"Are these the things needed for celebrating the Spring Festival?"
Just seeing these auspicious phrases made one feel happy; after all, no one dislikes blessings.
He then handed the couplets to Yahiko and Konan. "You two go and paste these couplets on both sides of the Kumotsuru Clan's main gate. Make sure they're aligned and not crooked.'"
Konan held the couplets, and Yahiko carried a stool. The two of them headed towards the main entrance.
Naori said, "So these are the things needed for Spring Festival. They look quite ordinary."
"It's for good cheer. Tomorrow, I'll have people distribute them on the streets, so every household can put up couplets."
Torifu had purchased these items through the system store and then duplicated tens of thousands of copies using a replicator. It consumed about a dozen logs. Fortunately, Konohagakure had no shortage of wood.
Naori thought they were indeed quite beautiful. Naori loved red, and this color was the same vibrant red as the wedding dress she wore when she got married. Seeing these couplets, her mood inexplicably became exceptionally good as well.
Not long after, Yahiko and Konan ran back. "Master, do you want to go check them and see if they're up to standard?"
"Let's go, everyone. Let's take a look together," Torifu called out to the group.
Since everyone was idle with nothing to do anyway, they all went out together. Akihara, meanwhile, remained in Minato's arms.
By this time, some people had already gathered around the Kumotsuru Clan's entrance. Earlier, when Yahiko and Konan were putting up the couplets, some had already been drawn in. Now, even more curious individuals came to see what exactly had been posted. But before they could figure it out, they saw Torifu and his family emerge from the clan compound.
He first greeted the villagers, then looked at the couplets on the doorframes on either side of the main gate. They were posted very neatly, without a single wrinkle, and the effect was quite good. Large characters written in gold ink on the red couplets were elegant and flowing, very eye-catching.
"Hokage-sama, what are these things?"
"Are they talismans used by Onmyōji for warding off evil? They don't quite look like it..."
Just as Torifu was about to answer, Akihara spoke first: "Uncles, those are couplets! They'll be distributed for free on the street tomorrow."
Couplets? Hearing the young master's answer, the villagers weren't enlightened; instead, they became even more confused.
Torifu chuckled. "Everyone must have noticed the characters on them, right? Actually, they're just auspicious phrases written on paper, then pasted on either side of your doorframes to wish for their realization in the coming year. They're items used for the Spring Festival."
"As Akihara said, tomorrow I'll send people to distribute them for free on the streets. You can choose to write your own, or you can choose pre-written ones to just paste up. Either is fine."
Torifu's explanation was undoubtedly much more detailed, and the villagers understood as soon as they heard it. It must be said that for the villagers of Konohagakure, this was a very novel item; they had never seen anything like it before. However, Hokage-sama had introduced quite a few novelties, and everyone still liked them very much. And this time was no different; who wouldn't like auspicious phrases? Moreover, these were auspicious phrases imbued with aspirations for the coming year, and everyone hoped for a better and better life. Therefore, they were certainly very fond of these couplets.
The villagers also finally heard the words 'Spring Festival' from Torifu's mouth. Their recent discussions finally had a conclusion.
"Hokage-sama, what exactly is this Spring Festival? Is it like a carnival or something similar?"
Torifu nodded. "More or less. The main point is for everyone to relax and have fun. The Spring Festival will be held on the last day of this year, and an event will be hosted on the central street then."
Hearing this, the villagers all brightened up. They loved events the most. Every event would make everyone happy for half a month or more, and many foreigners would come to visit as well. Now that another event was being held, the villagers were naturally a hundred percent willing.
Thus, those gathered at the entrance of the Kumotsuru Clan compound dispersed, spreading the word about the Spring Festival. Torifu was quite happy for them to do so, saving him the trouble of promotion. It was like they were helping to build anticipation in advance; then, with just a single announcement, it could directly ignite.
After the villagers dispersed, Torifu led everyone back into the clan compound and securely closed the main gate. Although today wasn't officially a holiday, it felt much the same. Winter missions were inherently fewer.
Minato had recently returned home after completing a mission some time ago and had no particular plans for now, so he simply decided to take an extended break. As for Yahiko and Konan, since Jiraiya went out on a mission, they had no choice but to temporarily stay at home. However, daily training could not be neglected; once a shinobi stopped training, they would become lazy. But Torifu didn't need to supervise them; these two children were quite self-disciplined. After putting up the couplets, they began their training in the courtyard.
Yahiko could currently only perform B-rank ninjutsu at most, which was already quite excellent for a Chūnin-level shinobi. This was mainly limited by his insufficient chakra reserves. If Torifu were to directly give him the Six-Tails and let him adapt for ten days to half a month, he could theoretically directly perform S-rank ninjutsu.
Konan's talent was somewhat better than Yahiko's; her Dance of the Shikigami was already about seventy to eighty percent developed. However, its destructive power was still somewhat lacking, and Torifu had been pondering how to also increase Konan's strength. Otherwise, once Yahiko gained the Six-Tails, the gap between them would instantly widen, one soaring to the heavens, the other remaining on earth. This was also why Torifu hadn't given the Six-Tails to Yahiko. Torifu's idea was for the two of them to advance side by side, even competing with each other, thereby enhancing their strength and achieving rapid progress.
"I'll check later to see if the system store refreshes with anything new."
Torifu now understood; with Peace Points accumulating more and more, there was no point in just letting them sit there. It would be better to find some interesting items in the store to reward trustworthy individuals, or to find things that could be used in the village to improve the villagers' quality of life.
Over the past five years, Torifu had organized various festivals and developed many factories to produce unique gadgets, all to enrich the leisure life of Konohagakure's villagers. Now, it seemed this idea was quite sound; every time the villagers mentioned it, they gave unanimous praise. As Hokage, he was naturally very pleased as well. He decided to properly organize this Spring Festival, then designate it as a festival to be held on the last day of every year, enriching Konohagakure's festive calendar. The villagers' lives would also become happier.
However, all of this, in truth, ultimately aimed to make Torifu's own life more comfortable. After all, Torifu's initial goal was to live comfortably in this world. Now, it seemed this goal was slowly but surely being achieved.