Chapter 104: The Summit Nears Its End

It was then that Torifū remembered that the Ninja Academy was also off today. No wonder he ran into Shinkū on the street.

"Shinkū, how are things at the Academy for you guys?"

Shinkū smiled. "Pretty good. Suiga-sensei has taught us a lot, and my strength has improved significantly." He then added, "But of course, I can't compare to you, Torifū."

Torifū was a bit embarrassed by Shinkū's words. "I just got lucky and caught the Hokage-sama's eye, that's all."

Shinkū shook his head; he didn't seem to think so. "You were different from everyone else from the very beginning. Though I can't explain it, I could feel your uniqueness."

"Your strength is also unmatched by everyone in the class combined, so you deserve all of this." Although Shinkū hadn't spent much time with Torifū, he genuinely considered Torifū a friend. He wasn't jealous that Torifū had become the Hokage's disciple.

Torifū, too, always cherished Shinkū, Ikkaku, and Kosuke as friends. After all, these were the only true friends Torifū had in his age group. The others were either ten or more years older, and there was always a generation gap with Torifū.

"I heard you won the sparring match against the other villages yesterday. I haven't had a chance to congratulate you."

Torifū had already thought about how to answer this topic. He had anticipated last night that someone would bring it up today. "Don't be so serious. It was just a friendly match; everyone was going easy on me." Seeing Torifū's humility, Shinkū didn't press the topic further.

The two then talked about things at the Academy. It was worth noting that Suiga-sensei had apparently gotten married recently. Torifū hadn't known about this. If he had, he definitely would have attended the wedding. But now that he knew, Torifū could only ask Shinkū to convey his congratulations to Suiga-sensei. This gave them an opportunity to chat about their early days at the Academy, which made Torifū feel a bit nostalgic.

It turned out that Uchiha Kyō, who had a domineering CEO complex back then, had been dead for a long time. Recalling that little young master fellow, it felt as vivid as if it had been yesterday.

"Time really flies. A year has passed in the blink of an eye."

Unlike Torifū, Shinkū hadn't experienced many things in that year; he had spent most of it at the Academy. His daily life was very similar, leaving him with no particularly deep impressions of the past year. If he had to name one thing, it would probably be the first day of school when Torifū stood up for them.

"Torifū, you probably have things to do, right?"

Torifū thought about it. He really didn't seem to have anything planned today. Every time there was a holiday, Torifū felt bored, yet he eagerly looked forward to them. "I don't have anything to do. If you have something to do, then let's talk later?"

Shinkū nodded. "I do have some things to do today, so I won't chat with you anymore for now. See you later."

"Yeah, see you later."

After Shinkū said goodbye to Torifū, he turned and left, heading in the direction of the Academy. It wasn't clear what he had to do.

Torifū was left alone again. As he had just said, he always got bored during holidays. After chatting with Shinkū for a while, the entire Konoha Village had fully woken up. The streets were filled with pedestrians, and children, on holiday today, ran around the village, creating a peaceful scene.

When Torifū reached the central district of Konoha Village, he saw that the Kazekage's entourage seemed to be preparing to return to Sunagakure. Kagami, as the ninja responsible for hospitality, had the farewell procession within his scope of duties. He was currently conversing with the Kazekage. Seeing this, Torifū walked up, wanting to join in the fun. After all, he had just beaten their successor yesterday; was there a problem with him seeing them off today? No problem at all.

"Kazekage-sama, Kagami-nii."

Reto had already noticed Torifū, and seeing him approach to greet them, he nodded and smiled. He had a good impression of Torifū, whose strength and character were both quite good. And as a ninja of the Kumotsuru clan, it was even more reason to be on good terms with him. Kagami also smiled when he saw Torifū. "Kazekage-sama is preparing to depart for his country. We are currently escorting Kazekage-sama out of Konoha Village."

Torifū asked doubtfully, "Kazekage-sama, won't you stay a few more days? You probably haven't tried all of Konoha Village's specialties yet, have you?"

Reto laughed heartily at this. "Hahahaha, I'm not that gluttonous." He then added, "I've been away from the village for a long time and need to return to handle affairs. Konoha Village is wonderful, and I'll come again if I have the chance."

Seeing this, Torifū didn't try to keep him any longer and escorted Reto to the village gate along with Kagami. Along the way, Reto seemed to have shed his previous aloofness, becoming somewhat talkative. However, Shamon, behind him, kept staring resentfully at Torifū, seemingly still holding a grudge about being whipped twice by Torifū yesterday. Torifū, ignoring Shamon's gaze, continued chatting with Kazekage-sama.

The villagers along the road also knew that Kazekage-sama was returning to his village. Many who hadn't seen him before crowded both sides of the road, eager to see what Kazekage looked like.

It wasn't necessarily that they revered the Kazekage so much; it was simply that they were curious to see an outside village leader. After all, getting to see such an important figure would be enough to boast about to their children for years to come. Regardless, the villagers enthusiastically saw off the Kazekage throughout his departure from Konoha Village. This was in stark contrast to Torifū's departure from Sunagakure.

When the group reached the village gate, Reto said, "Alright, this is far enough."

"Kazekage-sama, travel safely."

Reto nodded, then departed from Konoha Village. Unlike his arrival, which was full of flying sand and explosive special effects, his departure was calm and uneventful. They walked until they disappeared from everyone's sight, then they returned to the village and closed the gates.

"Phew, it's finally almost over." Kagami wiped the sweat from his brow, speaking with some fatigue. Torifū had been on holiday for the past two days since the sparring ended, but Kagami was different. His duties included both welcoming and farewell missions, and to ensure no mistakes were made, he had personally handled almost every detail.

As a result, he had barely rested these past few days. Now that the Kage were starting to return to their villages, he would finally get some rest.

"Why don't you ask Naori to help you? I see she has plenty of free time."

Kagami shook his head. "She doesn't need to suffer with me. If I can handle it myself, I'll just let her rest at home." Torifū didn't understand the mindset of a 'sis-con,' so he didn't continue to persuade Kagami. What if Kagami went home and whispered something to Naori? That would be bad.