After finishing his day's work, Fumori Masaki left the Hokage office building and walked towards his home.
As Hokage, he wasn't as busy as Uzumaki Naruto in the original story; he had long since learned how to delegate specific tasks to his subordinates, only needing to confirm and plan the general direction.
Besides improving efficiency, he also didn't want to strain his relationship with his children like Uzumaki Naruto did.
Children like Akemi and Asuna, at their age, needed their family by their side, and a mother alone couldn't replace a father's position.
Therefore, Fumori Masaki paid great attention to family relationships; for him, his small family also needed to be well cared for.
When Fumori Masaki returned home, Satomi was about to finish cooking, and dinner would be ready soon.
Although he tried to come back as early as possible, he was still the last one to return home—the Ninja Academy had already dismissed, and both Akemi and Asuna were back.
Walking into the room, Fumori Masaki saw his two daughters happily chatting with Nawaki.
Due to the dwindling population of the Senju clan and Tobirama having no offspring, there were no young children in the Senju main residence.
Previously, Nawaki could play with his older sister, but now Tsunade had gone to the Land of Rain.
Uzumaki Mito knew that children Nawaki's age liked to play, and the house was indeed quiet, which was fine for an elderly woman like her, but clearly not for Nawaki.
So, she had Nawaki stay at Fumori Masaki's house, partly so Nawaki could play with peers, and partly hoping Fumori Masaki could provide guidance in his training.
"Welcome home, Father," Akemi, who noticed Fumori Masaki entering first, immediately greeted him.
"Mm," Fumori Masaki nodded in response, then walked over and saw a Ninja Academy textbook placed between the three of them.
He asked, "Are you teaching Nawaki?"
"Yes, Nawaki will be going to the Ninja Academy soon, so we're letting him get familiar with it first," Akemi said.
"Oh, what do you think, Nawaki?" Fumori Masaki then asked Nawaki.
Nawaki rubbed his head, looking a bit helpless, and said, "Uncle Kazamori, why do we have to learn this? I remember ninjas never had this kind of learning program before."
"Those are new rules established after the Ninja Academy was founded, Nawaki.
Times are different now, and ninjas cannot be stuck in their ways," Fumori Masaki sat down and said.
"Learning makes people wise, enriches one's cultivation, and will also benefit you in the future, allowing you to better understand this world."
"But I think it's so troublesome, and Big Sister Akemi said this is only the beginner's course," Nawaki said with a bitter face.
"Mm, so you have to study hard.
If you don't pass the test, even if your strength meets the standard, the academy won't let you graduate easily," Fumori Masaki said with a smile.
Nawaki felt like he was about to collapse, so he picked up the book again, his eyes wide as if trying to see through it.
Akemi, beside him, couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh; she liked her little brother Nawaki more and more.
"What about you two, Akemi, Asuna, how is your schooling at the Ninja Academy?" Fumori Masaki then asked Akemi and Asuna.
"It's alright," Akemi had no complaints about her and her sister's school life, but she grumbled a bit, "It's just that those people at school are so annoying; they're always bothering me and Asuna."
Ever since Fumori Masaki became Hokage, Akemi and Asuna's status at the Ninja Academy grew higher.
Previously, because of Fumori Masaki's status as almost a civilian ninja, they gained the approval of civilian ninjas at school.
Now, even clan ninjas came to curry favor with the two of them.
One must know that Akemi and Asuna were both girls, and daughters of the Hokage.
If a young master from a clan was fortunate enough to get involved with one of them, it would bring great benefits to the clan.
Perhaps the children didn't have such deep thoughts, but the clan elders would push them from behind.
However, Akemi and Asuna found those people annoying and didn't want to get too deeply involved with them.
But those people insisted on coming closer, which was frustrating.
Fortunately, their good friend Uchiha Mizuki would step in to stop them, because the Uchiha clan controlled the police force, and usually gave people a harsh, ruthless impression, often resolving troubles that Akemi and Asuna found difficult to handle.
"Does Mizuki's intervention reduce your troubles a lot?" Fumori Masaki asked.
"Yes," Akemi and Asuna exchanged glances, then Akemi nodded.
"Since that's the case, you should learn from Mizuki's approach.
Do what she does," Fumori Masaki said.
"Those troubles you have daily are probably because your methods aren't adequate.
There's no need to be afraid; as long as it complies with the school's rules, go ahead and do it."
"Really?" Asuna said at this point.
"Really," Fumori Masaki said.
Hearing this, Akemi and Asuna couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
They were mainly worried that if they did something wrong, the teachers at school would tell their parents, and they would be scolded.
But now, after getting Fumori Masaki's assurance, the passion inherited from Fumori Masaki seemed to surge within them—
Fumori Masaki felt that he might not have challenged the two of them much in the past, which was why they were troubled now.
For children, one shouldn't only focus on superficial achievements but also on their emotional journey.
The future Uchiha Fugaku failed to see his son's true feelings, and didn't even provide the necessary answers.
He then said, "Akemi, Asuna, from now on, let's have a Q&A session every day.
If you have anything you don't understand, you can ask me, and I will answer you."
Akemi and Asuna's expressions brightened slightly; they really had many questions to ask Fumori Masaki.
Just then, Satomi walked out of the kitchen and said with a chuckle, "It's good that you father and daughters have things to talk about, but wait until after dinner."
"Oh, dinner's ready, then let's eat," Fumori Masaki said upon seeing this.
As soon as he finished speaking, Nawaki immediately dropped the book in his hand, cheered, and ran to the dining table.
It seemed the child had been waiting for dinner for a long time.
Fumori Masaki saw his two daughters shake their heads at this, smiled slightly, and then got up to go to the dining table, ready to eat.
"Father, can you teach us ninjutsu now?" Akemi proactively asked during dinner, her eyes full of anticipation.
According to the plans made in the past, Fumori Masaki and his wife's training for their daughters was currently limited to physical training and a few basic ninjutsu, not yet involving elemental ninjutsu.
The ninjutsu Akemi was asking about, of course, wouldn't be basic elements, but rather the seven types of ninjutsu involving nature transformation and shape transformation.
For ordinary ninjas, at this age, they couldn't use many ninjutsu, but both Akemi and Asuna had Senju clan blood, so they weren't lacking in chakra.
"What do you think?" Fumori Masaki didn't decide immediately but asked Satomi.
"Hmm..." Satomi mused, looked at her daughters staring at her, and her heart softened.
She said, "Masahiro, why don't you teach them ninjutsu?"
"It's good to learn a bit first anyway, it's not far from the age for formal ninjutsu training, so let's consider it building a foundation," Fumori Masaki said.
Akemi and Asuna beamed with joy, and Nawaki also cheered, "I want to learn too, Uncle Kazamori, teach me too!"
"Alright, alright, eat your dinner first, eat your dinner first," Fumori Masaki said with a laugh.
After dinner, Fumori Masaki took the three children to the yard and began to explain the meaning of chakra nature transformation and shape transformation to them.
Akemi and Asuna understood the basic concepts; the explanation was mainly for Nawaki.
Although Nawaki might inherit Hashirama's Kekkei Genkai and could instinctively use Wood Release nature transformation, it was an instinctive application, and he didn't understand the underlying changes.
This empirical approach was the traditional way ninjas learned, but Fumori Masaki did not adopt it.
He used a scientific, empirical method to demonstrate to the children how chakra nature transformation should be performed.
In his view, chakra nature transformation was about using chakra to simulate substances in the world.
For example, the nature of Wind Release chakra—cutting—was achieved by rapidly rubbing chakra to form a blade-like property.
Fire Release, on the other hand, used chakra for another form of high-speed friction, thereby increasing temperature and forming a high-temperature property.
However, the secrets of chakra were far more complex, and Fumori Masaki naturally couldn't make direct conclusions; this was merely his own understanding.
Nevertheless, at least the current examples proved that this imitation method was easier to master chakra nature transformation than the empirical method, though it became increasingly difficult to imitate more complex chakra natures.
To develop special Wind Release ninjutsu such as Wind Reflection, Optical Barrier, and Azure Dragon, Fumori Masaki had expended untold effort to grasp their natures.
Although he knew the specific principles, making chakra simulate them was extremely troublesome.
Fumori Masaki mainly explained the specific meaning of nature transformation to the children.
He was not in a hurry to have Akemi and Asuna learn non-traditional Wind Release ninjutsu, so he had them start by learning Wind Release ninjutsu with the cutting nature.
As for Nawaki, he had him start with the basic natures of Earth and Water Release, as these were the foundations of Wood Release secret techniques.
Fumori Masaki didn't let the children practice for too long; after all, it was getting late, and ample rest ensured physical energy, so he urged them to go back.
Back in the house, Satomi told Akemi, Asuna, and Nawaki to go to the bathroom to bathe, and after bathing, to go to their rooms to sleep.
While Satomi accompanied them to bathe, Fumori Masaki sat alone in contemplation, thinking about the Land of Rain and the Land of Whirlpools, and what the reactions of other countries would be after the trade route through the Land of Rain was opened.
After a while, Fumori Masaki suddenly felt someone come to his side.
He turned his head and saw it was Asuna.
Asuna had just finished bathing, changed into light pajamas, and her hair was a bit damp.
She looked at her father, seemingly wanting to say something, but didn't know where to start.
"What do you want to ask, Asuna?" Fumori Masaki asked gently.
"Father," Asuna was a bit shy.
On the surface, she seemed unapproachable, but in reality, her emotions were no different from anyone else's.
"Um, that meditation you taught me and my sister before, I think I've had some enlightenment."
Fumori Masaki paused slightly, somewhat disbelieving what he heard.
After a moment, he gripped Asuna's shoulders in surprise and said, "Really?"
Asuna nodded.