Near Konoha Village, along a riverside on the village's western edge, stood a small forest cabin built by Might Duy himself out of logs and wooden planks.
Night had already fallen. An old-fashioned wall lamp hung beneath the eaves, its orange-red flame casting a dim, flickering glow.
Duy's wife was an ordinary-looking young woman with a slender build. Her belly stretched her clothes into a slightly awkward, rounded shape—she looked to be about three months pregnant.
Might Duy returned from the village gates carrying a bundle of fresh vegetables, and even a small but expensive piece of lamb.
"Look, honey, what I bought!"
"You came back smelling like sweat again," his wife said, pinching her nose. "Go wash up by the river first."
There was no bitterness on her face about their hard life—only quiet anticipation, the kind that came from waiting to meet her child one day.
Duy awkwardly set the vegetables and raw lamb on the wooden table inside. His hands were clean—he'd washed them on the way back. He then picked up a wooden bucket, went down to the riverbank, drew water, stripped naked without hesitation, and began bathing.
This was the life of ordinary people.
Behind Konoha's bright, glorious façade, genin and common folk who yearned for that prosperity still struggled with all their strength just to survive.
But reality was cruel. Those with backing were another story. Some people, relying purely on talent and a bit of luck, trained casually and still became ninja prodigies. Whether or not history remembered them, one couldn't deny that they had once shone.
"Reality… always comes full circle," Baixing murmured.
"Some people ride the winds of fortune thanks to luck or talent, but fate never favors only one person."
"Even the Second Hokage, who created countless forbidden techniques through sheer genius, still died to a carefully planned conspiracy by the Cloud's rebels."
After a long absence, Baixing stood atop a tree trunk near the cabin. Traps set by Duy surrounded the area, enough to deter wild beasts and venomous snakes. But such crude, cheap measures were useless against ninja who could leap across rooftops.
"Jōnin or Kage-level… in the end, no one escapes death."
With his precise chakra control, Baixing made almost no sound as he moved through the forest.
Duy's wife, chopping lamb inside, seemed to sense something. She glanced out the window—but saw nothing.
"Strange… I thought someone was outside. Must be my imagination. Duy checks the traps every day—there shouldn't be any problems."
The twenty-something woman, soon to be a mother, still carried the lively energy of youth. Humming softly, she continued chopping, lit the standalone gas stove, and set a pressure cooker to make lamb soup for dinner—to reward her husband.
In this era—where people devoured one another, technology trees were chaotic, food was precious, and ninja wars erupted without warning—being alive at all was a blessing.
Baixing folded his arms and leaned against a tree, waiting until Duy finished bathing and no longer reeked of "garbage pit." Only then did he speak lazily:
"Duy. Do you always take this long to bathe?"
The sudden voice nearly scared Duy out of his skin. He was still toweling himself off below the waist and hadn't reacted yet.
"AHHH—A GHOST!"
A few minutes later, Duy's wife, startled by the shouting, hurried over. Baixing greeted her and apologized, taking full responsibility. After coaxing her back inside, a flustered Duy finally got dressed.
Grumbling, Duy tossed his clothes into the bucket to wash them, venting his frustration.
"Baixing, do you know people can be scared to death like that?!"
"You looked like you were enjoying the bath," Baixing replied casually, glancing toward the candlelight glowing from the cabin through the trees.
"Have you taken Miss Rin for photos, checkups, or to see a doctor lately? You really shouldn't be careless about things like this."
"No worries! Rin's in great health!"
Duy instantly lit up with youthful vigor. Only moments like these made him feel his youth had meaning. Then he suddenly remembered why Baixing had come, and a bad feeling crept in.
"But… Baixing, you didn't come all this way just because there's a problem with the team, did you?"
Baixing waved it off.
"No need to worry. We still have two months. In those two months, get yourself mentally prepared—I'll help you grind missions properly, build experience, so you can handle D-rank missions on your own and earn a living in the village."
Duy felt deeply moved.
Back then, when he was shunned by teams and couldn't afford rent—on the verge of wandering the streets with his wife—it was Baixing who suggested building a cabin in a forest outside the village, a spot Baixing considered relatively safe. It was cheap, though security was poor and required extra caution.
Before building, they'd reported it to the Hokage and explained the situation. Once the Hokage learned of Duy's circumstances, he readily approved.
—What Baixing hadn't expected was that Duy's wife would get pregnant, their situation worsening, yet they'd still be living here.
"That's great," Duy said earnestly.
"I've saved up a bit now. In the months before the baby's born, I plan to move back into the village and rent a place with better sunlight, so Rin can live comfortably while giving birth."
Baixing: "..."
Should he say Duy was honest… or naïve? In modern society, someone like Duy would've already been flamed to death online and driven to the rooftop.
"By the way, I'm planning to buy a house," Baixing said.
"I paid a full year's rent on my current place. The landlord says it's nonrefundable. Want to consider taking it?"
Baixing didn't know much about taijutsu training, but when he'd first met Duy, the man had shared everything he knew without reservation. This was repayment—besides, Baixing could freeload off his 'disciples' for two months.
"A whole year's rent…"
Duy scrubbed his clothes more gently now. "But I don't have much money either… only twenty or thirty thousand ryō…"
When hot-blooded youth collided with social reality, even the most passionate hero would feel inferior—let alone a minor side character.
"Relax. No rent," Baixing said.
"But only ten months left. Utilities are on you. Deal?"
"Absolutely no problem!"
Duy beamed. "Baixing, why are you so good to me? Don't tell me you're after my body."
—At least now he could buy proper nutritional food for his wife.
The next day at noon, Baixing woke up in his roughly twenty-square-meter studio apartment.
Last night wasn't just about doing Duy a favor. More importantly, the deposit was truly nonrefundable. He'd paid two months' rent upfront—Konoha landlords usually required six months to a year minimum, with one to three months' deposit.
That was why, back then, he'd almost resorted to stealing.
He genuinely had nowhere to live.
Only someone who'd experienced arriving in an unfamiliar place with no shelter could truly understand how hard life was for ordinary people.
"After lunch, I'll go look at houses," Baixing muttered.
"Then I'll have those two brats help Duy move—might as well put them to good use."
He rinsed his mouth in front of the mirror, spit out foam, changed into clean clothes, and headed to the meeting spot to wait for the others.
A week passed in the blink of an eye.
Team Eleven's cohesion steadily improved. Though they weren't outstanding among the graduating classes, when it came to D-rank mission evaluations, they were the highest-rated team.
In the heart of the village, near a bustling commercial street, on the third floor of an apartment building, inside a sixty-square-meter, ninety-percent-new secondhand home, stood the four members of Team Eleven—along with Duy's wife.
Baixing set down a pot of iron-skillet stew on the wide wooden table. After placing it, he lifted the hot white cloth covering it and said,
"Careful, it's hot. Thanks for all the hard work with the big cleanup today."
Uchiha Mikoto coughed lightly and stood up like a little adult, raising a glass of orange juice.
"Alright~ Nono! Let's celebrate Teacher and Uncle Duy's family moving into their new home!"
Yakushi Nono clinked glasses with her.
"Yay~"
After a sip, she added,
"By the way, we've already completed five D-rank missions. Isn't it time to start C-rank missions?"
At that, Mikoto and Duy both turned to look at Baixing, who was carrying over a pot of rice.
Baixing rolled his eyes internally.
C-rank missions right now? That's just volunteering to be cannon fodder.
He brushed it off with a casual excuse.
Somehow, the Third Hokage learned that Baixing had moved here. Despite being busy with official duties, he still sent a shadow clone to deliver housewarming gifts—three thousand ryō each—to Baixing and Might Duy.
As for this apartment, it was thanks to Yakushi Nono's mother being a medical ninja who had connections with the previous owner. That was how Baixing managed to buy the sixty-square-meter home for a flat 4.5 million ryō, saving at least three hundred thousand based on market prices.
In Konoha, after all, there was virtually no difference in price between new and secondhand homes.