"That's good. The war is over, so we should prepare to go home. That little guy Akihara is probably crying for his mommy."
Naori smiled softly. "Not at all. He even called just now. Everything is fine."
"Let's stop talking about useless things. Let me help you change into some clean clothes. Take this one to be washed."
Torifu nodded. After all, he was going to a banquet soon, and it wouldn't be good to attend looking so dirty. It would be a shame if he were stopped and humiliated by a security guard.
Torifu remembered often seeing such tropes in novels in his past life. To avoid such a ridiculous situation, it was better to be clean.
After changing into clean clothes, Torifu began to make phone calls to contact people.
The number of people wasn't too large: just the two Kage, plus Jiraiya, and the Kage-level ninja like Rōshi and Ebizō.
After all, they had contributed a lot to this great victory, and this victory banquet certainly included them.
But in addition to these people, there were many ninja who contributed quietly. The number was too large, and it was obviously impossible to invite all of them.
So, Torifu planned to double the mission pay for all of them as a gesture of gratitude for stepping up when the nation's territory was threatened.
"Let's set the banquet location at the largest hotel in the Central City," Torifu suggested.
Naori had no objection. It was just a meal for everyone to gather, so any place would do.
However, to make it more formal, they had to dine at a hotel.
But the Central City hadn't developed that well yet. Because the population wasn't particularly large, there weren't any particularly luxurious restaurants.
They would have to make do with the one that was available.
Torifu asked the Kazekage and the Tsuchikage, and they also agreed, feeling that a meal was a meal, and the location didn't matter.
"In that case, let's set off."
Torifu and Naori walked onto the main street and saw smiles on the faces of people in every street and alley. Although their time in the Central City wasn't particularly long.
Every minute and every second here was very meaningful, as they had stepped forward to protect their country.
Now that they had won, the grassroots ninja who had silently struggled and worked hard to clear out the camps throughout Amegakure were naturally very happy.
The victory of the war could not have happened without them.
Torifu also greeted them warmly, treating every person equally.
Every single person here was a hero.
Amidst the crowd's enthusiastic support, Torifu and Naori entered the hotel. After waving goodbye to the people, they turned to find the reserved private room.
"Hokage and Hokage's Wife, you've finally arrived! I suppose you were delayed by everyone's enthusiasm?" Ōnoki said with a smile.
Torifu looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that they were indeed ten minutes later than the agreed time.
He scratched his head sheepishly. "Yes, everyone was too passionate, and I couldn't simply ignore them. After all, the greatest credit in this war belongs to them. We were just the trump cards used to deal with the strongest enemy."
Torifu's words made everyone present nod. The Hokage was right; the grassroots ninja had the greatest merit in this war.
Without them spreading out to clear the camps throughout Amegakure, relying only on a few Kage-level ninja would have taken a lot more time.
Torifu and Naori took their seats, and Torifu filled his cup with sake. "Then, the first toast of our victory banquet today is to these ninja who cleared the path for us."
After speaking, Torifu poured the sake onto the ground.
The others did the same.
After the toast was complete, the victory banquet truly began.
Dishes were brought out one after another, and each dish was almost cleaned up after everyone took a chopstick-full.
So, dishes flowed continuously onto the table and were quickly emptied.
Among them, the three Kage ate the fastest. Since they had experienced such an intense battle, their physical stamina consumption was huge, which everyone understood.
Everyone enjoyed themselves happily in the private room, and the laughter never stopped.
But the chefs in the back kitchen were sweating profusely.
All the hotel chefs, regardless of whether they were on holiday or not, had reported for duty!
The woks were smoking hot from constant use. As soon as one dish was done, the next had to be immediately started.
This establishment featured cuisines from three countries, so the chefs preparing dishes like sushi and sashimi were also extremely busy.
Their knives flew quickly back and forth across the fish.
If they paused for even a moment, they would be rushed by the waiters.
They could guarantee this was the most exhausting day in their half-lives as chefs.
But the chefs knew who the diners were and what they had been through.
So, no one complained; they were all giving their best to prepare their signature dishes.
Because the Kage had saved their lives!
However, no matter how hungry the Kage were, their stomachs were not bottomless pits. After eating a 'flowing feast' for nearly an hour, the three Kage finally put down their chopsticks.
The others around them finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Goodness, the appetites of the three leaders are truly immense! They ate non-stop for over an hour!"
Among the three, Torifu ate the most. When a dish came his way, it was almost instantly clean.
Every time the Tsuchikage and the Kazekage took just one bite, the dish was already empty when it came back around.
That was why they could keep eating for so long.
But Torifu truly was a massive eater.
"Haha, please excuse us. We consumed too much energy during the battle, so we had to replenish it."
The Tsuchikage and the Kazekage also laughed, saying, "This battle mainly relied on the Hokage. The Hokage fought Blaze the whole time; the two of us were honestly not much help. We are truly ashamed."
When this was said, the Kage-level ninja from various villages were surprised. Did this mean the Tsuchikage and the Kazekage were essentially loafing around the entire time?
Did the Hokage win the battle all by himself? How was that possible! The last time they fought Blaze, they had to gather all the Kage-level ninja from three villages to defeat her. Had the Hokage's strength grown so quickly in these few years?
Torifu clearly hadn't expected the Tsuchikage and the Kazekage to reveal the truth themselves.
To ensure the image of the Tsuchikage and the Kazekage didn't collapse in the eyes of the ninja, Torifu had specifically emphasized after returning that the three of them had defeated her together.
He hadn't expected them to state the truth now, which Torifu found quite admirable.
"There's nothing to be surprised about; that's just how it is," the two Kage said calmly, showing no intention of hiding the matter.
The ninja present were actually able to accept this, as the Hokage's power was witnessed by the entire ninja world and was not a rare occurrence.
"Right, Hokage, didn't you also want to talk about the aquaculture plan and establishing a farming department? Tell us about the details."