Amado found Snowflake quite strange, and Snowflake, in turn, found Amado equally strange. How could Torifu go out in the morning and return so soon with a child?
"Perfect timing for an introduction! This is the new member of our family, my adopted younger brother. From now on, we'll all live together."
With that explanation, Snowflake understood. So, Torifu had gone out this morning just to find this child.
"Welcome, welcome! My two children aren't here right now, otherwise, they could show you around and play with you."
Amado sounded interested. "Snowflake-Auntie's children?"
"Yes, they're two cranes! They're also my partners. When I found them, they were just two eggs. It was thanks to Snowflake that they hatched for me," Torifu then recounted that past story to Amado.
Amado became even more interested in Aokumo and Ryūfū, eager to meet them. However, Torifu thought Aokumo and Ryūfū were probably training seriously right now, so he didn't disturb them. They should return in the evening, and it wouldn't be too late for Amado to meet them then. After all, they would all be family in the future; there was no rush.
"There are so many rooms. Pick any one you like, but you can't choose the one in the very center."
"Okay, Torifu-nii."
Torifu then led Amado on a tour around the courtyard, making it easier for Amado to see the rooms and make a choice. But as they walked, Amado's mind drifted from choosing a room. The various flowers, plants, rockeries, and fishponds throughout the courtyard captivated him, making him incredibly curious. He wanted to look at everything. After walking a full circle, Amado eventually picked a room he liked.
The room was quite spacious, with windows facing the sun, making it very bright. Because it was regularly cleaned by hired help, it was exceptionally tidy with almost no dust. Next to this room was a small storage house, perfect for Amado to do his crafts and store tools.
"This one?"
"Yes," Amado nodded happily. This room was simply wonderful; it was wide and spacious, infinitely better than the cave he had slept in before. "I love this room so much!"
Torifu patted Amado's head. "Good, as long as you like it. Tomorrow, we'll go together to get some supplies. There's almost nothing here besides the furniture."
"That's too much trouble, Torifu-nii."
"Don't be silly. You've already called me 'Nii-san,' so why be so formal?"
Amado grinned after hearing this. He had thought that after being taken away by that uncle, his future would only be one of barely scraping by. But unexpectedly, what awaited him wasn't hell, but paradise. He had a family and a home again.
Torifu took Amado to the clan compound's warehouse, mainly to pick out some clothes for Amado. Amado's current outfit was tattered, making him look like a little beggar. For an ordinary child to travel all the way to the Land of Fire, it truly showed great perseverance. Fortunately, with Kakuzu's care, he hadn't starved to death.
Amado's build was similar to that of an average six-year-old, neither fat nor thin, fitting perfectly into Torifu's clothes from when he was six. Since Torifu had grown rather quickly, he was already 1.7 meters tall at nine years old. Therefore, his clothes were outgrown quickly, and these old clothes were stored in the warehouse for future generations.
Torifu took out his six-year-old clothes and held them up against Amado. "Hmm, perfect fit." He then took down all the clothes he had worn at six years old. "These are all clean. You can wear them interchangeably. You can wash the dirty clothes yourself, or you can leave them for the servants to wash, whatever you prefer."
Amado held a large pile of clothes, barely able to peek his head out, and then nodded with difficulty. "Okay, Torifu-nii... I understand."
Seeing Amado like this, Torifu chuckled, then exhaled a puff of cloud, and snapped his fingers. The cloud instantly transformed into countless small cloud birds. Four cloud birds grouped together, picking up clothes and flying towards Amado's room. As the pile of clothes diminished, Amado took a few breaths and then looked curiously at the small white birds carrying the clothes.
"Torifu-nii, what are these?"
"Just my ninjutsu. Don't worry too much about it. You'll be learning ninjutsu next month too."
Amado nodded, then followed Torifu out of the warehouse.
"Are you hungry?"
Amado shook his head. "Not hungry. Uncle roasted a fish for me this morning."
"Hmm, alright. You can familiarize yourself with the courtyard environment now. The backyard is a forest, it's easy to get lost, so it's best not to go there."
"You can also ask Snowflake to go with you; she won't refuse."
Amado nodded obediently. He was very interested in this new home. There were many places he wanted to visit earlier, and now he could explore them himself.
"Go on."
As soon as Torifu finished speaking, Amado dashed away. Watching his retreating figure, Torifu shook his head, then smiled. "He's still just a child, after all."
Torifu was very relieved that Amado wasn't a dull or reclusive child. Although his parents' passing had deeply affected him, he remained optimistic. Moreover, he was well-behaved and sensible, making him very likable. There would be no danger in the courtyard, so Torifu didn't have to worry about Amado's safety. Besides, Snowflake was watching him, so nothing would happen.
Back in his room, Torifu pulled out the bottle of blood and shook it. This item was practically useless, neither worth keeping nor discarding. Although it was a Kekkei Genkai, Torifu truly didn't like it much, so he had no intention of turning it into a puppet. He might as well just leave it to gather dust in his ring, hoping that someday a product requiring Kekkei Genkai blood would appear. At 10,000 peace points per puppet, Torifu genuinely didn't want to waste it on such a useless Kekkei Genkai.
He had previously thought that blueprints wouldn't be needed anytime soon, but who would have thought Kakuzu would directly send over a child version of a great scientist? Now, Torifu immediately began to look for blueprints of simpler small items in the shop. This was primarily to help Amado get better at crafting, starting from small objects and gradually moving up to mobile phones and computers. Torifu carefully noted any blueprints in the shop that he felt weren't too difficult. Conveniently, they weren't too expensive either, making them suitable for Amado to practice with. However, there was no rush for this; it could wait until Amado had fully settled in.
Then, Torifu opened the character illustration book. Many entries were still unlit, and Torifu wanted to see if Amado's entry was there. Doing so would grant him a thousand Peace Points, just enough to buy two blueprints.
"Hey, found it." He tapped Amado's portrait, and the dark silhouette lit up, followed by a system prompt.
[Successfully lit up character illustration. Reward: Peace Points]
[T/N: System announcements have stopped showing peace points values for some reason on raws. No need to keep track, just ignore whenever points are mentioned.]