After Hashirama finished speaking, he turned and went back into the house. Tobirama and Torifu, seeing this, immediately followed him in. Inside the house, Mito had already cut fruits and placed them on the table. Hashirama, Torifu, and Tobirama sat together, preparing to respond to the impending war with Kumogakure.
"Tell me, Tobirama, what gives you the confidence to plan this war?"
To his elder brother's questioning, Tobirama directly replied, "Does Elder Brother still remember Edo Tensei?"
"!!!" Hashirama exclaimed, "That forbidden jutsu! You're still secretly practicing it!" Then Hashirama furiously added, "I believe I made myself very clear! You are not to use Edo Tensei again! It's a desecration of the dead!"
Tobirama knew he would be lectured by his elder brother, so he had already placed his thoughts outside the window. Once he noticed his elder brother had stopped nagging, he snapped back to attention. This practiced maneuver was disheartening to witness. From this, Torifu could tell that Tobirama had been scolded by Hashirama quite often, even developing such a distraction technique.
"Elder Brother, are you done scolding?"
Hashirama glared at Tobirama grumpily. "Yes, I'm done!"
"Then I'll continue. I've reanimated a hundred and ten long-dead powerful shinobi. Combined with my developed Mutual Exploding Tag technique, they can destroy most of the fodder soldiers." He then added, "As for the rest, Elder Brother will need to perform beheading strikes, like against the Nidaime Raikage, or perhaps Ginkaku and Kinkaku."
Hashirama nodded. Although he wasn't fond of Tobirama's jutsu, it was indeed very effective in war. And Tobirama's strategy was also excellent. The Nidaime Raikage would believe Hashirama was dead, then mobilize forces to the Land of Fire, only to find Hashirama suddenly reappearing in the midst of battle! This would surely strike terror into his soul! He wouldn't even be able to use ninjutsu. With the Nidaime Raikage's strength, he wouldn't even last a single round against Hashirama.
Let alone Hashirama, even Tobirama could easily handle him. In the original world, Tobirama's sacrifice was mainly due to being ambushed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, facing them and their large forces alone. He ultimately died with Kinkaku and Ginkaku. To say Kinkaku and Ginkaku were powerful wasn't entirely true; they merely relied on the Nine-Tails' chakra within them and the Six Paths Sage Tools. Their inherent strength wasn't enough to kill Tobirama.
"Good, then that's what we'll do. Next week, my brother and I will show Kumogakure a good time!"
At this, Torifu suddenly raised his hand. "What about me?! What about me?!"
Hashirama and Tobirama both looked at Torifu simultaneously. "So brave! Do you have a death wish?! You're only twelve years old! Wanting to do everything will only harm you!" They continued, "Just stay obediently at home and wait for us to return."
Torifu had assumed that Hashirama calling him in meant he agreed to let him participate. But he hadn't expected to merely be an observer.
"I've been training very diligently recently, and I've developed many new techniques. Let me go, please."
No matter how eloquently Torifu spoke, Hashirama and Tobirama remained unmoved, firmly refusing. Torifu's reaction to this was: No worries, I'll just sneak off when you leave the village. As for an unexpected reunion on the battlefield, Torifu couldn't be blamed. After all, the world was so vast, two people were bound to look exactly alike.
"Alright, alright, that's enough for today. Torifu, you should head back now. As for going to the battlefield, just forget about it."
"Alright then." Torifu agreed very reluctantly. This was to avoid revealing his hand. If he acted too casually at this moment, these two who had endured the shinobi world for most of their lives would definitely spot the flaw.
Just before leaving, Torifu noticed that no one had touched the fruit on the table, so he casually picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.
"Mmm! So sweet!"
Mito watched Torifu with a beaming smile. "If you like it, take some home with you."
"Oh, yes, please!"
Torifu naturally wouldn't refuse such an offer. After all, freeloading meals at his teacher's house wasn't a new occurrence, so taking some fruit back was perfectly normal.
"Speaking of which, I have something I need your help with."
"Oh?" Torifu didn't know what Mito was referring to and followed her all the way to the warehouse outside the house.
As the warehouse door opened, a wave of warm air hit them. Mito sighed helplessly. "The temperature right now is too high; vegetables and fruits can't be stored for long." She then remembered his Ice Release. "Come help me make an ice cellar."
Torifu had been wondering what it could be, and it turned out to be this.
"Alright, Mito-sama, leave it to me!"
Chakra surged around Torifu's body, and then countless ice shards sprayed from his hands, covering the entire warehouse in just a few seconds. With Torifu clenching his hands tightly, the shattered ice around the warehouse immediately solidified, forming a thick ice shell on the exterior. He then cast the technique inside the warehouse, and in less than two or three minutes, the entire warehouse had transformed into an ice cellar. This ice was different from ordinary ice; Torifu had formed it with double the amount of chakra. It wouldn't melt even under direct sunlight and would last for at least two or three months. When it eventually melted, he could simply replenish it. Speaking of which, Torifu's Ice Release hadn't really had much presence since he acquired it. Usually, he just used it to make shaved ice for himself, and now he was making an ice cellar for his teacher's wife. Purely a functional Release Nature.
Torifu clapped his hands together. "Alright, Mito-sama, please inspect it."
Mito watched Torifu, who looked like a little craftsman, and couldn't help but laugh. "I don't need to inspect Torifu's craftsmanship. I'll go pick out a few melons for you to take."
"Mito-sama, you don't need to give me too much; I can't eat it all."
But Torifu seemed to have spoken a bit too late. When Mito emerged, she was carrying two enormous fruits, one in each hand. They were twice the size of watermelons! Torifu was quite astonished when he saw them. In all his years in the shinobi world, he had never seen such fruit.
"How about that? Never seen them before, have you? My brother entrusted someone to bring these. You should know him."
Torifu nodded upon hearing this. Torifu didn't know Mito's brother, but he knew Mito was the princess of the Land of Whirlpools. The Uzumaki clan and the Senju clan were both descendants of Asura's lineage. Technically, the two clans were still blood relatives, though very distantly. After all, hundreds, even thousands, of years had passed since the Sage of Six Paths' era. Even if they were once one family, it was long indistinguishable now. And the Land of Whirlpools' ability to occupy a sizable island on the sea and establish a nation was also due to Konoha's support. Without Konoha deterring other villages, the Land of Whirlpools would have long been annexed. After all, who wouldn't covet their sealing jutsu? They were the family most proficient in sealing jutsu in the shinobi world.
"He brought me many of these melons, but Tsunade isn't very fond of them, so take more back with you and put them in your storage ring."