Ōnoki nodded upon hearing this. "That young man. Among the three teammates, he's the one I admire most. The other two are a bit strange."
Shinku hadn't expected to be on the same page as the Tsuchikage. Orochimaru was always busy with his snakes, and Hiruko was single-mindedly researching his Bloodline Limits. They were certainly two of the oddballs of Konoha Village. However, both of them had good personalities and were very friendly to people, so no one avoided them because of what they researched.
"Alright, let's not chat outside any longer. Come into the village with me first. You must have exhausted a lot of stamina on the journey. I'll immediately arrange a banquet to welcome you."
"You are too kind, Tsuchikage-sama."
Shinku then followed the Tsuchikage into Iwagakure. The villagers of Iwagakure recognized the Konoha Ninja but weren't sure why he had come this time. Was he here to deliver a message about another war? They had only just finished a war a few months ago, and the villagers had lost much. They only wanted to recuperate and didn't want any more conflict.
But the news quickly spread within Iwagakure. The Hokage-sama was getting married; it wasn't a war message. The villagers were naturally curious and happy about this news. Although the Hokage-sama was not from their village, all the electrical facilities and mobile phones Iwagakure currently owned were imported from Konoha Village. This had made the villagers' lives infinitely more convenient! Furthermore, as trade with Konoha Village flourished, Iwagakure had also become much richer. Many entrepreneurial villagers had completely escaped poverty through this opportunity and even became some of the wealthiest families in the village. Combined with the alliance during the last war, they had all fought side-by-side and developed a sense of comradeship. Therefore, they also held a very favorable impression of the Hokage-sama.
On his way to the envoy's apartment, Shinku observed the architectural style of Iwagakure in detail. Compared to Konoha Village, the two villages had their own distinct characteristics. Konoha Village's buildings were mostly made of wood and brick, while Iwagakure was entirely made of earthen houses, stacked with clay blocks. Most of the roofs were pointed, which looked very interesting. The tallest building in the village was undoubtedly the Tsuchikage's office building.
"Haha, after getting used to Konoha Village, this must be a completely different style," Ōnoki said.
Shinku nodded. "Indeed, the styles of the two villages are quite different."
Ōnoki stroked his beard and said admiringly, "The first time I went to Konoha Village, I found it was incredibly larger than Iwagakure."
"I initially thought that was its original size, but then I learned the Hokage had expanded it. I don't have that kind of courage, nor the financial resources."
Iwagakure was restricted by its city walls and could only continuously develop within the village. This was the same for other villages originally. However, Konoha Village had directly abandoned its original city walls, expanded outwards, and built a new set of walls. To protect the village's safety, the thickness and sturdiness of the walls were unimaginable. The funds required to build such a wall were incalculable. If Ōnoki had that kind of money, he certainly wouldn't have spent it on that. What he didn't know was that Torifu had used all the money earned from export trade to build the walls. In other words, he used the money of the other hidden villages.
"For Tsuchikage-sama to develop Iwagakure to its current scale is also a great achievement." Under these circumstances, he had to say some pleasantries, or the conversation would become awkward.
"Haha, I didn't do much."
Afterward, Ōnoki chatted with Shinku for a while longer, then returned to his office. Shinku entered the apartment to rest. The banquet wouldn't start for a while, so he wasn't in any particular hurry. Restoring his stamina was the most important thing.
"The mission is complete. I'll rest tonight and then set off to return to Konoha Village tomorrow." A single night's rest would be enough to recover his stamina, and returning quickly to report the mission was more important.
Back in Konoha Village, Torifu lay on his rocking chair until nightfall. After eating dinner with Minato, Yahiko, and Konan, Torifu returned to the Kumotsuru Clan Compound. In the courtyard, Minato was playing with Yahiko. Konan was whispering to Snowflake. Snowflake seemed to really like Konan. She would chat with the little girl whenever she had a moment. Perhaps it was because a girl had finally arrived at the house. Snowflake's grandsons had all grown up and no longer needed much care, and suddenly having free time made her feel a little restless. She kept urging Aokumo and Ryūfū to have another litter of little cranes soon.
Torifu didn't mind. The Kumotsuru Clan Compound still had room. He also wanted to see the cranes develop into a large flock, just like the toads of Mount Myōboku, eventually becoming the Fourth Sacred Land. He was perhaps thinking too far ahead. For this to truly happen, it would likely take thousands of years. Otherwise, how could Aokumo and Ryūfū possibly possess the power of the Great Toad Sage?
While the children played in the courtyard, Torifu prepared to get to work. He planned to set up the wedding venue tonight.
"If you guys get tired of playing, go inside and sleep. Don't stay up late, okay?"
Minato immediately nodded. "Alright, Big Brother. Don't worry, I'll supervise them."
With Minato's assurance, Torifu truly felt relieved. Even if Yahiko got carried away and didn't want to sleep, Minato would certainly correct him. Torifu then returned to the house, pretending to rest but actually transforming into a wisp of cloud and flying up into the cloud layer.
With a thought, a massive palace appeared before Torifu. It was majestic and magnificent. This was the Cloud Palace, which constantly monitored the security of Konoha Village, alerting Torifu whenever someone entered the village. But it could also house people; it was a real palace, though one built entirely of cloud.
At this moment, the Cloud Palace was above the cloud layer, and the villagers of Konoha could not see it materialize. Before it, Torifu felt so tiny. However, it wasn't big enough yet; it couldn't accommodate all the people of Konoha Village. Torifu needed to make it bigger.
He spread his hands and controlled the surrounding mist and clouds to continuously gather toward the Cloud Palace. Slowly, the Cloud Palace absorbed all the white clouds, and its size visibly increased.
"My guess was right. This thing can indeed absorb cloud particles to grow." In the beginning, the Cloud Palace was only the size of the Kumotsuru Clan Compound. After all these years, it was now half the size of Konoha Village. This was without any human intervention. Now, Torifu needed it to grow to be the same size as Konoha Village.