Torifu waved his hand: "No need to be so serious. Because I am the Third Hokage of Konoha Village, Kumotsuru Torifu."
At this, the people from the original world were all stunned.
"The Third Hokage? You are that world's Third Hokage?"
Torifu nodded: "Furthermore, I am also the First Hokage's disciple, so becoming the Third Hokage is naturally reasonable."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was somewhat bewildered now. The man in front of him was the Hokage, so what about his alternate self in that other world? Did he not become the Hokage?
"Many things cannot be explained in a few words. I brought Minato precisely to build trust in what I have to say."
"He is my disciple, and he is the Fourth Hokage of Konoha Village."
Now it was Namikaze Minato's turn to be confused: "Your disciple? Isn't he Jiraiya-sensei's disciple?"
"Eh? You mean Big Brother Jiraiya? How could that be? How could I be his disciple?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Namikaze Minato almost spat out their drinks upon hearing that title: "Big Brother Jiraiya?"
Minato nodded: "That's right." He then pointed to Torifu: "Besides being my Master, he is also my Big Brother, and since he is Big Brother Jiraiya's Big Brother, I naturally call Jiraiya 'Big Brother,' too."
What a confusing relationship! Namikaze Minato had to try to straighten it out. Torifu smiled faintly at this. This was nothing; he hadn't yet experienced the even more complicated relationships in Konoha Village. Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he simply gave up. He agreed with Torifu on one point: bringing Minato did indeed build a lot of trust.
"Konoha Village suffered this catastrophe tonight. We have yet to properly thank you for your help. If you have no other pressing matters, please stay and rest in Konoha Village for the night. We can discuss everything in detail tomorrow."
Torifu nodded at this: "That was our intention as well." He then added: "We came with friendly intentions. After all, the history and people of our two villages are essentially identical, so communication should be quite easy."
Sarutobi Hiruzen also nodded and said, "As long as you all come with goodwill, we will naturally welcome you with open arms."
Torifu understood the unspoken meaning of the rest of the sentence, but he didn't care at all. Even an entire Konoha Village from the original world would not be his match. Not even Hashirama and Tobirama could stop him.
Soon, ANBU personnel located Sarutobi Hiruzen and Namikaze Minato's positions. The two immediately issued one command after another, starting the village's recovery and aid efforts. They also found someone to arrange rooms for Torifu and his group.
Before leaving, Torifu briefly explained his history to Sarutobi Hiruzen, such as why his alternate self didn't exist in this world. Sarutobi Hiruzen remained half-convinced; the old man was naturally suspicious, and Torifu never expected him to completely trust them right away.
If necessary, Torifu would go back and bring Hiruzen's alternate self over. If that didn't work, he'd bring Tobirama's alternate self over. There would certainly be one who could sway Sarutobi Hiruzen. Torifu refused to believe he couldn't take down a small Konoha Village. He was determined to turn the original Hokage world into a holy ground for experience, allowing the past ninja of Konoha Village to take on missions.
After Torifu and his group left, only Sarutobi Hiruzen, Namikaze Minato, and Kushina remained.
"What do you think? Who exactly are they?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
Namikaze Minato scratched his head: "To be honest, Third Hokage-sama, I think what they said might be true."
"That Minato knows all my jutsu—Flying Thunder God, Rasengan—all my signature techniques. They can't be imitated. His proficiency is extremely high, even higher than mine."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed upon hearing this: "Alas, who's to say? Besides, they helped Konoha Village so much; we have no reason not to treat them well."
The Nine-Tails was sealed back into the Jinchūriki's body, and both lives and the Nine-Tails were saved. For Konoha Village, this was already a great fortune.
Then, an ANBU member came to report: "Hokage-sama, Third Hokage-sama, we just found many transferred villagers on the Ninja Academy playground."
"According to their recollections, the moment the Nine-Tails' claws were about to strike, they found themselves on the school playground."
"What!" Sarutobi Hiruzen could not believe it. He had expected extremely heavy casualties among the villagers, and thought saving the Nine-Tails was already lucky. Yet, there were no casualties among the villagers? This was too shocking.
To be able to transfer so many villagers from under the Nine-Tails' sharp claws, just how powerful was Kumotsuru Torifu!
"Third Hokage-sama, we truly cannot be disrespectful to them. The power of Kumotsuru Torifu definitely surpasses Kage-level." Namikaze Minato spoke seriously.
Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally knew this, but he couldn't believe that someone could actually reach Six Paths level! He was the Third Hokage, too, but he seemed to fall far short.
"Let's handle the aftermath of the battle first. The rest can be discussed tomorrow."
Looking at his unconscious wife on the ground, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a profound mix of emotions. If not for Kumotsuru Torifu, his old wife would have left him today. This debt of gratitude must be repaid. Sarutobi Hiruzen was not the type of person who could comfortably accept favors from others.
Regardless, the other party had shown so much goodwill, and he needed to try to communicate with them. Furthermore, since they had already managed to cross worlds, if they had some objective that he disagreed with, they could cross worlds again. How could Konoha Village possibly resist?
Kushina, being an Uzumaki Clan member, recovered quickly and was already able to stand up.
"Old Man, these people saved our village and they saved me. That proves they definitely came with good intentions. Don't let their goodwill turn into anger."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded: "Take care of your wounds." He then carried Sarutobi Biwako and Tanji toward the Ninja Hospital.
Kushina was supported by Namikaze Minato: "Let's go, Kushina. We're going home."
At the mention of going home, Kushina suddenly remembered that Naruto was still at home! She quickly flashed back home and found Naruto sleeping in his crib.
"Naruto, my good boy. Mommy will never be careless again."
[T/N: I don't know who tf is Tanji]