For the past few days, she had been hiding her fatigue, but today it finally boiled over. This led to her lack of enthusiasm for everything. If Torifu were to put it into words, he would say that the child simply hadn't experienced enough. Torifu himself had initially felt indifferent about war. But during the war five years ago, the corpses of Konoha ninjas piled up into a small mountain. The painful, despairing expressions of the families when the bodies were transported back to the village... All of this had caused Torifu's heart immense agony and unease. In a bid to find peace of mind, he visited the homes of every fallen soldier. He offered them his sincere apologies and compensation. It took him a full day to finally feel marginally better.
Therefore, Torifu could understand Kushina's current state; she just needed to grow up a little more. Witnessing the war firsthand this time would also mature her mind. This was the main reason Torifu brought the children to the Rain Province for experience: to increase their courage and temper their minds. It seemed the experience was indeed having the intended effect. Although Kushina was temporarily struggling to adapt, she would recover once she turned the corner. It wasn't a major issue, but Torifu would still monitor her situation to ensure no accidents occurred.
The other children were fine. Yahiko, Konan, and Minato all had relatively tragic childhood experiences, which made their minds more mature than other ninjas their age. Regarding the various happenings on the battlefield, they felt that fate was unpredictable, but it didn't affect their emotions. It could be understood that they had simply experienced more.
Although Kushina said her father didn't love her, her grandfather had always showered her with affection. In every situation, he thought about protecting Kushina first. How could the mind of such a little princess compare to Yahiko and Konan, who wandered the streets starting at three or four years old, or Minato, whose parents died right before his eyes? Childhood experiences greatly influenced them. The three of them held some degree of hatred in their hearts. Without proper guidance, it was hard to imagine what their future would look like.
After Kushina returned to the room, Minato and the other two chatted in the living room downstairs. The day's events still felt heart-stopping when they recalled them.
"Jiraiya-senpai is really cool! He managed to hold out against four Kage-level opponents for so long!" Konan looked completely star-struck. "Yeah! And that huge toad he summoned! That must be a Mount Myōboku summoning creature, right? How interesting."
Jiraiya usually enjoyed checking out female ninjas, especially on the streets, which always drew disapproving glances from passersby. This had given Konan a rather poor impression of Jiraiya, but today truly allowed her to discover a different side of him. Her opinion of him was greatly improved.
"Big Brother can satisfy you two if you want summoning creatures. You can ask him; maybe he'll directly assign you two little babies from Aokumo and Ryūfū." Hearing Minato's words, the two youngsters' eyes widened immediately. "Really?! Will Aokumo and Ryūfū agree?" Minato nodded. "Of course. As long as Big Brother agrees, Aokumo and Ryūfū will naturally agree. Plus, once you sign the contract, they don't have to stay with you all the time."
Yahiko then said, "I see. But we haven't accomplished anything yet. Wouldn't it be inappropriate to go directly to Master and ask for a reward?" Konan also nodded beside him. "Yeah, let's talk about it after the mission is successfully completed."
The two youngsters' thinking was quite thoughtful, and Minato agreed with them. "Indeed, let's discuss it after the mission is over, as you suggested."
Their mission was to clear out the camps in the Rain Province, and they were nearly done. In the next day or two, most of the rogue ninja camps in the entire Land of Rain would be cleared out. Minato wasn't sure what standard Big Brother used to define the mission's completion. So, he could only guess and wait. The ninjas inside the city still hadn't gone out today. The only team that went out to clear the rogue camps was theirs, mainly because they had Jiraiya and didn't have to fear Kage-level opponents.
The strongest fighters in the other teams were Jonin or Elite Jonin. Until it was announced that the Kage-level enemies outside were completely eliminated, they likely wouldn't leave Central City. They would honestly rest and recuperate in the city and leave the difficult tasks to the clan heads. Everyone had their own role, and the goal was simply to do their job well.
When Minato and the others left the city in the morning, the Konoha ninjas inside were extremely envious to see them accompanied by Jiraiya. However, they knew this was the Hokage's arrangement, and ordinary people certainly wouldn't receive such treatment. But it was also a gain since they got to rest for a day and didn't have to rush around so laboriously. The rewards for completing the mission were the same for everyone.
"Kids, the time is about right. I just received an invitation from Big Brother. We're going over to his place for dinner tonight," Jiraiya walked into the living room and said this to Minato and the two others.
"Should we leave right now, Jiraiya-senpai?" Jiraiya snapped his fingers. "We can. We can chat for a while once we get there, so let's get moving, everyone!"
Jiraiya's attire was Konoha's usual casual wear: a loose-fitting robe that made him feel quite relaxed. Meanwhile, Minato and the two others were wearing the small robes of the Kumotsuru Clan, which made them look completely out of place next to Jiraiya. This annoyed him slightly, but he couldn't get angry, as they were wearing the clothing of Big Brother Torifu's clan, and saying too much would be disrespectful.
The ancestors of the Kumotsuru Clan were acquainted even with the Great Toad Sage, which showed how long the clan's history was. Everything they wore and used daily was subject to certain rules, and as an outsider, he wouldn't comment on it.
Soon, the three children also changed their clothes, and the four of them immediately headed toward the Hokage's residence. Torifu was currently staying in the most unique apartment in the apartment complex. Torifu had said they would know his home as soon as they saw it.
Jiraiya was initially confused, but when he saw the apartment's exterior wall covered with densely packed writing, he immediately walked up and knocked on the door. "Big Brother Torifu, open up, we're here."
A moment later, it was indeed Torifu who opened the door. "Haha, I told you! You'd definitely find it. After all, I'm the only one who did this in the entire Central City."
Jiraiya gave a hollow laugh. He didn't know what to say, as he couldn't understand the writing on the wall at all. He could only recognize a few characters; the rest were completely unfamiliar to him. "Big Brother, what kind of writing is this? I've never seen it before."