A few days later,
A convoy of shinobis departs from Konoha's exit.
Inside a carriage,
'This is my first time sitting in a horse-drawn carriage!'
Ritsu curiously glances at the insides of the carriage. Ishiko sits beside him with a smile on her face. Opposite the mother-son duo is a fair-skinned young woman with violet eyes and long brown hair with two bangs of hair framing both sides of her face.
"We are sorry to trouble you, Princess Natsumi."
Ishiko apologizes to the woman in front of her.
"No! No! It's my pleasure to have someone like you to accompany me." The woman shakes her head.
'This woman is a princess?' Ritsu is taken aback.
"Princess!" Ritsu turns to Ishiko in surprise.
The princess smiles and shakes her head.
"It's just a title!"
'So, Uncle Yuga's current mission is to escort this princess to her home in the Land of Silk.' Ritsu speculates.
'As one can guess from the name, the land of silk is famous for its fine-quality silk that is renowned across the entire Shinobi world and is quite popular among the nobles, aristocrats, and even rich merchants.'
There are aristocrats in the shinobi world because there are several big and small kingdoms spread throughout the massive land of the shinobi world.
From the shinobi world map, present in his grandma's study, he found out that there are more than fifty independent nations throughout the entire shinobi world. Of these fifty nations, only the nation of the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, Land of Earth, Land of Lightning, and the Land of Water with its scattered islands are among the Five Great Nations.
These five nations didn't possess a massive landmass, since there are several nations and kingdoms with more than double or triple their size. These nations are called great nations because each of these nations possesses a hidden village with a powerful military force that is unrivaled throughout the shinobi world. And these five hidden villages are, of course, Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and the Kirigakure.
Even the land of Fire is a fairly large nation with six provinces: the Hokage Province, the Rekka Province, the Natsu Province, the Kogeta Province, the Nikko Province, and the Taika Province. Konohagakure isn't the only village in the Land of Fire, but one of the many villages. Its importance as the strongest military hub of the Land of Fire is undeniable.
Each province has its shinobi academy with affiliation to the main branch in the Hokage Province. The Natsu Province is the biggest province of the Land of Fire and also the headquarters of the biggest economic hub of the entire shinobi world. The castle of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire is also located in this province. It's the most prosperous province with three shinobi academies.
This information broadened Ritsu's worldview. Looks like the anime story didn't show the entire picture of the vast shinobi world. An itch to explore the vast world appeared in him. So, when he heard that his mother was visiting a foreign land to visit an old friend, he begged her to tag along. At first, his mother denied his request, but after his constant pleas and requests, she caved in.
Now, back to the contents of Uncle Yuga's mission. This time, Uncle Yuga's task is to safely escort Princess Natsumi of the Land of Silk to her hometown.
Princess Natsumi was on a secret sightseeing trip to the Land of Fire along with merchants from the land of Silk. However, her convoy was attacked by bandits and her location and identity were revealed.
Since then, her group has been attacked several times with bandits and robbers. Finally, when a group of low-level shinobis attacked the convoy, the group had no choice but to resort to releasing an escort mission to Konoha's hokage office.
They paid a hefty sum and elevated the mission to A-rank to get the best protection. Uncle Yuga took this mission with his team and, since Ishiko's destination was also on the same path, the group tagged along with the princess.
The princess was happy to accommodate them since Grandam Shima seemed to have a wide network of connections and a great reputation in the shinobi world.
'I wonder what kind of adventures Grandma Shima did to garner such respect?' Ritsu wonders.
The convoy slowly moves through the Land of Fire.
Starting from Konoha, they had to cross the Hokage Province and the Natsu Province to reach the Land of Grass.
The Land of Silk is several nations away from the Land of Fire and they had to travel through, the Land of Grass, Land of Rain, Land of Stones, Land of Keys, Land of Bears, Land of Birds, Land of Honey, and Land of Forest to finally reach the Land of silk.
The journey will be long and arduous. From his mother's estimate, it will take them a month at minimum to reach their destination.
'No wonder it will take a month! The transportation here is very slow.' He glances outside the window from the carriage.
Princess Natsumi's convoy includes the princess, her maid, two bodyguards, and ten merchants. There are seven carriages in their convoy, two of which carry the goods.
Initially, their group had twenty bodyguards, twelve merchants, and nine carriages. However, they lost most of their men and goods in the continuous battle against the bandits.
After selling their remaining goods, the group bought some essentials and a few other goods to trade back in their nation. The merchants had to make a living, so they couldn't return empty-handed.
Now, along with Uncle Yūga and his group, and the mother-son pair; the group has an additional twelve people.
Ritsu was bored sitting inside the carriage, so he jumped outside and sat on the roof to observe his surroundings.
Even in his past life, he didn't travel much. Perhaps he only went out once of his city to another city and that too to deliver some goods for the store. So, this was a novel experience for him and he wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.
It got too hot during the noon, so the group took a slight break in the shades of the trees. The horses also need rest to recover their energy.
Occasionally, the members of Uncle Yūga's team will appear out of nowhere and report it to him.
Curious, he asked his uncle and was surprised that during their journey, the group was attacked multiple times by bandits. But Uncle Yūga and his group took care of them before they could even strike.
Ritsu wanted to see a real shinobi battle where both sides would use cool jutsus as portrayed in the anime. However, during the entire day, he didn't even see them weave any hand signs, much less cast any jutsu, much to his disappointment.
Uncle Yūga notices Ritsu's downcast expression and understands his emotions a bit. He calmly explains.
"Ritsu, most shinobis are assassins. We strike in shadows and neutralize any threat without creating any commotion or else it might alert the remaining enemies. A shinobi will never engage in direct combat unless it's absolutely necessary or we are fighting a war. Even then, we fight with our weapons and hand-to-hand combat. We use genjutsu to create a distraction or an opening in the fight. Ninjutsu is a last resort for a shinobi and is often used to deal a killing blow."
"Then what's the use of learning so many Ninjutsu techniques?" Ritsu asks.
"To add versatility to our arsenal! We never know what kind of unexpected situation we might face, so we have to increase the number of skills we master for these unexpected situations. Even then, most shinobis use Ninjutsu skills to enhance their other skills. Being low on chakra is quite risky, especially in a perilous situation. That's why most shinobis think twice before using a ninjutsu."
"I understand, uncle!" Ritsu nods.
'Things are about to change in the future. Soon, every shinobi will turn into a wizard, spam casting jutsus left and right.' Ritsu silently rolls his eyes.
After eating lunch, the group continues their journey. As a kid, Ritsu's body is active and full of energy. So, he uses this opportunity to train his 'Water Walking' and chakra control.
A creek flows along the path and Ritsu jumps on top of it to train. His mother glances at him from the carriage and gently shakes her head.
"Such a lively child!" The princess also stares at Ritsu with amusement.
By the end of the evening, the group reaches a small city in the Natsu province. Even though it's a small city, it is still bustling with lots of people.
Ritsu hops on top of a giant tree on a hill and glances at the entire city from a height.
"Incredible! This city is almost twice the size of the village."
The sheer size of the city amazes him. He visited quite a few major cities in his past life and was already used to the hustle-bustle of the crowd. Even though the city in front of him might not even compare to a small fraction of those large cities, it's still a shocking sight to see so many people.
"This is Hojo City." Uncle Yūga, who is also standing beside him, explains.
"Hojo city?!" Ritsu tilts his head in confusion.
"The city got its name from a small merchant family who found it several years ago. Under their power and influence, it has expanded to its current state."
"I think I saw a shop with that name in the village." He murmurs.
"That's right! It's their business." Uncle Yūga nods.
"Now, let's get going!" He pats Ritsu's shoulder and jumps down.
Ritsu also follows him and soon the group enters Hojo city after paying a small toll at the entrance.
"There is an inn managed by the Hojo family ahead. Let's stay there for the night." Uncle Yūga suggests to the Princess Natsumi.
Since Princess Natsumi is their employer, they will follow her lead.
"Alright!" She nods and the group stations their carriage at the inn.
After getting out of the carriage, Ishiko makes a hand seal and taps her finger in the air, drawing a seal.
"Mom, what's that?" Ritsu asks with curiosity.
"Just a small warding seal to alert us in case someone attempts to vandalize the carriages."
"Wow! Mom, can you teach me?" He asks with curiosity.
"You need to complete the book your grandma gave you first?" She pats his head.
"Ok!"
After checking in at the inn, the group books room for their members. Princess Natsumi and her maid were in one room while Ritsu and his mother were in another. The rest of the merchants and shinobis also book their rooms.
The employer covered the journey expense.
Later at night.
Princess Natsumi, Ishiko, and Ritsu go out for a night stroll at Ritsu's insistence. Uncle Yugo also silently followed them as their bodyguard.
The bustling night market with various shops, bars, restaurants, and other services is a fascinating sight for him.
'My previous world was much more prosperous and yet I didn't experience anything like this.' A sad expression appeared on his face.
However, the next moment, his mother's gentle voice eases his mood.
"Ritsu, do you want to try playing some games?"
"Yes, I want to!" He nods in slight anticipation.
There are several stalls with different games like goldfish scooping, yo-yo fishing, gun-shooting, shuriken throwing, and several other games.
Princess Natsumi also joins in the fun and the group enjoys it a lot. Ritsu even buys a Kitsuné and Oni mask from a mask shop.
While strolling through the village, he notices several Konoha shinobis in their shinobi outfit. He turns to Uncle Yūga and enquires.
"Every major city has shinobis stationed in them to maintain peace and enforce the law. There are several shinobi outposts scattered throughout the nation." He explains.
"Oh!" Ritsu nods in understanding.
"Uncle, how many shinobis are there in the leaf village?" He asks with curiosity.
His sudden question surprises Uncle Yūga, but he still explains with a smile.
"I don't know the exact number. But there are at least twenty to thirty thousand shinobis spread throughout the Land of Fire."
"And most of these shinobis are genins." He adds.
"Isn't that a lot less? Given the number of people in this city, isn't that a small number?" Ritsu asks with curiosity.
'Thirty thousand shinobis are a very low number for a nation with a population of several million. Even this small city must have over 100 thousand people.'
"Haha… that's the indeed case." Uncle Yūga chuckles.
"But shinobis aren't the only military force of the Land of Fire. They are one of the military forces and the strongest one at that. The Land of Fire has a massive army with several hundred thousand soldiers. However, most of these soldiers are common folks and failed academy students who are trained in basic combat arts and weapons. So, compared to that number, shinobis are indeed a lot less.
But bear in mind, shinobis are the elite of the elite soldiers. In a battle, even the fifteen thousand shinobis are more than enough to tackle an army of several hundred thousand common soldiers.
Do you think everyone can become a shinobi? It requires hard work and talent to become a shinobi. Every year, thousands of students enroll in the academy to learn how to become a shinobi. But out of these thousands, only a dozen will graduate.
And they too will start at the bottom tier as a genin. They have to work hard to improve their skills even further and prove themselves to climb in rank. So, the journey of a shinobi is full of hardships and it requires a huge amount of effort to stand out from the rest."
Uncle Yuga explains everything with a serious expression.
Ritsu listens to Yuga's explanation with a solemn expression.
"So, are you afraid now?" He asks Ritsu with a smile.
"No! I am not afraid. Instead, this motivates me to work even harder. I want to become the strongest shinobi of the village." Ritsu clenches his fist.
"Oh!" Ishiko stares at her son in amusement.
"So, Ritsu, do you want to become the Hokage?" His mother asks.
"No!" Ritsu shakes his head.
"But Hokage is the strongest shinobi of the village." She adds with a smile.
"I want to be even stronger than a hokage." Ritsu clenches his fist.
"Why do you want to be so strong?" She asks again with interest.
"Because when I grow up, I want to protect mother, father, and grandma." He answers with a smile.
And that's indeed the case. The future is full of troublesome events and he wants to stand strong to shelter his family from all storms. He had lost his family once, and he didn't want to lose them again.
"Then I can't wait for the day when little Ritsu stands proudly in front of his mother and protects her from danger." Ishiko gently ruffles his hair and hugs him in her embrace.
"Mom!" A shy smile appears on his face. He enjoys the warmth of his mother, but sometimes he feels conflicted with these affectionate gestures because of his older mental age.
Haha…
Ishiko finds his pouting expression cute and pokes his cheeks with her fingers with a chuckle.
"Ok! Ok! Mom believes in you. One day, my Ritsu will become the strongest shinobi."
She doesn't take Ritsu's declaration to heart. He is just a kid who wants to impress his parents. Which kid didn't declare something similar with a proud expression in front of their parents?
The group continues their night stroll and eats plenty of delicious food from various food stalls.
After filling their stomach, the group returns to their inn to sleep.
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A/N:- During the Fourth Shinobi war, each nation had at least fifteen thousand shinobis participating in the war. And these participants were jounins and chunnins. There were no genins in the war except Sasuke and Naruto, but they are an exception.
The manga or anime doesn't really explain how there are so many shinobis when only 9 people graduate from the Konoha academy in a session. With only 9 graduates per academy session, it will take them centuries to reach fifteen thousand chunnins and genins.
So, this is an explanation I added to not only explain that part but also expand the shinobi world to a large scale. Konoha academy is the most elite shinobi academy with several branches spread throughout the rest of the nation. The shinobis from those academies made up the deficit in numbers.