Kaito hadn't known this before. Were Yahiko and Konan from the Land of Rain? He had assumed they were from Konoha.
"That's rare. Beyond fate, there doesn't seem to be any other way to define this. In a place like the Land of Rain, why would anyone take notice of two orphans?"
Yahiko and Konan felt the same way; everything was due to destiny. After all, the Land of Rain was such a backward place, and having just been attacked, everything was in disarray. Why would anyone specifically care about two orphans?
"Speaking of which, Kaito-senpai, how did you and General Mifune become Master and disciple? We've talked about many versions in private, but none of them are probably true."
Kaito scratched his head: "Actually, it's nothing that rare. I was just more diligent in practicing Bushidō than my peers, and my progress was much faster, so word spread over time."
"It just so happened that the Land of Fire was undergoing reforms then, and General Mifune brought some Konoha artisans to our village. Then he took me in as a disciple."
Kaito smiled guilelessly. Yahiko and Konan hadn't expected that Kaito becoming the General's disciple actually had something to do with the Konoha artisans. However, given Kaito's talent, even without the artisans coming to their village to repair the signal tower, he would have gained renown sooner or later and been taken in by Mifune as a disciple.
The three children stood not far from the contingent, chatting for half an hour. Following a call from Mifune, Kaito knew it was time to leave.
"Yahiko, Konan, I'm heading back to the Land of Iron now. I look forward to seeing you next time."
Yahiko bumped fists with Kaito: "Okay. The next time we meet, we must spar! We'll see how much we've both improved."
Kaito acknowledged this, waved at them, and then turned to rejoin the contingent.
Yahiko and Konan watched the Land of Iron team exit the central city gates and finally disappear.
"Phew, at least we got to see Kaito-senpai. Otherwise, who knows when we would see him again."
"Yes, I hope it won't be too long."
Their friendship was strange, having blossomed from sparring and fighting. The way they chose to deepen their friendship was also through sparring, which was very unusual.
After Kaito's departure this time, it was unlikely they would see him for a year, assuming he returned to the Land of Iron without incident. They could, however, look forward to whether Mifune would come for the New Year this year. But that was still a long time away.
"Alright, let's go get breakfast now. Jiraiya-sensei and the others should be awake."
"Okay, let's go quickly."
When Yahiko and Konan returned with breakfast, Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina had all tidied up and were sitting downstairs waiting for breakfast.
"Sorry everyone, we came back a little late. Please, dig in."
Jiraiya smiled: "It's fine. You went to see your friend, right? Did you get to see him?"
Yahiko and Konan were in good spirits, smiling brightly: "We did! We agreed to spar the next time we meet."
Minato and the others chuckled: "Well, you two have to work hard. Kaito-senpai is General Mifune's disciple. Since he didn't get a good ranking in the tournament, he's definitely going to train maniacally to improve his strength when he gets home."
Yahiko wiped his nose with his hand: "I'm not afraid of him being too strong; I'm afraid of him being too weak. If he's too weak, we won't be able to be friends."
Minato clearly hadn't expected Yahiko to say that, but the logic seemed sound. People with a significant gap in strength, no matter how solid their friendship or relationship was, would eventually drift onto two different paths. Minato hadn't realized Yahiko understood this principle at such a young age.
"No matter what, just focus on yourself. As long as you keep moving forward, you will definitely get better and better."
"We understand, thank you, Minato-senpai."
Minato smiled at this and didn't say anything more.
Everyone began eating their respective breakfasts, which Yahiko and Konan had specially selected according to each person's taste. Seeing that everyone looked quite happy, the two of them nodded in satisfaction. They had been worried that the food wouldn't suit everyone, but it turned out everyone liked it.
After a simple breakfast, because there were no missions, everyone suddenly didn't know what to do. The common purpose for everyone coming here was only one: to complete the mission. Now that the mission was over, the goal-less group, except for Minato, looked somewhat listless.
"I plan to go out and find a place to train later. What about you guys?" Minato asked.
Everyone knew he was going to practice Sage Mode, so no one was surprised. Seeing their expressions, Minato didn't sense any clear plans, so he didn't ask again.
Jiraiya, whom everyone might have expected to be lazy, actively volunteered to be Minato's protector. The pretense was that he also knew Sage Mode, and Minato could ask him if he encountered any confusing parts.
With a bodyguard volunteering, Minato naturally wouldn't refuse and immediately began discussing the specific location with Jiraiya.
"So what should we do?" Kushina's tone carried a slight confusion, seemingly helpless about being left out, but also unsure what she should actually do. She had only come along to join Minato, and while she was capable enough, Ashina would always nag in her ear. This made Kushina somewhat rebellious, and she had only come to the Land of Rain because she didn't want to be constantly managed.
"I'm not sure. Should we go out and walk around the city? There are a lot of good places to eat here, but not many things to do."
The three discussed for a long time and finally decided to go out for a stroll. As for where to go, they had no clue at all and decided to just go wherever their feet took them.
Due to the notification from Torifu, Konoha ninja had begun to return to Konoha in succession. However, some remained, preparing to help the other two countries clean up the remaining enemy camps. Torifu had not tried to stop them either.
Early this morning, the Iwa and Suna teams had set off to their respective territories in the Land of Rain to execute their missions. This happened before Yahiko and Konan went to look for Kaito, so they were very early.
They just didn't know when they would return.
"The streets are so deserted. It feels like a lot of people are gone."
Yahiko nodded: "We noticed that this morning. It's probably because people are out on missions, and some Konoha ninja have left, and the entire Land of Iron contingent is gone. It's bound to feel much emptier."
The central city had only been prosperous for a few days before it began to gradually decline, which undoubtedly came as a shock to many people who had invested in businesses here.