It wasn't a great name, but it fit the moment. Its blue wings gave it the name Blue Spirit. It was a rather perfunctory name.
"Sensei, Blue Spirit has changed so much! I almost didn't recognize it!"
Torifu patted Mana's head. "That's your first moth. Are you satisfied?"
Mana nodded. "Very satisfied, Sensei. Will there be more in the future?"
"Yes, there will be more, but you must always put Blue Spirit first."
Mana laughed. "Of course I will! I promise!"
Torifu meant that any swarm of insects has a heart, which serves as the leader for the entire swarm. All the other insects would instinctively protect their leader and obey its commands. As Mana's very first moth, the evolved Blue Spirit already possessed a hint of nobility. However, it was just a hint and would need to be slowly cultivated over time. In the future, as more moths and butterflies joined the swarm, Blue Spirit would become the true heart of the swarm!
"This is for you."
Torifu took a scroll from his ring and handed it to Mana. Mana looked at it for a long time but couldn't figure out what it was. "Sensei, what is this?"
"A summoning scroll. Your family should have some, too, but mine is of much better quality and more expensive."
Mana took the scroll and held it tightly in her arms. "Thank you, Sensei, I like it a lot. But what do I need it for?"
Torifu ruffled her hair. "To sign contracts with your moths and butterflies. Where else are you going to hide so many of them?"
Then Torifu added, "But you must sign a slave contract with them. Blue Spirit is the exception. Otherwise, they might not obey your commands and will spontaneously un-summon themselves."
Mana laughed upon hearing this. "No way, Sensei, have you forgotten about my talent?"
Torifu also smiled and shook his head. "Nothing is absolute. It's always better to be careful."
"Okay, then Mana will listen to Sensei and form slave contracts with the future moths and butterflies. I will be the master, and they will be the slaves."
"Excellent. You are a teachable child."
Torifu then turned his attention to Minato. "Tell your Nii-san, what do you think of your little sister?"
Minato scratched his head. "She's very nice, but she's a bit too outgoing. It will take me some time to get used to it."
"Take your time. There's always a period of adjustment."
But at that moment, Mana got a little upset. "Why does my senior brother get to call you Nii-san, but I can only call you Sensei?" She pouted, looking incredibly wronged.
Torifu spread his hands. "You're the one who calls me that. I never said you could only call me Sensei."
Mana's pout gradually disappeared. "Then I'll call you Nii-san, too, just like my senior brother!"
Torifu shook his head helplessly. "Fine, fine. You two little rascals."
"Mana, you should go home now. Come back in two or three days to get your moths and butterflies."
Upon hearing this, Mana bowed to Torifu and skipped happily on her way home. The sun shone on the Blue Spirit on her head, and its front claws glistened with a sharp light.
After Mana left, Torifu began to teach Minato some basic chakra knowledge in the courtyard. Once Minato successfully learned how to cultivate chakra, he would send him to the Academy. That way, he would have someone to look out for him at school. The current Ninja Academy was very well-established, and there were many theoretical concepts Torifu couldn't explain clearly. So sending Minato to school was not because Torifu was lazy; it was entirely because Torifu didn't have a thorough understanding of the theoretical side of things.
"Did seeing Mana's moth make your heart yearn for one?"
Minato's heart had indeed yearned for one, but he was afraid of annoying Torifu, so he just twisted in place and said, "I'm not an insect user, so a moth would be of no use to me."
Torifu sighed, then took out a small wooden stick and tapped Minato on the head. "You brat, if you want something, just say so. Don't beat around the bush like that. Are you my disciple or not?"
"I want one!"
Torifu smiled upon hearing this. This was the proper attitude for a child. If you want something, just say so; there's no need to be shy.
"Once the eggs of Aokumo and Ryūfū hatch, how about I give you the little crane with the highest talent?"
Minato never expected his Nii-san to give him such a precious summoning animal! When he was wandering around the courtyard that morning, he met the Bird Aunt and asked her about things in the house. He naturally heard about Aokumo and Ryūfū, the two cranes she had hatched, who were also Nii-san's mounts and summoning animals. Although he didn't know how strong they were, since they could be his Nii-san's mounts, they must be something special. He didn't expect his Nii-san to be willing to give him one of their children.
Just as Minato was about to say something, Torifu stopped him. "You might be living at home for the next twenty or thirty years, so it's best for a little crane to sign a contract with you."
"Besides, Aokumo and Ryūfū would definitely agree."
"Then thank you, Nii-san."
Torifu patted Minato's arm. "Alright, alright, go back and rest. Amado probably won't be back today. I'll introduce you to him another time."
As expected, Amado remained in the laboratory in the backyard all night. He wouldn't even come out when Torifu took Minato out to eat barbecue. He was truly dedicated. You have to remember that Amado loved barbecue and would go out to eat it whenever he had a little money. Seeing Amado work so hard, Torifu was secretly delighted, even as he was concerned. Maybe the cell phone would be successfully created soon. When that time came... hehehe.
Meanwhile, Tobirama had just gotten home from his office after work. His elder brother and sister-in-law had become much younger, and they were always smiling. They no longer had that feeling of being old and frail. Tobirama then told Hashirama about his decision to step down, but Hashirama was not surprised at all.
"You should have stepped down a long time ago. It's a shame you wouldn't listen. I already advised you to step down when Torifu was eighteen."
"If you had listened to me, you would have been able to relax for a few years already."
Tobirama sighed. "I always felt like he was too young and too much of a loose cannon, so I had to think it over more."
Hashirama then added, "But now you've discovered he's just like that, like a child, right?"
Tobirama nodded. Putting aside everything else, Torifu's habit of running his mouth was enough to make Tobirama want to beat him up.
Mito brought a plate of fruit and placed it on the table. "When do you plan to hold the ceremony?"
Tobirama calculated. "At least two or three months from now. The Hokage cloak hasn't been made yet."
"That works. But now we have to tell the artisans to draw up the blueprints for the Hokage faces on the monument."
Tobirama smiled. "Everything is already prepared."
Hashirama couldn't help but hold his forehead. His little brother was truly fond of scheming. He had to use a scheme just to pass on the title of Hokage. The person who wanted to be Hokage wasn't qualified, and the person who didn't want to be Hokage was tricked into becoming Hokage. How interesting.