"Oh! Hokage-sama and Naori-sama! It's been a while since either of you last visited."
Naori smiled. "Hehe, we haven't been eating out much lately."
The owner nodded with an understanding expression. "I understand. You're both busy preparing for the wedding and don't have much time."
Torifu also smiled. "Let's stick to the usual. Bring up twenty plates first, and we'll see. We'll order more if we're still hungry."
"Will do, Hokage-sama. The food will be right up."
Just as the owner was about to leave, Torifu called out, "Hold on, I have something I need you to take care of."
Seeing this, the owner pulled up a chair and sat down, taking out paper and a pen from his pocket, ready to write down Torifu's instructions. "Just tell me, Hokage-sama."
Torifu couldn't help but smile at his serious demeanor. "No need to be so formal. It's nothing complicated or difficult; it's just a large volume of work." After the owner nodded, Torifu continued, "You currently manage Konoha Village's commerce and food industry, and almost all the shops in Konoha Village are under your management. I need you to be in charge of all the food for my wedding banquet."
"A total of thirty thousand tables of food must be prepared."
The owner suddenly froze mid-listen, then looked up at Torifu. "You said how many? Thirty thousand?" Hearing that number, the owner's heart sank! So the Hokage-sama is seriously planning to have all the villagers in Konoha Village attend!
"Hokage-sama, your request is truly difficult to fulfill. Thirty thousand tables of hot dishes cannot be prepared in a single day." The owner said with a tearful expression. "If we prepare them in advance, they'll spoil by the time of your wedding."
Torifu had naturally considered this. "There's no need for hot dishes; that's impossible to achieve. Since all the villagers of Konoha Village will be attending the wedding, we have to make some trade-offs."
"Exquisite hot food is out of the question. You only need to prepare things like fruit, various dried meats, breads, pastries, and nuts. These shouldn't be hard to get. If Konoha Village's inventory isn't enough, buy from other villages or the Royal Capital."
Hearing this, the owner was able to accept the task. If he had to prepare thirty thousand tables of hot dishes to be cooked and eaten fresh, he couldn't do it even if a thousand cooks worked themselves to death. After all, that wasn't thirty thousand dishes; it was thirty thousand tables of food. Each table needed at least ten dishes, which added up to three hundred thousand... The owner didn't even dare to imagine.
However, with the change in standards, it was much more manageable. He just needed to buy large quantities of food that was easy to store and didn't spoil easily, such as the items the Hokage-sama had just listed. Then, on the wedding day, they would be plated and served. Still, thirty thousand people would require a significant number of servers, so he would have to hire temporary staff.
Naori was surprised listening in. She hadn't seriously thought about the food for the wedding banquet. The weddings she had attended before usually involved buffet-style service, but the amount of food needed for thirty thousand people... Naori couldn't imagine how big the piles of food would be. She hadn't realized Torifu had been handling these things she hadn't thought of over the past few days.
But then again, why hadn't he told her? Naori secretly grumbled to herself. If he hadn't created so much suspense, Torifu's stress would probably be much lower. Too bad he liked creating mystery. She couldn't be blamed for that.
The owner mentally noted Torifu's instructions and immediately left the barbecue restaurant to hire people. Torifu gave him permission to use the Hokage's name; otherwise, he was afraid the owner wouldn't be able to recruit people fast enough. With Torifu's name, everything would be twice as efficient.
"Torifu, are we being a little too hard on the Boss?"
Torifu shook his head. "This isn't a difficult task; it just requires a large volume of processing. I don't have the time to handle it myself, which is why I entrusted it to the Boss."
"I promoted him to be the Minister of Commerce and Food and let his business flourish in Konoha Village. He naturally needs to contribute something in return."
Naori could only nod at this. She wasn't very knowledgeable about these matters and wasn't skilled at handling them, so she didn't interfere. However, she was becoming increasingly curious about her wedding venue. Where on earth could accommodate thirty thousand people? Was he planning to hold the wedding on the streets of Konoha Village? She immediately dismissed the thought. That seemed impossible, and Torifu wouldn't do something like that.
Before Naori could think further, twenty plates of meat were served, interrupting her thoughts. She began to focus on grilling the meat.
"Torifu, when are the Kazekage and the Tsuchikage arriving?"
"Probably two days before the wedding."
The two countries had a good relationship with Konoha Village, so Torifu invited them. Konoha Village had never taken the initiative to contact the Land of Water, nor had they contacted Konoha Village. The relationship between the two countries was neutral—not good, but not bad either. Whether they attended or not held no special significance for Torifu, so he simply didn't invite them.
As for the other small countries, during the last war initiated by the Land of Rain, regardless of whether their participation was intentional or forced, their Ninja appeared on that battlefield. Torifu considered it a mercy that he hadn't destroyed them already; why would he invite them to his wedding?
As for the Land of Iron, there had been no news since Mifune returned. Torifu intentionally sent word to the Land of Iron that he was getting married. How they decided to respond would influence Torifu's future attitude toward them. The Hokage's wedding was undoubtedly a major event for Konoha Village and even the Land of Fire. If the Land of Iron, knowing this, still failed to send an envoy, it would indicate they had no interest in cooperating with Konoha Village. Torifu would naturally not focus his efforts on them. Mifune was just an acquaintance he had met a few times; it wasn't enough for Torifu to humbly and actively seek cooperation.
Konoha Village was currently the largest village in the Ninja World, and it was undeniably the first in terms of economy, strength, and population. Countries and villages that wanted to cooperate had to line up; how could Torifu repeatedly extend an olive branch to a small place like the Land of Iron? He hoped the general of the Land of Iron understood this principle and didn't miss this opportunity to revitalize his country.
"This barbecue still tastes so good! I haven't eaten it in a long time. It smells wonderful!" Naori picked up a freshly grilled piece of meat and stuffed it into her mouth. The piece of meat was perhaps a bit too large, causing grease to smudge the corner of her mouth.
Torifu smiled at her appearance, reaching out to wipe the stain from her face. "You can come and eat anytime you want. It's only half a month; your figure isn't going to change much."