"Little girl, come here. Let's go home together."
Kushina took two steps back and watched Torifu with great caution. So many shinobi had been killed by this person in an instant, his power was simply too great.
"Who are you! Are you here to capture me, too?"
At this moment, Kushina was extremely frightened. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she still held her kunai tightly.
Torifu smiled. "Don't worry. I am the leader of the Kumotsuru Clan in the Hidden Leaf Village and a disciple of the First Hokage."
"You came to find Lady Mito, didn't you?"
Kushina nodded. "I came to find my great-aunt Mito, but are you telling the truth?"
"Do I have a reason to lie to you?"
Kushina thought for a moment and realized he was right. With this person's strength, it would take no effort to capture or kill her.
"Alright, if you don't trust me, just follow behind us. We're heading back to the village now."
"Um... Nii-san, can you save my bodyguard?"
Just as Torifu was about to turn, he heard Kushina's words. If she hadn't said anything, he would have completely forgotten about the body on the ground. Torifu casually used a medical ninjutsu, and the man soon woke up.
However, Torifu didn't have the time to wait for him. He released a cloud of mist to lift the man, then led Minato and walked toward the village. But at this moment, Minato was being pulled by Torifu. The way Torifu instantly annihilated those shinobi just now had completely shocked him. But even more than that, he thought Torifu was incredibly cool! In the blink of an eye, all those shinobi had been turned to ash. His power was simply too great.
Torifu walked on without looking back, knowing that Kushina was following him. But there was a question in his mind: who had hired these rogue shinobi to assassinate Uzumaki Kushina? And why was it right at the Hidden Leaf Village gate? There were so many opportunities on the road, but they chose to do it here. Was this just a death wish? Or was this a deliberate attempt to lure someone from the Hidden Leaf Village to save her? It was a little confusing. However, in his eagerness to show off, he had killed them too quickly and hadn't left anyone behind to question. He had returned all the lessons on intelligence gathering back to Tobirama, and if he said anything, he would probably be ridiculed.
"Don't stay behind. Come up here. We're almost at the village."
Kushina hesitated for a moment after hearing him, but she finally mustered the courage to walk up and follow beside Torifu.
Torifu smiled. "Did only one bodyguard accompany you on this trip?"
Kushina nodded. "Yes. He was supposed to leave once I reached the Hidden Leaf Village, and I was supposed to handle everything else myself."
"What? So that means he's no longer useful?"
"...I guess so."
As soon as Kushina's words fell, she saw her bodyguard being carried away by a cloud, flying into the distance. His actions were just a little too quick. He sent the guy away as soon as she said he was useless! The man had been protecting her the whole way, and she hadn't even had the chance to thank him yet!
"You're a little princess of the Land of Whirlpools, aren't you? How is it that you don't even have a single maid to take care of you?"
Kushina gave a bitter smile. "Women in the Uzumaki Clan have a lower status than boys."
"And my temper isn't very good, so the servants don't like me very much."
Torifu patted her head. "It's alright. You'll have a new life in the Hidden Leaf Village. Your great-aunt will surely spoil you to no end."
Kushina was a little skeptical. After all, even though she was her great-aunt, she had never met her before and didn't even know what she looked like or what her personality was like. Besides, the legendary First Hokage must be a great and powerful man. Why would he let a girl from his wife's family live in his home?
"I'll be satisfied with a peaceful life."
Torifu was a little curious. "So, do you mean it's very chaotic in the Land of Whirlpools?"
"My uncles are even fighting each other to become the Daimyō..."
This was something Torifu hadn't expected. Given the situation in the Land of Whirlpools, fighting for the position of Daimyō meant fighting for the positions of Clan Leader and the head of Uzushiogakure. After all, the Land of Whirlpools only had one leader, who held all three titles at once. Since the Land of Whirlpools only had the Uzumaki Clan and no civilians, there were at most a few thousand people, so it wasn't too tiring to be the leader. But now that the leader, Uzumaki Ashina, wasn't even dead yet, how could they have already started fighting for the position of leader? It was a little baffling. He would just let his Sensei and his wife worry about these things.
"The Hidden Leaf Village is very safe. There is no war here. You'll understand once you experience it yourself."
Kushina nodded.
Minato stood beside Torifu, occasionally sneaking a glance at Kushina. The red-haired girl was very interesting to him; she gave him a different feeling, one he didn't have with his junior sister.
Soon, the three arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village. The guards saw Torifu go out with two people and come back with three. They took a closer look. They noticed the red-haired girl with him. Was he going out to pick up another child in the morning? But this time, she wasn't an orphan, was she? After all, she was a shinobi of the Uzumaki clan. Her red hair was the best indicator.
"Lord Torifu, who is this...?"
Torifu smiled. "This is the little granddaughter of Lady Mito's brother. You could say she's the princess of the Uzumaki Clan."
Goodness, this time not only was she not an orphan, but she also had a high status!
"She's here to see Lady Mito, so there's no need for an inspection, right?"
The guard nodded. "Of course not. Please, go ahead. Don't let Lady Mito wait too long."
Torifu bowed slightly, then walked into the Hidden Leaf Village with the two children.
"So, how does it compare to Uzushiogakure?"
Kushina looked at the various sights and things in the Hidden Leaf Village and couldn't help but look in awe.
"It's so much better... Uzushiogakure can't even compare."
Torifu nodded. "The better parts are at night. The morning market is already closing down now."
Without further ado, since Kushina was here to see his great-aunt, he needed to get her there quickly. He might even be able to get a free lunch out of it. And since he had already brought Minato out, he couldn't send him back, so he would bring him along to meet his senior master.
Torifu was a beautiful sight in the Hidden Leaf Village, dressed in his white crane-embroidered robe, with a blond boy on his left and a red-haired girl on his right. It was truly eye-catching. The people on the main street of the Hidden Leaf Village were all drawn to him, but most of their attention was on Kushina. After all, besides Lady Mito, there was no one else in the Hidden Leaf with red hair. She must be a relative of Lady Mito. The people of the Hidden Leaf Village began to whisper, which made Kushina feel a little uncomfortable for a moment.
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Chapter end.
[T/N: Hi everyone!]
First, a huge thank you to Yago for the Tier 1 pledge on Patreon! Your support means a lot.
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