"So, do you want to become a samurai?"
Mifune replied without any hesitation, "Of course, I want to become a samurai. When I grow older, I will go to the capital to learn the way of the samurai."
Tobirama nodded and said nothing more; after all, his identity was just that of a traveler.
"Let's go, I'll take you to my house to rest for the night, and you can leave early tomorrow morning."
The two weren't angry at Mifune's attitude to chase them away; after all, they were just strangers meeting for the first time, and it was already good enough that he allowed them to stay for the night.
Besides, even if Mifune didn't say so, Tobirama and Torifū would have left the next day anyway.
On the way from the village entrance to Mifune's house, they encountered some villagers who looked at Tobirama and the other vigilantly.
Mifune explained the origins of the two to everyone, and the villagers were relieved.
The village was full of old people, women, and children, and even if they had some samurai skills when they were young, they couldn't use many moves now.
And Mifune's current superficial samurai moves were taught by the villagers.
Although superficial, it could be considered laying a foundation.
Mifune led Tobirama and Torifū to a small courtyard, where some chickens were scattered around.
"This is my home; it may be a bit messy, don't mind it."
Tobirama nodded to indicate it was okay, and then followed Mifune into the courtyard.
Torifū looked at the chickens raised in the yard, thinking of the hen incubating eggs at his home.
When he left, he asked Aunt Mamiko to help take care of it; he wondered if they had hatched yet.
Entering the house, Torifū put his bundle on the table and sat down to rest for a while.
Then he looked around; the house wasn't very big, and there was no furniture, but Mifune had cleaned it very well.
"You can rest here for the night; I'll go get something to eat."
After speaking, Mifune turned and left.
"Tobirama-sama, when will we leave?"
"This village should still be some distance from the sea; let's rest first, and set off when it's almost dawn."
The two were talking in a low voice, and outsiders couldn't hear them at all, although no one in this village could do anything to Tobirama and Torifū.
But it's better to avoid trouble, and being cautious can prevent a lot of unnecessary problems.
After a while, Mifune came back, holding a plate of vegetables that Torifū didn't recognize, and a few pancakes.
"This is a unique wild vegetable from the Land of Iron; it tastes pretty good, try it."
Not refusing Mifune's kindness, they both took a little.
After taking a bite, they found that it was indeed a little more delicious than ordinary vegetables.
In order not to let Tobirama discover the existence of his space ring, Torifū had to live on soldier pills for several days in a row.
This kind of pain was truly unspeakable, and he secretly made a decision that he must study space-time ninjutsu well when he returned this time.
This way, he could say that he had developed a new technique that could store objects, and it wouldn't arouse suspicion.
After eating, Torifū offered to help Mifune clean up, but was refused because he was a guest.
Torifū waved his hand; it was naturally better not to have to work.
The sky gradually darkened, and for the only bed in the house, Mifune chose to give it to Tobirama and Torifū, and chose to sleep on the floor himself.
Tobirama signaled Torifū to sleep on the bed, and after Torifū declined for a long time without success, he chose to give up.
And just like that, the night passed.
The next morning, when Mifune woke up, he found that there was no one in the house except himself.
He stood up in a fluster: "Where are they!"
Then Mifune saw a brand new samurai sword on the table! The morning sun shone on the blade, reflecting bursts of cold light.
"What a good sword!" Mifune was immediately attracted by it and started gesturing with it in his hand.
"The weight is also just right!"
Attracted by the good sword, Mifune temporarily forgot about the disappearance of the two travelers yesterday.
Then he reacted, and after careful consideration, he felt that the identities of the two should be very unusual.
They were definitely not just travelers.
He only let them stay for one night, and they left such a good sword.
Speaking of which, this was still the first sword in his life.
In addition to this sword, there was also a dark blue cloth bag on the table. Mifune opened it and found that it was a bag full of money.
There was also a small note on top. Upon seeing this, Mifune immediately put the sword and money bag on the table and opened the note.
'Persist in your path, and keep walking forward.'
This short sentence greatly encouraged Mifune. This was the first person besides the villagers to support him.
"If we meet again in the future, as long as you don't become an enemy of the Land of Iron, we will be friends forever."
It was just that in this vast world, how easy was it to meet again?
At this time, Tobirama and Torifū had already arrived at the port village of the Land of Iron, from where they could take a boat directly to the Land of Hot Water.
And the samurai sword and money bag in Mifune's house were naturally left by Torifū.
Tobirama didn't have that kind of thought; after all, to him, Mifune was just a child, and whether he could grow up was another matter.
But Torifū was different; he knew what kind of achievements Mifune would achieve in the future!
Mifune at this stage was still in the early stages of enlightenment, and Torifū's behavior could be regarded as a sponsorship.
More or less, it could be considered leaving a good impression.
This port village was different from Mifune's village; it belonged to a more prosperous area of the Land of Iron.
The population was obviously larger, and there were no cases where everyone was old, weak, women, and children.
After accepting a simple interrogation, the guards at the village entrance let them go; after all, there were many people who came here to take a boat every day.
It was truly a waste of time to check each one carefully.
The first thing to do after entering the village was to gather information. Tobirama inquired from an old man selling fish.
There were samurai in this village, protecting the safety of the village.
And the ship to the Land of Hot Water would not set sail until the afternoon, so the two could only wait a little longer.
So Torifū suggested finding a small restaurant to fill their stomachs first.
Tobirama naturally had no objections, but he found that Torifū really didn't like to eat soldier pills.
But it didn't matter; even he himself couldn't stand the taste of soldier pills.
It could only be said that they were barely edible.
During the time waiting for the dishes to be served, Tobirama discussed with Torifū how to quickly take down and seal the Six-Tails.
But in the end, it was just an idea; the real battle was ever-changing, and it couldn't be planned in advance.
The two could only analyze the abilities of the Six-Tails and take corresponding countermeasures.
At this time, Torifū also explained to Tobirama that he had developed a new Kekkei Genkai—Ice Release.
He believed that Ice Release should be able to come in handy in this battle.
"Ice Release? Is it the same Ice Release as the Yuki clan?"
Torifū shook his head, indicating that he didn't know, but he picked up a cup and poured a glass of wine.
His finger lightly touched the wine glass, and the wine glass slowly began to emit white vapor.
The wine in the cup had already frozen into ice.