Mangekyō Sharingan!

"Eh? Isn't that Torifu?"

A woman's voice came from behind Torifu.

Torifu found the voice very familiar, and when he turned around, he saw that it was indeed who he thought it was.

"Aunt Kato, I didn't expect to run into you here."

The person who called out to Torifu was Kato Mamiko, the wife of Kato Saho.

Because they didn't live far from the Torifu household, Torifu's parents and the Kato family were very close.

After his parents passed away, Kato Saho and his wife took great care of Torifu, which made Torifu hold them in high regard.

At this moment, Torifu noticed that Mamiko was holding a toddler in her arms. The child looked to be about two years old, with a very striking head of blue hair.

"Aunt Kato, are you out taking Dan for a walk?"

Mamiko wore a smile, her expression very kind: "Yes, Dan is always making a fuss at home, so he wanted to come out and play."

Torifu walked up to tease the young Dan Kato, but Dan turned his head away, choosing to ignore him.

Mamiko looked a bit embarrassed: "Dan is a bit shy, and since you don't come over to play often, he doesn't really recognize you."

Torifu waved his hand dismissively. Although he could get along with children, he couldn't really play with a two-year-old.

After his attempts to tease the boy failed, Torifu lost interest. Dan was still small, so there would be plenty of time to tease him later.

As for Dan Kato, Torifu had always liked him. Although he didn't appear many times, that Spirit Transformation Technique of his left a deep impression on Torifu.

To be able to detach one's soul from the body to assassinate an enemy! How powerful! There were very few ninjutsu in the entire ninja world that could control the soul.

But at the same time, the drawbacks were also very obvious: once the soul left the body, the physical vessel could not move, becoming a living target that anyone could kill.

And in the end, Dan died precisely because of this, ending his dream of becoming Hokage at a young age and becoming a lifelong pain for Tsunade.

"What about you, Torifu? Are you out for a stroll too?" Mamiko asked. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen Torifu around lately.

Torifu scratched the back of his head: "Ah, it's too quiet at home, so I came out for a walk."

Hearing Torifu say this, a look of pity appeared in Mamiko's eyes. Torifu's parents had been close friends with her and her husband.

It was unexpected that they would return to the heavens so early, leaving only this six-year-old child behind, though fortunately, he didn't have to worry about food or drink.

"If you ever feel lonely, just come to Auntie's house," Mamiko said gently.

Torifu felt a warmth in his heart and nodded.

After chatting with Mamiko for a while longer, he realized that unlike Maruboshi Kosuke, Kato Mamiko had somehow learned that the Hokage had taken Torifu as an apprentice.

When she heard that Torifu was going on missions at such a young age, she felt very anxious.

She repeatedly urged him to be careful during missions and to prioritize staying alive.

As the sky gradually darkened, the two began to head toward their respective homes.

Mamiko was like a mother to Torifu, chattering non-stop along the way, mostly telling Torifu to take care of his health and not to stay up late or overwork himself.

Torifu enjoyed the feeling of an elder nagging in his ear; it made him feel at ease.

When they reached the entrance of the clan grounds, Mamiko urged him again: "Get some rest early, Torifu. The Hokage's training must be very exhausting. Keep it up!"

She then turned and left. Torifu watched Kato Mamiko head home before entering the clan grounds.

He opened the

Character Compendium

and unlocked Dan Kato and Setsuna Uchiha, gaining a total of 1000

Calmness Points

. This was the first time he had encountered Dan Kato since awakening the system.

As for Setsuna Uchiha, it could be considered making use of waste, adding another sum of

Calmness Points

to Torifu's total.

After a simple wash, Torifu lay on his bed and fell asleep.

Late at night, within the Uchiha clan grounds.

An old man stood in front of his house, looking at the stars in the sky.

Heaven always seemed to enjoy making those who were already miserable even more so.

His son and daughter-in-law had died one after another, and his young grandson had suffered a depletion of vitality from taking forbidden drugs, leaving him no different from the dead.

And his eldest grandson, Setsuna Uchiha, in whom the old man had placed all his hopes, was now missing.

"You said you were going to avenge your brother, but the person is still jumping around, and you... you've likely buried your bones in a foreign land."

As he spoke, two lines of blood and tears fell, and his voice turned into a sob.

The Three Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun and condensed, eventually forming a shape resembling a shuriken.

"Mangekyō Sharingan, hahahaha, I never expected to awaken the Mangekyō only on the verge of death."

The old man's voice was somewhat manic, and for a moment, it was hard to tell if he was happy or sad. Fortunately, this was the edge of the clan grounds, and only his branch of the family lived here.

"It seems it is not yet my time to die!"

The old man turned to look at his grandson, who lay on the bed inside like a skeleton, the flames of hatred burning fiercely in his eyes!

"I will make you all pay the price!"

One day later.

Early in the morning, Torifu Akimichi, Uchiha Chirori, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the others gathered atop the Hokage Rock.

This was already the third day since Torifu and the others had returned to the village from their mission, and the deadline for the task Hashirama had assigned them had finally arrived.

Although everyone still wore expressions of slight uncertainty, the sense of panic and helplessness they had felt before was completely gone.

Just as Hiruzen was about to ask his companions about their Will of Fire, Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God technique to bring Hashirama before them.

"Good morning, children! Hahaha."

Seeing that the Hokage was in a good mood today, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

If the Hokage were in a bad mood, they feared that if they said the wrong thing and angered him, they might end up getting beaten up!

Tobirama's expression remained unchanged, making it impossible to tell what he was feeling: "You should all know what day it is today, right?"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately stood at attention and replied in unison.

"Then I hope your answers today will not disappoint us."

Although Tobirama said this, it was merely to put a little pressure on them; these children had been training under him since they were small.

Tobirama could actually guess, more or less, what each child would say.

Since he and his older brother were teaching their disciples together, one of them had to play the bad cop; otherwise, the children would have no one to fear, and they wouldn't be able to keep them in line.

"Monkey, you go first!"

Seeing Hiruzen trying to shrink back, Tobirama singled him out first.

Hiruzen felt like crying but had no choice; he had to bite the bullet and speak.

"My Will of Fire is protection."

Hashirama's lips curled slightly at the corners upon hearing this, but he hid it well and went unnoticed.

"What is protection?" Tobirama asked.

"Because I love the village very much, and I love everyone in the village. Every time I return to the village after a mission and see the smiling faces of the people, I feel full of energy."

"Therefore, I want to protect the village and every single person within it!"

Tobirama nodded. Although Hiruzen's Will of Fire was somewhat similar to his older brother's, he knew that Hiruzen wasn't saying this just to cater to anyone; this was his true will.

"I hope you will remember these words forever in the future!"

"Next, Danzo."

Danzo, having been called, stepped forward. Although he possessed his own Will of Fire, he didn't know if saying it this way would anger the two leaders.

"My Will of Fire is suppression."

Hearing this word, both Hashirama and Tobirama were stunned, and then Danzo continued.

"So-called suppression means enhancing the overall strength of the village, using that formidable power to make other villages submit, so that they dare not even harbor the thought of becoming our enemies."

After Danzo finished his explanation, the two brothers remained silent for a long time, which made Danzo even more uncertain and nervous.

However, Hashirama and Tobirama simply felt that Danzo's thinking was a bit too aggressive, though the starting point could be considered correct.

Because this was the current state of the ninja world.

Due to Hashirama, Konoha held an absolute position among the five great ninja villages, and no one dared to bare their fangs at Konoha! All of this was because of Hashirama's strength.

"Danzo, your idea is not bad, but there must be a line—that line is that you must never harm anyone within the village! Do you understand!"

Tobirama's tone was stern, carrying a hint of a warning.

Hearing this, Danzo bowed deeply: "I understand, Master," and then retreated back into the ranks.

Subsequently, Koharu, Homura, Torifu Akimichi, and Uchiha Chirori each recounted their own Will of Fire. Although there were minor flaws, they all passed successfully.

It was just that Hashirama told them to go back and think it over carefully to refine their ideas.

"Kumonaka Torikaze, it's your turn."