Sarutobi Hiruzen had apparently been involved with Biwako for a long time; nearly forty years had passed in a flash.
"Haha, you're exaggerating a bit. Big Sister Biwako has never complained."
"You're right, she never complained. But when I saw her unconscious that day, my heart was deeply unsettled." His wife was nearly killed, and he was powerless to stop it. If it hadn't been for Torifu, Biwako would certainly be dead by now. This was one of the many reasons why he trusted Torifu so completely. Otherwise, he, the Third Hokage, wouldn't have so readily believed him and come to this alternate world. He wasn't that foolish.
When the two returned to the Kumotsuru Clan compound, it was time for dinner. Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally joined them for a meal. During the meal, Torifu introduced his family members to Sarutobi Hiruzen one by one. There were many names he had never heard of, such as Amado, Konan, and Anka—Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't recognize a single one. However, after the introductions, he had a preliminary understanding of everyone. Torifu didn't care whether Sarutobi Hiruzen recognized them or not; he introduced them all anyway so Hiruzen would have a basic memory of them.
"Hokage Hiruzen, please make do with staying here for a few nights. I will do my best to host you."
Sarutobi Hiruzen repeatedly expressed his thanks: "Thank you, Hokage Torifu. Not only did you escort me all this way, but you also showed me so much of Konoha Village's culture. I truly feel embarrassed."
Torifu waved his hand with a smile: "This is nothing. Didn't you also host us when I visited Konoha Village? It's only fair."
Torifu speaking of this made Sarutobi Hiruzen feel even more embarrassed. He had arranged for Torifu and the others to stay in a remote little inn and had delayed his visit the next day for a long time. In contrast, Torifu's hospitality was sincere, which made Sarutobi Hiruzen very ashamed.
"Alright, Hokage Hiruzen, let's set off tomorrow."
"Good!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't sleep well all night. The thought of facing his alternate self felt quite fantastical. He wasn't quite sure what the person from this world was like. He could only observe slowly and wait for a good day to leave and return to his own world.
After concluding his discussions with Sarutobi Hiruzen, Torifu finally carved out some time to discuss the situation in the other world with Konan and Kushina.
"Konan, come here."
Konan, who was training in the courtyard, was called over by Torifu.
"How have you been feeling these past few days?"
Konan smiled faintly: "Quite alright. It's just that Amado Uncle is a bit picky about food; otherwise, I don't worry about anything else."
Anka would deal with Amado's pickiness. His greedy nature was nothing to worry about.
"What about the rest? Do you have any worries you want to tell your Master?"
Konan thought for a moment: "I don't have any worries, except for not being able to go to the alternate world."
Torifu laughed, rubbing Konan's head, and quietly told her: "Actually, once you go, you won't want to go again. So, to keep your sense of novelty, it's best to go later."
"Huh?" Konan was a little confused. Why would she not want to go again after just one visit?
"The Konoha Village over there is very rudimentary, lacking money, and constantly ganged up on, forced to participate in various wars, resulting in a large number of orphans and widows in the village."
"This..." Konan had never imagined that the alternate world's Konoha Village would be like this. Then she asked urgently: "Well, do they have any new appliances or anything that we don't have?"
Torifu shook his head at this: "Nothing at all. They only have some refrigerators and electric lights. Air conditioning is a huge luxury."
Ah, this instantly dampened Konan's enthusiasm. They had nothing new. These were all products that Konoha had developed ages ago. The fact that they were only researching them now showed how slow their technological development was.
"Is there really no advantage at all?"
Torifu thought about it. If there were absolutely no advantages, the village wouldn't be able to continue developing.
"Of course there are, but they're all subtle. I can't quite put my finger on them right now. You'll have to explore for yourself when you go."
Konan felt very aggrieved upon hearing this. If you made it sound so bad, why would I bother going? It would be so boring.
"Then, Master, when can I go to the alternate world?"
Torifu initially didn't want Konan to go, fearing that Jiraiya in Konoha Village might see her distinctive jutsu. However, Sarutobi Hiruzen said that Jiraiya had left several years ago and hadn't returned, so Konan could essentially go whenever she wanted.
"Next time. Minato will go with you."
Torifu estimated that after Sarutobi Hiruzen returned, he would start discussions with the higher-ups. The first thing Torifu wanted to accomplish was to allow the ninja to go for practical experience. Otherwise, the current ninja's strength would continue to drop drastically. Half of the children in a class were excellent, while the other half were mediocre. And even the excellent children were nothing compared to previous graduating ninja. Their strength, reaction speed, and reconnaissance abilities were all severely lacking.
This was a classic case of "Ninja on Paper." They understood all the knowledge learned in the academy, but they failed when it came to real combat. This situation was happening more and more often, and Torifu had been trying to find a solution, but there seemed to be no way. The ninja world had become too peaceful. Rogue ninja, bandits, and renegades were virtually gone. Yet the number of ninja kept growing, meaning fewer missions were available. Ninja's incomes dropped, causing many to switch to various other professions. Since it was peaceful now, the utility of ninja had diminished significantly.
That was why Torifu came up with this plan: to have Konoha Village's ninja take missions in the other Konoha Village. This way, they could both train their strength and earn money. It was a win-win situation. If this could be achieved, Konoha Village would not have to worry about the practical experience of its ninja for at least two or three generations. As for further in the future, they could worry about that when the time came.
Konan, having learned about the alternate world's situation, clearly wasn't too keen on going, but there was no choice—her Master's orders had to be followed.
"Alright, I'll go with Big Brother Minato to complete the mission. Will we need to bring anyone back this time?"
That was a good question. Torifu was also considering: who should they bring back this time?