least changed their way of thinking.
If it weren't for the war's impact, the Hatake family might have continued to live as samurai, but they ended up being implicated in court politics, their status plummeting, and even daily life became a struggle.
Fortunately, the current family head was not an old-fashioned person.
When he realized there was no hope for his family within the samurai class, he resolutely decided to join Konoha Ninja Village.
Although samurai don't use ninjutsu, their physical fitness fully meets the needs of ninjas, and their skills are excellent, though their methods are not as adept at surprise attacks as ninjas.
In the Ninja Academy, their learning progress was even faster than others, and the Hatake family's only son, Sakumo, stood out exceptionally among them.
Hatake Sakumo is seven years old this year.
He has received rigorous training since childhood, mastering his family's sword techniques with great proficiency.
If judged purely by strength, disregarding ninja principles, Hatake Sakumo would be among the top in his age group.
In the Ninja Academy, he also learned some ninja techniques; even if he couldn't use them skillfully yet, he certainly knew how to respond.
The teachers at the Ninja Academy are very optimistic about his future.
Although they arrived in Konoha Ninja Village with nothing, for a special group like the Hatake family, the ninja village directly provided them with land to live on, and it was even better than what ordinary people received.
The Hatake family now only consists of two people, the family head Hatake Isshin and his son Hatake Sakumo.
Due to their previous failures, Hatake Isshin no longer had any grand ambitions, only hoping that his child could establish himself in Konoha Ninja Village.
To his delight, his son returned recently to tell him that he had been noticed by Konoha Ninja Village's Jonin,Fumori Masaki, and would soon leave the Ninja Academy to study under him.
Since choosing to come to Konoha Ninja Village, Hatake Isshin naturally conducted some investigations into it.
Although he couldn't uncover deep-level information, the fact thatFumori Masaki was a student of the Second Hokage was something he could find out.
He never expected it to be such an important figure.
"Sakumo, you must cherish this opportunity and study hard under your teacher," Hatake Isshin said.
"We are a samurai family, out of place in this village.
To integrate into this village, we must rely on the help of the ninja village's high-ranking officials."
"I know, Father," Hatake Sakumo looked at his father, giving a "don't worry" smile.
"I've already decided to live as a ninja."
"Alas, who would have thought, a decade or so ago, that the Hatake family would one day join the ranks of ninjas," Hatake Isshin said with a wry smile.
"Sakumo, it's truly good that you can accept it so quickly.
I was worried you wouldn't understand."
— How could I not understand? More than whether to be a samurai or a ninja, what I care about most is you, Father.
Hatake Sakumo looked at his father's increasingly thin body and felt very sad.
Don't let the speed with which Hatake Isshin came to Konoha Ninja Village deceive you; in reality, how could a hundred-year-old samurai family easily let go of everything?
Although Hatake Sakumo was young, his mind was clever, his emotions rich, and he possessed a unique discerning eye.
His father hid it well, but he still saw through it.
His father was by no means as relaxed as he appeared.
Given that, how could he add to his father's burden because of himself?
Therefore, Hatake Sakumo always behaved obediently.
He decided that he would definitely rely on his own strength to enable his family to establish itself within Konoha Ninja Village.
Afterward, Hatake Sakumo received a notice from his teacher about where to meetFumori Masaki and the fact that he would have two teammates.
In the Ninja Academy, he knew that ninja teams usually consisted of three people.
This was modeled after the alliance of the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi ninja clans, and it received unanimous recognition during the First Shinobi World War.
So, it was now being used more and more widely, even for taking on apprentices.
"I wonder what the other two people are like," Hatake Sakumo felt a little nervous.
He knew he came from a samurai family; just as samurai didn't have much affection for ninjas, ninjas didn't have much affection for samurai.
During his time living in Konoha Ninja Village, he had already felt the surrounding gazes.
It was precisely because of this that Hatake Isshin told his son to study well underFumori Masaki, in order to gain the recognition of ninjas, integrate into the village, and become a part of it.
This feeling of being neither fully in nor fully out was truly unsettling for outsiders like them.
Hatake Sakumo left home very early that day and arrived at the designated meeting place.
This place was said to be for training.
The village had recently placed great importance on students' abilities, so training grounds like this were being built one after another.
Depending on the students' different statuses, some were public, and some were private, and Hatake Sakumo's was clearly a private one.
Kazamori Masaki, a student of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, came from the Kazamori clan.
During the Warring States period, he was taken in by the Senju clan, and later, during his time at the Konoha Academy, he was taken as a student by the current Hokage due to his outstanding performance, who taught him techniques.
During the First Shinobi World War, he launched a surprise attack behind Kumogakure Ninja Village, cut off their food supply, and severed one arm of Ginkaku, the 'Light of Kumogakure.'
This operation forced Kumogakure Ninja Village to retreat, buying time for the ninja village to adjust its deployment...
Hatake Sakumo silently recalled the rumors about Fumori Masaki in his mind.
In the Ninja Academy, all the glorious experiences of Konoha Academy students likeFumori Masaki were recounted to every student, inspiring many with reverence.
Hatake Sakumo also felt that this person was very impressive.
"I wonder what kind of person he is.
I hope we can get along well."
As Hatake Sakumo was anticipating, he suddenly felt someone approaching and quickly turned his head, only to see a boy slowly walking towards him.