Although Torifu held no grudge against Amegakure, Hanzo and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki's subordinates colluding together was something else entirely.
At nine o'clock the next morning, two batches of green light spots appeared on the Cloud Palace map.
There were six people in total, which suggested that the Kazekage and Tsuchikage had arrived.
Torifu stood up and left his Office. When he walked out of the Hokage Building, the welcoming ceremony outside was already prepared.
There was nothing particularly new; it was just the Villagers cheering on both sides of the road, with some flowers hanging on the streetlights.
Torifu and a group of Ninja went out to greet them.
Since this was not a grand meeting, the two Kage did not use a flashy entrance.
They simply walked in normally.
"Look, it's Kazekage-sama and Tsuchikage-sama."
Two figures slowly appeared on the distant horizon, followed by their attendants.
The Tsuchikage was small, flying in the air like a little potato, while the Kazekage was very young, roughly the same age as Torifu.
He also had a very dignified demeanor.
Both wore the straw hats symbolizing the Five Kage and slowly walked to the front of Konoha. The Ninja immediately applauded in welcome.
Torifu stepped forward: "You two have traveled a long way, it must have been arduous. Was the journey smooth?"
Ōnoki, being a bit older, spoke first: "Haha, thanks to Hokage-sama, the journey was very smooth."
The Kazekage also nodded: "I noticed that there were far fewer rogue Ninja at the border. I imagine that's thanks to the Konoha Ninja."
The three of them stood at the entrance exchanging pleasantries for about twenty minutes, finally finishing all the necessary greetings and compliments.
It was Torifu and Ōnoki's first meeting, so Ōnoki was still a bit reserved.
His own Sensei had once been defeated by the Hokage, so he dared not act presumptuously.
In contrast, the Kazekage, who had visited Konoha once before, was much more natural, and his interaction with Torifu was more comfortable, which made Ōnoki a little envious.
"Very well, sirs, let's enter the Village first. The Villagers are very much looking forward to your visit to Konoha."
Upon hearing this, both of them smiled.
"Good, I have long admired Konoha, and this time I can finally tour Konoha."
Torifu nodded and then led the two Kage into the Village. The moment they stepped into Konoha, a wave of applause and cheers erupted from within the Village!
This display startled both the Kazekage and the Tsuchikage. Even in their own Villages, they had never witnessed such a spectacle, and they were truly surprised.
Especially the Kazekage; the last time he came, the people of Konoha had no idea what was happening, and it was only when he left that someone realized the Kazekage had visited Konoha.
He secretly thought to himself, 'It seems Hokage-sama still values us greatly.'
This level of welcome ceremony, in Torifu's view, was just right, but in the Kazekage's view, it showed great importance.
This was enough to demonstrate the gap in perception between the two Villages, or perhaps the gap between their leaders.
"You two must be tired from your journey. Please rest for a while at your assigned accommodations, and we will have lunch together at noon."
The two Kage naturally had no objections. Although they were Kage, traveling for so many days had left them somewhat weary.
Their every action represented their Village, so a brief rest was necessary to avoid any unsightly behavior.
"Alright, we are not yet familiar with Konoha, so we will follow Hokage-sama's arrangements."
Torifu smiled: "You flatter me. During lunch, we can discuss the matters mentioned in the letter."
After bidding them farewell, Torifu headed to the Senju Clan.
The news of the two Kage visiting Konoha was already known throughout the Village. There was nothing much to do during this time, so it was a good opportunity to chat with his Sensei.
"Ashina-senpai, what are you doing?"
[T/N: The chinese TL used senior term for it, I previously ignored it, now it's been transformed into senpai by script. We will now stick with senpai for chinese version of seniors.]
As soon as Torifu entered Hashirama's courtyard, Ashina was tinkering with a pile of firewood.
"Oh, it's Torifu. I was just about to start a fire. Are you looking for your Sensei?"
Torifu nodded and asked if he needed help, seeing that he hadn't managed to get a single spark for quite a while.
But Ashina waved his hand: "No, no, I'm just an old man playing around with nothing to do. You go find your Sensei."
After asking repeatedly and confirming that Ashina indeed didn't need help, Torifu walked into the house.
He changed his shoes and entered the living room, where he found Hashirama curled up on the sofa playing on his phone.
"Sensei, your gaming addiction is really something. Haven't you gotten tired of this Naruto game after all these years?"
Hashirama rolled his eyes at him: "What do you know about Naruto? I'm almost Super Kage, so tell me, is it interesting? How many Super Kage are there in our Village? Soon, I'll be one of them."
Torifu rubbed his forehead helplessly: "Alright, alright, I don't understand Naruto. I didn't come here to talk about that."
"It's about Amegakure, right? Your Sensei here is very well-informed. I already know everything that happened in the interrogation room."
Torifu sat on the sofa and poured himself a cup of tea: "Of course I know that, which is why I came to you. Amegakure Village has other forces behind it, very likely the same people who caused trouble in Land of Whirlpools back then."
Hashirama finished a game and put his phone aside: "So, what are your thoughts?"
"Our Konoha's principle of not actively invading cannot be broken, but if Amegakure declares war, we will naturally retaliate."
Hashirama took the tea Torifu had just poured and drank it himself: "That's natural. Konoha is not to be trifled with, and if they really dare to declare war on Konoha, I will also take action."
"Oh?" This was something Torifu hadn't expected. Hashirama hadn't had a proper fight in a very, very long time, perhaps over ten years.
But his strength remained unchanged. The only battle in over ten years was a spar with Torifu.
That's when Torifu took away Hashirama's title as the strongest in the Ninja World.
Since then, Hashirama had completely given up, spending his days playing games and taking walks, fully enjoying life.
It seemed this time Amegakure had angered Hashirama somewhat, otherwise, how could such an old man who had already retired personally join the fray?
"There's no need for that, Sensei. Just leave it to me. The Kage of the other two Villages will also participate. Amegakure cannot win."
Hashirama waved his hand: "Don't overthink it. Being angry is only one aspect. Another reason is that I've lost many games recently, and this pent-up frustration needs to be released, or it will make me sick."
Good heavens, I'm utterly speechless! So, he's just frustrated from losing games and wants to take it out in real life, huh?!
Torifu could only lament that these Amegakure Ninja were out of luck. The wrath of the former God of Shinobi was not so easily appeased.