"And you came right back after? Only you would be so dedicated to slacking off."
Torifu thumped his chest. "That's right. Who do you think I am?"
Naori gave him a flat look. "You actually think I was complimenting you?"
Then she asked, "Can you tell me the details? Why would Uchiha Madara come to the Hidden Leaf Village? It wasn't to go after Sensei, was it?"
Torifu waved a hand dismissively. "Of course not. With Sensei's current strength, fighting Uchiha Madara, who's missing one eye, would be like cutting up vegetables."
"This is what actually happened."
Torifu explained the entire situation to Naori, from beginning to end.
Naori's jaw dropped. She never imagined that the Ashina she and the others had traveled with from the Land of Whirlpools was an imposter. What a masterful disguise, and what a risky undertaking. It was one thing that the few of them, who hadn't known Ashina for long, were fooled, but Torifu, who had been living with the man for days, hadn't been able to figure it out.
Whoever this imposter was, they were truly skilled.
"If he hadn't willingly exposed himself, he probably would have gone undiscovered. He was a ticking time bomb—it's terrifying."
Naori was right. If the imposter hadn't revealed his identity, Torifu would have only had suspicions, but no real proof.
"If he hadn't made his move last night, he would've been dead today," Torifu said with a chuckle.
Naori looked puzzled. "How so?"
"The real Ashina-sama arrived in the village early this morning. He's with Sensei drinking right now."
"What?!" Naori's voice was filled with disbelief. "Are you sure this time he's real?"
Torifu nodded. "Don't worry. Mito-sama, Sensei, and Kushina can all confirm that he's the real Ashina-sama. I can confirm it too."
Upon hearing this, Naori breathed a sigh of relief. That was great news.
But then, a thought struck her. If the previous Ashina was an imposter, didn't that mean they had never actually met the real Ashina?
The feeling was incredibly strange—this person you thought you knew so well, who you had a familiar connection with. Then, you suddenly found out he was an imposter. When the real person showed up, you realized all of your memories of him were false. The person didn't even know you. It was a tragic realization, to have poured so much emotion into a fake person.
"Sigh. The real Ashina-sama doesn't know me at all. That's just so hard to accept."
Torifu laughed at her distress. "Don't say that. When you were under his control, the real Ashina-sama did punch you all a bunch of times, haha."
Seeing how happy Torifu was made Naori unhappy. She got up from the rocking chair. "Fine, you can keep laughing. I'm going to go see Ashina now."
As she started to leave, Torifu grabbed her.
"I was just messing with you. He knows every single one of us. His secret room can monitor everything on the outside. You could say that you were the only one who didn't recognize him."
Naori wanted to say, "Of course I did!" but the words caught in her throat.
"Forget it. I'll talk to him properly the next time I see him. And that darn imposter, I hope I never see him again."
"I'm leaving."
With that, she left the Kumotsuru Clan compound as quickly as she had arrived.
After Naori left, Torifu went back to resting in his rocking chair. Life had been quite enjoyable recently, without too many bothersome issues. The mobile phones had become widely used among the villagers. Aside from the hassle of charging them, everything was great, and everyone's skills were constantly improving. Things were progressing in a good direction.
And so, night fell. When Minato got home from school, the first thing he did was ask about what happened last night.
"Go wash your hands first. We'll talk about it at the dinner table. And go get your big brother, too."
Minato answered, then ran into the house. After quickly washing his hands, he went to the backyard. A moment later, he returned with Amado.
"Didn't you finish the phones? What are you tinkering with now?"
Amado waved his hand. "I'm studying the replication device to see if I can figure out how it works."
Torifu didn't discourage Amado's idea; instead, he encouraged him. He knew that at this time, completing the research was impossible, but he still gave him plenty of encouragement. Amado's greatest quality wasn't his hands-on ability; it was his brilliant mind and talent. All the phones, refrigerators, and air conditioners he had made before were simply built from blueprints, which was purely a matter of technical skill. But if he could figure something out on his own, Torifu would fully support him. After all, this was the ninja world's most outstanding scientist, and he couldn't let his talent be wasted.
At the dinner table, the three of them chatted. Torifu didn't forget what he had said and recounted the events of last night to Minato and Amado.
Both of them nearly dropped their chopsticks. "Someone dared to attack the First Hokage? And they escaped from you? Who is that powerful?"
Minato also asked in surprise, "So Kushina's grandfather was an imposter? She must have been so sad. That's why she didn't come to school today."
Torifu patted Minato's head. "Don't worry. Her real grandfather arrived in the Hidden Leaf Village today. After multiple verifications, we've confirmed he's not an imposter."
Hearing this, Minato was relieved.
Then, Torifu answered Amado's question.
"It was a monster that's all white. When I get a chance, I'll capture one for you to study."
As soon as Torifu said this, Amado's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly. "Good. Make sure you capture it alive!"
"Will do."
"The ninja world may be in for another storm, but there shouldn't be any major changes for the next few years. You should grow strong quickly."
It was hard to tell if this was a message for Minato and Amado, or for the entire Hidden Leaf Village. Both of them took Torifu's words to heart. Minato was now very hardworking. Aside from sleeping, he was almost always training his jutsu. Torifu thought that if he had been as diligent as Minato, he would have probably reached Six Paths level by now.
But he couldn't help it; Torifu wasn't a person who liked to work hard. The life he longed for was one where he could enjoy a quiet existence while his strength increased. Yet, every time he started to enjoy himself, a mysterious war would break out, destroying all the peace, and he would have to get involved to solve the problem.
Torifu knew that with great power came great responsibility. Even though he liked to be lazy and lay low, now that he was a Hokage, he would fulfill the duties of one. Protecting the entire Hidden Leaf Village, every villager, and the people he cherished—this was what a Hokage was supposed to do.
[T/N: The author keeps changing the address for Ashina, and Mito, sometimes auntie, uncle, big brother, senior and lord. I am just gonna remove any form of address from his name from now on.]