"Happy New Year, Lord Hokage!"
"Happy New Year, Lord Hokage! Lady Chirori! And Lord Minato!"
"Lady Konan's here too! Happy New Year!"
The villagers greeted them enthusiastically, and the crowd kept growing.
"Happy New Year, everyone! Have you seen the Flower Lanterns on Central Street? What did you think?" Torifu asked with a cheerful smile.
"Huh? Do you mean that dragon, Lord Torifu? I've already seen it. It was so amazing!"
"Really? I haven't seen it yet! By the way, Lord Hokage, do you want to go together?"
A few young girls chatted excitedly, their faces beaming. They were clearly having a wonderful time. They had never experienced a festival like this before.
And it seemed they might even get to see Lord Hokage fight a monster later! They were even more excited at the thought.
The girls were talking rather loudly, but Torifu didn't find it noisy. He smiled and said, "We haven't seen it yet either. Come on, let's go together."
"Yay!"
A few bolder girls asked to take a picture with Chirori and Haoyuan. It was no big deal, so Chirori happily agreed.
As they continued down the street, the little girls were full of energy. They were about the same age as Konan and Yahiko.
It didn't take long for them to hit it off. Two of the girls walked around with Konan, arms linked.
Making friends was a good thing, and these children were all ninja, too. They might even become teammates someday.
When the large group finally reached the main street, they found it packed with people.
The villagers wore all sorts of expressions—surprise, delight, amazement. They had clearly been struck by the enormous dragon-shaped Flower Lantern before them.
"It's so beautiful! It doesn't look nearly this beautiful during the day!"
"My dad helped