Hashirama laughed loudly and patted Tobirama on the shoulder. "Hahaha, that's enough. Go back and have your wife make us a good meal. We'll have a drink."
Tobirama smiled back. "Alright. It'll be a chance to feel young again."
At noon, Torifu also left the Hokage's office after handing over various village matters to his secretary. For the foreseeable future, his sensei's wife, Mito, would be in charge of Konoha. The secretary was competent and quickly memorized every detail. When Mito took over, she would only need to approve major decisions, while the secretary could handle the routine approvals.
Torifu felt reassured by this. After the handover was complete, he returned directly to the Kumotsuru clan compound.
"Big Brother, you're back!"
Minato walked up and took Torifu's hand.
"Yes, but I'll have to leave again soon."
Minato nodded. "I know. You have to protect the village. I'll wait for you to come home."
Torifu smiled. "Good kid. I'll show you what I can do and cook a meal for you two today."
"Yay!"
Ingredients had been prepared earlier and stored in the refrigerator. Torifu quickly stir-fried a few small dishes and cooked a pot of rice. A simple meal was soon ready.
Amado, who was rarely up so early, had managed to wake up in time to catch Torifu before he left for the war. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to have this meal together.
"Why did the departure time suddenly change?"
Torifu shrugged. "How should I know? Amegakure wanted to take us by surprise. Since they're in such a hurry to die, I might as well grant their wish."
Amado yawned. He was clearly still not used to waking up so early. "Come back soon. Your strength will be more than enough to deal with Amegakure."
"Of course. Don't you two worry."
The three of them ate and chatted in the pavilion.
"Are you going to bring Aokumo and Ryūfū this time?"
Torifu thought for a moment and decided against it. He could always summon them during the battle. If he rode on Aokumo during the march, the ninja would probably not be able to keep up.
"Minato, train hard at home. Once this war is over, you can continue going on missions."
Minato nodded. After a month of continuous travel, the sudden stop left him a bit unaccustomed to the change. So, for the past few days, Minato had been finding things to do around the village. Still, he couldn't completely burn off his energy, so he just trained harder on the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. But his lack of chakra always held him back.
"I hope my chakra increases quickly. It's so annoying to run out of chakra while training."
Torifu patted his head. "I didn't tell you to train so hard that you become a glutton. Just take your time. You're still young. You're only ten, and you'll need to be at least twenty to take over my position."
"Twenty... that's ten years from now. It sounds so far away."
Torifu picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and placed it in Minato's bowl. "Time is the most unpredictable thing. Sometimes, in the blink of an eye, a year has passed. So ten years may seem long, but it's just a moment."
Minato scratched his head after hearing this. "That's too profound for me to understand."
Torifu smiled and said no more. The three of them enjoyed a pleasant lunch. It felt good to have everyone together, and it put Torifu in a good mood.
After the meal, Minato washed the dishes while Torifu lay in his rocking chair by the door, soaking up the sun. Time flowed by, and in a flash, it was time to depart for the war.
All the ninja who were to participate in the war had gathered outside the gates of Konoha. Torifu stood on top of the village gate, looking down at the supply teams. "The war has arrived. Everything we do is for the protection of our village!"
"Towards the border of the Land of Rain! Advance!"
With a single command, the army marched out immediately! Ten thousand ninja rushed towards the Land of Rain. The sound was deafening, like thunder announcing Amegakure's imminent destruction.
Torifu leaped down from the gate and transformed into a cloud crane, flying at the front of the large force. He was the leader of the entire army, deciding the direction of the march! As long as Torifu was at the front, the ninja felt no fear and followed his lead with unwavering determination.
For a three-person squad, it would take about two days to get from Konoha to the border. But a ten-thousand-person army had to maintain a relatively stable pace because, in addition to the ninja, there were also medical and logistics personnel, as well as a large amount of strategic supplies and food.
This meant the army would take about three days to reach the border, a full day slower than a small group. However, Torifu was not in a hurry. Since Amegakure was here to attack the Land of Fire, they would surely have to confront them head-on. Unfamiliar with the terrain, they wouldn't dare to traverse the heavily forested Land of Fire on their own. A direct line of approach was their only option.
At this moment, Torifu was also worried about a similar problem. They were not familiar with the terrain of the Land of Rain, which was filled with marshes and swamps. Getting to Amegakure smoothly would be a real challenge. But it wasn't impossible. They just needed to capture an Amegakure ninja and search their memories.
The Yamanaka clan head could handle this.
"We have an incoming threat!"
A fireball flew past Torifu, heading straight for the army! But a jutsu of this level had no chance of success. Any of the many Kage-level ninja present could easily deal with it.
Torifu's eyes were fixed on the direction the fireball had come from! With a cry of the crane, Torifu instantly shot off!
A ninja in a gray-purple robe turned and ran through the dense forest! But Torifu still caught him!
"An Amegakure ninja. What are you doing in the Land of Fire?"
"Let me go! I was just passing by! I'm not from Amegakure! You've got the wrong person!"
Torifu looked at him teasingly. "Oh? You're quite the liar, but your acting is a little too amateurish."
The ninja tried to say more, but Torifu's hand clamped down on his throat, cutting off his speech. Torifu then carried the dead body back to the main force.
"Yamanaka clan head, I need your help."
Yamanaka Inoru, with his golden hair, nodded. "As you command, Hokage-sama."
At this point, they were less than a kilometer from the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, making it an excellent location to set up camp. Since the enemy had sent someone to scout, they likely hadn't entered the Land of Fire's territory themselves.
After performing a set of hand signs, Yamanaka Inoru's body went limp and fell to the ground. A clansman immediately stepped forward to help him up. At this moment, Inoru's consciousness had entered the body of the deceased ninja. The body was freshly dead, so all its memories were still clear—an ideal opportunity for a search.
After a short while, Inoru's eyes slowly opened, but they were filled with confusion.
"This person isn't from Amegakure."
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Chapter End
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[T/N: Patreon is at 950 chapters now. 💞 Once i finish the work there, i will update the release pace here.]