After leaving Hashirama, the two hungry companions decided to have a big meal.
It was the same familiar Barbecue Restaurant, and the same familiar twenty-something plates of meat. Torifu and Chirori had returned to where their dream began.
Ever since she'd eaten at this restaurant with Torifu last time, Chirori had grown to love the place.
Not because the food was especially delicious, but because after their meal, Lord Hokage had taken her along to train!
Still, she had Torifu to thank most of all. Without him, Chirori didn't think her talent would have been enough for Lord Hokage to personally teach her.
Naturally, Torifu paid for this meal too. Chirori had more or less resigned herself to the situation.
Since she'd already racked up more favors from Torifu than she could ever repay, she might as well owe him a few more. It wasn't as if having too many debts would weigh her down.
But the truth was, Chirori had no idea how she could help Torifu.
He didn't need money, ninjutsu, or a mentor. He didn't need anything at all.
That left Chirori with no idea how to repay him, so she could only take things one step at a time.
It was worth mentioning that Kyō Uchiha's sentence had already been handed down.
He'd been sentenced to life imprisonment for deliberately using ninjutsu in the village in an attempt to seriously injure or kill a fellow shinobi.
But after he took a forbidden drug and his life force began rapidly draining away, his grandfather had given Torifu a large sum in compensation.
Torifu accepted the Uchiha family's apology, and Kyō was taken back to the Uchiha Clan Grounds for treatment.
If he recovered, he'd have to continue serving his sentence. If not, they'd scatter his ashes.
Torifu didn't really have any strong feelings about Kyō Uchiha.
The kid had genuinely meant to kill him in the end, but his strength was nowhere near enough to pose a threat.
Torifu didn't have time to waste worrying about such a minor character.
Since they'd offered money to settle things privately, he might as well do them a favor. He hadn't been injured, after all, so there was no need to turn down money.
What's more, now that he had his master backing him, anyone who wanted to come after him would have to think carefully about whether they were strong enough.
According to Chirori, the drug Kyō Uchiha had taken seemed to be a forbidden medicine passed down through his clan.
Who knew where the kid had stolen it from? He'd taken it without even reading the instructions.
Luckily, they'd caught it early, so there was a good chance they could save him. They just needed to replenish the life force he'd lost.
There were plenty of medicinal herbs that could help with that.
But the drug had also severely damaged him at the root. He probably wouldn't be able to have children.
Torifu didn't care about that. The two of them chatted as they ate, and before long, they'd polished off all twenty plates of meat.
"Torifu, thanks again for treating me!" Chirori said cheerfully.
"No problem. As long as you're happy."
After paying, the two left the restaurant amid the owner's nearly maniacal grin and his repeated "Come again!"
As they were about to part, Chirori said to Torifu, "Torifu, don't forget our agreement tonight, okay?"
Torifu rubbed his forehead helplessly. He'd thought the girl would forget about it after getting lessons from the Hokage.
But she still had it on her mind.
"Okay, okay. I'll definitely be there tonight."
Chirori gave him a satisfied smile, then skipped off toward home.
Torifu stretched, ready to head home and sleep. The morning's training had been exhausting.
No wonder he was Lord Hokage. His training was unbelievably strict.
While some were happy, others were worried. Kumonaka Torikaze was sleeping soundly at home.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi was rushing around like a headless fly.
"Hiruzen, stop pacing around. You're giving your father a headache!"
Sasuke Sarutobi watched his son pace back and forth in front of him ever since returning from Lord Hokage's office.
When he asked what had happened, Hiruzen wouldn't tell him!
That left his forty-year-old father to guess wildly!
Had he offended the Hokage? Had he tried to start a rebellion and been caught red-handed?
The old man had imagined every possible disaster.
Sasuke Sarutobi was getting more and more nervous.
At his father's words, Hiruzen finally came to a gradual stop.
But he still looked terribly anxious.
"Hiruzen, tell your father what happened."
Sasuke Sarutobi had worked up quite a bit of courage to say that.
If his little monkey had really done something as outrageous as he feared, he'd go confess immediately!
"Old Man, Lord Hokage gave us a question today, and I can't figure it out."
Hiruzen looked troubled, while Sasuke quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
So it was just something this trivial! He'd nearly been ready to disown his own son!
Still, he put on the air of a wise man who had seen the vicissitudes of life and tasted all its joys and sorrows. "My foolish child, tell your father about it."
Hiruzen looked at his old man, who was usually anything but serious and loved sneaking peeks at the women's bathhouse.
Seeing him suddenly put on the airs of some otherworldly sage made Hiruzen's mouth twitch.
But no matter what, his old man had more life experience than he did. Maybe he'd have a solution!
"Lord Hokage asked us to find our own Will of Fire."
Hiruzen's eyes filled with expectation. He gazed at his sage-like father with admiration.
Under Hiruzen's intensely expectant gaze, Sasuke Sarutobi merely turned aside, extended a palm toward him, and gently shook his head.
Hiruzen was delighted. "Old Man! Are you telling me to bravely say no to Lord Hokage?"
"Not at all, not at all." Sasuke shook his head, looking as if his son were beyond saving.
"What I mean is, 'I must respectfully decline. You'll have to ask someone else.'"
Hiruzen nearly spat up blood. He collapsed to the floor in despair. "If you don't know, just say so! What was with all that posturing?"
Sasuke Sarutobi chuckled and scratched his head. The few hairs he had left swayed precariously, like candles in the wind.
"I was just trying to make you look good when you tell people. You've got a sage for a father!"
Hiruzen struggled back to his feet. He hadn't expected that the real troublemaker in the family was the old man.
He stumbled out of the room.
Watching his son leave, Sasuke Sarutobi sighed.
While his sage-like airs still held, he murmured, "My foolish child, no one else can help you with this question. You'll have to find the answer yourself."
A breeze swept over his head. At that moment, Sasuke felt as though the most precious thing he had had just left him.
He ran a hand over his scalp, but couldn't feel a single hair. A tear rolled from the corner of his eye.
This must be one of the sorrows of middle age.
This wasn't just happening in the Sarutobi Clan. The others were also uncertain about their own Will of Fire.
The children didn't understand Lord Hokage's intentions, but the adults had some idea.
So none of them offered help. They left the children to figure it out for themselves.
Chirori and Torifu were still young, and Hashirama had only just taken them on as his disciples.
They hadn't had much exposure to Hashirama's Will of Fire.
But that actually turned out to be a good thing. Both of them were quick thinkers.
Perhaps they'd be better able to understand what their own Will of Fire was.
Before you continue