He was only ten years old. According to Konoha's regulations, he couldn't go to the battlefield yet and had to stay in the village. Minato hoped that the next time a war broke out, he would be able to fight on the battlefield, but at the same time, he also hoped that the next war would never happen.
"Big Brother, when does the war start?"
Torifu sat beside Minato. "Probably in about half a month. By then, we will all have left the village. You'll stay with your second brother, and you must listen to your Grand Sensei's wife for any actions within the village."
Minato nodded. "Okay, Big Brother. I hope you all come back quickly."
Torifu patted Minato's head. "We will. With three countries attacking together, I'm afraid it won't even take half a month to make the Land of Rain vanish from this world."
"The whole country will disappear... what about the ordinary villagers?"
Torifu sighed. "I instructed the other two villages not to harm civilians, but some casualties are unavoidable. Once the Land of Rain is gone, they can continue to live on the former lands."
However, without Amegakure's management, the Land of Rain would become a place like the former Land of Lightning, filled with bandits. The villagers would be able to barely get by, but they wouldn't have a good life.
But all of this was Hanzō's fault. If he hadn't declared war, Konoha and Amegakure would have had no friction and there would have been no war.
"We only need to take care of our own villagers. We can't help with much else. Konoha is not the master of this world, we can't manage everything."
Minato understood this principle, but he still felt that those people were pitiful, losing their homes for no reason.
"When will true peace arrive in this world? War only brings endless suffering, so why do people keep fighting?"
Minato's emotions were low at that moment, so Torifu's voice became soft as he comforted him. "As long as human greed doesn't disappear, true peace will never come."
"The previous calm in the ninja world was only because your Grand Sensei's name and my name suppressed those who wanted to start a war."
"Once they think their strength surpasses mine, they will immediately attack, wanting to kill me, and then they will become the ones to lead the ninja world."
Torifu then patted Minato's shoulder. "Some wars are necessary, for the world to move in a better direction. For example, the battle between your Grand Sensei and Uchiha Madara."
"Some wars are to satisfy personal desires, a forced declaration of war, like the Kumogakure and Amegakure. This will ultimately harm everyone involved."
Torifu stood up and smiled at Minato. "Relax, young one. There's no point in imagining when true peace will arrive."
"The thing you need to think about is how to improve your strength to maintain this false peace."
"As long as your strength reaches a height that others cannot attain, even if this false peace is shattered, you will have the power to restore it."
After hearing Torifu's words, it seemed as though Minato had figured something out, and his eyes grew bright. He made a silent resolution in his heart that he would work hard to become the person Torifu spoke of, the one who could maintain a false peace.
"Your expression tells me you understand. I'm glad you've figured this out."
"Big Brother, I will work hard!"
Torifu ruffled Minato's hair again. "Good kid. I knew I wasn't wrong about you. You're destined for great things."
Minato looked a bit embarrassed and let out a chuckle.
Torifu then said, "You should rest and then train for a bit, but remember not to overdo it. Take it at a steady pace. I'm going to go check on your second brother."
Minato nodded. "Okay, Big Brother, I will. Go do what you need to do."
Torifu waved and then left.
In the laboratory in the backyard, Torifu found Amado and informed him that Amegakure had started the war. Amado wasn't too surprised, as there had been a lot of buildup over the past few days, so he was mentally prepared.
"Amegakure's people will arrive in half a month? We still have some time."
"Stop production at the factory for now. All mineral resources should be used to forge kunai, shuriken, and other weapons."
Amado agreed. This had already been discussed. Everything had to revolve around the war. Kunai and shuriken were essential weapons for all ninja, and it was crucial to ensure a sufficient supply.
"Is there anything you need me to do?" Amado asked.
Torifu shook his head. "You just stay here and look after the place, and take care of Minato. You've rarely trained in ninjutsu since you graduated, so what good would you be on the battlefield? If someone were to recognize you, you'd probably be the first one they tried to behead."
Amado shivered slightly. It seemed being too famous wasn't a good thing.
"Speaking of which, among all your blueprints, don't you have any for war weapons?"
"I really don't. If I did, I would have had you build them already. Why would I hide them?"
Amado thought about it and decided Torifu was right. Whenever Torifu had something new, he was always the first to share it and have him build it.
"Fine. Since there are no war weapons, I can't be of much help. I was hoping to provide some technical support."
Hearing that Amado wanted to share his burdens, Torifu smiled. "Thank you for the offer, but this kind of war doesn't require weapons. Konoha's ninja can easily handle it."
Amado shot a glance at Torifu. "Do we really need to be so polite between brothers? This is simply too hurtful."
Torifu patted Amado's shoulder. "You're getting more talkative lately. Go back to your research."
Amado smiled. "Anyway, just go and fight without worry. I've got things covered at home. Minato has always been easy to deal with, so nothing will go wrong. Just be careful not to get yourself killed on the battlefield."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful. If anything happens in the village, please help organize things. Otherwise, your sister-in-law might be too busy."
"Okay, I'll help out. Anything else?"
Torifu scratched his head. He had thought of so many things to say before he came, but now that they were face to face, he couldn't remember anything.
"That's all for now. There's still half a month, so I'll tell you if I think of anything."
Amado nodded. "Okay, then I'm going to start my experiment. If you don't have anything else, you should go out. I need to concentrate."
Torifu didn't expect to be kicked out so soon, but there was nothing he could do. His younger brother was all grown up. He couldn't exactly hit him. He shook his head and left the laboratory.