After Hashirama first brought Fūmori Masaki to Shikkotsu Forest, Fūmori Masaki no longer needed Hashirama to lead the way. Every day, the Little Slug in Shikkotsu Forest would use the Reverse Summoning Technique on time to summon Fūmori Masaki from Konohagakure to Shikkotsu Forest, and then they would go to the spring together to drink.
Fūmori Masaki had no curiosity about other parts of Shikkotsu Forest; he would simply go to the spring to drink a bowl, and then the Little Slug remaining in Konohagakure would use the Reverse Summoning Technique to send him back, living a stable, routine life.
It had to be admitted that the effects of the spring water in Shikkotsu Forest were very obvious. In just one week, Fūmori Masaki could feel his strength clearly increasing, and the Chakra he condensed was superior to the past in both quality and quantity. Fūmori Masaki was very happy about this and trained even harder in his daily life, adapting to his ever-increasing power.
If possible, Fūmori Masaki hoped that this change would continue. However, the spring water was like a secret medicine; its effect on the human body would slowly decrease over time. Even if its effects were excellent, it could not escape this rule.
Fūmori Masaki felt some regret, but he accepted the result. Although drinking more spring water might bring benefits as good as when he first started taking it, considering its "side effects," Fūmori Masaki did not choose this approach. He wanted to strengthen his physique, but he did not want to risk his life.
Even so, Fūmori Masaki's physique far exceeded his previous one. According to Hashirama, Fūmori Masaki's current physique could compare to some Senju Clan Members with stronger bloodlines, whereas before, in terms of sheer physical strength, he couldn't even compare to Satomi, despite her being female.
After personally feeling the sensations brought about by the improvement in his physique, Fūmori Masaki was truly envious of those descendants of the Six Paths Sage. In another world, readers of that manga called it a representative of bloodline theory, and now he genuinely wanted to agree with those people; these descendants of the Six Paths Sage were all born lucky.
Fortunately, although Fūmori Masaki did not have the true bloodline of the Six Paths, under the nourishment of the spring water, he could still experience the scenery that those with the Six Paths bloodline could see. Even without needing Sage Mode, he could gradually keep up with his peers, and he had reached a higher level of control over Sage Mode.
Training under Tobirama was lively, and time passed quickly. Soon it was the tenth year since the establishment of Konohagakure. While Fūmori Masaki continued to be busy, he gradually developed a trace of worry. According to the development of the story, Uchiha Madara would attack this year or next, and Hashirama would also die within these few years.
In another world, many people speculated about what would cause a monster like Hashirama to die. Fūmori Masaki believed that Hashirama had sustained very serious injuries in his battle with Uchiha Madara, directly affecting his lifespan. Hashirama was not truly immortal; even the Six Paths Sage would die when his natural lifespan ended. Hashirama could not compare to the Six Paths Sage, so dying from internal depletion during successive battles was a very normal thing.
Moreover, the threat posed by Uchiha Madara, who returned with the Nine-Tailed, was so great that Hashirama was nearly exhausted. Only by relying on the opponent's equally weak body and using a Wood Clone to deceive him could he end Uchiha Madara's life.
In Fūmori Masaki's heart, he already regarded Hashirama as his own father. He really wanted to prevent Hashirama from dying, but Uchiha Madara, who returned with the Nine-Tailed, was too powerful. Not just in Konohagakure, but in the entire Ninja World, only Hashirama could block Uchiha Madara. Facing such an opponent, Hashirama had to use all his might.
If he gathered the strength of others, perhaps he could share Hashirama's pressure. However, such experts could be counted on one's fingers. Considering the possibility of persuasion, the uncertain time of Uchiha Madara's return, whether Hashirama would believe the attack, and other factors, Fūmori Masaki sadly discovered that Hashirama having to face Uchiha Madara alone seemed to be an unavoidable matter.
Sometimes, the disputes between people who were too powerful left no opportunity for others to intervene, and Fūmori Masaki truly realized this fact.
Fūmori Masaki could not find any way out. Even if he came up with some plans, after careful confirmation, he would find that they had no feasibility at all. He seemed to have no choice but to accept the outcome that Hashirama would die shortly after the battle with Uchiha Madara. The only thing he could do to repay Hashirama was to try his best to protect the hard work Hashirama left behind.
Before the shadow of Uchiha Madara's unknown return, Fūmori Masaki and the others encountered another matter. Tobirama had them, the seven of them, gather at the Hokage Residence. Once there, Fūmori Masaki saw Hashirama and Tobirama, and next to them was a middle-aged man dressed as a civilian.
"Everyone, he wishes to entrust a mission to our Village. After careful consideration, Tobirama and I have decided to accept this mission, and I will leave it to you to execute it," Hashirama said, pointing to the middle-aged man.
Everyone was surprised. Ninjas were generally employed by some feudal lord to perform various tasks, and the current Konohagakure was directly employed by the country. The people of Konohagakure should all serve the Land of Fire; there was no reason to accept a request from a civilian, even during the Warring States Period when the status of Ninjas was low, this had never happened.
Today's Konohagakure was composed of various Ninja Clans, large and small. Even the orphans taken in had Ninja Clan lineages. Regardless of whether it was clear or if the heritage was interrupted, Hashirama either treated them as part of a Ninja Clan, like Fūmori Masaki, or they were taken in by a family, like Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado—
And every Ninja Clan, according to its status, was allocated land by the country to live on. Even Fūmori Masaki, who was the only one left, was managed by the Senju Clan. In other words, the Ninjas in Konohagakure could now rely on self-sufficiency and did not need to perform other tasks to ensure their survival.
In the later Konohagakure, due to the large influx of civilians and the Ninja Academy system established by Tobirama, Civilian Ninjas without family heritage emerged. However, they did not have the land possessed by the Ninja Clans, so naturally, they could not guarantee their survival through this method and could only accept missions to earn their living expenses. Perhaps because of this, Konohagakure later accepted all kinds of strange missions.
Hashirama and Tobirama might have already anticipated the future situation, so they made preparations in advance. Of course, it was also possible that because this middle-aged man was a bit miserable, Hashirama was moved by compassion and decided to accept the other party's request. Judging from Hashirama's personality, Fūmori Masaki felt the latter was more likely; no matter how smart Tobirama was, the Ninja Academy hadn't even appeared yet, so the possibility of him foreseeing the later situation was relatively small.
"Mr. Ichiro, please explain it to them," Hashirama said to the middle-aged man with a smile.
The middle-aged man named Ichiro looked cautiously at the seven young people in front of him. Coming from an ordinary background, he had no opportunity to come into contact with the Ninja group. He came to make a request with the mentality of giving it a try and was almost thrown out the door. Hashirama, who happened to pass by, saw it and brought him here.
"My name is Ichiro, and I am a farmer living in the Village on the other side of the mountain," Ichiro said. "We were living peacefully, but recently, a group of bandits appeared there. They come to our Village from time to time, making it restless. We really couldn't bear it anymore, but we didn't know what to do. Occasionally, I heard them talking about things here, saying that as long as you have money, you can get things done. Listening to their tone, they seemed to be very afraid of you, so I thought maybe you could help, so—"
Ichiro hurriedly took out a tattered bag from his clothes, which contained some old money, and said: "I hope you can drive those people away. Please!" As he spoke, he bent down.
The seven looked at each other. Honestly, the money this middle-aged man took out was too little to make Ninjas run a trip, but since Hashirama and Tobirama indicated they would accept this mission, they couldn't say anything. Fūmori Masaki stepped forward and asked the middle-aged man to stand up, saying: "Don't worry, we will accept this mission."
"Really?" Ichiro was overjoyed. He was actually very worried about whether this money could move the people in front of him. Although they looked young, they gave Ichiro a feeling of fear.
"Mr. Ichiro, you have come from afar and must be very tired. Go and rest first. We will go immediately. Perhaps when you wake up from a sleep, our mission will have already been completed," Fūmori Masaki said with a smile, seeing the fatigue on Ichiro's face.
Ichiro was half-believing and half-doubting, but Fūmori Masaki's tone was very confident. For some reason, Ichiro felt he could trust this person in front of him. With the relaxation of his mindset, the fatigue of the journey suddenly surged up, causing him to almost collapse to the ground. Uchiha Kagami immediately supported him, looked at Hashirama and Tobirama, and seeing them nod, took Ichiro out to rest.
"...The situation of the mission is like this." Hashirama told the remaining six people the location of the Village and some circumstances, then said: "I don't have any requirements. You can handle it according to the local situation. In short, get rid of this Mr. Ichiro's burden. Although this mission is very simple, I hope you can show the results of your training."
The six replied "Yes," bowed to the two, and then went out together to meet up with the returning Uchiha Kagami, and then headed towards the Village where Ichiro was.