From the crystals, they could see the bonfire in the central plaza and Torifu standing on the high platform. "Good evening, everyone. The bonfire festival officially begins tonight. I hope you all have a wonderful night!"
With a wave of Torifu's hand, a crane-like flame flew from his palm and landed in the bonfire pile! The oil that had been poured on the wood immediately ignited upon contact with the flame! In an instant, the flames shot into the sky! But the villagers were amazed to find that the crane-shaped flame didn't disappear. Instead, it continued to fly around the bonfire! Looking at the blazing bonfire, all the villagers let out a loud cheer! It was as if all the bad emotions from the past few days were being burned away by the flames!
The bonfire was lit, and Torifu came down from the high platform, ready to go and find his friends. After all, a festival was meant to be enjoyed with friends. He had already located them when he was on the stage, so Torifu walked straight in that direction. Weaving through the crowded streets, Torifu finally found them.
"Sensei, Lady Mito-sama, Tobirama-sama, Naori, you're all here."
Naori walked up and took Torifu's arm. "Of course! It's so lively, we definitely had to come together!"
Hashirama put his hands on his hips. "Hahahaha, Naori's right. It's rare for Konoha to be so lively. We had to come back!"
Mito also held onto Hashirama's arm. "It's a good thing we've lived for so long. We get to see Konoha so prosperous and lively. Back in our day, we had nothing. There was no such thing as a bonfire festival. We didn't even have the concept of it."
Naori smiled sweetly. "Mito-sama, you and Sensei can just look forward to a good life from now on. Konoha will definitely get better and better."
Hashirama laughed heartily and nodded. "Naori's right. I'm more and more looking forward to Konoha's future."
"By the way, where did Tsunade run off to? I haven't seen her since we got here." Hashirama asked.
Mito pointed to the right, not far away. "Look, she's right there."
Hashirama looked in the direction Mito pointed and saw Tsunade talking to a blue-haired boy. They both seemed a little shy.
"Oh, it's that boy, Dan. Well, that's fine. Let the two young people go and have their fun. We old folks can have our own little sweet moment."
When Mito heard what Hashirama said, she was a little surprised. "Didn't you used to disapprove of Tsunade and Dan? How come now you've changed your mind?"
Hashirama waved his hand. "That was just for show. How could I dislike a good kid like Dan?"
But as soon as Hashirama said that, he saw Dan kiss Tsunade on the forehead! It was as if a switch had been flipped inside Hashirama! He immediately rolled up his sleeves and walked toward them!
When Mito saw this, she immediately held him back. "You silly old man! What are you doing?! Are you trying to ruin Tsunade's love life?!"
"What love life?! They just met! And they're already getting all mushy! This is unacceptable! I need to go and teach that kid a lesson!"
Hashirama was very strong, but Mito was no pushover. She pulled him back. "You behave yourself! They've known each other for four years! What's wrong with a kiss on the forehead?!"
"I...I just...!" Hashirama was speechless after Mito's question. That's right, Tsunade and Dan had known each other for a long time. He had always thought they had just met.
"Sigh, fine. Let's go walk over there." Mito rolled her eyes at him, then took Hashirama's arm again. "You should mind your own business when it comes to young people. Just live your own life. You still have thirty-something years left to live. You might even be able to hold your great-grandson by then."
"Fine, fine, I won't interfere. Let them do as they please."
Mito snorted. "You better not." Then, the old couple walked toward the food stalls on the main street. Mito always cooked at home and rarely had a chance to eat outside food. Today was a good chance for her to try some new things, and maybe even learn a few tricks.
Meanwhile, Torifu and Naori, who had just watched the big show, also began to stroll around. The fire crane in the bonfire flew tirelessly, adding a touch of life to the already vibrant flames. Countless people took out their phones to take pictures. Torifu and Naori were, of course, no exception. The two of them posed and had a passerby take a picture for them. They didn't know when they would see a bonfire like this again, so taking a picture was very meaningful.
"How does it look?" Naori took the phone and looked at it.
"It's great! It captured the fire crane perfectly! I love it!"
"I'm glad you do. Let's keep walking."
Everyone was doing their own thing and not crowding around Torifu, which was a good thing for him since he didn't have to use his Concealment Technique.
"Have you had dinner yet? If not, how about I take you to get some ramen?"
"That's a great idea. I was saving room for something good tonight."
Torifu smiled when he heard that and led Naori toward Teuchi's stall. But when they got there, they saw that the line at Teuchi's ramen stall was very long. They would have to wait a long time to get some ramen. The two of them ultimately decided to give up and find something else to eat.
"What about Kagami and the others? Did they all come?"
"Yes, my brother and sister-in-law brought Aihana. My nephew is still too young, so they didn't bring him. My father is watching him."
Torifu nodded. Naori's little nephew should be three years old now, and Aihana was nine, around the same age as Kushina. She had good ninja talent and was still in school. The two of them walked and ate some snacks they had never tried before. They felt very happy. It wasn't just them. Every villager here had a smile on their face. Every street was filled with laughter.
"Isn't that Hokage-sama? And Naori. I can't believe I actually ran into you."
"Kosuke, what a coincidence. I just ran into Shinku, and now I've run into you."
Kosuke scratched his head. "You saw Shinku? I was just saying I wanted to find him, but he didn't answer his phone. I've been looking for a while and couldn't find him, so I just decided to walk around by myself."
Just as the two of them were talking, Naori pointed in one direction. "Isn't he right there?"
Kosuke and Torifu looked in that direction and saw that it was indeed Shinku. Kosuke was about to run over, but Torifu grabbed him. Naori saw this and found the scene very familiar.
"Didn't you see that there's someone in front of Shinku? Don't ruin his good thing!" When Kosuke heard Torifu's words, he looked again and indeed saw a girl in a floral dress talking to Shinku. Her face was full of smiles, and Shinku's face was also a little red. He looked very shy.
Kosuke touched his chin after seeing this. "Alright, alright. So this is what you're doing, huh? Pulling off something big without a word!"