Tobirama was a little surprised to hear that Kana intended to personally paint a picture to be presented at the princess's birthday banquet. He asked his brother and sister-in-law, "What does she plan to paint?"
"It's an imagined depiction of the Sage of Six Paths' Dharma," Mito replied with a smile. "This child has recently been fond of collecting stories about the Sage of Six Paths. She even asked me to request some scriptures from the abbot of the Temple of Fire."
"Scriptures? It's not that easy to borrow them; they guard those very strictly," Tobirama shook his head.
"That's why I need to ask for your help. It's rare for this child to focus her attention elsewhere and stop thinking about ninja matters. I think we should support her," Mito said.
"...That's true," Tobirama considered for a moment and decided to talk to the abbot of the Temple of Fire. "By the way, where is Kana?"
"She's still painting in her room. Would you like to go see it? I think her painting has a lot of charm," Mito was very happy that her daughter was no longer interested in ninja matters. As long as it wasn't about becoming a ninja, she was happy to see her pursue anything else.
Tobirama was somewhat curious. Mito's background made her very familiar with aristocratic etiquette, including painting and calligraphy, and she had a high level of appreciation. Although Kana had received an aristocratic education since childhood, for Mito to praise her, it must be worth seeing.
So, Tobirama went to Kana's room and asked if it was convenient to enter. Kana's affirmative reply then came from inside.
Entering the room, Tobirama saw Kana put down what she was holding and bow to him, saying, "Uncle Tobirama."
"Among family, there's no need for such formality," Tobirama waved his hand. Due to his busy official duties, he hadn't spent much time with Kana, which led to some distance between them. Of course, another reason was Kana's aristocratic education, which taught her to treat people with courtesy in her daily life.
However, Tobirama was quickly drawn to the painting beside her. It was the painting Kana was working on, not yet finished. He could see a person sitting cross-legged in the center, surrounded by several other figures, who were still just outlines. The central figure, however, already had a distinct image—
It was an old man with a solemn face, a long beard and hair under his chin, wearing a simple white robe. A tin staff with sun and moon shapes at both ends floated above his lap. What was striking were his eyes, which had concentric ripple patterns and a profound gaze.
Just by looking at those eyes, Tobirama knew the identity of this figure: the Sage of Six Paths. Although no one had ever seen him, the appearance of the Rinnegan was recorded in numerous scriptures, so he recognized it immediately.
Kana had clearly put a lot of effort into the Sage of Six Paths.
This was evident from the fact that the other figures were still just sketches, while the Sage of Six Paths had a detailed form, especially those Rinnegan eyes, which were painted with remarkable realism. The Sage's eyes seemed to contain infinite wisdom, and his profound gaze was as calm as the ocean.
Even Tobirama, who didn't particularly appreciate painting and calligraphy, found this depiction of the Sage of Six Paths to be very evocative, possessing the charm of the scrolls found in temples. This young girl, at such a tender age, truly had considerable skill in painting and calligraphy.
"Is this the painting you're preparing to give to the princess? What's its name?" Tobirama asked.
"'The Dharma of the Sage,' I plan to call it that," Kana replied.
"'The Dharma of the Sage,' you say?" Tobirama heard this, looked at the people surrounding the Sage of Six Paths, immediately understood their significance, and nodded slightly: "Interesting."
"Thank you, Uncle Tobirama," Kana's face broke into a joyful smile. She had never received praise from Tobirama before. In the past, because of ninja matters, the atmosphere between them had been very awkward, and she didn't know how to handle it. Now that she had let go of that burden, the relationship between uncle and niece had softened.
"Painting this must have taken you a lot of effort, didn't it?" Tobirama pointed at the portrait of the Sage of Six Paths.
"Yes, other than meals and other necessary things, I've basically been painting the Sage's appearance. As you can see, the other people are just sketches, and the environment is even less developed; there isn't even a sketch for it," Kana nodded slightly.
"Even so, to be able to paint such a figure is already very good. It shows you're very focused," Tobirama patted Kana's head and smiled, "Keep it up."
It sounded like Kana was supposed to continue maintaining her concentration on painting, but Kana knew Tobirama meant for her to continue this path and not to consider anything about being a ninja.
—Really, even Tsunade can go.
Kana couldn't help but puff out her cheeks slightly. Realizing her posture was ungraceful, she quickly retracted it and then asked, "Uncle Tobirama, who is Tsunade's teacher?"
"Hmm? Why, did Tsunade ask you?" Tobirama was about to leave, but hearing this, he turned back and asked.
"Of course, she's very eager to learn chakra," Kana said with a hint of something unusual in her tone.
Tobirama pretended not to hear the hint of envy in Kana's tone and replied, "I plan to have Masahiro teach her."
The door burst open, and a blonde girl stood at the entrance, exclaiming in surprise, "It's really Fumori, Grandpa Tobirama?"
"Ah, it's true," Tobirama wasn't startled by Tsunade's sudden appearance. Tsunade, not yet a qualified ninja, couldn't hide from him at all. Even without using his sensory abilities, he could detect Tsunade's presence.
"That's wonderful, Tsunade!" Kana walked over, bent down, and smiled at Tsunade.
"Mm!" Tsunade nodded heavily.
Tobirama looked at Tsunade's happy expression and didn't intend to dampen her enthusiasm. He didn't want Tsunade to become a ninja. She would realize then that it wouldn't be as she imagined.
After leaving the room, Tobirama went to see Mito. Mito asked about Kana's painting, and Tobirama replied, "It's good, but I don't know if the princess will like it."
"I heard the princess likes the Temple of Fire, so she wouldn't dislike a painting of the Sage of Six Paths," Mito said. "Did you run into Tsunade? She heard you were back and immediately ran here, but found you weren't here, so I directed her to Kana's room to find you."
"I did, and she was even eavesdropping at the door," Tobirama shook his head, indicating his helplessness towards his brother's mischievous granddaughter. "I don't know if Kana noticed, but she even asked who would teach her."
"You said before that Masaki would teach her. You haven't changed your mind, have you?" Mito asked.
"No, that's why the child is so happy," Tobirama laughed. "I really don't know why she likes Masaki so much."
"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, because of Hashirama, Masaki often comes to our house. Among your disciples, he's the only one Tsunade is relatively familiar with. If she doesn't like him, who else would she like?" Mito smiled.
"That's true," Tobirama also laughed.