"You're Mifune, right? Come and sit down. We old geezers have a more or less understanding of the way of the samurai. After all, before the ninja villages were established, samurai were very active."
However, ever since Hashirama established the first ninja village, ninjas have become the mainstream of the ninja world. Samurai have gradually declined. But looking at the situation, it seemed that another great figure was about to emerge among the samurai.
Hashirama pulled Mifune to the couch and sat him down. Torifu sat across from Mifune, which made the already reserved Mifune even more nervous.
"Mifune-sama, what is the purpose of your trip to Konoha? I heard that the Land of Iron was a closed country before. Has it opened up now?"
Mifune took a deep breath and then nodded. "That is correct, Hashirama-sama. When Tobirama-sama and Torifu-sama came to the Land of Iron twenty years ago, the country was suffering because a large number of people who pursued the so-called way of the samurai abandoned their wives and children."
"A lot of farmland was abandoned, and many elders were left with no one to care for them. For the past twenty years, our leader has been trying to solve the problem, but there has been no relief. On top of that, Hanzo attacked, and a lot of people in the Land of Iron died. That's when a large group of fake, cowardly samurai showed their true colors."
"The leader demoted them to commoners and assigned them to labor such as farming. The Land of Iron should slowly recover in the future."
Hashirama's brows furrowed as he listened to the story. A country didn't even have farmers to work the fields. What had they been eating all these years? Were they relying on the remaining honest people to maintain the country's operations? This was truly terrifying.
"So your leader plans to cooperate with Konoha?"
Mifune smiled. "The leader does have that intention. However, he told me to observe Konoha's attitude, since the relationship between ninjas and samurai has always been tense."
Hashirama nodded. There was indeed some tension between ninjas and samurai, but it was all caused by the samurai themselves. From the beginning, ninjas had never wanted to cut off the samurai's legacy. It was just that their training methods and the things they pursued were different, which led to fewer and fewer people being interested in the way of the samurai, causing it to gradually decline.
Ninjas, on the other hand, saw quick results. As long as you had chakra, you could become a ninja. You didn't need to hone your character or pursue some so-called way of the samurai. It was clear to anyone that it was easier to be a ninja, so a large number of people chose to become ninjas. In the long run, samurai became more and more obsolete.
And samurai were naturally arrogant and unwilling to admit this obvious fact. So they chose to avoid ninjas and cut off contact with them. But now, it seemed a huge problem had arisen.
"We two old geezers don't have the final say. You should listen to Torifu's opinion, since he is the Hokage."
Mifune nodded. "I understand. Torifu-sama is very interested in the partnership, but I don't have the authority, so I can't make a decision on my own."
Torifu could feel that Mifune wanted to change the current situation in the Land of Iron. That's why he was so positive about the various collaborations that Shikano had proposed. However, due to his lack of authority, he couldn't finalize a single one and could only wait until he returned to the Land of Iron to discuss it with the leader.
Torifu, on the other hand, wasn't in a hurry. Although the output of the mine had decreased, it could still produce for another seven or eight years. By then, they might have found a new mine, as the Land of Iron wasn't the only country that produced ore. They could always import it.
While they were chatting, a sound suddenly came from outside, and then the door was pushed open. Tsunade walked in, humming a little tune.
"Oh, isn't that Big Brother Torifu? Why are you here today?"
Torifu smiled and greeted her, then said, "A guest from a foreign country came to visit Tobirama-sama, and I came along as his companion."
Tsunade, upon hearing this, saw the man in the strange attire sitting in the middle of the couch. Was he a samurai? She quickly covered her mouth. "Did I interrupt you?"
Mifune quickly waved his hands. "No, no. This must be Princess Tsunade. I've heard so much about you."
Tsunade pointed at herself. "Me? Heard so much about me? What have you heard about me that a foreigner would know?"
Hashirama frowned slightly. "Tsunade, don't be rude. Go back to your room and stay there."
Seeing her grandfather feigning anger, Tsunade didn't want to make him lose face. She immediately put on a well-behaved expression and went back into her room.
"My granddaughter is unruly. My apologies, Mifune-sama. She is usually more gentle and graceful."
Torifu almost choked when he heard that. The words "gentle and graceful" probably didn't apply to Tsunade at all right now. His Sensei was probably trying to make a good impression on Mifune so that they wouldn't get a bad reputation.
"Hashirama-sama, there is no need to worry. Princess Tsunade has a youthful spirit and is a symbol of freedom. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, and I also ask that you do not punish her."
"Then thank you for your understanding, Mifune-sama."
There were still a lot of etiquette rules to follow when talking to strangers. Torifu had been using "-sama" almost constantly these days, after all, the man was a foreign dignitary. He couldn't leave a bad impression. The group also chatted about the friendly relations between the two countries. The main purpose was to let Mifune understand Konoha more, so that when he returned to report to his leader, he would have something to say.
After all, to persuade his leader to cooperate with Konoha, he had to present the village with valid reasons to do so. Otherwise, just talking about how good Konoha was wouldn't work at all.
"Then I will take my leave now. I will come to visit you both when I have time."
Hashirama and Tobirama also got up to see Mifune out. When they reached the door, Torifu whispered something to Mifune, and then Mifune walked into the yard to wait on his own.
Torifu turned around and took a green fruit from his ring. It was constantly emitting a soft glow.
"Sensei, I don't need to tell you what this is, right?"
Hashirama nodded. "A Life Fruit. We all know what it is. Who is this for?"
Torifu pointed to the yard. "For Elder Ashina. He's getting a little old. We can't have Kushina not having a family member in Konoha, can we?"
Hashirama said in a grumpy tone, "You child! What do you mean she doesn't have a family member? Aren't we all her family?!"
Torifu waved his hand. "That's different. We don't have a blood connection after all. They are blood-related grandparents. There's a layer of distance between us. Besides, you old brothers won't have to worry about counting the days you have left."
"Won't that have an effect on you? You're giving away such a valuable item so easily?"