Torifū tossed a perfectly round crystal sphere into the air. It then shattered, and its fragments perfectly covered the entire holy ground.
"Crystal Release: Crystal Creation."
In an instant, all the crystal fragments rooted and rapidly grew. In less than a moment, countless crystal vines filled the holy ground. Then, a massive flower bud grew at the tip of each crystal vine. Subsequently, the buds blossomed into giant crystal flowers, which, under Torifū's control, wrapped around the nearest skeletons. In just a few breaths, all the remains in the entire holy ground were encased by the crystal flowers. Under Torifū's guidance, the crystal flowers decomposed all the remains, then expelled a misty crystal bead. Looking closely, one could see that the misty appearance of the crystal bead was due to the ashes contained within. Torifū manipulated the vines, gathering all the crystal beads into a small pile. There were over a thousand beads, though each one was only a few times larger than a glass marble. After all, they had been dead for a very long time, and their bones had been corroded by the hot spring mist for years, making them very fragile, so not much was left. All the beads gathered together formed a pile that was half a person's height.
The Oyashirō clan members were bewildered by this sight. Just a moment ago, there were skeletons everywhere, and now they had all become glass spheres? However, this certainly allowed them to take their ancestors with them. Although there were many beads, each person could carry some, making it feasible. But how could Torifū let them carry these beads? Putting aside whether they would die from exhaustion due to their weak physiques and carrying too much, with over a hundred beads per person, their movement speed would definitely be greatly reduced.
Torifū piled the beads into a pyramid shape, then created a crystal cage, locking all the beads inside. He stored them in his spatial ring, and conveniently, he also took the Oyashirō clan's luggage. He left behind only the bewildered Oyashirō clan members, wondering, 'Where did my big parcel go?'
Just as Tsuki was about to ask, Naori explained everything clearly, stating that her and Hashirama's luggage was also being kept by Torifū, so there was no need to worry. Tsuki sighed in wonder, having never expected such a convenient Ninjutsu to exist.
"Since everything here is done, let's hurry and head back to the village." Faced with Hashirama's suggestion, no one objected.
Thus, the three, along with the hundred members of the Oyashirō clan, set off on their journey back to Konoha Village. To ensure the Oyashirō clan's safety, Torifū and Naori provided full-time supervision, while Hashirama took the lead, clearing any obstacles ahead. Traveling at night was inherently somewhat dangerous, as it was easy to get separated from teammates if one wasn't careful. If it were a normal ninja squad, it would be fine; they would generally rendezvous at the destination. But this Oyashirō clan could accurately be described as old, weak, sick, and disabled; expecting them to walk to Konoha Village on their own was certainly unrealistic. Fortunately, with the versatile Crystal Release, everyone was connected by vines. While this made movement somewhat inconvenient, it was the safest option. The chains would be released when they rested or during the day.
After traveling like this for about three days, the group finally returned to the Land of Fire. During this time, they also encountered many attacks from rogue samurai and rogue ninja. However, before they could even get close, Torifū sniped them from a distance. These minor threats had no impact on the team's progress. The Oyashirō clan members also clearly understood Torifū's strength; he was definitely not as simple as he looked, like a child. Given enough time, he could very well become an existence like the Shodaime Hokage.
"Once we're in the Land of Fire, we will be completely safe, hahaha."
The continuous high-speed travel over the past few days had been a bit much for the Oyashirō clan members, but in reality, this speed was already very slow. Considering their physical condition, Hashirama suggested resting for about half a day. After all, the distance from the Land of Fire border to Konoha Village was still considerable. The Oyashirō clan members all smiled upon hearing this. They were about to arrive at their new home, though they still didn't know what kind of place it would be. They were also somewhat uncertain about the future, but judging by the attitudes of Torifū, Naori, and the Shodaime Hokage towards them, their future life would certainly not be too bad!
While resting, Oyashirō En walked over and sat beside Torifū.
"Torifū-nii, you mentioned that there's a Ninja Academy in the village. Can I go study there?" En spoke hesitantly, feeling very nervous. Torifū could tell he was very interested in the Ninja Academy.
"Of course, you can attend school as long as you have ninja talent." Hearing Torifū say this, En's face lit up with a smile. He was still very interested in ninja, mainly because Tsuki had instilled many ideas in him. Moreover, he didn't want to experience that feeling of powerlessness again, as he did when he was bullied by Kumogakure ninja.
"You don't have to worry about not making friends either. When school first starts, everyone doesn't know each other. As long as you're bold enough, you'll definitely make friends."
En nodded repeatedly. He was the bravest, after all, daring to steal in the capital at such a young age. And his agility was so impressive that even the city guards couldn't catch him. He clearly had great potential; such a young genius-type individual was usually quite popular at school. Moreover, En was also quite good-looking; while not exceptionally handsome, he wasn't ugly and had a pleasant appearance.
"Torifū-nii, are you a ninja now?"
"Yes, I am now an Elite Jonin of Konoha Village."
Upon hearing this, not only En, but also Tsuki and many other clan members were confused. What was an Elite Jonin? They were also ninja, so why had they never heard of such a thing? Torifū saw the confused faces around him and didn't keep them guessing: "This is a ninja ranking system established by the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama-sama."
"It grades ninja based on a comprehensive assessment of their strength and knowledge reserves."
Hearing this, Tsuki and his son understood, and Torifū continued to explain.
"When you return to Konoha Village, you will all likely be classified as Genin. You can only advance your rank by passing exams. This affects the difficulty of the missions you can take, and of course, your income." The lower the mission difficulty, the lower the reward; the higher the difficulty, the higher the reward. As Genin, they would only be able to take missions below B-rank, like catching cats, finding dogs, or clearing out bandits. Torifū himself once cleared all low-level missions in a single day, but he didn't earn much from it. Therefore, to repay Konoha's loan, the Oyashirō clan had a long and arduous road ahead.