Presumably, this was because of Torifū; it was clear that Torifū hadn't yet gained Amado's trust.
"Lord, what kind of place is Konoha Village? Is it much better than my previous village?"
Torifū looked down at Amado: "I can't say for sure. You'll have to judge that for yourself, after all, that was your former home."
"Alright then, I'll see for myself whether Konoha Village is better or my home was."
The distance to Konoha Village was about half an hour on foot, but for a ninja, it would only take a few minutes to reach Konoha Village. At this time, Torifū had also set off from home, preparing to meet up. Torifū could now perform two tasks at once; he could control a puppet while his main body was active, though only one. Fortunately, Torifū had learned this skill, otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome this time.
"Lord, what do you mean by 'this isn't my main body'?" Amado asked curiously; he didn't quite understand Kumotsuru Torifū's words.
Kumotsuru Torifū stroked Amado's head: "It means that this isn't my true self; it's just a puppet, without life."
Torifū had thought that saying this would scare Amado, but to his surprise, the boy started circling around Torifū. Every now and then, he would even pinch the 'flesh' on Torifū's body.
"Lord, you're lying! Isn't this a human? He's just like me."
Torifū chuckled: "I'm not lying to you. My real self is only three years older than you. Actually, you can call me nii-san."
"Huh?" Amado looked a bit bewildered; this string of information almost made his CPU overheat. Such a tall and handsome person wasn't human but a puppet, and the puppet's true form was only nine years, little older than himself? 'Who would believe that? One wouldn't even lie to a child like this!'
"Hahaha, alright, alright, you'll know when you meet me. The puppet can't enter the village; I need to pick you up."
Amado hummed in skepticism. His head was aching from all the thinking he'd just done, so he decided to stop. 'Didn't he say he was coming to pick me up? I'll find out whether it's true or false soon enough.'
The two walked on, chatting as they went, and also enjoying the beautiful scenery along the way. The crystal flower array Torifū had set up years ago had not yet disappeared; it was spread throughout the forest on the outskirts of Konoha. As soon as Torifū activated it, the grand array would immediately appear, and the entire Konoha Village would be enveloped in mist.
After a while, the two were very close to Konoha Village, and Amado saw a white-haired boy walking towards them, waving.
"That person... wouldn't happen to be you, would he?" Amado turned to speak to Torifū, but found that he was gone, leaving only himself. Just as he was starting to panic, Torifū walked up to him.
"Amado, why are you panicking? Didn't I say I was coming to pick you up?"
Amado looked at Torifū, asking with some uncertainty, "Lord, is... is it really you?"
Torifū couldn't help but laugh at Amado's silly expression: "Who else would it be? I just told you, and what would I gain by lying to you?"
Amado scratched his head, a bit embarrassed: "Alright, alright, I believe you, Lord."
"Don't keep calling me 'Lord.' Just call me Torifū-niisan. We're going to be living together in the future; there's no need to be so formal."
Seeing Torifū being so gentle and friendly, Amado gradually relaxed.
"Okay, Torifū-niisan. Are we going back to the village now?"
"Of course. We need to go see Hokage-sama first to get you an identity in Konoha Village. Otherwise, you won't be able to live in Konoha."
Amado understood this kind of thing; after all, he was going to live in someone else's village, so there would naturally be certain requirements. However, he didn't understand anything else and could only follow Torifū's lead.
"Don't be afraid. I can help you with everything. Just be ready to embrace a new life."
Torifū's warmth made Amado increasingly touched. Why was Torifū so kind to him, an orphan who had lost his parents?
"Torifū-niisan, whatever you tell me to do in the future, I'll listen to you."
Torifū waved his hand: "Don't be so polite."
Although Torifū was interested in Amado's talent, he wasn't a ruthless exploiter. Torifū simply couldn't bring himself to make such a young child work for him. At Amado's age, he should be doing what children his age do: going to school, playing around, whatever. If he truly developed an interest and wanted to research or invent things, Torifū wouldn't stop him. He just didn't want to put too much pressure on Amado. Otherwise, if such a great scientist ended up with a mental illness, he would be a sinner for all eternity.
As the two chatted, they arrived at Konoha Village. The guarding ninja weren't too surprised to see Torifū bringing back a small boy; Torifū had brought back so many people these past few days that one more child wouldn't make a difference. After a simple inquiry, the guards let Torifū pass.
Upon entering Konoha Village, Torifū led Amado straight to the Hokage's Office. Outside the office, Torifū knocked on the door, then entered with Amado. Just as Torifū expected, Tobirama had already arrived at the office early to approve documents.
"Oh? Why are you here, boy?" As soon as Tobirama spoke, he noticed the small boy with Torifū. "Whose child is this, or did you 'pick up' another one?"
"Hehe, indeed, as Hokage-sama said, I 'picked' him up."
Tobirama massaged his forehead. 'This kid is too good at finding things! And it's not just clans, he's started to pick up children as well; can't he find something normal?'
"Can you confirm his identity, or a suspected identity?"
Torifū shook his head: "I can't. He doesn't remember much either. I just found him while out for a morning walk. He seems to be an orphan."
Tobirama sighed: "Give him an identity and send him to the orphanage. There have been very few orphans these past years, and this child is truly pitiful."
At this point, Torifū stepped forward: "Hokage-sama, this kid and I get along very well. Can I just have him live at my house? My house is empty anyway."
Tobirama looked up at Torifū: "You want to adopt him?"
Torifū nodded: "Yup, yup!"
Tobirama then looked at Amado: "What do you think?"
Amado looked into Tobirama's eyes, feeling a bit scared. His voice trembled: "I... I want to stay with Torifū-niisan."
Well, he's already calling him big brother.
"Alright, alright. Take him home then. It's good that you'll be looking after him."
Torifū bowed to Tobirama: "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Tobirama waved his hand: "Alright, go on."
Watching Torifū and Amado leave, Tobirama thought to himself: 'I don't know whether to say this child is lucky or unlucky.'
To say he's lucky, but he's an orphan. To say he's unlucky, but he ran into Torifū, a wealthy magnate with a huge fortune.