After slowly adapting to life here, their personalities had also become more cheerful. This was something Torifu was happy to see. Otherwise, it would be awful for such young children to be bitter and resentful all the time.
Not long after, Minato changed his clothes. His white robe went well with his yellow hair.
"Alright, let's go."
Torifu walked toward the door, with Yahiko and Konan hopping along behind him. Minato stood between them, holding their hands. It was the first time the two children had been to a morning market, and they were curious about everything. The vendors at the market were also very curious about them.
"Hokage-sama, who are these two children?"
Torifu smiled. "They are my new apprentices. The boy is Yahiko, and the girl is Konan."
"Oh, oh, oh! So they are Yahiko-sama and Konan-sama! Come, come, come! I have steamed buns here. Please take one and eat it, my lords!"
Yahiko and Konan were surprised by what the steamed bun vendor said. "-sama"... since when were they called "lords"? But they really wanted to eat the buns! Yahiko looked up at Torifu, asking for permission.
Torifu took a paper bill from his ring and handed it to the steamed bun vendor. "It's not easy for you to make a living. How can we eat for free? Please take it." The vendor was about to refuse, but Torifu had already used his chakra to stuff the money into his pocket.
Konan's eyes widened as she watched this. Was this what Sensei had meant by infusing chakra into paper? Torifu was satisfied with Konan's expression. It seemed that these two little ones weren't just thinking about eating.
"Alright, the money has been paid. Go and pick one."
Yahiko and Konan obediently took one each and followed Torifu as they continued to walk around. When Torifu saw the villagers calling Yahiko and Konan "-sama," he felt as if he had returned to his childhood when he and Naori were also called "-sama" by the villagers. They were respected by most of the villagers because of their status as the First Hokage's apprentices. And now, these three children were no different from how he was as a child.
The people in the morning market were very friendly, but it didn't cause any traffic jams. Everyone knew that the Hokage was back and had gotten used to it. Today, they were just happy to know that the Hokage had taken on more apprentices. The more apprentices the Hokage had, the better and safer Konoha's future would be. This was something the villagers were happy to see.
The shouting at the morning market was relatively quiet, and only when they saw Torifu would they shout a few words to show their respect.
"Sensei, what are we going to eat?"
Minato answered this question, "Just walk and eat until you're full, and then we'll go home."
So that's how it was. Yahiko and Konan had never been to a morning market, so they naturally didn't know that this was a way of eating. But the steamed buns were really delicious. They would ask Sensei to buy them another one when they went back. But before they could even get halfway, Yahiko gave up on that idea. He had more and more food in his hands, and he didn't even know who had put it there. Konan was the same; she couldn't even hold it all with both hands.
Minato wasn't surprised. It was the same for him when he first came to Konoha. The villagers were just too friendly. There were too many people in the morning market to figure out who gave them the food, so there was no way to pay them. They could only accept it.
Torifu bought whatever he wanted to eat along the way, eating as he walked. He turned around and saw that the food in the children's hands was piled up like a mountain, so he reluctantly found a table and sat down, letting them eat some first. He didn't expect that after so many years, the villagers would still be so friendly.
"Alright, eat up quickly. We still have to go back home to train."
Yahiko and Konan had initially eaten like they were starving, but after a few meals, Torifu had disciplined them. Now, although they still ate quickly, they were a little more refined. This was good enough. Street children had to eat quickly to prevent others from stealing their food. It was all for survival, and a little change at a time was enough. He couldn't expect them to abandon all their old habits at once.
After eating their fill, Torifu took them home. Yahiko and Konan still had a large pile of food left over, but luckily, they were all things that could be stored, like steamed buns. Torifu told them to take them back and that if he wasn't back for lunch, they could ask Amado to heat them up.
"You two should train well at home. If you get bored, you can rest for a bit and explore the village, but don't go too far."
"Okay, Sensei!"
The two children stood up straight, as if Torifu were training cadets. It was a little funny, but he held back his laughter.
Afterward, Torifu left the clan compound and headed toward Mifune. Today, he was mainly going to take him to visit Tobirama and Hashirama.
By this time, most of the villagers had already gotten up and had breakfast, preparing to start their new day of work. Konoha was slowly waking up. When he arrived at the apartment, Torifu knocked on the door. After a while, the apartment door opened. It was Mifune himself.
"Mifune-sama, did you sleep well last night?"
Mifune bowed and said, "I'm ashamed to say, but that was the best night's sleep I have ever had."
Torifu smiled at that. "That's good. Have you had breakfast yet? The morning market is still open. You can have your companions go buy some, and I can come back a little later."
"Thank you for your concern. We have already eaten. Are we going to visit Tobirama-sama now?"
Torifu nodded. "Of course. If you have anything to do, we can go later."
"I have nothing to do. Let's go now."
And so, Mifune followed Torifu all the way to the Senju clan compound. The people on the street were a little confused by Mifune's out-of-place attire. However, the ninjas of the Senju clan were very familiar with samurai.
"Torifu-sama, and this must be the distinguished guest from the Land of Iron? Are you here to visit the clan leader? Please, come in."
Torifu returned a smile, and Mifune also nodded to the ninja, bowing slightly. Receiving the respect he deserved, the Senju clan members also had a good impression of Mifune.
As soon as they arrived at Hashirama's yard, they found Ashina walking around. Every time he saw him walking like this, it reminded him of the fake Ashina.
"Elder Ashina, what are you doing?"
Upon hearing the voice, Ashina turned around. "Hahaha, it's you, kid. I just finished eating and was taking a walk."
"Kushina, your Big Brother Torifu is here. Come out and say hi."
A little while later, Kushina ran out of the house. She was now a very cheerful person, completely different from when she was a child. Her strength was also good, and she was the leader of her class.
"Big Brother Torifu, why are you here? Where's Minato?"