The disciples they had collectively guided for so many years were, needless to say, exceptional in character and overwhelmingly strong in ability. If such a person didn't become Hokage, who would?
By the time they returned to the village, it was already very late, and all of Konohagakure had drifted into slumber. When the villagers awoke the next morning, they found a notice posted on the bulletin board. It was nothing short of astonishing! They had expected Tobirama to have announced another public convenience policy, but this was an explosive and utterly shocking piece of news!
Yesterday, a seemingly ordinary day, a war had erupted on the border of the Land of Fire! At this moment, the bulletin board was surrounded by not only ordinary people but also many ninjas, layered three deep.
"Over 29,000 ninja from Kumogakure violated the Land of Fire's border yesterday, intending to wage war against the Land of Fire!"
"What?! Kumogakure actually started a war! And they want to invade us!"
The villagers who couldn't see the notice further back were greatly shocked by this news! How could a peaceful day suddenly turn into war? And with the Shodaime Hokage still around, weren't they just asking for death?
"You lazy bum, why are you pausing like that! Aren't there more words below! Read them out!"
The previously boisterous fat villager scratched his head and chuckled. "I was just trying to build a bit of tension." Then he continued reading, "Shodaime Hokage Hashirama-sama, Nidaime Hokage Tobirama-sama, and Torifu-sama, went to the Land of Fire's border yesterday to participate in the battle! They annihilated all of Kumogakure's forces."
"Kumogakure's Nidaime Raikage and his partner were slain by Shodaime Hokage Hashirama-sama. Twenty thousand troops were killed by Nidaime Hokage Tobirama-sama."
"Kumogakure's elite Jonin Kimkaku and Ginkaku, and nine thousand Kumogakure ninja, were slain by Torifu-sama!"
This string of "slain by" announcements invigorated the villagers! The Raikage of Kumogakure was actually killed by Hashirama! What a thrilling event! The Raikage was Kumogakure's highest leader, and he was killed so easily by Hashirama. And if they hadn't misheard, it seemed to have mentioned Torifu-sama?
"Hey, hey! Is it Kumotsuru Torifu-sama? He's only twelve, isn't he! He went to battle with Hokage-sama at such a young age!"
In fact, what attracted everyone's attention most wasn't the number of enemies killed by Hashirama and Tobirama. After all, these two were already like gods in the villagers' minds; killing any number of people wouldn't cause much of a stir. But Torifu was different. Everyone respected him because he was humble and unpretentious. Secondly, it was because he was Hashirama's disciple; out of love for the teacher, they naturally respected Torifu more.
But they hadn't expected the mere twelve-year-old Torifu to be so powerful! Killing nine thousand Kumogakure ninja and two elite Jonin! Was this a record a twelve-year-old boy could achieve?! Although half of these onlookers weren't ninjas, they knew that the age for graduating from the Ninja Academy was twelve! This meant that while ordinary children were just graduating, Torifu had already killed nearly ten thousand enemies on the battlefield!
"Oh my god! Is Torifu-sama really that strong? I used to greet him every day! Will I get stronger too?"
"Stop dreaming, even if you slept in the same bed with Torifu-sama, you wouldn't get stronger."
"Oh? Speaking of which, I haven't seen Torifu-sama in a long time."
"Yeah, me too."
Suddenly, everyone in the village began discussing Torifu, talking about when they had greeted him or chatted with him. The most eye-catching among them was the barbecue shop owner.
"Hehe! Torifu-sama and I have known each other for years! Torifu-sama comes to my shop every week to eat!" It must be said, this owner knew how to make money. With his shout, anyone wanting to see Torifu would surely go stake out his shop. And since they were already there, how could they not buy something? He truly gained both face and profit.
However, the most heated discussions weren't among ordinary people, but among ninjas. As ninjas, they understood that these weren't just numbers. They were tens of thousands of people with similar strength to themselves, and nine thousand of them were killed by Torifu! What a terrifying reality!
Less than ten minutes after the notice was posted, the news spread throughout Konohagakure! The heads of the various clans also received the news successively, and their immediate reaction was immense shock. They all wondered if they themselves could kill nine thousand ninjas if they went to battle? Such a terrifying number was beyond their imagination. The number of members in each clan was roughly around a thousand, and if Torifu's kill count were applied to Konoha's clans, it would mean each clan now only had a dozen or so scattered members left.
After the initial shock, they realized that the Sandaime Hokage had effectively been chosen! This was the Hokage building momentum for Torifu, causing his standing among the villagers to skyrocket. And the clan heads had to admit, this move was incredibly effective; even they were stunned by Torifu's achievements. A twelve-year-old boy achieving such a feat in his first battle? The future was simply unimaginable. Only a ninja recognized and embraced by the villagers could become Hokage. This was the same principle as becoming a clan head.
In short, if anyone didn't know Torifu's name before, today truly made him known to the entire village.
But at this moment, Torifu was still sleeping in. Normally, Torifu would go to bed around 7:00 or 8:00 PM, but yesterday, he didn't get home until almost 11:00 PM. After showering and washing up, it was already 11:30 PM, which resulted in him not even being woken by the system this morning. It wasn't until 11:00 AM that Torifu groggily woke up. After drinking a glass of water, he felt a little more energetic.
Torifu rarely slept in this late; he was startled when he saw the time upon waking. Amado had long gone to school and wasn't back yet, and Snowflake had gone off somewhere. In the courtyard, only the craftsmen were putting the finishing touches on the house. It must be said that their efficiency was quite impressive; in just a few days, the house was mostly built. Only external details needed to be tidied up before Amado could move in. At this time, construction relied entirely on manual labor, and the materials were all wood from the back mountain, free of formaldehyde.
After washing up, Torifu was fully awake. He still had no idea what was happening outside. After lunch, Torifu planned to visit the blacksmith. It had been several days; the blacksmiths should have finished preparing the materials. Amado was still waiting to make the alarm clock. If this item proved viable, mass production could be considered. If it truly succeeded, it would be a blessing to the entire ninja world.