Hearing Ebizo say this, Torifu finally noticed that the man behind him, with the red hair, looked exactly like the boy Sasori.
The man stepped forward. "Greetings, Hokage-sama. I am Sasori's father, the son of Elder Chiyo."
"Sasori gained a lot during his trip to Konoha with the Kazekage-sama. I must thank Hokage-sama for your generosity."
Torifu nodded inwardly, noting that the young man was quite polite. He then waved his hand. "It's nothing. I was fond of the child Sasori, so I just gave him a few small gifts. There's no need to worry about it."
"This situation in the Rain Province involves our three nations and ninja villages. I hope we can all unite to completely resolve this troublesome matter."
Ebizo was the first to nod. "Of course. Our three nations are allies, so we must work together wholeheartedly. The Kazekage-sama specifically instructed us to follow the Hokage-sama's command."
Torifu offered a small smile at this. "That's good. I imagine such a luxurious lineup should easily clear out some forcibly enhanced Kage-level ninjas."
"However, I suggest everyone rest for a while first. We can discuss these matters together this afternoon."
Both Ebizo and Rōshi agreed. They couldn't accomplish much in a hurried morning. Rushing out and wandering around aimlessly was less effective than first setting a clear plan and executing the mission logically. That would save a lot of time.
Minato watched them talk on the street for a bit, then turned and left. Discussing the plan was their business, and he had a mission today. He needed to go clear out camps with Jiraiya, and he figured they must be awake by now. Minato returned to the apartment.
As he walked in, he found Jiraiya sitting on the sofa, writing his book. "Minato. I thought it was someone else coming in so early," Jiraiya said. "Why are you awake so early? Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Minato shook his head when he heard that. "No, I heard some noise outside and thought something had happened. It turned out to be the ninjas from Sunagakure and Iwagakure arriving. Big Brother went out to welcome them."
Jiraiya acknowledged this, but didn't say anything, seeming uninterested in the matter as he continued to focus on writing his book. That made sense; if he was truly curious, he probably would have rushed out already. Minato sometimes couldn't figure out Jiraiya's preferences. Sometimes he showed great interest in something, but the next time he saw it, he hated it. However, he always showed unwavering affection for beautiful women. Is this what an adult man is like?
Jiraiya scratched his head, apparently having hit a creative block. "Ah, forget it. I'll write more some other time." He then looked toward Minato. "Go wake them up. We'll grab a quick bite and then head out."
"Got it." Minato was about to move when he saw Yahiko and Konan already coming out. Kushina also finished getting ready and walked down from the second floor. "Ah, it's so noisy first thing in the morning! What's happening outside?"
After Minato recounted what he had seen, Kushina understood. "Well, it looks like our mission is going to get easier and easier." With these reinforcements killing the Kage-level enemies, they could advance quickly, and she estimated they would soon wipe out all the camps.
"Isn't that great? Let's quickly kill all these rogues so we can return to the village. I'm really not used to being here." The things Minato wasn't used to were the food, the travel, and the weather. The living conditions were fine, but everything else was inferior to Konoha. However, when going on a long-distance mission, one could only make do.
Once everyone was awake and downstairs, they ate a simple meal and immediately set off. Their destination today was the eastern side of the Central City. According to the information they gathered, there was only one Kage-level ninja in a large area to the east. The plan was for Jiraiya to engage that Kage-level ninja while Minato and the others took the opportunity to eliminate the surrounding camps.
With the plan set, the group hurriedly departed.
Meanwhile, the clan heads who arrived at the Central City last night also left the city to carry out their assigned missions. The clan heads' mission zones were relatively close to each other. The remaining areas would be left to the Kage-level ninjas from Sunagakure and Iwagakure. They only needed to focus on their own assigned tasks.
The two teams that had just arrived at the Central City were being led to their quarters by their respective nation's administrators. Each village had established its own living quarters in the Central City, kept somewhat separate rather than mixed together. The samurai from the Land of Iron were temporarily staying in the homes of the Central City's residents. Since the number of samurai who came to help was small, it didn't cause a housing crisis.
The morning passed quickly. The two arriving teams were assigned their respective operational areas and were scheduled to set off tomorrow morning. Torifu was now truly relieved. As long as the Kage-level enemies were all killed or driven away, the camps could be cleared out quickly. Seeing the recent slowdown in mission progress had made Torifu quite unhappy, but now he could relax.
"I'll just wait for their good news," Torifu said, leaning back comfortably in his office chair with his hands behind his head. He was the only one in the empty office, making it feel rather lonely.
"Sigh, Naori also went on a mission. I don't even have anyone to talk to. Where's Kakuzu! Where did Kakuzu go!"
No sooner had Torifu spoken than a knock came at the office door. "Yes, Leader? Did you need me for something?"
Torifu was momentarily stunned. How is this guy always on call? "No, nothing, I just wanted to ask you about the work situation."
Kakuzu understood. "In that case, I will report to you. Currently, the total number of camps cleared in the Central City is over six thousand. The remaining ones are mostly guarded by Kage, but I imagine we can soon begin a full-scale push."
Torifu checked his own panel. Hmm, the numbers are roughly the same. This indicated that Kakuzu was neither lying nor exaggerating his workload. He was an excellent subordinate.
"Have any of our Lotus Organization brothers been injured or sacrificed?" It had been a long time since Torifu had asked about the organization. He had almost forgotten he was the leader, being completely absorbed in external affairs and leaving everything to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu was happy to hear this. The Leader is finally paying attention to them! "Regarding that, none of our organization's personnel have been killed yet, but there have been many injuries, ranging from minor to severe." Kakuzu then added seriously, "We treated them immediately and will not let them suffer any lasting effects."