Mito herself, despite her noble status, couldn't escape the spell of shopping.
After a simple meal, Torifū bid farewell to Hashirama and Mito. Hashirama then told Torifū the afternoon meeting point, instructing Torifū and Naori to arrive on time.
After leaving the Senju clan compound, Torifū wasn't sure what to do. He had woken up a bit too early today, so the system hadn't yet given him his daily sign-in notification. It was over an hour earlier than usual. No wonder Hashirama was angry; being woken up after only a few hours of sleep would annoy anyone.
The streets were mostly empty, and few shops were open, so Torifū simply returned home. He decided to check on what Kakuzu was up to, using the puppet he had left on him to track his movements. He figured Kakuzu should be awake by this time.
Indeed, when Torifū focused his thoughts into the Sharingan puppet, he found Kakuzu leisurely eating breakfast. Torifū was unfamiliar with the surroundings and couldn't tell where Kakuzu was exactly.
"How have things been recently? Is what I asked you to do going smoothly?"
Suddenly hearing Torifū's voice, Kakuzu spat out the porridge he had just sipped. Just as he was about to ask who was messing with him, he remembered it was Torifū's voice. Only then did he calm down.
"Leader, could you give me a heads-up next time? Startling me like that could kill someone."
Torifū found this amusing and teased, "What are you afraid of? Don't you have five lives? Dying once isn't a big deal." Kakuzu felt quite speechless and couldn't be bothered to argue with Torifū. He then reported the recent situation to Torifū: "Recently, I've heard some news about children with Kekkei Genkai, but by the time I arrived, they had already been taken away by others."
"It's certain that besides us, there are others collecting Kekkei Genkai users, but they want the users themselves, while we only need blood."
Upon hearing this, Torifū's face grew serious. Torifū had no clue about this organization that Kakuzu mentioned, which was collecting Kekkei Genkai users. However, this organization had already come into conflict with him, so it was necessary to pay attention. Ultimately, their own organization had too few people; with only Kakuzu running around, efficiency was genuinely low. They still needed to recruit more talent, but the current situation in the ninja world was relatively stable, making it difficult to find suitable people. Besides forcibly snatching people from other villages or deceiving them, it all came down to luck.
"Also, regarding the intelligent children you mentioned, and children skilled at making small gadgets, there's also some news. I'm preparing to go investigate." Torifū nodded after hearing this. He was quite satisfied with Kakuzu's attitude towards missions; he was a diligent and honest person. If he remained loyal, he would definitely become a pillar of the organization in the future.
"How are the finances? Is there a shortage of funds?" Torifū was quite concerned about this. After all, if the wealth plundered from the Takigakure elder ran out, he would have to fund the organization's operations himself. If they could gain something, this money would be insignificant. What he feared was continuously spending money without getting anything in return, which would be very frustrating.
"You can rest assured in that regard. I have quite a knack for financial management. Our finances are barely being consumed and are even increasing." This was also good news. He hadn't expected young Kakuzu to be so skilled at financial management already. Now he wouldn't have to worry about funding. After all, the Akatsuki organization's funds were all managed by Kakuzu. In the later stages, Konan's ability to spend billions of exploding tags on Ninjutsu was likely inseparable from Kakuzu's financial management skills.
"Good, as long as the finances are fine. Which country are you in right now?"
"The Land of Earth. I previously received news that there are a few children in the Land of Earth who seem to meet your requirements."
"In that case, continue with all operations as planned." Kakuzu nodded. Although his current life was a bit busier, he had the advantage of freedom. The leader wouldn't restrict him or micromanage him. It was much better than his time in Takigakure. After giving a few more instructions, Torifū's thoughts returned to his own body. He checked the time and found that only about ten minutes had passed. It was then that the system's notification sound finally chimed.
Bored, Torifū decided to take another nap, calling it "recharging his energy." When he woke up, it was already around ten o'clock. Indeed, sleeping was the best way to pass the time.
Torifū got out of bed and went to the courtyard, but didn't see Aokumo and Ryūfū. He asked Snowflake and learned that they had gone to the backyard to train. The summoned beasts being so diligent surprised Torifū, while he himself slacked off, which he had long expected. However, despite saying that, he couldn't slack off too much. It would be embarrassing if his summoned beasts mastered Sage Mode while he, their master, knew nothing. So, Torifū planned to start his Sage Mode training after all these current matters were settled. With Torifū's talent, his training shouldn't be too slow.
Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to gather in the afternoon. Torifū and Naori both arrived at Hashirama's requested location on time. Shortly after, Hashirama also arrived.
"Kids, did you bring everything?"
Hashirama was clad in his battle-worn red armor, looking imposing. This armor wasn't something he wore on just any occasion. Hashirama clearly took this mission quite seriously.
"Don't worry, Sensei, we've almost packed half the street."
Naori then asked, "Are we riding Aokumo and Ryūfū to the Land of Lightning, or are we running?" This question was quite important. They were three people, but there were only two cranes. Although Aokumo and Ryūfū were very large, having two people ride them would put a great burden on them.
At this point, Hashirama spoke: "No need to consider it. You two ride the cranes, and I, your Sensei, can run and still keep up with you." Torifū looked at Naori, and Naori looked at Torifū. Neither had a better solution, so this was the only way. Torifū and Hashirama could take turns resting when the time came.
"Alright, since there's nothing else, let's depart as soon as possible. Let's not waste any time." Hashirama stood with his arms crossed, looking full of vigor. He seemed very pleased about the new clan joining Konoha Village. Torifū was also in a good mood about this. His master accepting the Oyashirō clan meant his choice was correct: inviting the Oyashirō to join Konoha was the right decision.