Snowflake nodded. "Of course. I've been watching Kushina every day for a long time, but human pregnancy time seems different from birds'..."
Torifu looked helplessly at Snowflake. This bird looked incredibly intimidating, but it was actually a fool. "You saw Naori's pregnancy, didn't you? How could you forget now?"
Snowflake retorted defensively, "Eleven years have passed! How can I still remember clearly?" With that, it fled as if running away. As an elder in the Kumotsuru Clan compound, Snowflake was highly respected. Except for Torifu, practically no one would tease Snowflake. It was quite shocking that an old hen had actually transformed into a divine bird resembling a phoenix over time.
"Big Brother, look, you've chased Snowflake away. Who's going to look after me then?" Kushina said jokingly.
Torifu waved his hand. "It's fine, you have Minato. His Flying Thunder God can instantly bring him to your side. I don't think you'll even need Snowflake."
When Minato was mentioned, Kushina's face flushed. That guy was about to become the Fourth Hokage. And she, inexplicably, was about to become the Hokage's Wife. Was this what it meant to marry the right person? She was leaping directly from Special Jōnin to Konoha's highest position.
"He'll probably be too busy after he becomes Hokage. Where will he find the time to look after us, mother and child?"
Torifu smiled faintly. "I've already passed on all my wisdom on being Hokage to Minato. You can rest assured."
As soon as he said that, Kushina immediately burst out laughing. "That's wonderful! I feel much more confident now."
Kushina was laughing, but Torifu wasn't happy. What did she mean by "more confident"? It sounded like Torifu was the kind of Hokage who neglected his duties all day, when in fact, he was a good Hokage who cared deeply about Konoha! Don't misunderstand!
Seeing how hurtful Kushina's words were, Torifu decided not to continue chatting with her. He needed to find a place for himself to be quiet and soak up the sun. The front courtyard was full of people, so Torifu decided to go to the backyard. Kushina wanted to remind him but gave up because Torifu walked too fast.
Torifu had only walked a few meters when he heard the sounds of fighting from the backyard. His heart sank. Damn, the backyard was occupied, too. This was the downside of having too many people in the family—people everywhere, no place for him to be alone. But since he was already here, he might as well take a look.
Upon arriving at the backyard, he saw paper slips flying everywhere and scattered puddles of water. It seemed Yahiko and Konan had been sparring for a while. However, Torifu glanced at them and saw they were still evenly matched, with neither side showing signs of decline. The battle would likely continue for some time.
Seven years had passed. The two children, who were eleven years old then, were now adults. Yahiko had grown much taller and was a handsome young man. Many young girls in Konoha pursued him relentlessly, but he remained unmoved. Konan had also changed a lot from seven years ago; her appearance was remarkably beautiful, but her hairstyle always gave her an aloof aura. In reality, Konan was very easy to get along with and was quite enthusiastic towards outsiders.
Torifu was very satisfied with these two disciples. They were already Konoha's elite Jōnin at a young age, though that was just a village title. In reality, their strength had already reached Kage-level. The Chakra in their bodies was also very formidable, which allowed them to sustain such a long battle.
The two caught sight of their Master's arrival in their peripheral vision, immediately stopped sparring, and hurried to greet Torifu. "Master, who do you think is better between the two of us?" Konan asked with a cheerful smile, hoping Torifu would give a satisfying answer.
But Torifu was an old master of diplomacy; he had to keep the balance perfectly level. "Hmm, you two are evenly matched, truly difficult to distinguish between. In my opinion, both of you have made significant progress, but there is still room for improvement..."
Fooled by Torifu's rhetoric, the two dispersed happily. This was Torifu's old trick, and it worked on these two children every single time. He could easily maintain the balance, only needing to slightly change the order of his words.
After Yahiko and Konan left, Torifu gently waved his hand. The sparring grounds, which were full of pits and uneven surfaces from their fight, shook for a moment and quickly returned to their original state. Just as he was about to set up his chair and lie down for a while, Yahiko and Konan smiled and came back.
"Thank you, Master, for smoothing out the training ground for us! We are deeply grateful!" Torifu momentarily wanted to hit them. These young brats were playing tricks on him now. But he couldn't help it; he couldn't delay their sparring and training just to sunbathe.
After leaving the training ground, Torifu suddenly realized that this vast Kumotsuru Clan compound had no place for him to rest! This was unacceptable! This was truly turning the natural order upside down! But anger aside, Torifu was helpless. One was drinking tea, one was pregnant, and the other two were training. They had almost occupied all the good spots in the house.
"Forget it, I'll just go up to the sky!" Having said that, Torifu transformed into a mass of cloud and flew into the sky. He pulled over a few clouds, kneaded them together, and lay down on them to rest. Although it was windy and colder up high, the sunlight was truly excellent. Torifu felt extremely comfortable here, even better than sunbathing in the courtyard.
But after a short while, Torifu noticed something was blocking the sunlight. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of round, wide eyes staring at him. This genuinely startled Torifu, and he nearly fell off the cloud! He calmed down and took a closer look. Wasn't this his naughty son!
"Akihara? How did you climb up this high? Did you come up just to scare your dad?"
Akihara chuckled. "No, Dad, I was practicing the Crane-Cry Scattering Flower Jutsu when I accidentally found you."
Torifu pouted. Why didn't he believe that? Was it necessary to fly up this high to practice a Jutsu? Furthermore, why didn't he call out when he saw him? He caught Torifu completely off guard. For a moment, he thought the Otsutsuki had attacked the Ninja World ahead of schedule.
"I shouldn't have taught you the flying Cloud Release Jutsu in the first place! Now you're using it all against me, aren't you!"
Akihara cheekily stuck out his tongue, then swiftly flew away, terrified that Torifu would beat him up.