[T/N: I guess this chapter was released on Lunar New Year]
"Happy New Year, Hokage-sama!"
"Happy New Year, Hokage-sama! Naori-sama! And Minato-sama!"
"Konan-sama is here too, Happy New Year!"
The villagers greeted them with great enthusiasm, and more and more people gathered.
"Happy New Year, everyone. Did you see the lanterns on Central Street? What did you think?" Torifu asked with a smile.
"Huh? Torifu-sama, are you talking about that dragon! I've already seen it, it was so breathtaking!"
"Really? I haven't seen it yet! By the way, Hokage-sama, would you like to go together?"
Some young girls chattered animatedly, their faces beaming with smiles. They were clearly very happy today, having never experienced such a festival before.
And soon they might even get to see the Hokage-sama fight a monster! Their anticipation grew even stronger.
The girls' discussion was a bit loud, but Torifu didn't find it noisy. He said with a chuckle, "We haven't been there yet either. Let's go, we'll all go together."
"Yay!"
A few bolder girls wanted to take a picture with Naori and Akihara. It wasn't a big deal, so Naori happily agreed.
Afterward, along the rest of the path, these little girls were very energetic, about the same age as Konan and Yahiko.
So they quickly became friends with them. Later, two little girls walked hand-in-hand with Konan, strolling through the streets.
Making friends was a good thing, and these children were all shinobi. Perhaps in the future, they might even become teammates.
When their large group finally reached the main street, they found it was already packed with people.
Everyone had different expressions on their faces—surprise, joy, astonishment—all seemingly evoked by the giant dragon-shaped lantern before them.
"It's so beautiful, it wasn't nearly this pretty during the day!"
"My dad helped set it up today. This beautiful lantern, my dad also played a part in it."
Many villagers stopped on the main street to admire the giant lantern.
Just watching it from a distance was incredibly impressive.
The dragon's massive mouth and sharp claws looked incredibly realistic, as if it were a real divine dragon, not just a lantern.
Seeing more and more people gathering on the street, Torifu sent a telepathic message, "Villagers, while enjoying the festival and admiring the lanterns, please pay close attention to the people around you. Make sure there are no thefts or stampedes. Such a wonderful festival shouldn't end in tragedy."
With Torifu's reminder, the villagers immediately reacted. Some who had been admiring the main street for a long time actively left, heading to other streets to see smaller lanterns.
This immediately made the main street much wider and easier to navigate.
"Alright, if anyone has something they want to do or see, go ahead and do it individually. No need to stay together. It's New Year's Day, everyone have fun."
"Yay!"
Konan and Yahiko were the first to leave, running off quickly with the group of little girls, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Minato, meanwhile, walked while calling Kushina, and after confirming she was also out, he left the group to go hang out with her.
In the end, only Amado, the third wheel, remained.
After walking for five minutes, Amado still acted as if nothing was amiss, his hands clasped behind his head as he gazed around.
Torifu turned to him helplessly. "My dear brother, why don't you go wander around?"
Amado chuckled. "I don't like wandering around. I'll just walk with you all. Otherwise, I wouldn't know where to go."
Torifu covered his face. "Go find a partner, you're almost thirty in a blink of an eye. Oyashirō En and Dan next door are already married, it's just you left. Hurry up!"
Amado scratched his head. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that there's no suitable person. I can't just pick someone off the street to marry, can I? Honestly."
Every year it was the same excuse, and Torifu wasn't falling for it anymore. "I don't care, you go out and wander around quickly, see if you can meet your destined maiden. Even a dull person like Shinku has gotten married, you hurry up!"
Torifu's barrage of words really caught Amado off guard.
"Alright, alright, I'll go, just stop lecturing me!"
Watching Amado flee in embarrassment, Torifu couldn't help but sigh, realizing he had become the very person he hated most.
In his previous life, shortly after graduating, his family had pressured him to marry. Now that he was married, it was time to pass that pressure on to someone else!
Naori, holding Akihara, was thoroughly amused by Torifu, laughing heartily. "Why bother him so much? Marriage is something that only works when you meet the right person."
"If he gets tricked by a bad woman, then you'll have something to cry about."
Torifu waved his hand. "He's so smart, how could anyone trick him? Don't worry too much about him."
Amado always stayed cooped up at home, which wasn't a solution. Torifu had previously thought it was because he assigned him too many tasks, leaving him no energy.
Later, he found that even when Torifu didn't give him tasks and allowed him to relax completely, Amado still stayed at home.
There was nothing else to do, so Torifu had to resort to this. Back then, Shinku had met his current wife on the streets during a festival.
Now the two were very happy.
Shinku was far duller than Amado, so if even Shinku could find a partner, Torifu didn't believe Amado couldn't.
"Let him go out and experience things for himself, otherwise, he might end up a bachelor for life."
Naori felt that Torifu's words made sense, so she didn't say anything further.
The two walked together towards the dragon-shaped lantern, surrounded by villagers coming and going in an endless stream.
The entire Konoha village was bustling with excitement, but Torifu had no plans to activate the holographic projection at this time.
First, let the villagers enjoy the festive atmosphere, then let the Nian Beast appear. That would surely bring the atmosphere to a climax.
After that, they would battle wits and might with the Nian Beast, successfully defeating it.
This way, Konoha's first Lunar New Year would officially conclude.
"By the way, Torifu, do you think that monster will come?"
Naori was also curious. As the wife of a Kumotsuru Clan member, she had naturally read ancient texts, but only one or two.
So she didn't know that this monster was made up by Torifu, and genuinely believed it was a monster the Kumotsuru Clan ancestors had fought.
She was therefore very interested and wanted to see it.