"Torifū, come and see if this one is suitable."
Mamiko specifically chose a hen that had been raised for several years and had hatched several broods of chicks, making her very experienced in hatching eggs.
Torifū wasn't picky; after all, he didn't understand these things, as long as it could hatch eggs.
Carrying the hen in his hand, he thanked Mamiko and went home.
Arriving at the clan grounds, Torifū found an empty room, spread some straw, and placed the crane egg on top.
Then he threw the chicken in as well.
The old hen was a little unaccustomed to the new environment and kept clucking nonstop in the room.
Torifū simply ignored it and turned to leave.
The crane egg's shell was very hard and wouldn't break even if it fell from the table, so there was no need to worry about it being pecked at by the hen.
After busying himself for so long, the lunch Torifū bought on the way had gone cold, and he was too lazy to go out and buy a new one, so he had to make do with it.
A week later, it was time to set off on the mission.
Before leaving, Torifū checked the condition of the crane egg, but it remained the same as it had been a week ago, with no changes.
Perhaps when Torifū returned from this mission, there would be a surprise.
Torifū arrived at the Hokage's office and ran into Hiruzen and the others who had just come out.
Hiruzen was still complaining to the middle-aged ninja beside him.
Torifū thought that this should be Sasuke Sarutobi, the current head of the Sarutobi clan, a very powerful ninja.
This time, the Sarutobi clan dispatched a large number of ninjas for the Tailed Beast capture operation to ensure the mission was foolproof.
Whether it was the Sarutobi clan, every family that accepted the Tailed Beast capture mission was the same.
Tailed Beasts were powerful, and it was easy for accidents to happen with just one or two ninjas.
This was the first collective mission since the founding of Konoha Village, and any family that messed up at this time would definitely be ridiculed by the other families.
The Sarutobi clan was responsible for capturing the Eight-Tails, the Uchiha clan for the Seven-Tails, the Senju clan for the Six-Tails, the Hyuga clan for the Two-Tails, and the Aburame clan for capturing the One-Tail.
The Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans jointly captured the Three-Tails.
As for Hashirama himself, he sent out wood clones to capture the Four-Tails and Five-Tails, so that all the Tailed Beasts would belong to Konoha.
Each team had a wood clone of Hashirama, mainly for sealing the Tailed Beasts, and would not participate in the battle.
This was an action to create cohesion and a sense of belonging among the Konoha clans, so Hashirama handed it over to the major families.
Otherwise, with just those few Tailed Beasts, sending a few wood clones would have been enough.
"Sasuke-sama, Hiruzen, Danzo, and Big Brother Torifū Akimichi, are you going on a mission?"
Sasuke certainly recognized Torifū; after all, this was the Hokage's disciple, and his strength was said to be even stronger than his own son.
Although his little monkey at home always refused to admit it.
"You're Kumotsuru Torifū, right? That's right, we're about to set off to capture the Eight-Tails," Sasuke said with a smile.
He seemed like a very easygoing person and should be easy to get along with.
"I wish Sasuke-sama all the best, and I'm going to report for duty now."
Sasuke heard this and thought that this kid was also going to participate in the Tailed Beast capture? Then he thought that there was nothing strange about it.
After all, he had the strength, and it was good to go out and gain experience. Back then, he had also gained his skills by fighting in the ninja world.
Then he patted Torifū on the shoulder to show his approval.
After watching Sasuke leave, Torifū knocked on the door and entered the Hokage's office.
Tobirama was already waiting here. Besides him and Torifū, there was no one else for the Six-Tails capture operation.
Torifū was not surprised by this. He knew Tobirama's strength, and the place where the Six-Tails lived was very humid and watery.
It was simply Tobirama's home field.
"Torifū, you've come," Hashirama said with a smile.
"Yes, Sensei."
Then he asked Tobirama: "Tobirama-sama, when will we set off? The other families have already begun to move."
Tobirama nodded: "Let's go now, but this operation must be kept secret. Don't be too public and attract the attention of other villages."
But it might not be possible to hide it. So many ninjas had disappeared from the village at once, including the heads of the major families.
It was obvious that there was a big operation, so they could only fight quickly and finish the capture of the Tailed Beasts before other villages received the news.
Hashirama took out a piece of pure white square jade from his chest, which was the gift that Torifū had given to Hashirama as the Old Kumotsuru Ancestor that day.
"Take it, Tobirama."
"Brother, what is this?" Tobirama asked doubtfully; he didn't understand why his brother wanted to give him a piece of white jade.
"This is a sealing technique that can easily seal the Tailed Beasts. There are no weaknesses, and external forces can hardly break it, not even me."
????
Tobirama now felt that his brother seemed to be sleepwalking and still dreaming. What sealing technique was so powerful?
Even his sister-in-law's sealing technique from the Uzumaki clan would have weaknesses when sealing Tailed Beasts.
"This matter is too complicated; we'll talk about it when you come back."
Tobirama took the white jade with some suspicion and put it in his arms: "Then we'll set off, Brother."
Hashirama waved his hand, still with a gentle smile on his face: "Go, don't get hurt."
Tobirama also smiled; it was just a Tailed Beast, it couldn't hurt him.
Then he left the office with Torifū.
"I hope they can all be a little more peaceful..." Hashirama murmured.
Although he didn't want to start another war in the world, capturing the Tailed Beasts was imperative for Konoha's long-term stability.
The words of the Old Kumotsuru Ancestor that day, he thought about it and felt that it made sense. Strength still had to be in his own hands, so that others would fear you.
Hashirama hoped that the major ninja villages would give him face and turn a blind eye to Konoha's actions.
Otherwise...
"Tobirama-sama, where is the Six-Tails?"
Torifū really didn't know the answer to this question. The anime didn't mention which country the Six-Tails lived in before it was captured.
"In the Land of Hot Water; the Six-Tails lives in an underground cave in the Land of Hot Water."
"Brother had the idea of capturing the Tailed Beasts a long time ago, so he has already investigated."
Land of Hot Water? Didn't that mean there were many hot springs? The Land of Hot Water in later generations was known for its tourism industry, on a small, secluded island.
Because of its remote location and small land area, the major countries were not interested in occupying it.
Over time, people became accustomed to peaceful life, and even ninjas were no longer needed.
But that was after all in later generations.
Now Torifū only hoped that the ninjas of Takigakure Village would not be asking for trouble; after all, they were only here to capture the Tailed Beasts and had no intention of being enemies with the Taki ninjas.
"Tobirama-sama, what is the strength of the ninjas in Takigakure Village?"
Tobirama gave the answer without much thought.
"There are no particularly famous ninjas, and the overall strength is weak."