Seeing Torifu suddenly disappear, the guard put his long sword back in its scabbard and turned to leave. Rain then slowly walked out and smiled faintly at the guard's retreating figure, but he didn't bother him.
"It doesn't matter if you ran away. We will meet again soon." He then addressed all the Uzumaki clansmen in the Daimyō's mansion. "That person was an enemy of the Uzumaki clan! Go and find him for me."
As soon as he spoke, the Uzumaki clansmen in the Daimyō's mansion immediately left the residence and scattered in all directions. All the people in Uzushiogakure had already been controlled by Rain, and even the people in the surrounding small villages were no exception. All except for the Second Prince and his iron-masked guard.
"This Rain person is not easy to deal with. If he manages to snatch Kumotsuru Torifu this time, the master might punish you when you return."
"Shut up. He can't escape."
...
At that moment, Torifu was unconscious. A little later, his consciousness began to return, and he slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a strange place. It seemed to be a cave, and the luminous pearls on the walls gave off a faint light. Although it wasn't very bright, it was enough for him to see. The cave was very damp, and the walls were covered with seeping water. The sound of dripping water was constantly in his ears.
"Where am I?" Torifu hadn't lost his memory. He was just confused as to how he had ended up here when he had just been fighting with that guard.
Torifu cautiously looked around and found no signs of danger.
"Come in, young man. This place should be relatively safe," an old voice came from the depths of the cave.
Torifu hesitated for a moment, but since there was no other exit, he had to go inside and find out. He walked slowly toward the depths of the cave, but after only a few steps, he reached the end of the cave. A wall with a giant carved Hannya mask blocked his path. Before he could speak, the eyes of the Hannya mask emitted a red light that enveloped him.
Torifu subconsciously closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, he found that the scene in front of him had changed. It was very bright and warm, like a large room, and a fireplace was still burning.
"There are even lights here?"
Not only were there lights, but there were also all kinds of household appliances. Air conditioners, refrigerators, televisions—you name it, this place had it. The television was playing the most popular TV show at the moment, The Legend of Hashirama, and it was showing the part where Senju Hashirama got drunk and beat up Uchiha Madara. There was also a faint aroma drifting from somewhere, as if someone was cooking.
"You must have been the one who brought me in, senior. Please show yourself." As Torifu spoke, he observed the various furnishings in the room. They were all in the style of the Land of Whirlpools, including the mask on the wall. This meant that he was still within the borders of the Land of Whirlpools, but why was there no one around?
"Oh, I see you're a little too cautious, young man. Can't you take one more step forward?"
'Huh?' Torifu heard the old voice again and then walked forward as the voice instructed.
"I'm right here."
Following the direction of the voice, Torifu saw a white-haired old man lying on a sofa, watching television with great interest. Torifu felt a little speechless. So, the old man was just lazy.
The old man looked up at Torifu. "Hmm, you're a promising young man. Find a seat. Madara is about to be defeated by my Hashirama. You have to admit, that Drunken Fist Hashirama is really something, huh?"
Torifu's face was covered in black lines as he watched the ridiculously altered TV show. 'Why is this old man's taste so similar to my master's?'
"Senior, you must be Uzumaki Ashina-sama, right?"
The old man didn't turn around. His eyes were fixed on the television, and his hands were mimicking the movements of 'Drunken Fist Hashirama.'
"Yes, that's me. Don't get too excited about meeting me. I'm not that famous, really."
Torifu tried to hold back the urge to beat him up and continued to speak with a smile. "Senior, do you know the current situation in the Land of Whirlpools, and who that Rain person is? I need to defeat him and restore peace to the Land of Whirlpools."
On the television, Hashirama defeated Uchiha Madara, and Uzumaki Ashina sighed. "Sigh. Why hasn't anyone made an adaptation of my story? I'm pretty amazing, too!" He then turned to look at Torifu and saw that Torifu's face was turning red, and his veins were about to pop out.
He awkwardly coughed. "Of course I know the current situation in the Land of Whirlpools. Otherwise, I wouldn't have saved you." He then stopped Torifu from speaking and continued. "I know you're very strong, but in that situation, it's not a good idea to fight head-on. You must avoid his sharp edge."
Torifu knew that Uzumaki Ashina was right, but he felt uneasy about leaving his companions behind. Uzumaki Ashina sat up and picked up the still-warm tea on the table. "That Rain person came to the Land of Whirlpools a month ago. No one knows his identity. He might be an orphan, a fish, or even a servant."
All these possibilities Uzumaki Ashina mentioned made no sense to Torifu. They were completely unrelated! An orphan, a fish, a servant. What did all this mean?
Seeing Torifu's confused look, Uzumaki Ashina calmly took a sip of tea and then spread his hands. "Don't look at me like that. I already told you, no one knows his identity."
"Then what do you mean by 'orphan,' 'fish,' and so on?"
Uzumaki Ashina put the teacup back on the table. His old and profound gaze looked at Torifu. "I mean exactly what I said. He can manipulate and modify people's memories. You must have seen his ability."
Hearing Uzumaki Ashina's words, Torifu remembered the blue wave that appeared in the main hall, after which everyone was controlled, and the First Prince's behavior before that. So that was his ability.
"I've never seen a ninjutsu that can modify memories before."
Uzumaki Ashina said faintly, "Let alone you, a young child, even an old man like me has never seen it. It's extremely strange."
"But luckily, his large-scale mind-control jutsu doesn't work directly on Kage-level ninja."
Torifu nodded. "Yes, I only felt a sharp pain in my head, but I was not controlled."
Uzumaki Ashina stood up and walked around the room. "But that's just one of his abilities."