The night of the grand Summer Festival finally arrived in Konoha.
The whole village seemed to have caught fire, ablaze with lights and alive with voices.
The main road and shopping streets were decorated like flowing rivers of stars, with stalls packed side by side. The aromas of food, cheerful music, children's laughter, and the sound of fireworks bursting in the night sky wove together into a lively symphony of celebration.
The fireworks were only test launches for now. A grand display would go off at ten.
The festival's atmosphere reached its peak when Jiraiya took the hastily erected Central Stage and officially announced several major pieces of news to the villagers!
Jiraiya had temporarily stuck a piece of paper bearing the character for "five" onto the First Hokage's robe to turn it into the Fifth Hokage's robe. He had no choice-with his height of over six foot three, the other Hokage's robes were too small for him.
Once on the Central Stage, he announced in a booming, impassioned voice:
"People of Konoha, on this night of celebration, I have several pieces of good news to share with you."
"Through the heroic efforts of our ninja on the front lines,"
"Iwagakure of the Land of Earth and Sunagakure of the Land of Wind have officially submitted to our Konoha Shinobi Village of the Land of Fire.
From this day forward, they will be our staunchest partners, working alongside us to preserve peace and prosperity in the shinobi world!"
"Furthermore! Not long ago, Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning attempted to take advantage of the situation and launched a surprise attack under the leadership of its Raikage. Hatake Sakumo and I led our Konoha ninja in successfully repelling them."
"This means we have taken another firm and momentous step toward true