Torifu suspected that the Sage Mode Fusion might have been specifically provided to him alone by the system, and that subsequent trainees, even following the same method, could only enter the basic Sage Mode. However, this was only a guess. They would have to wait for Minato to train for a few more days to determine if that was truly the case. It might also be that Minato simply wasn't very receptive to Sage Jutsu yet.
"Okay, Big Brother, I'll do as you say."
Torifu was very diligent in mentoring Minato, and Minato's strength visibly improved, almost leveling up every year. If he continued practicing this way, the time until he broke through to the Kage level wouldn't be far off. He would likely become the fastest new-generation ninja in Konoha to reach the Kage level.
However, Minato was never bothered by such vanity. No matter how outsiders praised him, Minato would just smile it off. It was only when Torifu, his Big Brother and Master, praised him that Minato would feel truly happy deep down. It was because his efforts had been acknowledged by his Big Brother, proving they weren't in vain.
Furthermore, Torifu believed in the power of encouraging education. He never suppressed the children's self-confidence. Instead, he constantly reinforced their self-confidence through praise. Upon receiving praise, the children would strive to practice even harder, eager for their Master to compliment them again. This was a healthy cycle, many times better than the teaching methods of the Uchiha Clan. At the very least, Torifu's current disciples had virtually no rivals in their age group. In fact, other ninja couldn't even last a single round against them before being defeated.
Simply suppressing and criticizing talented children would only lead to rebellious behavior and damage their self-confidence. That was not a good approach. However, the Uchiha Clan had always been proud of their methods, so Torifu naturally chose not to comment excessively. After all, their clan had stood strong for so many years. It was also possible that the existence of the Sharingan was the reason the clan members were so peculiar—deliberately making the children harbor resentment from a young age to pave the way for the Sharingan's awakening?
Torifu didn't fully understand, and neither did Naori. As a young mistress of the clan, she hadn't experienced any of that since she awakened her Sharingan at the age of five. No one in the clan dared to provoke her. She hadn't experienced much suppression when she was little, and her life had been smooth sailing, which was why Naori had such a good personality.
"You guys, stop chatting. Come and eat."
Naori called out from the kitchen, and everyone immediately responded. They then moved inside to eat. During the day, Naori had thoroughly cleaned the house, inside and out. It was all tedious, time-consuming work, though not particularly tiring. Fortunately, everything was clean now, and Naori felt much more relieved.
At the dinner table, Naori learned that Torifu's aquaculture plan was already scheduled to be shown to the other two Kage. Although it was still just a draft, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this would be the final version. That was because Torifu would never send anything he wasn't completely satisfied with to the two Kage.
"It looks like Konoha will be busy again soon," Naori teased.
Torifu smiled and nodded. "That's right. We'll probably have to call on many ninja to help in the Rain Province. It's a massive project, but it absolutely must be fully implemented before March."
"Otherwise, if the fish fry are released late, this year's work will be for nothing."
Naori couldn't help with these matters. If it involved killing people, Naori could assist Torifu. But Naori was not keen on handling these official duties; they were tedious and tiring for the mind. Torifu naturally knew this, which was why he now strongly hoped that Amado would take the next step and win Anka over. In that case, Torifu could hand over more of the administrative power to Anka. When he stepped down, Anka could continue to assist Minato and help him handle all the trivial matters.
It would practically turn the Hokage into a family business, with the Hokage's secretary being the Hokage's own sister-in-law... However, Torifu was only deciding on one successor. As for when Minato would step down and whom he would pass the title of Hokage to, Torifu would not interfere or concern himself with any of those things. By then, he could truly enjoy retirement life, which sounded wonderful. He had never so strongly wished for Minato to grow up quickly and for his strength to reach the Kage level soon.
'Five years, just five years, and I can start enjoying a peaceful and stable life. Just thinking about it makes me happy.'
Five years was but a fleeting moment to Torifu. How many five-year periods had passed since he took office? He could certainly persevere. Within these five years, Torifu planned to fully raise Minato's strength to the Kage level and teach him all the various Jutsu he needed to learn. However, now only the Rasengan remained. As for Sealing Jutsu and the like, he would wait until Minato and Kushina started dating and let Kushina teach him. Torifu wouldn't steal her thunder.
After everyone had eaten their fill, they all went their separate ways to do their own thing. Washing the dishes was the younger ones' chore. Today was Konan's turn, and she happily went into the kitchen to busy herself. The more time Torifu spent with these children, the more he discovered their shining qualities. Not only were they talented, but their personalities were also excellent. If various accidents hadn't occurred in the original world, they should have been the protagonists. Unfortunately, there was truly only one main protagonist.
This world was the same. No matter how much Torifu wanted to slack off, he was, without a doubt, the protagonist of this world. But even though they weren't the protagonists, Torifu could protect them to live safely and gain a life that truly belonged to them, instead of having only a few short scenes. Every time he thought of this, Torifu felt a surge of passion! He felt like he could continue being the Hokage for another forty or fifty years. But once that enthusiasm faded, he would still be slacking off, wishing he could immediately hand the Hokage position over to someone else. Naori was always helpless whenever she saw him like this.
Time quickly slipped away. Torifu spent two full days in the village dealing with various miscellaneous tasks. Today, he was finally free. Torifu woke up early, changed into a clean set of clothes, and mentioned his departure to Naori.
"Are you going today?"
Torifu nodded. "Mhm. I should be back quickly. Nothing will happen."
"Okay, be careful." Naori said, a slight concern in her voice.
Torifu waved the map in his hand, signaling to Naori to go back inside. Then, he transformed into a cloud of vapor, flew into the sky, and disappeared.