Near the edge of Konoha Village, on the western riverbank, sat a small woodland cabin built by Mite Dai using wood and planks.
Night had already fallen. Old-fashioned wall lamps cast a soft orange glow, their flickering light dancing across the cabin walls.
Dai's wife was an unassuming young woman with a slim frame, but her slightly rounded belly suggested she was about three months pregnant.
Dai had returned from the village gates carrying fresh vegetables, and even a small, expensive cut of lamb. "Honey, look what I bought!" he said, beaming.
"You, coming home all sweaty again. Go wash up in the river first," she said, pinching her nose. Despite their modest circumstances, she carried no bitterness, only quiet anticipation for the day their child would arrive.
Dai awkwardly placed the vegetables and raw lamb on the cabin's table. After washing his hands, he grabbed a wooden bucket and headed to the riverbank. He stripped down and began washing himself in the cold water. This was ordinary life. Behind the picturesque scenes of Konoha Village, Genin like Dai and ordinary folk worked tirelessly just to survive.
Sometimes, reality could be cruel. Those with connections had advantages. Others, relying solely on talent, could cultivate freely and become ninja prodigies. Even without making history, they had once stood in the spotlight.
"Reality is a cycle," Folken thought quietly, observing from a tree branch near the cabin.
"Some people ride the winds of fortune, their talent placing them in the spotlight, but fate does not favor just one individual."
"Even the Second Hokage, with all his genius and countless forbidden techniques, still died in a conspiracy carefully plotted by the Cloud Village rebellion."
Folken remained perched, surrounded by Dai's crude but functional traps, designed to ward off beasts and snakes. They were too basic to stop wall-crawling ninja, but sufficient for ordinary threats.
"Jonin or Kage, death comes for everyone," he thought, his presence almost completely silent thanks to precise chakra control.
Inside, Dai's wife chopped the lamb, humming softly. She peered through the window, sensing something in the forest, but saw nothing.
"Strange… maybe I imagined it. Dai checks the traps every day, everything should be fine." The young soon-to-be mother moved with youthful vitality, singing lightly as she prepped a meal in a small pressure cooker, intending to make a nourishing lamb stew for her husband.
In a world where survival was a challenge, where technology was scarce, food was precious, and ninja battles could erupt at any moment, being alive was itself a blessing.
Folken leaned against a tree trunk, waiting for Dai to finish bathing. Once the lingering smell of river and sweat dissipated, he spoke leisurely.
"Dai, do you always take this long to bathe?"
The question startled Dai so badly he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Ahhh! A ghost!"
Minutes later, Dai's wife, disturbed by his shouting, hurried over. Folken greeted her politely and apologized, explaining the misunderstanding. Once she returned inside, Dai hastily dressed, still fuming.
He tossed his clothes into the wooden bucket to wash them, grumbling at Folken. "Folken, do you know scaring someone like that could kill them?"
"I just wanted to see you enjoying the bath," Folken said calmly, eyes on the warm candlelight filtering through the trees. "By the way, have you been taking Rin to checkups, photos, or doctor visits? Don't neglect that."
"Don't worry, Rin is perfectly healthy!" Dai's youthful energy returned instantly. Only moments like this made him feel his youth had value. Still, he sensed trouble, remembering Folken's sudden visit.
"Folken, if you came here suddenly, it's not about a mission problem, is it?"
"No need to worry. You have two months. During that time, I'll guide you through missions to gain experience. That way, you can eventually handle D-rank missions on your own and earn a living in the village."
Dai's mind wandered back to when he had been rejected by his team, unable to pay rent, and almost forced to live on the streets. Folken had then suggested he build a cabin in a supposedly safe patch of forest outside the village, cheaply, with the Hokage's approval.
Dai hadn't expected his wife to be pregnant or their situation to worsen to the point they lived here.
"That's good. I've saved quite a bit now. A few months before the birth, I'll rent a proper house in the village so Rin can live comfortably while giving birth."
Folken was speechless. Dai was either honest or naïve. In the modern world, someone like him might be roasted online for his optimism.
"By the way, I plan to buy a house. I've already paid a year's rent on the warehouse. Want to consider it?" Folken suggested, offering Dai a chance to save on rent and gain a roof for his growing family.
Dai frowned at the thought of money, rubbing his clothes on a washboard. "But I don't have much… just twenty or thirty thousand ryō."
Even a hot-blooded hero can feel humbled when confronted by life's realities, especially a supporting character in his own story.
"Don't worry. No money needed. Just cover utilities. Sound good?"
"Absolutely! Folken, why are you so good to me? You're not… interested in my body, are you?" Dai's face lit up with joy at the thought of free housing.
With that, he could finally buy nutritious food for his wife.
The next day, Folken rose from his small twenty-square-meter room. Last night wasn't just about helping Dai; he had already paid two months' rent and couldn't get a refund. In Konoha, landlords required at least half-year or yearly leases, with deposits of one to three months, and rent paid in one or two months upfront.
He understood firsthand the struggles of people without housing, having nearly experienced homelessness himself.
"After lunch, I'll check some houses. Then the three of you can help Dai move. Might as well make good use of you."
Folken cleaned up, changed into fresh clothes, and headed to the meeting point to wait for the three of them.
A week passed in a blur. Team cohesion grew. Class Eleven wasn't the most outstanding graduating team, but their performance on D-rank missions was the best among all classes.
On the third floor of an apartment building in the bustling village center, a sixty-square-meter apartment, ninety percent new, housed the four members of Class Eleven and Dai's wife.
Folken placed a cast-iron pot of stew on the large wooden table, lifted the steaming cloth cover, and warned, "Careful, it's hot. Thanks for your hard work during the cleanup today."
Mikoto cleared her throat and, like a small adult, stood up, raising her glass of orange juice. "Not bad~ Nonou! Let's celebrate Folken-sensei and Uncle Dai moving into a new house!"
Nonou clinked her glass with Mikoto's. "Yay~"
She took a sip. "We've also completed five D-rank missions. Do we get to start C-rank missions now?"
Both Mikoto and Dai looked at Folken, who was carrying rice to the table. Folken rolled his eyes internally. Now was not the time for C-rank missions; it would be like sending them into a meat grinder. He gave a vague excuse to dismiss the topic.
Somehow, the Third Hokage had learned of Folken's move. Busy as he was, he managed to send Folken and Dai a small moving gift via shadow clone, each three thousand ryō.
This apartment was also affordable thanks to Nonou's mother, a medical ninja, who had connections with the previous owner. The final price of four hundred fifty thousand ryō saved them roughly thirty thousand compared to normal village rates. In Konoha, new and second-hand housing prices were nearly identical.