To cater to everyone's tastes, Minato chose the Yuan-yang (split pot) style for the hot pot. Since there were a lot of people, Minato also specifically asked the waiter to bring a large pot.
Hashirama looked at his youthful demeanor, a smile appearing on his face. "Not bad, not bad. Just like Torifu when he was little. Very enterprising." He then turned his gaze to Yahiko and Konan. "You two should learn more from Minato. You need to be more proactive."
"Understood, Grand-Sensei. We will."
Mito nudged Hashirama with her elbow, then smiled at the two children. "You don't have to listen to your Grand-Sensei. Take your time. You can't force character; it's natural, so you don't need to change. Just be yourselves."
Hashirama realized that what he said was indeed a bit off, so he chuckled and said, "Yes, your Grand-Sensei's wife is right."
The two children exchanged smiles. They hadn't expected their Grand-Sensei to be so obedient to their Grand-Sensei's wife. They wondered if their Sensei would be like this in the future.
Just as they were thinking this, Torifu and Naori arrived at the hot pot restaurant. Downstairs, there was another wave of cheers.
"Everyone, enjoy your meal, enjoy your meal."
Today was a gathering of the entire extended family. Those with some sense had already guessed what was going on. However, they didn't speak of it, as this was the Hokage-sama's private matter, and they couldn't afford to gossip. If their guess was wrong, they would be in trouble.
Torifu and Naori greeted the diners downstairs one by one, then came upstairs. They saw that everyone had arrived and that some of the dishes had already been served. They figured Minato or Amado must have ordered the food.
Mito was the first to stand up. "Torifu, Naori, congratulations. After all these years of dating, you're finally going to have a happy outcome. Aunt is truly happy for you."
Naori hadn't felt much earlier, but now that there were more people, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward. However, she was also incredibly touched within the awkwardness, making her feel very conflicted.
"Thank you, Aunt." She didn't know what to say. After spending so many years together, Mito had been exceptionally good to Naori. She was like family, so Naori didn't know what to say other than thank you. Anything else would feel a little estranged, like strangers.
The other elders also stood up to congratulate Naori and Torifu. The two returned the greetings one by one.
After all the formalities were over, they calmly took their seats. The pot base was also served. Because there were many people and many dishes, the pot base was more than double the usual size.
"This is quite new. Do we put these dishes in to boil? How long until they're ready to eat?"
The elders present had never eaten this before, so Torifu explained it to them in detail.
Mito chuckled. "Torifu's ideas are truly inventive. Even cooking vegetables has been turned into something unique."
This food wasn't difficult to make; the main thing was getting the soup base right. It could be eaten anywhere. Mito was already thinking of adopting hot pot at home, but unfortunately, they didn't seem to have such a large pot at home. Otherwise, they could have hot pot tomorrow too.
The meal was lively and filled with warmth. Since everyone was in a good mood, they also ordered some sake, which was primarily consumed by Hashirama, Tobirama, and Ashina. Torifu didn't usually like to drink, but he had a couple of small glasses today. The alcohol content wasn't high, so it wasn't very intoxicating. It was just to satisfy a craving.
"The taste of this hot pot is indeed good. No wonder it became popular throughout Konoha shortly after opening. It might even rival the barbecue." Hashirama commented as he ate. He didn't usually like to eat at outside restaurants, but today was an exception. His head apprentice was about to get married, which was a great joy.
"Speaking of which, Torifu, when you get married, will the other villages send congratulatory gifts?"
This question genuinely stumped Torifu. He thought for a moment and said, "I'll send them an invitation then. Whether they come or not is up to them."
Currently, aside from the Land of Water being relatively far from Konoha and the two countries having little interaction, the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth had long-term cooperation with Konoha. The cooperation involved many directions and fields. They could be considered strategic partners. Moreover, they had fought together, so he should send them an invitation as a sign of respect. As for whether they would actually attend, Torifu wasn't too concerned. It was enough for his own family to be present. If it weren't for the fact that he was the Hokage, he wouldn't even plan to make it too grand. But being in that position, some things were not up to him.
Hashirama nodded at Torifu's answer. Doing this would avoid offending anyone. The Ninja World had just ushered in peace. If this matter caused the other villages to complain and create a rift in the alliance, it wouldn't be worth the trouble.
After a period of drinking and clinking glasses, the dishes on the table were almost finished. Seeing that no one seemed to want to continue eating, Torifu got up and went out to pay the bill. He also paid for a few tables downstairs, which undoubtedly led to another round of cheers.
When he returned to the private room, everyone was preparing to go home. It was indeed a bit late. Usually, by this time, their post-dinner walks would be over. Everyone, from the elders to the children, was happy tonight.
Especially Minato and Kushina, who were laughing and chatting all night. Occasionally, Torifu could hear Minato telling Kushina about his mission experiences, which made Kushina very envious. Meanwhile, Yahiko and Konan next to him were completely focused on eating. This was exactly what they wanted, and Torifu didn't disturb them, knowing the children loved to eat, and letting them have more.
"Well, should we call it a night? It's time for us to head back. Come to my place tomorrow noon. Mito is going to cook something delicious!" Hashirama stood up and suggested.
Everyone agreed.
And so, full and satisfied, everyone left the hot pot restaurant and went their separate ways home. Naori was incredibly happy tonight. She had been proposed to by the man she loved and had received blessings from the elders. She was ecstatic.
"What did your father say? Did he have any objections?"
Naori smiled when she heard this. "Yes, he did have objections. He said we should have gotten married a long time ago, but since you're the Hokage, he understands you."
Torifu had worried that Naori's father would be reluctant to marry Naori to him, but it seemed he had overthought it. He then lowered his head and kissed Naori's forehead. "Thank you for waiting so long."
Naori waved her hand. "It's fine with me. I'm very happy now."
"Although it was a bit of a wait, at least we have a great outcome now, don't we?"
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Chapter End
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[T/N: The Patreon page updates have been paused at chapter 1120 because there were no more readers there, will probably wait a while to ease my stressed mind before continuing updating there. Around 400 more chapters left on there.]