However, Torifu understood that with great power comes great responsibility. Even though he liked to be lazy and get out of work, since he was the Hokage now, he would definitely do what a Hokage should do. Protecting the entire village, every villager, and the people he cherished—that was what a Hokage should do.
One morning, four years later, Torifu woke up from his bed. Something was running in the yard, and that was what woke him up. After stretching, Torifu walked to the window, opened it, and looked at the yard.
"Minato, what are you doing so early in the morning? You woke me up." Torifu yawned after he said this.
When Minato saw this, he immediately ran to Torifu's window and scratched his head. "Hehe, sorry, Big Brother. I was practicing the jutsu I need for today's graduation exam." When he heard Minato say this, Torifu's mind gradually cleared. He remembered that today was Minato's graduation day.
Although the Ninja Academy required students to be twelve years old to officially become a ninja, there were always exceptions, such as Minato. Although he was only ten years old this year, he had skipped two grades. As long as he passed today's graduation exam, he would become a Konoha Genin.
"Alright, alright. You can continue practicing. The proctor won't let you get off easy." After Torifu said this, he walked into the washroom to get ready.
Minato, however, followed him. "Big Brother, do you know who my proctor is?" Torifu looked at his messy hair and noticeable dark circles in the mirror and replied casually.
"Of course I do. Because it's me."
"Huh?" Minato was very surprised. Was Big Brother really the proctor for his graduation exam? He had never heard of it before.
"Alright, alright. What if it's me? Are you still not going to graduate? Just do your best on the exam and perform at your usual level." Minato nodded when he heard this. "Okay, I'll definitely pass it on the first try!" After he said this, Minato turned and left to continue practicing his ninjutsu.
Torifu continued to seriously get ready. These past few years, Konoha had been unusually peaceful. Since Uchiha Madara's attack, no major incidents had occurred. Although the shinobi world seemed to be at peace, Torifu hadn't slacked off at all. His power had steadily increased, and his strength had now surpassed Hashirama, reaching the peak of Kage-level! He was just one step away from that elusive Six Paths level, but he just couldn't cross it. It was probably because he hadn't accumulated enough or was missing some kind of opportunity.
Naori and the other companions had all reached Kage-level as well. The strength of Konoha had improved significantly. No other village dared to provoke Konoha. They all scrambled to establish a cooperative relationship with Konoha. Torifu naturally agreed to all of them. His philosophy was mutual benefit and a win-win situation. If it could make Konoha more prosperous, why not?
Besides that, Konoha had also expanded two more times, incorporating the forest where Torifu had cast the Cloud Mist Barrier back then into the village and rebuilding a stronger and thicker wall. The main reason was that without war and with a very stable economy, Konoha's population had doubled. The original area was no longer enough to accommodate them. To keep Konoha from being too crowded, this was the only solution.
There were many things that the puppets couldn't do, so Torifu had to do them himself. Sometimes, he couldn't help but feel mentally and physically exhausted. After he finished getting ready, Torifu walked out of the house. It was the same old routine. He took out his rocking chair from his ring and lay down. He looked at Minato working hard to practice his ninjutsu in the yard. In fact, the exam's content wasn't complicated or difficult. He just needed to be able to skillfully use the Three Body Jutsu. Minato had already mastered these low-level ninjutsu a long time ago. He was just trying to motivate himself now.
Lying on the rocking chair, Torifu took out his phone and played a game for a little while. His phone had already been sold to other villages through trade with other countries. However, due to the lack of signal, they could only use it to play games and not make calls. But the price was thousands of ryo more expensive, and countless people still scrambled to buy it. The goods provided were always in short supply.
Just as Torifu took out his opponent's last ninja, his phone rang.
"Torifu, do you remember today's graduation exam? You're the proctor."
Torifu said helplessly, "Naori, is that what you think of me? How could I forget something so important?"
"Hmph. You better not. Anyway, I'll see you at the exam venue. I need to get ready."
"Yeah, I'm hanging up, too."
After ending the call, Torifu mumbled to himself, "Naori is so much. Am I that unreliable as Hokage?"
"Alright, Minato. Stop practicing and come here." When Minato heard this, he immediately stopped what he was doing and ran over to Torifu. "Big Brother, what's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Torifu took out a small stool from his ring, placed it on the side, and told Minato to sit down.
"In the blink of an eye, you're about to graduate and become an official ninja. What do you think a ninja needs to quickly make a name for themselves in the shinobi world?"
Minato had never thought about this question before, so he didn't know the answer. He could only rely on his gut feeling. "Power and persistence."
Torifu nodded. "You're right, but that's not enough."
"In terms of hard work, you've definitely put in far more effort than everyone else your age. No one's hard work can surpass yours." When Minato heard his Big Brother's praise, he was a little happy. His hard work had been seen by his Big Brother, which meant it wasn't in vain.
"But you lack something very important."
"What is it?"
"A secret technique."
When he heard his Big Brother's words, Minato was suddenly stunned. He lacked a secret technique? What did that mean?
But Torifu wasn't done yet. "The Senju, Uchiha, Hyūga, Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Aburame, Inuzuka, and my Kumotsuru Clan. These clans all have their own unique secret techniques or bloodline limits. Some are passed down through blood, and some are passed down through training."
"But no matter which one it is, a person who is not of that clan's bloodline is not allowed to learn or use it."
"Even though you're my little brother, I can't teach you Cloud Release. It's an ancestral rule, and I can't break it." When he heard this, Minato finally understood. He was an ordinary person without a clan, so it was naturally impossible for him to have any bloodline limits or secret techniques. It was even more impossible for him to ask other clans to teach him. No one would teach him.
Could he really not make a name for himself in the shinobi world without a secret technique? He had just taken his first step, only to be told this news, and it was quite a blow to him.