During the meal, Torifu occasionally helped Naori with some food. He only picked out the things Naori liked; that was their mutual understanding—they didn't need to ask to know each other's preferences. Therefore, a calm, steady love like theirs, one that flowed like a quiet stream, wasn't necessarily a bad thing. While a dramatic, passionate love was certainly nice, it simply wasn't suited for Torifu and Naori.
The conversation flowed back and forth across the dinner table, and the dishes gradually diminished. Once Torifu ate the last slice of meat, the gathering for the day was completely over.
"Naori, shall I take you somewhere tonight?"
Naori was immediately intrigued. The places Torifu took her were either delicious restaurants or interesting spots.
"That sounds great. Can you give me a hint? What are we going to do?"
Torifu shook his head when he heard this. "Of course, I can't tell you. You'll find out tonight."
"Fine then. Are we going together tonight? Or... are you going to sneak off this afternoon to set something up?"
Having his plan unexpectedly exposed by Naori left Torifu flustered. He scratched his head and tried to change the subject. "Uh, let's not talk about that for now. We've finished eating, so should we just head home?"
Seeing Torifu's reaction, Naori knew she had guessed correctly. However, she didn't press the issue further. A surprise was only truly a surprise when it was unknown. If she knew in advance, she wouldn't get that wonderful rush of feeling in the moment.
"Alright, let's go home."
Torifu and Naori waved goodbye to the Elders. "Master, Mistress, we're leaving. Please remember to go out and look at the streets tonight after dark. The whole Konoha will be able to see it."
Mito and Hashirama nodded, their faces full of smiles. "Sounds good. Your Master and I will go see. You can give us a heads-up so we don't interrupt you two playing at romance." They didn't know what kind of stunt their student was pulling this time, but since they were invited, it was sure to be interesting.
Torifu's face was flushed, but he laughed nonetheless. "Yes, yes, definitely."
He and Naori then left the Senju Clan compound.
The two activated the Concealment Jutsu and strolled along the street. Naori seized the opportunity to ask, "At lunch, I overheard you and Ashina-sama talking about something in the courtyard. I couldn't hear clearly, but I thought I heard something about the Land of Whirlpools scamming the Land of Water."
"What was that about?"
This wasn't a secret, so Torifu naturally told Naori everything, only asking her not to repeat it. He recounted the whole affair between the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Water clearly and thoroughly, which astonished Naori.
In her mind, the Third Prince who inherited the title of Daimyō and Clan Head was a relatively upright person. At the banquet back then, he was the first to expose the truth about Rain. How could he have changed so much in just a few years? To dare to deceive a Great Ninja Village like Kirigakure in the Land of Water was truly reckless and arrogant. Even the usually calm and collected Naori was a little upset.
"What is the Land of Water's attitude now? Are they going to seek revenge on the Land of Whirlpools?"
Torifu shook his head. "I managed to quell their anger. It only cost a small amount of money."
Naori felt relieved. Spending a little money was no big deal. It would be terrible if a war broke out, especially since the Ninja World had only been stable for a few months. Naori didn't want to see any more villagers die.
Then, she suddenly remembered something and grabbed Torifu's hand. "What about the Seventh Prince? You told Ashina-sama about this. Is he going to punish the Seventh Prince?"
The mention of this actually made Torifu laugh with exasperation. Even he hadn't known the Seventh Prince had secretly slipped away early that morning. He probably knew Torifu would be negotiating with the Kage and was afraid the Mizukage would cause trouble, so he fled.
When he told Naori this, she was left speechless once again.
"I helped the Seventh Prince back then. Why didn't I notice he was such a person? He just vanished into thin air."
It didn't really have anything to do with Naori; people's hearts and characters change easily. Back then, they were all still princes vying for the position of Daimyō and Clan Head, so they naturally had to appear exceptional. No wonder Ashina hadn't been particularly fond of the Seventh Prince back then.
They were still calling him the Seventh Prince simply out of habit; Torifu didn't feel like changing. If he were to be addressed properly, he should be called a Prince, but Torifu couldn't remember and didn't bother to try.
"In that case, Kushina must be very disappointed. Her father hadn't visited in four years, and he slipped away after only a few days here."
Torifu shook his head. "Not necessarily. Kushina doesn't have much affection for her father. Her only family now is Ashina-sama, which is why I gave Ashina-sama the life-prolonging fruit. I couldn't bear to see Kushina utterly alone."
Torifu had experienced living alone early in life, and it wasn't pleasant. Kushina was destined to start a family with Minato in the future, and Torifu couldn't let her childhood be so tragic. Naori sighed as well. Sometimes, having a father was worse than having none. She had heard that the Seventh Prince's wife had already given birth to a son, so he naturally cared even less about Kushina.
Speaking of which, Naori hadn't yet asked Torifu if he preferred a boy or a girl. They would definitely have children of their own in the future. Did Torifu lean toward a boy or a girl?
Naori analyzed it in her mind for a long time, practically dissecting Torifu's past behavior, but she came to no conclusion. So, she simply asked him directly.
"Torifu, if we have a baby in the future, would you prefer a boy or a girl?"
Torifu thought for a moment. "Emmm... I personally like girls, but the clan needs a boy for continuation. A thousand-year-old clan shouldn't end with me."
"But a girl can actually inherit the clan, too... We can just have the husband marry into the family later." Torifu seemed to be genuinely starting to consider his nonexistent daughter seriously.
Hearing Torifu's words, Naori knew that he wasn't overly concerned about the gender. Naori, being the little princess of the Uchiha Clan, had always lived in luxury and hadn't been influenced by any thoughts of male superiority over females. Naturally, she wasn't too concerned about the gender either.
However, Naori actually wanted a boy.
But perhaps this conversation was a bit premature; they had only been married for one day. Unconsciously, Torifu and Naori had already arrived back at the Kumotsuru compound. The mundane topics they discussed on the way naturally vanished into thin air once they got home.