In the Land of Whirlpools, he did not care how those elders praised him, because much of it was laced with sarcasm.
They wanted to see him make a fool of himself, to find an opportunity to make his branch fall completely, so they could replace it.
But his grandfather was different. His praise was sincere, and Ran could tell.
Earning his grandfather's approval made Ran feel that everything he had done had not been in vain.
"Ran is an excellent lad. When I heard in Konoha that the Land of Whirlpools had produced a little genius, I planned to go see him. Tomohiro happened to be heading there too, so I took him along."
"As it turned out, Ran gave me a wonderful surprise. Perhaps the Land of Whirlpools really can be saved."
Torikaze's words were also full of praise for Ran.
At the mention of the Land of Whirlpools, Ashina's eyes flickered constantly before finally calming.
"Let's hope so. It would naturally be good if it can be saved, but we cannot rely on Ran alone. The clansmen must have ambition as well."
That was true enough. No matter how outstanding one's talent was, no matter how capable one was of leading the clan to greater heights—
If the clan itself did not want to reach the top, what could you do?
The people of the Land of Whirlpools had already grown somewhat accustomed to a life where they could survive with almost no effort.
That was not very beneficial to the country's development, but it was beneficial to people's lives.
Ran had mainly come this time to find a balance—one that would let everyone live without working themselves so hard while still allowing the Land of Whirlpools to develop.
After they chatted in the courtyard for quite