And their father had said that Uncle Torifu would get married soon, and then they would have a little brother or sister to sign a contract with. They had to protect them well.
But this had been said a long time ago. They had been waiting for a long time, but Uncle Torifu just wouldn't get married. It was driving them crazy.
In fact, even Aokumo and Ryūfū didn't understand why Torifu had been with Naori for so long and still hadn't gotten married. Could it be that Torifu was a two-faced scumbag?! It felt like he had discovered a secret!
Not long after, a voice came from the front door. "Hey, where did everyone go?"
It was Minato who had returned. Amado shouted loudly, "We're here with Aokumo!"
Minato heard him from the front yard and immediately ran towards the bird's nest. They were all here. These two little ones must be his younger apprentices.
"Hello, I'm Namikaze Minato. You can call me Minato. What should I call you?"
Minato was very comfortable with Yahiko and Konan, not awkward at all. You could see how much Minato had improved over the years. In the beginning, Minato was also a bit shy and introverted. Now he had been trained well and was full of youthful energy.
"I... I'm Yahiko, and she's Konan. It's a pleasure to meet you, Minato."
Konan also said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Minato."
Minato smiled slightly. "Don't be nervous. We're going to live together from now on. Big Brother will arrange for you to go to the ninja academy soon. You can learn all the knowledge you don't know there."
Yahiko and Konan nodded. The academy must be a place to study. There used to be one in the Land of Rain. They could hear people reading there, but unfortunately, they didn't dare to get close because they would be chased away. There were countless homeless children like them in the Land of Rain, just like stray dogs on the street. No one cared if they were fed or if they learned anything. No one even cared if they died. At most, they would just be spat on and called bad luck.
"Can we really go to school? Will Sensei let us go to school?"
Konan was very excited about going to school. She felt that it must be possible. It must be possible to go to school.
Minato stroked their heads. "Of course, you can. Who do you think your Sensei is? He's the leader of this village! The strongest person in the entire world!"
The two young children were shocked by this statement. They didn't understand what a Hokage was or what a ninja was. But they had seen the full picture of this village! It was so vast and so rich! The leader of such a village was so amazing! And he was the strongest person in the world! They had jumped from the very bottom of the world to the very top in one go. What was it like to be taken in as apprentices by the strongest person in the world? They couldn't even imagine it.
"Sensei is so amazing... So why would he take in two orphans like us as apprentices?"
After Yahiko said this, Konan also fell silent. She lowered her head. Indeed, they were just two ordinary homeless children. Why would he choose them?
Minato, on the other hand, smiled freely. "Because you're lucky. That's how I see it. I was also an orphan brought here by Uncle Kakuzu, and Big Brother took me in as his younger brother and apprentice."
Amado also smiled. "Yeah, lucky. That's the only word that can describe it. We're all the same. We're all orphans who were sent to Konoha by Uncle Kakuzu, and we started a new life from there." In the beginning, Amado was just a child who could make small wooden gadgets. He became an orphan due to an accident and was chosen by Kakuzu. Minato was the same, and now Yahiko and Konan were too. They were the most insignificant orphans in the ninja world, with lives as cheap as grass. If it weren't for Torifu, they probably would have already disappeared somewhere.
But this was just what they thought. Torifu never believed that Amado's success and Minato's rapid learning of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu had much to do with him. Without Torifu, they would still be who they were, and Torifu would still be Torifu. Nothing would have changed. It was just that this warm family would no longer exist. If he really had to say what Torifu had given them, it was probably a home. When they were at their most helpless, when their family members had died and they were all alone, he gave them a home. He took care of them with his heart, encouraged them, and helped them find their future. This might be what Torifu had accomplished.
At the same time, this family also brought warmth to Torifu, allowing him to experience the long-lost feeling of kinship. This was also the reason why Torifu had always wanted a peaceful life. Without a family, no matter how peaceful it was, it was useless because it wasn't a life at all. It was just existing.
"Oh, everyone's gathered. I don't need to call you all. Who wants to go out for barbecue today?"
Minato was the first to raise his hand. "Me!"
Amado immediately raised his hand too. "Count me in."
Then their gazes fell on Yahiko and Konan. Konan seemed a little timid, but she was actually a very generous girl.
"I'll go too!"
She smiled and reached out, then grabbed Yahiko's arm with her other hand and looked at him with a grin.
"I... I want to go too."
Torifu clapped his hands. "Great! Our family dinner is about to begin. I'll call Naori later, and we'll all go for barbecue together."
At this moment, Aokumo said, "You guys, it's a bit much to talk about barbecue in front of us who can't go! We want to go too!"
Torifu laughed. "It's not that I don't want to take you. It's just that you and Ryūfū are too big!"
"How about this? I'll have him bring back half a cow of raw meat for you."
Aokumo nodded. "That's better. We're a family, so you can't forget about us."
"Of course not. We've been through life and death together."
The two little ones turned their heads to look at the huge white crane. "Going through life and death with Master is so cool."
Torifu walked up and rubbed Yahiko's head. "You, child. You can't describe life and death with 'cool.' When you face death directly, you will feel so small. No matter how great your honor was or how high you reached in strength, when you face death, you will feel an irresistible fear. It's a fear that comes from the depths of your soul."
"I hope you never have to understand it."
The topic was a bit heavy, so Torifu immediately changed the subject.
"Minato, go and call your Big Sister Naori. We're going to get some barbecue."