Early morning.
It was the second day since arriving in the Land of Whirlpools, and the first day of official work.
"Morning, Shin." A young man smiled as he looked at Shin, who seemed worried nearby. "I joined the Third Construction Team, mainly working on road repairs. How about you?"
"Good morning, Toya." Hearing someone call him, Shin paused for a moment before smiling. "I'm assigned to the glass workshop."
"Oh? That's great!" Toya said in surprise. "I heard you need to know how to read and do calculations to get in."
Originally, he had also wanted to join the glass workshop. During the tour, he had been captivated by the dazzling, exquisite glass products. But in the end, he didn't meet the recruitment requirements, so he gave up.
"How's your mother doing?"
He remembered that Shin hadn't been captured by the Uzu-nin. Instead, it was because Shin's mother had fallen ill that day, and Shin had been forced to rush into the Uzu-nin's camp.
"She's fine now." Shin's face softened into a smile. "After being treated by the Uzu-nin, she's recovered. She's just a bit weak still."
"You're lucky you ran into the Uzu-nin's territory." Toya sighed. "Otherwise, you'd probably be..."
"Yeah." Shin's expression was one of relief. "It's almost unbelievable!"
Originally, he couldn't bear to see his mother suffering from illness at her age, but he never expected...
It was a stroke of luck!!
"Citizens of the Land of Whirlpools." Shin murmured with longing. Seeing the happy lives of the Land of Whirlpools' citizens, he felt a strong desire to become one of them.
"Oh, I should stop chatting." Toya glanced at the refugees starting to gather outside. This building housed refugees from the Land of Rain. "It's time for work. I'll head out first."
"Alright, do your best." Shin nodded, watching Toya's retreating figure before shaking his head with a smile. "I need to work hard too!"
Since it was their first day of work, none of the refugees wanted to leave a bad impression on their supervisors. So, they had all woken up early, filled with excitement and nervousness. They knew they were only temporary workers in the Land of Whirlpools, not yet official citizens.
But...
If they worked hard, they could shed their temporary status and earn citizenship in the Land of Whirlpools.
Seeing the happiness on the faces of the Land of Whirlpools' citizens, they all felt a deep yearning to become part of the nation.
"I need to work hard!!" Toya had already arrived at the gathering spot their supervisor had mentioned yesterday. He looked at the noisy crowd of refugees from the Land of Rain in front of the gate. "Some people got here even earlier than me."
Unlike Shin, Toya had no family left.
When he was thirteen, his father had died in the war-torn Land of Rain. As for his mother...
He had no memory of her. So, when the Uzu-nin captured him, Toya hadn't resisted. He had obediently followed them. Life in the Land of Rain had already seemed hopeless—why keep living?
But then...
That day, Toya tasted his first full meal, the most delicious food he'd ever had. The food from those metal cans was unbelievably good. Ignoring the trembling refugees and the Uzu-nin around him, Toya had eaten voraciously, stuffing himself...
Even if he died, he wanted to meet his father with a full stomach and proudly say, "Dad, I ate my fill before coming down."
Yet, what he had assumed were lies from the Uzu-nin slowly became reality before his eyes.
Yesterday, he had received his first month's salary, advanced by his supervisor. While the others had returned to their assigned rooms in disbelief, Toya had wandered alone through the commercial streets of the Land of Whirlpools. There, he saw civilians with smiles on their faces, ninjas helping civilians, and the Land of Whirlpools' police force—people said you could ask them for help if you had trouble.
Finally, he ate what he considered the second most delicious meal of his life...
Land of Whirlpools ramen!!
So now, Toya was happier than he had ever been in his seventeen years of life...
He wanted to become a citizen of the Land of Whirlpools!!
"Supervisor." Toya called out to a man in his thirties. "Good morning."
During yesterday's work assignments, he had met him—the supervisor of the Third Construction Team, named Taira Ōshiro. He had originally been a war refugee too, but after coming to the Land of Whirlpools, he became a citizen and lived a happy life. Rumor had it he had gotten married in the Land of Whirlpools and now had a five-year-old daughter.
What a happy life!!
"Ah, good morning." Taira smiled and nodded. "You're all up early."
Due to the expansion of the construction teams, he had recently been promoted to supervisor of the Third Team, managing five squads.
"Go inside and eat breakfast first." Taira counted the heads and saw everyone had arrived. "Make sure to eat your fill. Don't hold back—if you're still hungry, get more. Otherwise, you'll get hungry quickly during work."
He understood what was going through the minds of these newly arrived refugees...
Excitement, worry, fear—this was how they felt now, just like how the refugees from the Land of Fire had felt when they first arrived in the Land of Whirlpools.
They couldn't believe any of this was real.
"From now on, you can come here to eat on your own." Taira led them to the construction team's cafeteria. "No need to wait for others. First come, first served."
"But after eating, wait for a bit. I'll assign you to your teams, and today, you'll follow your squad leaders to familiarize yourselves with the work process."
"Don't worry, the work isn't complicated. It's just a bit physically demanding."
Taira was deeply grateful to the Land of Whirlpools. It was here that he had met his beloved wife and had their most precious treasure...
Their daughter.
"Miaomiao will start school next year." Thinking of this, Taira's face broke into a smile. "I wonder if she'll be able to become a ninja."
Even now, it all still felt unreal, like a dream!
He was immensely grateful to the Land of Whirlpools for giving him all of this.
So, as a citizen of the Land of Whirlpools, he would complete every task assigned to him with dedication.
Seeing the refugees still staring at him blankly, Taira snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. "Get your utensils over there. Just follow what the veteran workers do, but remember to line up and don't make a fuss."
"Alright, go eat!"
After listening to the supervisor's instructions, Toya followed the veteran workers and picked up a set of utensils. Everything here fascinated him, but he was also a little afraid—afraid of making a mistake and being expelled from the Land of Whirlpools...
Soon, it was Toya's turn.
A plump man in a white hat and white robe peeked out and glanced at Toya. Just as Toya thought he had done something wrong and was about to apologize...
"Pretty thin. Just arrived in the Land of Whirlpools yesterday?" The chef muttered before grabbing four large buns. "These are the Land of Whirlpools' specialty meat buns. Eat up. You're too skinny—if you don't have strength, you won't last long doing heavy labor."
"Thank you!!" Looking at the two large meat buns on his tray, Toya was deeply moved. "Th... thank you."
So he hadn't done anything wrong after all!
"Move along. Don't block the line. There's porridge and noodles up ahead." The chef said impatiently. "Next."
Hearing this, Toya quickly walked forward. Even though he had been scolded, his heart felt warm...
The Land of Whirlpools really has so many good people!!