In this Hidden Leaf Village, Torifu had his friends, family, and loved ones, as well as thousands of ordinary villagers who respected him. Everyone was living happily and peacefully together. This peace had not come easily, and Torifu would not allow anyone to destroy it. No one could.
Torifu then said, "You just got back, so you're not completely aware, but Tobirama-sama gave us a long-distance mission."
"What?"
Naori was a little bewildered. She had just returned and hadn't even had a bite to eat, and now she had to go on another mission?
"That day, I took Minato to stroll outside the village and ran into a red-haired girl..." Torifu told Naori the whole story, from beginning to end.
After hearing it, Naori also felt that the plot's direction was very absurd. For a small country like the Land of Whirlpools to have a coup was simply outrageous. And the fact that all nine of the princes had sent letters asking for military aid was even more incomprehensible. The nine princes had not formed an alliance at all and were all fighting on their own. But there was only one position for the Daimyō. They couldn't possibly send out nine groups of forces and let them kill each other, right? That wasn't realistic.
"Stop thinking about it. We have too little information to figure anything out. We have to get to the Land of Whirlpools to make a judgment."
Naori nodded. Torifu was right. There was too little information right now. Besides Uzumaki Ashina's disappearance and the death of one prince, there was no other useful information.
"Ugh, this is really troublesome."
Torifu spread his hands. "Tell me about it. At least we have a lot of helpers this time. Hiruzen and the others will be going too."
Naori's spirits lifted when she heard this. "My brother is going too? That makes things a lot easier. You're leading the team, right? You can just order him around."
Torifu smiled. "I wouldn't dare. He's my future brother-in-law, after all."
Naori rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, please. You're afraid of that? You're even brave enough to talk back to the Hokage."
Torifu scratched his head. "What I do is nothing. Your blatant and subtle mockery of the Third Hokage is much more impressive, isn't it?"
Naori put her hands on her hips. "When did I mock the Th...ird... Hokage..." Her voice got softer and softer until she looked at Torifu in disbelief. "You're going to become the Third Hokage!"
Torifu smiled slightly. "What? Are you that surprised? I should be more than capable of handling the position with my qualifications, right?"
Naori shook her head. "I'm surprised because you're going to be Hokage so soon! You're only twenty-two!"
Torifu said with a hint of helplessness, "I was cornered. If Tobirama-sama hadn't gone to such lengths and used every trick in the book, I wouldn't want to be Hokage."
"Hmph! I knew you wouldn't want it on your own."
"Alright, alright, we're getting off track. We were talking about the Land of Whirlpools."
When Torifu said that, Naori also realized they had gone off-topic, but it was Torifu who had led them there! Now he was trying to blame her!
Torifu smiled. "Tobirama-sama told me to 'act on my heart's desire' this time, which is the hardest part."
"To put it simply, whoever I support will become the Daimyō..."
Naori also seemed very surprised. "In that case, all these princes will have to try and win your favor, won't they?"
Torifu flicked his sleeve. "Of course. Who do you think I am?"
Just as Torifu was about to go off-topic again, Naori grabbed his ear and pulled him back to the main topic. "I know you've already thought about this. Hurry up and tell me what you're thinking."
Hearing Naori say that, Torifu shook his head. "I have no idea. I just got the mission and came out to meet you. My mind is a mess. But I have two days to rest and plan properly."
The nine princes had each sent letters. One of them had died very quickly, as mentioned in the letters from the other princes. Every one of them wanted the Hidden Leaf's support and described themselves as being wronged and incredibly righteous. Every prince said they wanted to borrow the Hidden Leaf's army to eliminate the traitors, but not a single one of them mentioned looking for the missing Uzumaki Ashina. Although he was gone, he was still the head of the Uzumaki Clan and their father, yet not one of his children asked the Hidden Leaf for help in finding him. This was truly strange.
"Let's go to my place first. I'll go to Sensei's place tonight to get some information."
Naori agreed to Torifu's suggestion. After all, the people who knew Uzumaki Ashina best were probably Mito and Hashirama.
Torifu took Naori back to the Kumotsuru Clan grounds. In the gazebo in the courtyard, Minato was sitting cross-legged, practicing. When he heard footsteps, he opened his eyes and saw his brother and a strange older sister.
"Nii-san, who is this?"
Torifu pulled Naori closer and smiled as he introduced her to Minato. "Minato, this is your sensei's future wife. Just call her Naori Nee-san."
Minato bowed when he heard this. "Naori Nee-san, it's nice to meet you. My name is Namikaze Minato. I'm Nii-san's disciple. Please take care of me."
Naori walked over to Minato and helped him up. "You don't need to be so formal in the future. We're all family."
Torifu was very happy to hear that. They were indeed a family.
"Minato, you should go practice in the house for now. Naori and I have some things to discuss."
Minato responded with a "Okay" and scurried off.
"He's a good child. Very polite."
Torifu didn't have any humility. "Of course. He's my fated disciple."
Hearing Torifu say that, Naori found it very interesting. When he took on Nawaki as a disciple before, it was because he was idle and Nawaki was a good fit. When he took on Mana last week, it was also because he was idle and wanted to take on a disciple. How was it that with Namikaze Minato, he became a "fated disciple?" That was a big change. But no matter what, Torifu genuinely liked the child. Although Naori didn't know what kind of magic he had, Minato made a good first impression on her from the moment she met him.
The two of them chatted in the gazebo for a long time, but it was all just speculation, with no real progress. But the more they analyzed and talked about it, the more Torifu felt that there had to be something more to this situation in the Land of Whirlpools that no one knew about. It was even possible that it was caused by one of these princes. But it was just a guess, and they couldn't take it as the absolute truth. They could only be cautious so they wouldn't be caught off guard.
"I'll take you home first. We can discuss the mission strategy in detail tomorrow morning."
Naori agreed. "Okay. My brother and I will come together tomorrow. But you don't need to take me home. You still have to go to Sensei's place. I can go back by myself."
"No way. No mission is more important than taking you home."
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chapter end
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Spare stones? Spare stones brother? *twitches like a junkie*