Hashirama had promised Ichiro that he could come and request missions whenever he was in trouble, but in reality, Ichiro's Village did not come to request missions that often.
In their eyes, Konohagakure was indeed a place that could help them, but the impression left on them by Fūmori Masaki and the others was just like soldiers. Asking Konoha Ninja to come and drive away mountain bandits was fine, but they didn't have the courage to ask them to help the Village with weeding, farming, or anything of that sort.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were also a bit worried that Ichiro would come to ask for such things. They were Ninja, not farmers working in the fields; how could they do such things?
Fūmori Masaki, however, didn't think much of it. In fact, speaking of which, in the future, the Genin of Konohagakure would likely all have to do this kind of farm work. For Civilian Ninja who lacked family land and sufficient strength, they could only carry out such missions. But at least, for now, they did not need to perform such missions that went against the traditional duties of a Ninja.
Although going out to carry out missions could increase experience, the country was still relatively stable at the moment, and there weren't that many missions available for Fūmori Masaki and the others to perform. Therefore, Fūmori Masaki and his group basically spent their days in training.
If there was any time when Fūmori Masaki could relax his mind and have some entertainment, it was only when he returned home to spend time with his wife, Satomi.
However, Satomi was not the type of person who would only stay at home looking after her husband. She very much hoped to improve her own strength, so she would ask Fūmori Masaki to accompany her in training when he had free time.
Although it was more tiring than just sitting down and talking, Fūmori Masaki felt that this also had its own kind of fun, so he did not refuse. Furthermore, seeing Satomi training was a pleasing sight for Fūmori Masaki.
When Satomi was not training, she was equally enchanting to Fūmori Masaki as a wife. She was not the type to be completely submissive to Fūmori Masaki; the two would occasionally bicker and speak their minds freely. Fūmori Masaki simply loved this straightforward personality of hers, and the couple got along very happily.
Satomi also really enjoyed the feeling of living with Fūmori Masaki. The only regret was that she had not yet conceived a child. Of course, it was not due to any physical problems, but rather Fūmori Masaki's busy training life. He often came back looking exhausted, so naturally, Satomi could not pester him at such times, and thus it had been delayed until now.
Although Fūmori Masaki very much wanted a child to carry on his lineage, he knew that the urgent priority was to face the First Great Ninja War. Therefore, he basically spent all his time on training, and only spent the necessary time with Satomi to satisfy his mental and physical needs.
Fūmori Masaki also knew that his training caused Satomi distress regarding the issue of having children, but he had no other choice. He could only make it up to his wife in other ways. Once the First Great Ninja War concluded, he could rest assured and raise his own children with Satomi. One had to know that after that, the Ninja World would have a full twenty years of peace, and if he carefully managed things, perhaps the period of peace could be extended even longer.
Just as it happened, Satomi's birthday was approaching. Fūmori Masaki specially entrusted a merchant who had come to Konohagakure to promote goods, asking him to go to the capital to buy beautiful clothes and some accessories that girls liked.
At this time, Konohagakure was not as prosperous as it would be later. Shops like Ichiraku Ramen and Yakiniku Q did not exist. Currently, those living in Konohagakure were all Ninja clans and some craftsmen who forged ninja tools. Fūmori Masaki always felt it was a bit dull.
In the other life of Fūmori Masaki, the information explosion had brought all kinds of entertainment forms before the eyes of the world. Just the information of a single day felt like more than what he had experienced in years in Konohagakure. To be honest, in terms of entertainment alone, he felt that world was incomparably more interesting than the current Konohagakure.
Perhaps it was precisely because life in Konohagakure was so dull that some merchants in the country saw a business opportunity. Although not many people dared to come and do business due to the inherent impression of Ninja, there were still some who came after all.
However, these merchants did not achieve any major development in Konohagakure. The needs of Ninja themselves were different from ordinary people, and the things merchants could promote and sell were limited. Only later, when Konohagakure became less and less like a military organization and more like a small society, would commerce truly prosper.
In order to be able to purchase a birthday gift in the capital, Fūmori Masaki had put in quite a lot of effort, even secretly asking Hashirama for help to get enough money. And the merchant was very reliable, bringing him things that were very popular in the capital, guaranteeing that Fūmori Masaki's wife would definitely like them.
Just as that merchant had said, when Fūmori Masaki gave the clothes and accessories to Satomi as a birthday gift, he could clearly see the glow in Satomi's eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. Although she was a Ninja, Satomi was ultimately a woman, and as long as one was a woman, one would definitely love beauty.
To thank Fūmori Masaki for this gift, Satomi insisted that Fūmori Masaki not go to training and spent three days of leisure with him. During these days, Satomi also personally tried on the gifts Fūmori Masaki had given her. It had to be said that after the naturally beautiful Satomi put them on, she was stunningly beautiful.
After Hashirama found out, he smiled and said to Tobirama: "Masaki really didn't borrow money from me in vain. How come I didn't see before that he had a talent for coaxing girls."
Tobirama said: "Who knows. Before teaching him, I didn't even know he had such a clever side. I can only say that we didn't understand this child, Masaki, very well before."
"Hmm, but this thing Masaki pulled off is quite interesting. We could also try to imitate some of the trends in the capital," Hashirama said, struck by a sudden thought.
"Older brother, that might not be good." Tobirama frowned slightly. In his view, such activities would affect the mindset of Ninja and would make them gradually deviate from the way Ninja should be.
"I think it's quite interesting. It wouldn't hurt to do it once in a while. It's been ten years since the Village was established; we should celebrate," Hashirama said.
Tobirama stared at Hashirama for a while, sighed helplessly, and said: "We can try it, but it must be done more formally. Do not bring over those extravagant things from the capital."
"Good." Hashirama laughed, "Anyway, it has to go through your hands. If you think there is anything bad, I will cancel it directly, without a single word of objection."
Tobirama sighed again. With his personality, he really did not like such activities or celebrations, but since Hashirama was looking forward to it so much, and the Village was indeed worth commemorating, he could only agree. He hoped that the people in the Village would not become curious about those luxurious and extravagant things in the capital because of this.
When Hashirama announced that Konohagakure was going to hold a celebration ceremony, the whole Village was both curious and excited. As Ninja, they had never enjoyed such things before, and now that they could finally experience it once, how could they not look forward to it?
Although some elders in the clans did not quite agree, seeing that the younger generation of the clans were all so expectant, they could only acquiesce. Thus, the whole Village immediately began preparations for the celebration. Even Fūmori Masaki did not know that it was because of his act of asking someone to go to the capital to buy a gift that Hashirama had this idea.
Hashirama watched the lively scene in the Village and felt quite gratified in his heart. At this moment, he couldn't help but think of Uchiha Madara, who had left the Village two years ago. He wondered how he was doing now.
After Uchiha Madara left the Village, Hashirama had sent people to look for him, but there was no news, as if he had evaporated from the world. He knew that for an expert like Uchiha Madara, if he did not want to be found, it was basically impossible to find him. Hashirama had given up, but now he truly hoped that Uchiha Madara could see this scene.
Perhaps because Hashirama's feelings were conveyed to Uchiha Madara, just three days before the celebration, outside Konohagakure, a figure slowly appeared—red armor, black hair, carrying a huge fan on his back, and holding a scythe in his hand. This appearance belonged to only one man.
Uchiha Madara, this man who had suddenly left the Village, had returned at this time. Madara gazed at the Village he had named. No emotion could be seen on that cold, stern face, and no one knew what he was thinking in his heart.