"Mifune-sama, it's time for the evening meal. Let's go." Torifu's voice came from outside the door.
"Alright, Torifu-sama. I'm on my way."
Mifune didn't expect it to be time for the evening meal already. He tidied up his clothes and then opened the door. Torifu was standing at the door with a smile on his face.
"Mifune-sama, how was it? Was your afternoon comfortable?"
Mifune nodded at the question. "To be honest, the life in Konoha is something I could never have imagined, even in my dreams. My companions don't even want to go back to the Land of Iron."
Torifu laughed when he heard that. "If Ichiryu-sama knew, he'd probably think Konoha kidnapped them."
"Alright, let's go to the banquet first."
He then walked with Mifune to the banquet hall, which was the same place used to entertain the Tsuchikage and Kazekage. The banquet hall was nothing special; it was just luxurious, and the architecture was a style Mifune was familiar with, which made him feel like he was home for a moment.
The two sat down facing each other, with a hot pot and a grill on the table. Then, the maids brought in the ingredients one by one.
"Mifune-sama, please make yourself at home. We're old friends, so there's no need to be too formal."
"Thank you, Torifu-sama. You, too."
Mifune was indeed a little hungry, and he ate much faster, but he was also seriously talking to Torifu. "Torifu-sama, I would really like to establish a partnership with Konoha, but this is a very important matter. I can't make the decision on my own. I have to go back to the Land of Iron and ask my master for his opinion."
Torifu understood. Mifune's current status was just like Minato's; he was an heir. But he didn't have any direct power; he just had a nice title.
"I think Ichiryu-sama should agree to a partnership between Konoha and the Land of Iron. It's something that would be beneficial to the Land of Iron."
That's what he said, but if Ichiryu refused to cooperate with Konoha, there was nothing he could do. Shikano was actually very interested in the Land of Iron's mineral resources, mainly because the output from the mine in the Land of Lightning's Hell Valley was getting smaller and smaller. The annual output was decreasing by about 20%, and it was almost unable to keep up with Konoha's development, so they desperately needed a stable supply of ore. As long as the Land of Iron agreed to cooperate, Torifu would have the ability to get the ore out of them.
"I will try to persuade my master. Even for the convenience of the samurai in the Land of Iron, I will definitely try. The Land of Iron can no longer be so isolated. It needs to inject new blood."
The Land of Iron was now more like a stagnant pool. Some of the samurai had no goals or will of their own; they only became samurai for the sake of status. Cooperating with Konoha would allow them to continuously learn new things. Although this would make the part of the population that indulged in pleasure even more brazen, it didn't matter. They would eventually be eliminated by the Land of Iron.
Mifune's attitude was very clear. He hoped his master would be as far-sighted as he was.
"By the way, Mifune-sama, how is the injury on your head?" Mifune's forehead seemed to have been crushed by Hanzo. He had been wearing a bandage ever since he was rescued.
"The doctor said the bone was damaged, so it's difficult to heal. But it's almost healed now. It just hurts occasionally."
Torifu thought for a while. "Do you want to have a surgery in Konoha? The result should be much better than your current state."
"Surgery?"
"You can think of it as a more precise treatment."
Mifune didn't quite understand, but was Konoha's medical system that strong? The doctor who treated him was already very famous in the Land of Iron. But in Konoha, they could perform an even more precise treatment?
"I would like to, but our visit to Konoha has a time limit. We must return to the Land of Iron within the specified time, so let's forget about it." The treatment would definitely take a lot of time, and they could only stay in Konoha for three or four days. So, it was better to forget about the treatment.
"Alright, that was a thoughtless suggestion on my part."
Torifu didn't insist. Instead, he cast a healing jutsu on Mifune's head. In just an instant, Mifune's headache disappeared. He looked at Torifu in disbelief. "Could this be what ninjas call medical ninjutsu? It's surprisingly effective!"
Torifu laughed when he heard that. "This is a unique jutsu of mine. I have a lot of chakra in my body, so I can use this jutsu. Ordinary medical ninjas can't learn it."
Mifune understood what Torifu meant. In other words, Torifu was a very powerful ninja who could also use medical ninjutsu. Was this well-roundedness a little too much?
"How was it, Mifune-sama? Did you like tonight's banquet?"
"Of course. The taste was beyond my expectations. Everything in Konoha truly surprises me."
Many of the plates on the table were empty. The maids came forward to collect them, and the banquet was coming to an end. "Coming to Konoha was the best decision I've ever made. I never imagined that Torifu-sama would be the Hokage of Konoha."
"And I'm still just a fledgling samurai."
Torifu got up and went to the courtyard. The moon was beautiful outside and very bright. "Our destinies are different. If we hadn't met in that Village back then, we might not have gotten along so well today."
"So, don't worry about it. When you fully understand the true Bushido, we can have a match."
"Alright, it's a deal!"
The two of them had a drink together and then prepared to leave. Mifune's alcohol tolerance was good, and he didn't get drunk even after many drinks. However, the roads in Konoha were complicated, and he might not be able to find his way back. Torifu could only send him back to the apartment and then went home alone.
Mifune's sudden visit was a bit of a surprise to Torifu, but he was still very happy. After all, they had met when they were children, and meeting again now was a kind of destiny. Torifu was very satisfied to see that he was also walking on the right path.
When he got home, Minato, Yahiko, and Konan were sitting at the door waiting for him.
"Big Brother! You're back!"
"You haven't been home all day! Were you busy with work?"
The three children kept asking questions. Torifu could only answer them one by one. "Yes, I'm home. I was just entertaining some friends from far away, so I couldn't come home earlier."
Yahiko and Konan had been refining chakra all afternoon at home. Without Torifu to teach them, they didn't know what else to do. They could only keep refining chakra. To be honest, they did improve a lot. But they were still a long way from learning ninjutsu. Now was the time to work on their fundamentals, and refining enough chakra was the most important thing.