Sand Village paled into that fish-belly white of pre-dawn.
And Sand Village was already awake.
Not the lazy, slow kind of waking.
It was as if something had lit the whole place on fire.
From every corner of the village, boiling vitality burst out all at once.
In the plaza before the Kazekage Tower, a dense crowd surged like a tide.
The morning light had yet to chase away the last trace of night's chill.
But the people's passion had already baked the air scorching hot.
"Move aside! Move aside! I'm a representative elected from the West District. I get priority entry!"
"So being a representative makes you special? I'm a representative too! A chūnin representative!"
"Civilian representatives enter through the left passage. Don't squeeze into the wrong line!"
Shouts, footsteps, laughter, arguments. All of it braided together into a roaring sea of noise.
Heads packed the plaza.
Some wore shinobi flak jackets, some wore roughspun work clothes, some were children perched on their fathers' shoulders…
All kinds of people, crammed into their places.
Wearing the same excitement on their faces.
"I never would've thought…"
A young genin stood on the edge of the crowd, staring at that black mass of heads, his voice trembling a little.
"A high-level meeting like this… and we genin can actually attend?"
A few companions his age stood beside him.
One grinned, one scratched the back of his head, one's eyes shone so brightly it was almost scary.
"Heh, it's not just you, a genin…"
A chūnin patted his shoulder, his tone carrying excitement he couldn't hide even if he tried.
"See over there? That guy in the coarse cloth jacket, the potter from the West District."
"That woman holding a kid, she just runs a little general store."
"And that old man with a cane, a genin who's been retired for twenty years… they're all allowed in!"
The genin glanced at each other.
For a moment, none of them knew what to say.
They'd lived more than ten years, grown up in Sand Village.
They understood the rules of this place better than anyone…
Orders flowed from the top down, obedience flowed from the bottom up.
Decisions made by the higher-ups weren't theirs to question.
Adult business wasn't for kids to interrupt.
But now…
"Do you think…"
One genin asked softly, his voice threaded with uncertainty.
"The questions we raise… will Kazekage-sama really care?"
The area went quiet for a beat.
Then…
"He will."
The answer came from a middle-aged jōnin.
He stood not far away, arms folded over his chest.
His gaze rested on the towering Kazekage Tower.
Hearing the question, he turned and looked those young genin over.
"At the very least, Kazekage-sama is willing to let us speak."
It was a plain statement.
But it made the genin's hearts slam hard.
"When I grow up…"
At the edge of the crowd, a little boy with hair tied into a spiky topknot tugged his mother's hand and muttered,
"When I grow up, I'm going to become a shinobi like Kazekage-sama!"
His mother looked down at him.
She seemed like she wanted to say something, but in the end she only gently patted his head.
But not everyone was filled with hope.
Under a dead tree in the corner of the plaza, a few older, worldly chūnin clustered together, watching everything with cold eyes.
"Tch…"
One of them snorted, not loud, but loud enough for people nearby to hear.
"Maybe he's doing it on purpose, just to trick you genin."
"A matter that decides whether Sand Village lives or dies, and you're going to let a bunch of green genin flap their gums about it?"
The others nodded along.
"Exactly. In the end it'll still come down to the Kazekage and the elders."
"Some 'representative assembly.' It's just a formality, tossing those idiots a little sweetness to taste."
"Let civilians participate? What a joke!"
"What do they know? They don't even have chakra. What useful suggestions could they make?"
"Building roads? Putting up houses? Farming? That's worth discussing in the assembly?"
"Just watch. Nothing interesting will come of it."
They spoke with mocking smiles on their faces.
But inside those smiles was something they didn't even notice themselves… unease.
Because the eyes of those "idiots" around them were too bright.
Bright enough to make them uncomfortable.
And then…
A huge wave of noise exploded through the crowd.
"Kazekage-sama!"
"It's Kazekage-sama!"
Everyone looked up at once.
Their gazes flew to the towering Kazekage Tower.
On the rooftop platform, a figure stood against the wind.
A dark-gold robe snapped and billowed in the morning breeze, making that silhouette seem even taller.
Morning light surged from the east, spilling ten thousand rays of gold behind him.
It wrapped him in a holy halo.
Teizawa stood at the roof's edge.
Looking down at the sea of people below.
He didn't speak.
He only raised a hand and gave a small, casual wave.
A gesture so simple it could not have been simpler.
And yet that single motion made the whole plaza erupt in an instant.
"Long live Kazekage-sama!"
"Long live Sand Village!"
A mountain-and-sea roar of cheers blasted skyward.
Startled birds lifted from rooftops in the distance, circling and crying through the morning light.
Teizawa's hand slowly lowered.
Then…
"I hereby announce…"
With chakra reinforcing it, his voice carried clearly to every corner of the plaza.
"Sand Village's First Shinobi Representative Assembly…"
"is now officially underway!"
The cheers detonated again.
Higher than before, fiercer, wilder.
At the plaza's edge, those chūnin who had been sneering unconsciously lifted their heads too, staring at that radiant figure atop the tower.
Their mouths opened as if to say something.
And they found they couldn't say anything at all.
Because that figure was too dazzling.
So dazzling they didn't dare meet his eyes.
…
The uproar in the plaza gradually settled, and the crowd began to split into orderly streams.
The first to enter were the elected representatives.
The genin representatives took the right passage.
Most were young, their faces unable to hide their nerves and excitement.
Some kept fussing with their collars, some silently rehearsed the topics they planned to raise…
Some were so tense they walked with the same hand and foot together.
A companion beside them quietly tugged them straight.
The chūnin representatives went through the middle.
They were steadier than the genin, their steps unhurried, their eyes forward.
But if you looked closely, you could see their clenched fists, fingers trembling ever so slightly.
The civilian representatives entered through the left passage.
They wore every kind of clothing…
Coarse work jackets, patched long shirts, old flak vests washed pale with age.
They were the most ordinary people in Sand Village.
Farmers, potters, vegetable sellers, smiths, retired shinobi who'd opened small shops,
people who had never once left the village in their entire lives…
But today, they were walking down a corridor meant only for "important people."
Every step pressed down on decades of Sand Village history.
The assembly hall had already been prepared.
Inside the spacious hall, seats spread in a fan shape, and at the front stood a slightly raised podium.
Behind the podium hung portraits of the past Kazekage.
Their eyes seemed to pierce through time itself, watching this unprecedented gathering.
The genin representatives sat on the left, the chūnin representatives in the center, the civilian representatives on the right.
A clear divide, yet side by side.
Some whispered to each other, some sat ramrod-straight, some stole glances around…
Behind the podium, several figures slowly walked out.
Granny Chiyo leaned on a cane, shuffling forward.
Her face revealed nothing.
Ebizo followed at her side, stroking his beard.
His eyes swept across the full hall of representatives, thoughtful.
Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara sat at the side seats.
Kankuro folded his arms, wearing a complicated expression as he looked at the civilian representatives.
Temari was unusually quiet, her gaze passing over the people seated before the podium.
Gaara, as always, wore an expressionless face.
But in those sea-green eyes…
Something unspeakable flickered.
And finally…
Teizawa walked out from the side, striding to the center.
He stood at the heart of the podium, and his eyes slowly swept across the entire hall.
Over the nervous genin, the steady chūnin, the uneasy civilians.
Over Chiyo's complicated expression, Ebizo's deep gaze, Kankuro's contemplation, Temari's furtive attention, Gaara's silent focus.
Then he spoke.
"Today."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it rang in every ear.
"For the first time, everyone in Sand Village is sitting together."
"This isn't charity from the top."
"This is a right you have earned."
He paused, his eyes landing on those ordinary people who had never set foot here before.
"If you have something to say, if you want to say something, then today… you can say it."
"Don't be afraid of saying it wrong."
"Don't be afraid no one will listen."
"Because…"
The corner of his mouth lifted.
"Today, I'm listening."
Silence.
A brief, pin-drop silence.
And then…
"Wham…"
Applause thundered, rolling on without end.
Everyone stared at Teizawa with fever-bright faces.
In that moment, their worship of this Kazekage almost eclipsed every Kazekage who had come before…
And so…
Sand Village's First Shinobi Representative Assembly… officially began.
(End of Chapter)
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