The product was now a bestseller across the entire ninja world, even outselling some older electronics. Torifu had achieved complete financial freedom. If it weren't for the situation in the Land of Rain this time, and Torifu leaving him behind with a few tasks to complete, he would have long since left to travel and search for the Child of Prophecy.
Prophecies were elusive matters; if one chased after them, they might never find the fulfillment in this lifetime. But if one allowed things to take their natural course, they might one day realize that the prophecy had already been completed, yet they had simply failed to recognize it at the time.
Jiraiya took the prophecy too seriously, given its personal connection to him. For the sake of a vague, ethereal prediction, Jiraiya had taken in an unknown number of disciples over the years. However, each time, he merely used his own strength to subdue them, offered a few lectures, taught them some grand principles, and pointed them toward a correct path. Jiraiya considered this enough to make them his disciples, a truly casual approach.
Yet, those people never considered Jiraiya to be their Teacher, viewing him only as someone with good strength but a screw loose. After a while, they would forget him completely.
The Child of Prophecy was late to appear, but Jiraiya wasn't particularly anxious. He felt that given the current state of the ninja world, the appearance of the so-called Child of Prophecy had little bearing on anything. Jiraiya believed that even if the Child of Prophecy did appear, they might not do a better job than Torifu.
The great nations of the ninja world were now like one big family, not just out of deference to the Hokage's strength. It was also because the Hokage had used various means to connect everyone into a cohesive whole. If anyone were to break away from this collective, their country would quickly fall behind. Therefore, no one wanted or was willing to leave this overall structure. After all, who wouldn't prefer a wealthy life without constant bloodshed?
War was only a means to strive for a better life, and since their lives were already excellent, war naturally became unnecessary.
However, while wars between countries had ceased, other factors of conflict persisted, such as the war five years ago and the current Land of Rain rebellion. These events served to remind every village and country that the world was not completely peaceful, and true peace required their own strength to be solid.
Fortunately, the great Hidden Villages were now connected by a very firm relationship chain established by Torifu. If any village in this chain encountered difficulties, the others would immediately offer assistance. If they faced an external enemy, they would stand together against the common threat.
This was the current situation. In the war five years ago, the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth sought help merely out of respect for the Hokage's strength. Now, they truly stood by each other, fighting side-by-side, having become trustworthy allies.
Although this alliance was based on mutual interest, as long as Torifu, the focal point of that interest, did not fall, the alliance would be permanent. Therefore, this kind of alliance was actually quite reliable for the state of the ninja world. Yet, it still required an individual of absolute power to maintain it, otherwise, chaos would erupt.
In the original world, when Hashirama managed Konoha, the methods he employed were fundamentally no different from Torifu's current approach, relying on absolute strength to intimidate the other nations. In the pursuit of peace, he ensured that other nations maintained peace and refrained from war by giving away Tailed Beasts and money.
This did indeed maintain peace for a period, but once he, the figure of absolute power, died, Tobirama's strength was insufficient to deter the other nations. War erupted again, and because of the gifts previously given, the other nations knew Konoha was extremely wealthy and that the Land of Fire's geographical environment was highly suitable for survival. This led to the Land of Fire being coveted and even jointly besieged by other countries.
But Torifu was different. Torifu possessed the Life Fruit, and theoretically, he could live forever. He could even enable the strong ninja of Konoha to live with him, continuously, until the end of time. In this way, Konoha's absolute power would never disappear, and this alliance could be maintained indefinitely.
Of course, these thoughts were looking too far ahead, and Torifu hadn't actually considered any of this. He simply wanted the world to be safe and sound, and for him and his family to live a peaceful life. Just like now, sitting together, chatting, watching TV, and waiting for the lady of the house to return with groceries and cook dinner. Life was still quite pleasant.
"I'm home! Help me take these, please, I bought too much."
When Naori pushed the door open, everyone was stunned, because she used the skeletal arm of a Susano'o to open it. With her hands full, clutching two large bags of groceries, she couldn't free her hands at all.
"Alright, alright, you've certainly mastered the art of making a mountain out of a molehill," Torifu chuckled and teased.
Naori merely stuck out her tongue in response: "Don't mind the small details; it's just more convenient this way, and it doesn't even consume much chakra."
Torifu shook his head helplessly. The chakra consumed by Susano'o was indeed minimal for Naori, especially for such a short duration. He would just let her have her fun; there was no need to worry about eye strain anyway. The System Store always had unexpected items.
Everyone helped carry the two bags of groceries inside and began sorting them.
"Wow, Sister-in-Law, did you buy this much? You're not planning on eating all of this in one sitting, are you?" Minato asked in astonishment. Just preparing all this food would likely take half a day.
Naori smiled and waved her hand: "How could that be? We still have to live here for a few more days. I'm not used to the food here, so homemade is better."
Naori quite liked the environment of the central city, and the scenery of the Land of Rain was also quite beautiful. Naori simply treated this mission as a vacation, coming to the Land of Rain to relax, appreciate the sights, and practice a little.
After explaining, Naori began to organize the ingredients for that evening's dinner and assigned Torifu and the others to quickly process them. Naori then started the preparations herself.
The apartment soon became a busy place. Tsunade saw that Naori had quite a bit of work tonight, so she helped out as well. Torifu helped as an assistant on the side, while the children started playing games in the living room. They had all been somewhat on edge today, so relaxing for a bit was certainly understandable.
"By the way, speaking of which, don't we have no missions again tomorrow?"
"Huh?" Konan sounded confused.
Yahiko explained, "Aren't the Kage of the other two countries going out to fight tomorrow? The Land of Rain territory under the Land of Fire's jurisdiction is pretty much clean now. All that's left is the territory belonging to those two countries."
Hearing this, Konan also understood.
[T/N: Guys, i am recently very busy with work, so i am proof reading by skimming the chapter content, if i mistakenly leave a few terms chinese, like Adult or Cultivating instead of Lord or Training, please forgive me and be understanding, I am very busy now that I am temporarily working to support myself, can't be free now like i used to. I will keep updating chapters daily whenever i get time to read this book.]