"Torifū, I'm so glad you're okay!"
Naori's eyes were filled with tears. If something had truly happened to Torifū, not only would the village condemn her, but she herself would never be able to forgive it.
Torifū fully emerged from the mirror, landing steadily on the ground as the crystalline reflection above him shattered into countless fragments before disappearing.
He walked up to Naori and reassured her, "Don't cry. See? I'm perfectly fine."
Naori quickly wiped her eyes, a faint blush appearing on her face. "Who's crying? The smoke just got in my eyes."
Torifū smiled calmly, not teasing her further. He wasn't particularly surprised about the attack earlier.
From the start, he had sensed something off about this place—an unshakable unease. That was why he had remained cautious all along.
He hadn't expected someone to actually dare make a move within the village.
Naori had also regained her composure. The enemy was likely still lurking in the shadows, waiting for another chance to strike. Now was not the time for idle chatter.
Activating her Sharingan, she scanned the surrounding forest, checking every possible hiding spot—but found nothing.
Torifū patted her shoulder. "Relax, Naori. That guy is already gone."
Indeed, he was certain of it. The unsettling sensation that had loomed over him had completely disappeared.
Naori turned to look at Torifū. Seeing his calm expression, she believed him and finally let go of her tension.
Thinking it over, it made sense. Who would joke about something like this?
"This is my fault. If I hadn't insisted on sparring, none of this would've happened…"
Naori blamed herself. If not for Torifū's powerful jutsu, he could have been dead by now.
"This isn't on you. Someone wanted me dead. Even if you hadn't invited me to spar, they would've found another place to ambush me."
Hearing his words, Naori felt a little better, but she was still furious—not only had someone tried to assassinate Torifū, but they had also ruined their match.
She had already understood the gap between them, but that didn't make her any less angry.
"Torifū, do you know who was behind this?"
Naori had her own suspicions, but she wanted to confirm if they aligned with Torifū's thoughts.
Torifū shrugged helplessly. "Uchiha Setsuna. Who else could it be?"
"His little brother is on the verge of death. Naturally, he wants to take it out on me."
Naori had suspected as much. She had previously warned Torifū to be wary of Uchiha Setsuna, but she hadn't expected him to make a move so soon—and only through cowardly ambushes!
Gritting her teeth, Naori's anger flared. "That damn Setsuna! A sneak attack meant to kill in one strike, and we don't even have evidence!"
"Don't worry. This won't be the last time. When he sees me alive and well tomorrow, he'll make another move."
Naori nodded. As someone from the Uchiha clan, she understood their nature better than anyone.
And a radical like Setsuna was especially ruthless and vengeful.
"I'll tell my brother about this tonight so he can be on guard against Setsuna too."
Torifū thought for a moment. He didn't believe Uchiha Kagami would have trouble dealing with Setsuna. While Setsuna was strong and talented, he still fell short compared to Kagami.
However, Naori's concern for her brother was understandable. Since this was a matter between siblings, Torifū didn't see the need to act like he knew better and interfere.
As the lights of Konoha dimmed further, Torifū reminded her, "We should head back now. It'll be troublesome once it gets completely dark."
Naori nodded. While the darkness didn't affect her Sharingan, it would be more inconvenient for Torifū. She didn't mind walking him home.
Lost in thought, she suddenly found herself spacing out.
Noticing her absent-mindedness, Torifū waved a hand in front of her face, but she didn't react.
Finally, he patted her shoulder, snapping her back to reality.
"What were you thinking about so seriously?" he teased.
Naori's face instantly flushed red. She stammered, "Nothing! Let's hurry down the mountain!"
With that, she turned and bolted ahead, leaving Torifū bewildered.
On the way down, Naori kept trying to calm herself. Tonight had been a disaster—she had lost her composure far too many times!
Her steps grew faster and faster. Torifū had no choice but to speed up as well, and the two of them made their way back to the village together.
"Torifū, I'm heading home now. Be careful on your way back."
"Yeah, see you. Don't worry, this is the village. It's safe."
After bidding farewell, they parted ways.
Once Naori was gone, Torifū's expression darkened.
Being ambushed had thoroughly pissed him off.
All he wanted was a peaceful life in Konoha, enjoying this different world.
But there always had to be some fool stepping up to ruin it!
"Man, sometimes you don't provoke anyone, but they still come looking for trouble."
He sighed and shook his head, making his way home. By now, most of the village had fallen into darkness, with only a few houses still lit.
Upon arriving home, Torifū stripped off his clothes, now covered in dust from the battle.
His white hair, illuminated under the dim light, looked slightly gray.
"Guess I should take a bath."
After drawing the water, he sank into the tub.
Even though the battle had been effortless, he still felt a bit tired.
Soaking in the warm water helped him relax—but the thought of tomorrow's training with his master left a bitter taste in his mouth.
There was no helping it—Hashirama's training was just too brutal.
But it wasn't that the Hashirama was being overly harsh. It was simply that he had little left to teach Torifū when it came to ninjutsu.
To ensure his disciple developed both ninjutsu and taijutsu evenly, he had no choice but to push him hard in taijutsu training.
Torifū submerged his mouth into the water and blew bubbles, using the childish act to lighten his mood.
In his previous life, whenever he was in a bad mood, he would do the same.
[Ding—Chaos Event Triggered: Due to Uchiha Kyō's near-fatal condition from sparring with the host, Uchiha Setsuna is determined to seek revenge for his brother.]
"What the hell?!"
Torifū, still blowing bubbles, shouted in frustration—only to release a massive bubble underwater and end up choking himself.
"Cough cough! Cough—"
Tonight just wasn't his night.
Ambushed, then nearly drowned by his own stupidity.
But there was a silver lining.
He had been worried about his Peace Points running low, and now someone was willingly delivering themselves to him.
He wasn't sure why Setsuna's grudge against him counted as a Chaos Event—perhaps because he was the Hokage's disciple?
Regardless, Uchiha Setsuna wouldn't be an easy opponent.
Unlike that Cloud ninja from before, Setsuna was a true elite of the Uchiha.
Torifū smirked.
"Since this brother-obsessed fool is coming to me himself, I'll be sure to send him on his way!"