__________ POV Narration __________
There was a local legend currently spreading among the common folk to the furthest corners of the Land of Iron.
One that deep within the mountains of the Iron Peaks, further inland than any regular man would've dared to walk, there stood a thriving community.
A peaceful village to outsiders, closely guarded and always flourishing.
A place where young men and women started living their lives after the war. Many of those youngsters took on professions like trading, making pottery, ironworking, carpeting, etc.
The village was a vast expanse of land, hidden within the shadow of the iron mountain, and entirely covered by a set of thick walls that went as far as the eye could see.
Masked individuals constantly guarded the gates, there was always an eye on any visitors that entered that large village.
Though hard to reach even with the paved road leading to it, many still chose to make that journey.
It was all due to the massive trade centre that merchants from all over the world now frequented, the trade center had sprouted right in the middle of the village.
All shops were manned by residents of the village, young men and women, and they were touted to barter shamelessly like old crooks with all of the visiting merchants.
Outsiders were allowed to sell and buy goods, but setting up shop was prohibited to them. Inns and rest stops were built, but no one was allowed to stay there for more than two weeks.
Many of the nearby villages traveled there to buy longer-lasting essentials, medicine, and solid tools, they all knew stories of the place, and they heard the rumors...
That mountain village was said to treat peasants the best. They would always make things affordable for the common man or woman who walked into their fold.
Sometimes, shinobi tried to infiltrate the village, to place spies on the inside at the behest of the ruling Noble Clans. But those attempts were always shut down by the locals.
Each stall owner, everyone from the street sweepers to the farmers. They were said to be as lethal as any shinobi from the established Hidden Villages in the Elemental Nations.
Nothing could escape their eyes. And every wrong movement would cause the 'Blade Guards' to move out.
Of course, all enemies were dealt with accordingly.
The 'Blade Guards', as they were called, seemed to be a specialized group made to capture and interrogate any intruders.
They were led by the Fifth Blade, another masked fellow who carried a strange blade with him. His unique mask with 5 slash-like marks was what made him stand out to the common folk.
The Blades themselves were touted to be the leaders of the village by the common folk, they were the ones making the rules and ensuring they were followed.
Despite its apparent strength, both military and economic, the village was by no means old or established.
It was, in fact, quite new. Locals referred to it as 'The Village Hidden in the Mountain Shade.'
It was a name that had already spread out through the rest of the Elemental Nations as well.
What most commoners had no way of knowing was that the hidden village they were traveling to and bartering with, was in fact the legendary Dark Brotherhood.
An organization housing the most prolific and skilled assassins/bounty hunters that the world had ever known.
From the Blades to the Numbered, they were all considered to be skilled and deadly. But the biggest monster among them was still none other than the Red Dot himself, the head of the snake, as some would say.
The foundations of the Dark Brotherhood had been laid down already, the children had already mastered Ken's assassination arts to some degree and were allowed to each follow their own passion, no matter how productive they were to the sprouting village.
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More and more unfortunate orphans came in each year to join their now massive family, and each time their backgrounds were checked thoroughly by both Tosho personally and with the help of the Merchant's Guild.
Of course, not all children were cut out for life in the Brotherhood. Dozens had already dropped out.
It was a bit harrowing for Ken to have to send back children who had already formed bonds with those within the Brotherhood, but he knew he had to do it.
After all, an organization was only as strong as its weakest link.
A lot of tears were shed by the children. Departures were in the dozens every year, but those that remained were all the more motivated to train and not give up.
It left the Blind Monster with a rather sour feeling on his tongue, but it couldn't be helped. The training of the Brotherhood had already become more streamlined and lenient among the younger generations, they could not afford any more slack.
Each recruit needed to at least be at the level of a Chunin before graduating from their training and being able to specialize outward in different fields.
The majority of the first and second generations had already far surpassed that long before reaching the age of 14-15, it wasn't like it was a far-out goal.
After all the Brotherhood provided all recruits with countless resources and hidden techniques that only the top of the greatest Hidden Villages would've had access to under normal circumstances.
All Ken asked was for them to take their training seriously, that was the one requirement to be able to join their family, and it was something that the Blind Monster had made clear from the start.
Many arguments had arisen due to Ken deciding to stick to that core tenant of the brotherhood, but it couldn't be helped.
A civilization could only move as quickly as its slowest person in order to progress, and Ken could not afford any slow growth during such a crucial time.
Aside from those squabbles, the Brotherhood's expansion had gone very steadily, the organization had boomed in both numbers and strength.
Morita had gone ahead to become the 5th Blade, a very deserving promotion in Ken's 'eyes'. He now wielded the Kiba, the twin blades that conducted lightning better than any others in the Elemental Nations.
His division was something that Morita himself had thought up... A torture and interrogation sector that was focused on gathering intel from prisoners and caught spies.
After all, someone had to do the dirty work. And Morita was unbothered by the prospect of getting his hands dirty.
It had been Saburo's work in the beginning, but Ken wanted the Strawman to fully focus on scientific advancements, which was why duties were now split accordingly.
Many of the previous numbered had started different sectors within the Brotherhood, but only the combat and military-oriented sectors became 'Blades'.
The others were colloquially called 'Agriculture Head', 'Construction Head', and so on.
At that point, Ken was more than proud to say that the Dark Brotherhood had truly become self-sustaining.
The outside world had seen plenty of changes during those years though...
'6 Years... Who would've thought that so much could change in 6 years?'
Ken sighed as his calloused hands traced the ripped pieces of paper on his desk.
The Three Corners Alliance.
Once a beacon of power, was now in the middle of a rather nasty internal conflict.
The relations between the Cloud, the Uzumaki and the Leaf had always been bad. But they had only gotten worse over the years. And how couldn't they?
No matter how much Ken and Mifune insisted that things were to be done equally, each hidden village always tried to gain more than the others.
It was seemingly in their nature to always want to be one step ahead when compared to even their allies.
Of course, Ken was well aware that the Hidden Villages were all likely trying to mend things with and follow the orders of the nobility in each of their respective countries.
There was no other reason why they'd act in such a way.
The Alliance was already considered self-sustaining as well. But the villages wanted more than to just scrape by, they wanted to seemingly always flourish.
The fact that Ken seemed to be able to make the Dark Brotherhood grow exponentially did seem to spur them on too.
Jealousy was still present even among friends. Still, things weren't quite so bad just yet.
Had it not been for Ken and the Land of Iron still being present to soothe things over, a war would've likely already broken out between the other factions.
But war was nothing more than just yet another political game at the end of the day.
Things were strained but still kept straight, and everything was moving on within expectations.
The biggest changes to the world were certainly the monumental rise of the 'Green Forest Union'.
That random group of bandits that Ken didn't care enough to look into previously was now becoming an actual threat to the Elemental Nations.
But it was not a threat to the Dark Brotherhood specifically, so Ken had no reason to care about it for now.
What he cared more about was the ripped-up papers on his desk. Or rather the writing on those papers...
'The Akatsuki was attacked. Its leaders are presumed dead. Possible culprit: Hanzo the Salamander.'
It was a note by none other than Akira, the third blade, or at least one of the many scouts and spies underneath him. He was now in charge of the espionage department, and he had spread a rather decent network in all surrounding lands.
The Merchant's Guild was nice to have as an ally, but it was important for Ken to not have to depend on others for such matters.
Ken sighed, his fist clenching a bit as he then reached for the other letter on his desk.
This one was a bit more jovial than the last... It was a wedding invitation. It put a smile on Ken's face, but that smile didn't last too long, as he still had pressing issues to deal with.
'Festivities will have to wait for now... I have to make a trip to the Land of Rain, catch up with some old friends...'