Anyway, since he was already back at the Hokage Building, he might as well go to the office to see what needed to be done. If there wasn't anything, Torifu intended to slip away immediately.
"Hokage-sama! Did I just see Tsuchikage-sama and the others arrive? We didn't even prepare a welcoming ceremony!" The secretary ran into the office, a look of utter despair on her face.
"Why are you so agitated? I personally went to greet them; isn't that more dignified than a welcoming ceremony? Besides, they're all old acquaintances, and they came in a private capacity, so there's no need to panic."
"Eh? You went yourself?"
Torifu nodded: "The guards called to inform me, so I went to check it out."
"Not only Tsuchikage, but Kazekage and Mifune also arrived. They're all settled. You can send someone to ask them if they need anything."
The secretary responded, "Understood, Hokage-sama. I'll go right away." Then she pushed open the door and left.
There was nothing left to do in the office, so Torifu left a puppet to watch over it and returned to the Kumotsuru Clan compound.
Upon entering the courtyard, he found Yahiko and Konan diligently training in the small practice ground. However, Minato and Kushina were nowhere to be seen; they had probably gone off to play somewhere.
"Yahiko, Konan, come here."
Hearing him, the two immediately stopped their training and ran to Torifu's side.
"Yes, Master? Is something the matter?"
Torifu nodded: "Indeed. Kazekage and General Mifune just arrived in Konoha Village, and they brought a young boy about your age, the grandson of the First Kazekage."
"Kazekage said that boy is Sunagakure's most talented puppeteer. I want you two to go and spar with him, to exchange techniques."
Torifu didn't intend to intimidate Kazekage; he merely wanted his two disciples to witness the strength of talented shinobi from other villages. The battles they currently experienced, the enemies they faced, were all just bandits and the like. Now that the ninja world was stable, rogue ninja were becoming increasingly rare.
The training for the new generation of shinobi wasn't quite sufficient.
Torifu also had no solution for this; he didn't know how long it would be until the next major war. But with the current situation, in the future, bandits, rogue ninja, and so on would certainly become even rarer, leaving even fewer opportunities for shinobi to gain experience.
Although he was worried, there was no solution. He couldn't just conjure enemies out of thin air to kill, could he?
They could only exchange blows and learn from shinobi from other villages. This kind of equally matched combat was much more convenient and effective than fighting bandits or anything of the sort.
Yahiko and Konan were very interested after hearing this: "The grandson of the First Kazekage, the disciple of the Third Kazekage? That truly is a formidable opponent." However, the two showed no sign of fear. Yahiko and Konan firmly believed they would never be inferior to other peers their age. Even among disciples of Kage-level shinobi, there were differences, and the two of them had just undergone a significant upgrade. It was a perfect opportunity for a trial.
"Don't worry, Master, we're definitely going to win."
Torifu was quite confident about this as well, but he felt that just having the three of them compete would be a bit unfair; he should arrange for more participants. It would be good to hold a small tournament a few days before the New Year to liven up the village.
Once Torifu had this idea, he immediately called Tsuchikage and Kazekage. Both Kage expressed strong support for the matter, and Tsuchikage also planned to have his son participate, immediately calling his son to come to Konoha Village from the Land of Earth. This was something Torifu hadn't expected. The two Kage were so cooperative, presumably because they knew Torifu didn't harbor any intention of belittling them, which allowed for such cooperation.
Afterward, Torifu called Mifune again. Like Tsuchikage, Mifune called his apprentice to Konoha from the Land of Iron. Now there were already five contestants. It was just a pity Mizukage hadn't come; otherwise, it would have been even livelier. Thinking back, Torifu had also competed in such matches with Mizukage.
"Yahiko, Konan, it seems you'll have quite a few opponents this time. Tsuchikage's son and Mifune's apprentice will both participate, and I also plan to have all eligible shinobi within Konoha Village join your competition, with an age range of no more than three years above or below." But the two remained unfazed: "No problem, Master. Even if you call on more people, we will still win."
"That's quite the spirit! I hope you can claim the championship in this competition."
Since it was a competition, there would definitely be prizes. Conveniently, Torifu had many rare items on hand, so he could give away anything.
After making his decision, Torifu also called his secretary again: "Hello, are you at the Hokage Building?"
"No, Hokage-sama, wasn't I out settling the guests? Do you have something you need me to do?"
Torifu cleared his throat: "I've written a notice; please help me post it on the bulletin board later."
Hearing the secretary confirm, Torifu hung up the phone. He then remotely mind-controlled his intelligent puppet to draft the announcement. In less than twenty minutes, the notice was posted, and the villagers immediately gathered around to read it.
"Konoha Village New Year Tournament?"
"To celebrate the New Year, Hokage, in conjunction with Kazekage, Tsuchikage, and General Mifune, is jointly hosting a New Year Ninja Tournament. Shinobi aged 10-14 can participate, and the winner will receive a prize personally given by Hokage-sama."
The villagers were momentarily bewildered. Was this a 'baby' competition? Why were all the contestants children? Shinobi at this stage would have only just graduated, they were all Genin. There wouldn't be much substance to their battles.
"Hokage-sama must be doing this to test Konoha Village's younger generation, right? I heard Kazekage-sama brought his own disciple, Sunagakure's most talented puppeteer!"
"I see, Hokage-sama wants to see the strength of Konoha Village's new generation of shinobi!"
For a time, opinions varied. Some villagers thought the tournament was quite good; they had nothing else to do to pass the time and could also see the strength of Konoha Village's younger generation, which was nice. Others felt that since they were all Genin, there wouldn't be much point to the battles. It would be better to just stay home and rest, as it was quite cold outside in the middle of winter.
However, it worked out well, as the number of villagers the venue could accommodate was limited, and not everyone could attend. Many people found it uninteresting, which conveniently freed up space for those who genuinely wanted to watch.
However, no matter what the villagers said, they were only treating it as entertainment, as they couldn't personally participate. They could only sit in the spectator stands and watch Konoha Village's emerging combat forces battle it out.