Tomorrow was the funeral, so today was about making the preparations. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion. The ninja who had rested for a day were now back on duty, and Konoha began to operate once again.
All the families of the fallen ninja had been compensated. The subsequent matters of ongoing support and education would be handled by others. Torifu didn't have the energy to run to four hundred-plus homes again.
He got up and washed up in one smooth motion. After putting on a newly cleaned robe, he left home and headed to the office. Minato had gone out early in the morning, probably called by Sakumo. In any case, a child that old wouldn't get lost.
When he arrived at the office, his secretary had already placed the day's documents on his desk.
"Hokage-sama, when will the funeral for the fallen ninja be held? I'll go and prepare."
"Tomorrow. Everyone in Konoha must attend. Make it a grand event. After the funeral, please have a statue built that can hold many names."
As soon as Torifu said that, his secretary understood what he meant. There would surely be more wars and more sacrifices in the future. But the names of all the ninja who sacrificed their lives for Konoha would be carved on it and honored by future generations. Torifu knew there was no such thing as reincarnation in this world, so he could only hope that their souls would find peace in the Pure Land.
After receiving Torifu's instructions, his secretary immediately went to carry them out. She was always quick to handle things and had never disappointed him. Having such an assistant saved Torifu a lot of time. He could hand off most of the bothersome tasks to her.
Not long after his secretary left the office, the door opened again. Torifu hadn't planned on dealing with the documents yet. When he looked up and saw Naori, he smiled. "What are you doing here? You're up so early."
Naori smiled. "I figured you would be at the office these days, so I came to see you."
"What you did yesterday has already spread throughout Konoha. Everyone is talking about it."
Torifu was confused. "Talking about what? What is there to talk about?"
Naori sighed and put a hand to her forehead. "You visited more than four hundred families of the fallen ninja in one day. That's unprecedented in Konoha. Everyone is very surprised."
"Right now, people all over the village are saying how wise you are. Some are even saying your achievements have surpassed your Sensei's."
The first part was fine; it was just villagers chatting. But that last sentence was ridiculous. How could they start pitting him against his Sensei? Torifu waved his hand. "Don't listen to their nonsense. My Sensei's achievements are something I can't compare to. The fact that he established Konoha alone means I'll never be better than him, nor do I want to be."
"Every Hokage has their own unique achievements. You can't say who is good or bad. We all just made the best choices in the moment to lead Konoha in a better direction."
Naori nodded. Torifu's words made a lot of sense. She had always felt that from the First to the Third Hokage, everyone had given it their all. During his Sensei's time, there was constant war, so he fought relentlessly and finally created the Konoha they had now. And the Second Hokage and Torifu had built on that foundation to make the village prosper. The Second Hokage established and perfected various systems and mechanisms, while Torifu made Konoha even more prosperous. People's lives became better and more convenient. Everyone contributed, but in different ways.
"What about you, Naori? What do you think this war brought?"
This was Naori's first time participating in a war. She had been very nervous at first, but she had adjusted and felt normal afterward.
"It didn't bring anything. It just seemed to make my experience richer."
What Naori said was very true. It wasn't just for her; it was the same for Konoha. This war didn't bring any tangible benefits to Konoha. Even though the Land of Rain was incorporated into the Land of Fire's territory, it had nothing to do with Konoha. The Land of Rain was barren and had no resources. They had truly gained nothing.
"Do you want to go out and take a walk? I know you don't like dealing with all this paperwork."
Naori looked at Torifu with a light smile. Torifu couldn't refuse, so he went with her and left the office. Before they left, he left a puppet there just in case his secretary came back and couldn't find him. The two of them activated their Concealment Jutsu and looked at the busy villagers on the street. Torifu felt a great sense of peace.
"People are living so well, and a lot of that is because of you. War was not your intention, and the villagers won't blame you, so there's no need to dwell on it."
Torifu nodded. "I know. After I finished visiting everyone, I already stopped dwelling on it. This is already in the past for me."
Torifu had done everything he was supposed to do. You have to wonder which leader of a ninja village would do what Torifu did. Naori took Torifu's arm, and the two of them strolled through the streets of Konoha. "The village will get even better in the future. Although we might encounter some difficulties, it'll be up to everyone in Konoha to face them together, not for you to carry it all by yourself."
"I believe that after this event, everyone will have a sense of purpose."
Torifu smiled slightly. "It's okay, Naori. You don't have to comfort me. I'm really fine."
Naori stopped in front of Torifu and looked at him. "Are you really sure?"
"Yes, really."
"Okay, then I won't say anything else. Have you had breakfast yet?"
Torifu's stomach wasn't rumbling before, but after she said that, it let out a loud sound.
"Hehe. Let's go. We can get some ramen together."
Torifu was pulled by Naori to the Ichiraku Ramen shop.
"The place you invested in really does have great flavor. I fell in love with it the first time I had it."
"Then let's come here more often. It's our own business, after all."
Naori smiled at that, and her cheeks turned red. "What do you mean 'our own business'? Don't say such silly things. I haven't even married you yet."
"It'll happen sooner or later."
Seeing her face as red as an apple, Torifu stopped teasing her. He deactivated his Concealment Jutsu and walked up to the counter.
"Teuchi, two bowls of deluxe ramen."
Teuchi was startled by Torifu's sudden appearance, but he quickly calmed down. "Okay, okay. Hokage-sama, please take a seat. Your ramen will be right up."
Torifu and Naori found a place to sit. The ramen shop wasn't very crowded in the morning, and it was already past breakfast time. So, it didn't take long for two steaming bowls of ramen to be served.
"Please enjoy. If you need anything, just come find me."
"Sounds good. Go on and do your thing."
Naori couldn't wait and began to eat her ramen.
"Are you going to give a speech at the funeral tomorrow?"
Torifu swallowed the ramen in his mouth and said, "Of course. I'm the Hokage."