Upon returning home, Asuna told her parents about her idea of participating in the exchange student program between Konoha Ninja Village and Amegakure Ninja Village. This move somewhat surprised Fumori Masaki and Satomi. The two exchanged glances, temporarily put down their work, and sat in front of Asuna and Akemi.
"Asuna, why do you want to go to the Land of Rain?" Satomi asked, puzzled, "There are other places in the country where you can train; there's no need to go there."
Asuna repeated the reasons she had given in front of everyone. Although Satomi found them reasonable, as a mother, she was still a little worried about her daughter's safety, even though she knew this was something ninjas had to face. So, she turned her gaze to Fumori Masaki, silently urging him—say something.
Seeing this, Fumori Masaki cleared his throat and said, "Asuna, are you really determined to go there?"
"Yes, I'm sure," Asuna nodded and said.
"You know the risks involved. You must understand that it's not like our country; even the village's Anbu can't fully control the situation there." Fumori Masaki asked again, and Asuna's affirmative reply was what he received.
"Alright then, you can go." Fumori Masaki agreed to Asuna's request. "Tomorrow, I'll have the Ninja Academy add your information to the exchange student list."
"Masaki!" Satomi hadn't expected Fumori Masaki to agree so readily, without even asking for details. She couldn't help but get a little anxious. "Are you really going to let her go?"
"Mother, you're overthinking it. Asuna is very strong. In the past, Sister Tsunade and Brother Sakumo could go to the Land of Rain, so why can't my sister?" Akemi supported her sister from the side.
"That's true, but…" Satomi's voice softened slightly.
"Asuna and Akemi will leave us sooner or later. At the very least, they need to learn how to protect themselves. Wasn't that how we taught them before? Satomi, you should be happy that Asuna is willing to face difficulties, and although Akemi didn't choose to be a combat ninja, she is facing difficulties of another kind. This means they truly have the resolve to take on responsibility, proving that our education wasn't in vain," Fumori Masaki said.
Hearing this, Satomi couldn't find any reason to object. She thought about it carefully; indeed, that's how they had educated their two daughters back then. Now that they had truly grown into such people, she was starting to show favoritism, which was completely unreasonable. Moreover, this situation seemed to have occurred between her and Fumori Masaki before, and back then, Fumori Masaki had accommodated her. She also had no reason to stop her daughters from going.
"Alright, I understand." Satomi let out a soft sigh, looked at Asuna, and said, "Asuna, I can only advise you: never be careless, and think clearly before every step, okay?"
"I know, it's all written in the ninja rules at the academy." Asuna breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that her parents had both agreed, meaning she could definitely go to Amegakure as an exchange student. She replied.
"You've never been to Amegakure before. I'll give you a refresher course later. Every country has its own characteristics, and you can't judge everything based on your own common sense," Fumori Masaki said.
"Okay." Asuna nodded quickly.
At this moment, Akemi let out an "Ah!" and called out to Fumori Masaki, "Father, you're so biased! It was one thing to teach Asuna ninjutsu before, since I was going to the Research Department, but now that both of us have graduated, how can you only tutor Asuna?"
Akemi had a basis for saying this. She had heard from Orochimaru that although her father wasn't a practical researcher, he could point out a direction. When encountering a bottleneck, an occasional word from him was like seeing the sun after the clouds parted, bringing enlightenment. It was said that even when the Second Hokage, Tobirama, couldn't solve a problem in the Research Department for a time, Fumori Masaki would come, take a look, and propose a feasible direction. It might not be the correct one, but it could lead people to find the true path.
Therefore, Akemi believed that Fumori Masaki must be a person of great wisdom.
She had no intention of pursuing the power of ninjutsu, so she had turned a blind eye to Fumori Masaki teaching Asuna. But now that she was about to join the Research Department, Fumori Masaki should give her some guidance, for example, on how to find the correct thread among tangled clues.
Fumori Masaki was slightly taken aback, then burst out laughing, which made Akemi puff out her cheeks and say angrily, "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, I know what you're thinking. Alright, you're both my darlings, so of course, I can't favor one over the other." Fumori Masaki smiled and said, "I'll leave a shadow clone in the study. You can ask whatever you want to know."
"Okay." Akemi immediately brightened up. Although it was just a shadow clone, knowledge wouldn't be diminished by it.
"Alright, alright, whatever you want to say, wait until after dinner." Satomi clapped her hands to quiet everyone. "The food's getting cold."
After dinner, Asuna and Akemi went to rest for a bit before starting their studies. The two sisters ran to their room, presumably to talk about something. Meanwhile, Fumori Masaki and his wife cleaned up the dishes. As Satomi placed things in the sink, she said, "Sigh, I never realized it before, but today I noticed that both of them have grown up."
"Yes, they've become more opinionated than before, and they know what they want to do," Fumori Masaki also felt a sense of emotion. "Fortunately, their growth is positive. If they had turned into spoiled brats, I really wouldn't know what to do."
"What spoiled brats? Are Akemi and Asuna those kinds of people?" Satomi couldn't help but give Fumori Masaki a glare. "Do you think they're like noble offspring? In ninja families like ours, as long as you keep a tight rein on them from a young age, they generally won't become dissolute. It might be possible for some large clans, though."
"Don't forget, you also come from a prominent family," Fumori Masaki couldn't help but tease.
"What prominent family? You know as well as I do, it's just our family, with only two daughters. Even the commoner-born ninjas at the Ninja Academy are very close to us because they feel we're not much different from commoners," Satomi said with a smile.
"That's good. Even if the family gap cannot be easily smoothed over, at least the mindset should ensure equality between both sides. One cannot act superior just because they are from a prominent family and the other is a commoner. It's gratifying that Akemi and Asuna haven't become arrogant because they are the Hokage's daughters, preferring to be with clan ninjas rather than associate with commoner ninjas," Fumori Masaki said calmly.
"Thanks to the correct educational approach. Honestly, Masaki, where exactly did you learn all this? Your interpretations of the Ninja Sect classics make it seem as if you've studied them for decades, but you haven't been involved with the Ninja Sect for that long," Satomi suddenly asked curiously, halfway through her sentence.
"Hmm, perhaps I was born with the knowledge," Fumori Masaki thought for a moment, his tone somewhat profound.
"Born with knowledge? Do you think you're the Sage of Six Paths?" Satomi pouted. The description "born with knowledge" was usually used to describe the Sage of Six Paths, who was like a god, a sincere compliment from followers of the Ninja Sect.
"But I am a living sage," Fumori Masaki said candidly. With his mastery of Sage Art, calling himself a sage was not an exaggeration.
"Shameless!" Satomi playfully scolded him, then said thoughtfully, "A living sage, huh? That sounds interesting. Perhaps I should write my next book about that."
"Oh? You have inspiration for a new book?" Fumori Masaki asked upon hearing this.
Satomi is now a retired kunoichi, specializing in writing novels at home, just like Kana. Although her scope is wider, she incorporates the ideology of the Ninja Sect into all of her works, making her a different type of writer. She started writing when she had to take care of her two newborn daughters and couldn't go on missions, and she has gradually found joy in it.
"You'll know in due time." Satomi kept him in suspense, unwilling to say more.
"Alright then, you take your time thinking. I'll go check on Akemi and Asuna." Fumori Masaki smiled, placed the washed dishes aside, and turned to walk towards the inner room.
Halfway there, Fumori Masaki formed the hand signs for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, summoning a shadow clone and instructing it to wait in the study. He then arrived at his daughters' room, gently knocked on the door, and Akemi and Asuna, who were in the middle of a sisterly chat, immediately turned their heads. He waved to Asuna, signaling her to go to the yard, while Akemi could go to the study.
Asuna followed Fumori Masaki into the yard, where he first asked, "How is your mastery of Sage Art progressing?"
Asuna said, "Just as Father said, I've cultivated something called Sage Markings, but I need to first calm my mind and gather Senjutsu Chakra to form them."
Fumori Masaki felt a slight regret upon hearing this. Asuna's current achievements still belonged to the conventional Sage Mode stage, requiring her to first gather Senjutsu Chakra, which was no different from Jiraiya's or Naruto Uzumaki's. However, he could gather Senjutsu Chakra at will, and Sage Mode was like a normal combat state for him, just like Hashirama, who could enter Sage Mode whenever he wished.
However, the Sage Mode taught by Fumori Masaki still had room for improvement. If she could cultivate it to the same level as him, then it wouldn't matter; it could be considered a true cultivation method for immortality.
"I'll teach you how to adapt to the environment of the Land of Rain first." As he spoke, Fumori Masaki's gaze sharpened slightly, and the surrounding natural energy began to circulate.
Asuna's Sage Realm was still inferior to Fumori Masaki's. Without calming her mind, she could only vaguely sense the presence of natural energy. Her body felt a chill, as if truly damp rainwater was soaking into her, but in reality, it wasn't.
"Father, this is…" Asuna's eyes widened slightly as she asked.
"If you can reach the same level as me in the future, you might also learn this. This is a technique for transforming the nature of natural energy. What I'm demonstrating now is a water-nature transformation," Fumori Masaki said.
Over the years, Fumori Masaki had become increasingly familiar with the conversion relationship between natural energy and chakra. Because of this, he was convinced that the technique of converting natural energy into chakra existed. However, currently, it could only be used by individual ability. Although it couldn't reach the true level of ninjutsu, Fumori Masaki could already make the nature transformation of natural energy play a certain role. Just like now, he simulated an environment similar to Amegakure Ninja Village.
"This is just the environment, next are the people." No sooner had he finished speaking than Fumori Masaki disappeared from Asuna's sight. Asuna felt a chill down her spine, immediately turned around, drew a kunai, and blocked the wooden sword Fumori Masaki brought down.
"Good reaction." Fumori Masaki nodded slightly, offering a brief evaluation. Then, his figure flickered, disappearing like mist. Asuna only paused for a moment before leaping backward, dodging an attack that came from below at an unknown time.
Asuna had already realized that Fumori Masaki's current fighting style was very similar to Hattori Hanzō's assassination techniques. However, his techniques were also combined with the "rainwater" environment he had created, making his figure hazy, his attack angles unpredictable, and even carrying a "poison gas"—simulated by natural energy—invasion.
For his daughter, Fumori Masaki did not use real weapons, but wielded a wooden sword. The poison gas, water release ninjutsu, and genjutsu were all simulated with natural energy, causing no real harm to Asuna, but serving as practice, like a projection.
"So amazing!" Asuna couldn't help but widen her eyes, not only because of the Land of Rain combat style Fumori Masaki displayed, but also his masterful use of natural energy. Such a diverse mimicry, if it were just chakra, it wouldn't be a big deal, because the essence of all ninjutsu is mimicry, but this was the ethereal and elusive natural energy.
Thinking of what Fumori Masaki had just said, a glimmer of longing appeared in Asuna's heart. If she could cultivate Sage Art to such a realm in the future… Just as she was lost in thought, the tip of the wooden sword pressed against Asuna's back, signifying that she had "died." She then heard Fumori Masaki's low chuckle: "What's wrong, Asuna? If this is all you've got, even if you don't encounter ninjas from other countries, your performance among the exchange students in Amegakure will probably not be very good."
"That was just me being careless," Asuna's face flushed slightly as she argued.
"A ninja's battle won't care if you're careless or not," Fumori Masaki tossed the wooden sword lightly and said indifferently, "Have you forgotten what your mother said?"
"No!" Asuna blurted out, then recomposed herself and said to Fumori Masaki, "Father, let's go again. This time, I won't let you catch me off guard."
"Good." Fumori Masaki smiled softly, and with another flash of his figure, he charged towards Asuna.
This training continued until the day the exchange students departed. Asuna arrived at the village gate, seen off by her family. Satomi entrusted Hatake Sakumo, who was the team leader, to look after Asuna. Hatake Sakumo promised that Asuna would return safely, reassuring and Satomi.
Thus, the group of ten exchange students, led by Hatake Sakumo, set off for the Land of Rain. Due to the commercial exchange between the two sides, a direct official road had been established, so everyone didn't need to traverse the complex terrain of the jungle. They could go directly to the Land of Rain, and after verification by the guards, they smoothly arrived at Amegakure Ninja Village.