Torifu looked at Dan with a blank expression. "Stop projecting your own loser mentality onto Tsunade. How do you know she doesn't want to meet you?"
Dan scratched his head. "Well... alright then, Torifu Nii-san, you can arrange it. I just hope it won't be too awkward."
Torifu gave him a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, just leave it to me!"
He was truly starting to admire himself. Every day he was doing nothing but trying to set people up. He had also rarely taken on missions, and besides the necessary training, Torifu rarely made a serious move. He really wanted a battle between equals to see where his strength truly lay. However, opponents worthy of Torifu were very few.
"Oh, right, Torifu Nii-san, where's Amado?"
Torifu waved his hand. "He's doing research. It's the newest thing, and it's very useful."
Dan nodded. He didn't ask what it was; after all, he wouldn't understand even if he did. In any case, whenever there was a new product, Torifu would send them a sample to try out.
"By the way, Dan, why are you eating out today? Didn't your mother cook?"
Dan smiled faintly. "No, no, I just wanted a change of pace. My mom makes the same meals every day; I'm tired of them."
So that was the reason. Torifu had thought Dan had moved out of his family's home.
Torifu and Dan chatted while they ate. Minato would also occasionally chime in. That was, if he could understand what they were saying. Sometimes when Torifu and Dan talked about missions, Minato would listen intently, even if he didn't understand, because it sounded so interesting.
Before long, the food on the table was all gone. Minato couldn't help but let out a big burp, which made Torifu and Dan burst out laughing. Afterward, they cleaned up the trash on the table, and the three of them left. Torifu and Minato were going to head outside the village, while Dan needed to buy some more breakfast to take back to his little brother.
Torifu and Minato parted ways with Dan at the entrance of the morning market and walked towards the Village gate.
"By the way, Minato, once you learn how to cultivate chakra, you'll go to the Ninja Academy."
"The Academy..."
Torifu nodded. "Yes. If you stay cooped up at home, you won't make any friends. The Academy has a lot of kids your age that you can play with and grow up with."
Even though Torifu didn't stay at the Ninja Academy for very long, within that one month, he got to know everyone in his class. Even now, he was still in touch with them. The ones he was closest to were Shinku, Kōsuke, and Ikkaku. Those three civilian shinobi who were mocked by Uchiha Kyō were now Jōnin of the Hidden Leaf and leading their own squads.
"Okay, Nii-san, I'll go to the Academy."
Minato was actually looking forward to it. In his old village, only the children of wealthy families could go to school. The poor couldn't even afford the tuition. Their families had been farmers for generations, and his parents' greatest hope was for him to be a good one.
Unfortunately, a sudden turn of events led to the death of his parents, but it was also a blessing in disguise as he met Torifu and came to live in the strongest shinobi village in the world, the Hidden Leaf Village. The current Hidden Leaf Village was not as easy to enter as it used to be, where you could just bring your whole family and join. That golden age was long gone. Now that the Hidden Leaf was strong, there were various complicated procedures to join, and a final approval was also required. It could be said that the Hidden Leaf Village was a place that countless people longed to enter but couldn't.
Torifu patted Minato's shoulder. "Even though the semester has been going on for over a week, with me around, you can easily catch up."
Minato also patted his chest. "Hehe, with you, Nii-san, I'm not afraid."
The two left the village and entered the forest just outside. In a patch of grass, Minato spotted a pink flower, but it looked very different from an ordinary flower. It had very sharp angles, as if it had been sculpted.
"Nii-san, what kind of flower is this?"
Torifu couldn't help but laugh when he saw it. "This is a genjutsu I set up when I was a child to protect the Hidden Leaf Village from attacks."
"Now, the Hidden Leaf is very safe, so we don't need it."
Minato nodded. He was still clueless about things like ninjutsu, but he thought it was very cool that his Nii-san had set up this genjutsu to protect the village. He figured he would be able to learn these things when he went to the Academy.
After leaving the forest, the two continued to wander down the road. Torifu didn't know what he was doing out today, but he had a subtle feeling that he needed to bring his cheap disciple out for a stroll.
"Nii-san, look!"
A shout from Minato interrupted Torifu's thoughts. He followed the direction of his finger and saw a red-haired girl surrounded by a group of shinobi wearing straw hats and tattered clothes. The moment Torifu saw her red hair, he knew why he had that feeling earlier. It was to find a wife for his disciple.
One of the girl's bodyguards lay on the ground, his life unknown. She was now holding a kunai, looking determinedly at the group of shinobi who were slowly approaching her.
"Little girl, don't blame us. Someone doesn't want you to come to the Hidden Leaf Village. Even though it's only a short distance away, with us here today, you won't be able to reach it!"
Kushina looked at them warily. "What do you want to do? Lady Mito of the Hidden Leaf Village is my great-aunt!"
The leader of the shinobi laughed slyly. "No matter how strong Uzumaki Mito is, she'll have to be able to hear you first, won't she? Hehehe."
Just as they continued to close in, a voice was heard. "I have to say, are you mob characters not dedicated to your work? What kind of assassins wait until their target has almost reached their destination before attacking?"
"Either you're very stupid, or you think the people of the Hidden Leaf Village are."
The shinobi leader raised his sword and looked around. "Who! Who's talking! Come out!"
Torifu led Minato and walked slowly towards them from the main road.
"You fools, I was never hiding. Can't you be a little more creative?"
The leader pointed his sword at Torifu. "Enough with the nonsense! I've been an assassin for so long, and I've never failed!"
As soon as he said this, even the shinobi next to him couldn't help but complain. "You've never failed because this is our first job, boss!"
"Enough with the nonsense! Just kill them!"
Torifu was speechless with these shinobi. These idiots were trying to be assassins. He didn't know which brain-dead genius hired them. He didn't want to waste any more time on them. Torifu waved his hand, and countless Cloud Swords materialized around him. They then flew towards the group of extras and killed all of them. Their bodies dissolved along with the clouds.
"Little girl, come here. Let's go home together."