Meanwhile, Torifu himself was unhurriedly brushing his teeth, humming a little tune under his breath.
He appeared utterly relaxed and completely unaware that the people in the city were already on high alert, as if facing a formidable enemy.
"Hurry up. Didn't you say we're going to search the entire Amegakure today? Don't keep the Kazekage and Tsuchikage waiting too long." The urging voice of Naori came from the living room.
Now, it was just the two of them in the apartment. Tsunade had returned to Konoha yesterday to reunite with Dan.
She might have been so sick of seeing Torifu and Naori's display of affection these past few days that she rushed back.
"Alright, I'm done now." Torifu, impeccably groomed, left the bathroom.
"Eat quickly. You can go after you finish. I'll be waiting for you in the city when you get back."
After quickly finishing his breakfast, Torifu left the apartment and set off, while Naori chose to stay behind.
After all, she wouldn't be of much help if she went. It wasn't that her strength was insufficient, but in a battle, Uchiha Clan shinobi specialized in Fire Style and Lightning Style. Yet, Blaze's Fire Style was arguably the strongest in the ninja world.
If Naori went, half of her jutsus would be unusable. Being greatly restricted, she would instead become a weak point.
It would be better to stay safely in the city. The ninjutsu of Torifu, the Kazekage, and the Tsuchikage all had some degree of restraint against Fire Style.
In fact, if the Mizukage hadn't been unrelated to this matter, Torifu would have insisted on dragging her over.
With her Water Style ability, she could definitely reduce Blaze's Fire Style capability significantly.
It was a pity. The Land of Waves was far away and had no ties to the war on the continent. This battle was destined to be fought only by the three of them.
However, it was actually of no consequence. After all, Torifu had originally planned to deal with Blaze by himself. Even without the Kazekage and the Tsuchikage, Torifu was confident he could defeat Blaze.
After all, he had many puppets with various Kekkei Genkai in his possession.
Leaving the apartment, Torifu arrived at the office building. The building was already deserted.
It was utterly silent. Torifu went to the building alone. Because of the perpetual rain, it had long been weathered and eroded.
However, after being dried out and repaired, it looked rather decent.
"Are you planning to make a move?" A burst of black sand drifted in from an unknown place, gradually condensing into a human form.
"Yes, it's time," Torifu said indifferently. "Where is the Tsuchikage? I haven't seen him."
"Don't rush, he's coming now."
No sooner had the Kazekage's voice faded than several rocks emerged from the rooftop floor, then continuously crumbled, finally transforming into the Tsuchikage.
"Hahaha, Hokage, I'm not late. The timing is just right."
Torifu pulled out his phone. The time was exactly seven o'clock in the morning. He shook his head helplessly at this.
"Tsuchikage-sama is indeed punctual, which is commendable."
"Haha, thank you for the compliment."
With those words, the expressions of the three became serious.
"Are you starting just like this? Do you need any extra preparation? Once the opponent's location is detected, they might immediately launch an attack." Ōnoki was full of worry.
He was afraid that the strength of the three of them would be insufficient to deal with Blaze. After all, last time, virtually all the Kage-level experts in the entire ninja world had gathered to defeat Blaze.
This time, it was just the three of them. The disparity in lineup was too great.
But Torifu still waved his hand. "No need to worry. I have made all the preparations. Moreover, my strength is not what it once was."
With that, Torifu sat down cross-legged, his hands forming a seal, mobilizing the chakra in his body to the maximum extent.
Suddenly! A massive surge of energy erupted from Torifu's body! The nearby Kazekage and Tsuchikage were immediately knocked back by this energy!
If they hadn't resisted in time, they would have nearly fallen off the rooftop.
The diffusing aftermath also affected the entire central city, shattering the glass of many old houses.
If anyone had been living there, they would have been badly frightened.
The shinobi who were diligently staying at home as requested felt this power and closed their doors even tighter.
And the people on the streets who hadn't made it home yet dropped everything in their hands and quickly fled home.
At this moment, fear was also evident in the eyes of the Kazekage and Tsuchikage. This power was worlds apart from theirs!
No wonder the Hokage was so confident in being able to defeat Blaze. They had always been wary of Torifu's strength, but now it seemed they had always underestimated the Hokage.
Such powerful strength must have far surpassed Senju Hashirama!
But even with such a massive expenditure of chakra, Torifu's face remained impassive, and he hadn't even broken a sweat.
Torifu was now tightly closing his eyes, dividing his mental power into threads, precisely controlling every single crystal flower, and transporting chakra into them.
"Cloud Style: Cloud Mist Perception Jutsu."
Instantly, all the crystal flowers across the entire land of Amegakure simultaneously sprayed out thin mist.
These thin mists converged, instantly forming a vast Cloud Sea!
Coupled with the early morning mist, it allowed Torifu to see the entire land of Amegakure almost instantaneously!
Such an enormous volume of information entering his mind at once caused him to briefly lose focus.
His brain also experienced intense pain, but he quickly adapted and recovered.
He began to search intently within the cloud mist for the locations of Hanzō and Blaze.
Time passed minute by minute. The Kazekage and the Tsuchikage could already see that everything outside the central city was a white expanse.
However, Torifu remained silent, and they had no idea if he had found anything.
The Kazekage tentatively spoke, "How is it, Hokage? Any luck?"
He had thought Torifu wouldn't answer while concentrating on the search, but unexpectedly, Torifu immediately replied, "No. The detection is harder than I thought and requires some time. Also, there are too many interfering substances. The heavy rain in Amegakure is affecting my jutsu."
Torifu regretted not just making the sky over the entire Amegakure clear up.
However, doing so might make Hanzō and his associates more vigilant.
When the cloud mist is washed by the heavy rain, it becomes thin—only slightly thicker than ordinary water mist—and won't attract their attention.
Only in places outside the central city, where it doesn't rain, can the white Cloud Sea be seen.
Torifu wondered if those two guys would employ such a foolish strategy.
"Time is not an issue, Hokage. Just give it your all. We will be ready to fight at any moment if anything happens."
Ōnoki offered the highest level of support he could. He couldn't promise anything else.
Torifu did not reply, merely nodding, and continued his search.
'Not here… not here… not here, not here either, here… not, not here.'
'Where on earth are they.'
Torifu meticulously searched, inch by inch, starting from the Rain Province of the Land of Fire, flipping through the entire province, but still found nothing.