It was all because of Torifu's orders. If he hadn't commanded them not to kill prisoners of war, these ninja would have devoured them alive.
The next morning, the army continued their journey. It was a beautiful day in the Land of Fire. The sun was bright, and everyone was in better spirits than they had been yesterday. This was thanks to Hashirama's speech the night before. People always had to look forward, or they would remain lost in their grief. That would lead to big problems. Torifu had also taken Hashirama's words to heart, and he no longer felt the negative emotions from yesterday.
Along the way, everyone's pace was quick. It seemed they were all in a hurry to get home and continued to speed up. But their formation never faltered.
"Everyone, maintain a steady pace. We'll definitely be back in Konoha before nightfall. There's no need to rush."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The scenery along the way was stunning, but no one stopped to admire it. Their steps were fast, covering hundreds of meters every minute. And so, just before the sun went down, they returned to Konoha.
The ninja on guard duty at the watchtower saw a huge, dark mass of people appear in the distance and were immediately startled! He thought someone was attacking Konoha! He was about to shout "Enemy attack!" when he saw that the person in the lead had white hair and was wearing a white robe. Looking closer, he was shocked. Wasn't that the Hokage! How could he have returned so soon! Behind him were Hashirama, Tobirama, and all the clan heads! The size of the army was almost the exact same as when they had left. Did they not have a battle? Did they just turn around and go home? The guard didn't know, but he still confirmed Torifu's identity from a distance. He then opened the gates of Konoha.
"The Hokage has returned!"
He stood on the watchtower and shouted at the entire village! His voice echoed through the village, and all the villagers heard his call.
"What? The Hokage is back? No way. How is he back so soon?"
"Yeah. Didn't they say it would take a while? It's been less than half a month."
Just as the villagers were doubting his words, Torifu led the Konoha ninja into the village. When the villagers actually saw Torifu, they finally believed that the Hokage had truly returned!
"Hokage-sama! Are we returning in triumph!"
Torifu nodded. "Of course. I teamed up with the other two nations and successfully defeated the Land of Rain and occupied it."
Upon hearing this, the villagers instantly erupted! Konoha's complete victory was a fantastic piece of news! But the Hokage didn't look happy.
"Hokage-sama, you seem to have something on your mind?"
Torifu looked up and smiled. "No. It's just that there were casualties in the war, so I don't feel very happy."
Upon hearing that, the old man's heart sank. How many people had died that it would cause the Hokage so much pain? But when he inquired about the number, he was completely stunned. "Only four hundred-plus ninja sacrificed their lives!" He had witnessed battles that Hashirama had fought in before! Back then, death was practically a daily occurrence. He would often go out with a group of people and be the only one to return. And out of ten thousand people, only four hundred had died, and the Hokage was this upset.
In response to the old man's concern, Torifu just smiled and then walked toward the Hokage office. It was already dusk. Even though the bodies had been brought back, they couldn't hold a funeral ceremony right now. They would have to wait a day or two and then hold the funeral. He would bury all of them in the Konoha Hero's Memorial, where all ninja who died while on a mission were buried. For a long time, there were only a few lone graves there. But now, over four hundred would be added. He wondered if they would be able to adapt.
He pushed the door to his office open and found Mito reviewing documents. She was so focused that she didn't even look up.
"Who's there? What is it?"
Torifu smiled. "Mito-sama, we're back. You can stop working for now."
Upon hearing that voice, Mito thought she had misheard for a moment. But when she looked up, she saw that it was really Torifu and not someone else.
"How are you back? Isn't the war still going on? Where are your Sensei and Tobirama?"
With that string of questions, Torifu didn't know which one to answer first. He scratched his head. "Mito-sama, let my sensei tell you the details tonight. The war is over. My sensei and Tobirama-sama have already gone back to the clan's compound. You should go home, too. You can leave the rest to me."
Mito nodded. "You just got back. Don't you need to rest?"
Torifu shook his head. "We rested last night and officially returned this morning, so I'm not very tired."
Mito felt a little sorry for the ninja who had gone out to fight. They had to eat and sleep out in the open and be on constant alert for enemy attacks.
"Make sure you get enough rest. I'm going home now. Come over to my house for dinner another day."
Torifu smiled and nodded. "Okay, Mito-sama. You should hurry back and reunite with Sensei."
Torifu sat down in the office chair. He wanted to relax but couldn't. Even though he was back in the village, he felt like something was missing. He let a puppet finish the rest of the work and left the office, heading home.
"Big Brother! You're back so soon!"
As soon as he got to his front door, a yellow figure darted out and hugged him. Torifu patted his head. "You didn't want me to come back?"
Minato shook his head. "Of course not. I was just surprised. I only found out after hearing from others." And with so many people suddenly appearing, it had to be the teams returning from the battle. These past few days, Konoha had been boring, but nothing had gone wrong. The army returning suddenly made it very lively, which made it hard for Minato to adjust.
"How's our second brother? Has he been in the lab all these days?"
"Big Brother, you guessed right. Second brother has been in the lab in the backyard all these days."
"He doesn't even come out when I call him for dinner."
Torifu felt angry after hearing this. He had specifically told Amado to take care of Minato. He never thought this was how he would take care of him, leaving him home alone. Even though a ten-year-old wouldn't get into trouble.
"Is he still in the backyard?" Torifu asked.
Minato thought for a moment. He was pretty sure he was. Their second brother hadn't come out all these days. If it weren't for the occasional bursts of crazy laughter coming from the backyard, Minato would have worried he had died of overwork in there.
"Second brother should be there. Big Brother, you aren't going to hit him, are you?"
Torifu gave him a fake smile. "Of course not. Don't worry, I'm just going to have a little talk with him."