Uzumaki Ashina's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that before! After you defeat that Rain person, I'll go back with you!"
The Second Prince, who was sitting across from Uzumaki Ashina, was a little flustered. This guy had only been here for an hour and was already trying to steal his dad! Was anyone going to do anything about this?!
"Right, Ashina-sama, do you know who was impersonating the Second Prince outside?"
Ashina shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know much about what's going on out there."
The fake Second Prince's guard could ignore Rain's control, which meant he was also a Kage-level ninja. But what was their reason for coming to the Land of Whirlpools? Torifu couldn't understand any of it. The severe mental damage he had suffered hadn't completely healed, and it still hurt when he thought too much.
"Don't worry about those things, young man. First, you should heal your wounds. You still have a tough battle to fight. Although my old bones have lost some of their strength, I will still help you."
Torifu was surprised. The old man's antics from before had all been an act. He was actually quite a righteous person when it came down to it.
"Thank you."
Uzumaki Ashina waved his hand. "I'm just helping myself. After all, that's my country, and my foolish sons are still being controlled out there."
Torifu quickly took a few bites of his food, then got up and bowed slightly to the Second Prince and Ashina. "Thank you, Ashina-sama, for saving me. And thank you, Your Highness the Second Prince, for this lunch."
The father and son smiled at each other and waved their hands. "You're welcome. Go and rest. Healing your injuries is the most important thing right now."
Torifu nodded and walked toward the room Ashina pointed at. He then went inside and closed the door. The Second Prince cleaned up the leftover food on the table and sat down on the sofa.
"Father, are you going to fight too?"
Ashina replied, "Of course. I can't let that kid go up against all those people by himself. I may be old, but I'm not useless. I have to go and help him."
The Second Prince sighed. If he had been born with the talent of a ninja, he would also go and help! After all, the lives of his entire clan were at stake. His father was so old, yet he still had to go to battle, while he could only stay here and wait. He felt so ashamed.
"The Land of Whirlpools will have a new dawn, but everything will depend on this future Third Hokage of the Hidden Leaf."
"He's Hashirama's disciple, after all. It's only natural for him to become the Third Hokage."
Uzumaki Ashina took a sip of tea and didn't say anything more. "The tea is cold. Pour me a new cup." The Second Prince immediately got up to pour Uzumaki Ashina a new cup of tea.
Ashina's gaze was fixed on the television, watching the 'Hashirama' on the screen. He was brawny and full of vigor, and Ashina couldn't help but remember what he was like in his youth. "I'm old, I'm old."
In his room, Torifu was lying on the bed resting. The pain in his head was slowly subsiding. But he estimated that it would take at least four or five days for his injuries to fully heal. He couldn't underestimate the mental damage. Rain's jutsu specialized in attacking the mind, and it would be bad if he was controlled by him again. Torifu cleared his mind, forcing himself to not think about anything at all. In this way, he gradually fell asleep.
Four days later, in the early morning, Torifu woke up. Although the room was a little damp, the continuously burning fireplace made it very warm. In the past four days, Torifu had been resting and had also found some items in the system's store that could heal mental damage. He was now fully recovered, and as a blessing in disguise, his mental power had increased significantly.
Torifu pushed open the door. Uzumaki Ashina and his son were eating breakfast. "Lord, we should leave today."
Uzumaki Ashina waved his hand. "I know, but we have to eat first." He then motioned for Torifu to sit down. "There's no need to rush. Fill your stomach first. He's right there, and he won't run away." Torifu couldn't argue, so he listened to Ashina and sat down to eat breakfast.
The Second Prince gave a small smile, but Torifu could see his hidden worry. "Torifu, I'm counting on you this time. If my father is in any danger, please save him if you are able to."
"Of course. If anything happens to Ashina-sama, I won't be able to explain it to my sensei and his wife."
Uzumaki Ashina gave his son an irritated look. "Is your father that weak? I'm a Kage-level ninja, after all. Don't underestimate me." The Second Prince gave a helpless, bitter smile.
Torifu was in a hurry and ate his breakfast quickly. Just as he finished, Ashina also finished eating, and Torifu pulled him toward the door. "Whoa! What are you pulling me for! There's no door here!"
Torifu was taken aback. 'Right. I've been here for so many days, and I forgot to ask how I got here.' Uzumaki Ashina rubbed his wrist. "You're going to break my old bones. Get out of the way. I'll prepare the jutsu."
Torifu took a few steps back. He then saw Uzumaki Ashina's withered hands quickly forming hand signs. They were so fast that Torifu's eyes couldn't even keep up. Then, a red light appeared at Uzumaki Ashina's feet. It seemed to be the shape of a magical formation.
"Hurry and get in! We're leaving."
Torifu walked into the formation. Ashina turned to his son and said, "Take good care of the house. Your dad will be back." The Second Prince nodded and then waved to Torifu and Ashina. "Dad, Torifu-dono, please be careful."
In the next second, the red light disappeared, leaving only the remains of the formation on the ground. Torifu and Uzumaki Ashina had vanished.
On a rocky beach somewhere in the Land of Whirlpools, a red pillar of light flashed, and Torifu and Uzumaki Ashina were teleported there. Torifu found this instantaneous teleportation jutsu to be very novel. "Lord, this jutsu is so powerful. It can instantly teleport people."
Ashina waved his hand. "It's nothing special. I just set the nodes in advance. It's a life-saving jutsu to prevent accidents."
"You were just lucky that day. When you escaped to the Daimyō's mansion, you just happened to enter the range of my set node, and that's how I was able to pull you into the hut."
Torifu nodded. So that was how it worked.
"I'm going to find them. Will you come with me, Ashina-sama?"
Ashina shook his head. "No need. That Rain person must have seen the light from my jutsu just now. He'll come looking for us. This place is very spacious. It's the battlefield I chose."
Torifu looked around. "But this is the beach. It's very advantageous for Rain."
"The Land of Whirlpools is a small island. It's advantageous for him no matter where we are. There's not much difference. He'd be even more difficult to deal with in a forest."