Act Two: Ribbon Cutting
With the matter resolved, everyone went about their own business.
They have to host the Daimyo and foreign Delegations these few days, so they don't have much time to waste.
Izuna Netsuke around his waist, the Black Peach Wood Crow clinging to his belt, swaying gently with each step he took.
Back at the Production Crew Rehearsal Ground, before he could even speak, the guys who had just witnessed him being carried out by Madara with red eyes surrounded him.
"Lord Izuna! Are you alright? What happened just now?"
"Why is Lord Madara carrying you towards the Sealing Tower? What happened?"
"Hey, aren't your eyes still a little red...?"
Izuna was speechless.
You can't exactly say she cried like that because she couldn't bear to part with a small toy, can you?
I didn't cry like this when I was being stretched and pounded at the gym in my past life. It's really embarrassing for me to cry like an 800-pound kid now.
He waved his hand, his expression calm and composed, his tone resolute. "It's nothing. Everyone go back to what you were doing. It was an accident, you know, an accident."
Everyone looked at each other, but eventually dispersed.
Since Madara Uchiha has already come, this matter is beyond their control.
Instead of bombarding each other with questions, let's go back to our posts and do our best to prepare for tomorrow's opening ceremony.
Izuna found a place to sit down, adjusted the Netsuke at his waist to an angle where it wouldn't be pressed down, and unfolded the process scroll.
The scroll was very long; when pulled down from top to bottom, it was covered with dense annotations.
His finger slowly moved down the timeline, stopping at the First Stage.
First step: Make a good impression – done.
He picked up the brush from the inkstone and drew a circle at the end of the line on the scroll.
Tobirama didn't come looking for him all afternoon.
This means that the Daimyo and his Envoys did not leave their homes.
Just as he had predicted, after traveling through the mountains for four days, he must have been exhausted.
There were some Ninjas and Samurai around the village, but no one made any rash moves on the first day; they just wandered around the Commercial Street a few times.
On the contrary, a few people went into the Tavern and never came out again.
When Izuna heard this news, his expression was indescribable. "Aren't these guards' professional ethics a bit too poor...?"
Tobirama down, continued reading his documents, pen never stopping. "Anyway, the people on guard duty haven't left, and there's a rotation system, so isn't it normal to choose to relax?"
"Ha..." Izuna rested his chin on the scroll.
This situation would never have happened in the world he Echizen.
The guards will never leave their employer's side, especially when the person they are protecting is a national leader or a diplomatic ambassador.
But here, these people appear to be carrying out a routine escort mission.
As long as nothing goes wrong during the mission, that's fine. As for how to rotate shifts and how to stand by, that's entirely up to individual conscience.
In Izuna's view, this was far too loose.
Is it because it's not formalized? It seems that rules need to be established in this area.
He lifted his face from the scroll, picked up a pen, and wrote a few words in the blank space at the very end of the scroll: Standardization of Guard Duties.
Then I made some minor improvements: drinking alcohol is prohibited during duty, rotation times are standardized, and emergency contact codes are changed every half day.
That's all for now; we'll discuss the details later.
"What are you writing?" Tobirama looked up.
"Some new ideas." Izuna flipped the scroll a few pages forward. "By the way, could you check the deployment schedule for the Commercial Street? I'm worried we won't have enough manpower for the opening ceremony tomorrow."
Tobirama nodded, and the pen returned to the paper.
Izuna looked at the second act on the scroll.
Opening Ceremony.
He rolled those four words on the tip of his tongue, then gently tapped his chin with the end of his pen.
Given Konoha's current conditions, a grand opening ceremony is definitely not feasible.
A spectacle like the Olympics, with thousands of performers filling the entire stadium, is out of the question—just pass.
But it was precisely because the conditions were rudimentary that the rules of the game were rudimentary, and he happened to be good at it.
Konoha has Ninja can create special effects by hand.
Fire Style sparks, Wind Release air currents, Sealing Jutsu Barrier patterns—these things used to kill or trap enemies on the battlefield can be used in a different way as top-tier stage effects.
With the addition of the Hashirama's expert in handcrafted wooden objects, creating a landscape is no problem at all.
Izuna considered himself to have good taste.
He knew that piling up too much stuff would only expose his weakness; the real impact lay not in the quantity of things, but in the perfect amount of blank space.
So he decided to build a tunnel leading to a strange world.
Wakako tilted her head back, her mouth slightly open. Yuan Yusheng adjusted his hat but remained silent.
Before them stood the gates of the Amusement Park.
Rather than being a gate, it's more accurate to describe it as an entrance to another world.
The walls were painted vermilion, the beams and pillars were made of dark brown hardwood, and the eaves had upturned corners, with a huge lantern hanging under the eaves.
The sign above reads "Amusement Park" Part 2.
Completely different from the gray tiles and white walls commonly seen today, the color of this Clock Tower is so intense that it's almost unreasonable, as if a whole jar of cinnabar had been splashed on the mountainside.
Inside was a long tunnel, lit up, with no end in sight.
A red ribbon was unfurled in front of the cave entrance.
A silk flower was tied in the center of the ribbon, swaying gently in the morning breeze.
A staff member stood nearby, holding a tray lined with red velvet, on which rested a pair of gold scissors.
The band took their positions on one side of the Clock Tower.
At this moment, all the musicians are playing the same tune, as if they are tuning an instrument.
The melody was smooth and lingering, as if something was quietly peeking out from behind the curtain.
The area was surrounded by Konoha residents. Children in the front row were held down by adults to prevent them from pushing forward, while adults in the back row craned their necks, and some carried children on their shoulders.
The buzzing of the crowd was constant, but not loud; everyone was eagerly anticipating the Amusement Park's opening.
Hashirama. Today he was wearing the Senju Clan's formal attire: a green Haori and dark blue hakama. His hair was unusually neatly combed.
After explaining the rules to the Daimyo and his Daimyo's Wife, they went behind the red ribbon.
"Is everyone ready!" He spread his arms wide, his voice so loud it didn't need any amplification, drowning out the band's intro and echoing faintly before the cliff, "All my fellow countrymen! Residents of the Land of Fire and friends who have come here! Welcome to our Konoha Amusement Park!"
He turned to the side and extended his hand to Yuan Yusheng and Wakako.
Yuan Yusheng and Wakako stepped forward together and handed them the golden scissors.
The blade opens and closes.
The silk flower broke silently.
Applause erupted from the crowd, mingling with the band's tune.
After the Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony, staff removed the broken ribbons, revealing the entrance to the cave.
Izuna gestured for everyone to ride their Summoning Beasts and follow behind him.
The residents of Konoha were kept outside and told that it would not be officially open to the Ordinary People until tomorrow.
The crowd dispersed cooperatively; everyone knew who the main character was today.
Entering the tunnel, at first it was just darkness.
The coolness of the mountain seeped out from the stone walls, and the sound of footsteps was amplified in the narrow space, echoing one after another.
Just as everyone's eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and try to make out the road ahead, a woman's voice rang out from all directions at the same time.
Welcome to Konoha Amusement Park.
Someone abruptly reined in the Summoning Beast, while someone else instinctively placed their hand on the hilt of their knife.
But the sound did not stop; it was steady, deep, and carried the lingering resonance of the cave's natural reverberation.
A bright spot suddenly appeared in the pitch black.
The mysterious voice continued, "[Konoha Amusement Park is an entertainment venue that exists for pure fun.]"
[You can explore the area, purchase souvenirs, and enjoy stage performances.]
[You can even experience things that only Ninjas can do.]
[Then, please join me in experiencing the world of Konoha Amusement Park.]