"Alright, I'll tell them that for now. They're just anxious, afraid they won't be able to witness your and Naori's love."
Torifu smiled. "I understand, Aunt Mamiko. Just reassure them. There shouldn't be any surprises."
Torifu chose a venue this time that no one would have guessed. Many people in the village probably overlooked and forgot about this location. Even Torifu himself hadn't expected it could be used for such a purpose.
"Good job, Torifu. I'll head back now. If you don't have lunch, come over to my place, okay?"
Torifu nodded. "Okay, Auntie, you don't need to trouble yourself. We'll just have some Ramen or something."
"What are you talking about, Ramen? It's so unhealthy. But I can't control you young people; you all love it." She then smiled and waved her hand. "Auntie is heading back. Don't eat Ramen too often, okay? You can always come over to my house for a meal." With that, Mamiko turned and left.
Judging by her appearance, she seemed to be in a very good mood. These few small outfits took her a week to make. She wasn't particularly skilled at it, so it took some effort to make them look so nice. The little flowers embroidered on them were also very pretty, matching the aesthetics of the older generation.
While Mamiko and Torifu were talking, Minato sat far away, listening. Although he had a very good relationship with Mamiko, he didn't go forward to interrupt their conversation.
"Big Brother, did Aunt Mamiko come to give you a gift?"
Torifu smiled and nodded, then took out the two small outfits. "What do you think? They look pretty good, don't they?"
Minato touched them after seeing them. "They are indeed nice. They'll be for little nephew or niece when the time comes."
Torifu burst into laughter. "You're still a child yourself, and you're already thinking about nephews and nieces."
Minato looked a little embarrassed now. "Even if I'm young, I'm still their uncle, right?"
Torifu nodded. That was a fair point. He then stopped disturbing Minato's game and went back to the lounge chair to continue sunbathing.
When it was two o'clock in the afternoon, Torifu got up from his bed, ready to go to the embroidery shop to pick up the wedding attire. This was the one thing he had been looking forward to all day. He hadn't even told Naori about it. It was still entirely a surprise. Torifu himself felt a little excited, wondering what the clothes would look like.
Before seeing them, Torifu kept giving himself low expectations, so if the clothes weren't beautiful, he wouldn't feel too disappointed. If the clothes exceeded his expectations and were absolutely stunning, then it would be a bonus.
"Minato, I'm heading out. Call me if you guys decide you want to go out and play."
"Will do, Big Brother. We're not going out, so don't worry."
Torifu nodded and left the Kumotsuru Clan Compound, heading for Madam Beni's embroidery shop. Along the way, people who saw Torifu offered him good wishes, and everyone's face was smiling. This made Torifu happy too. He returned each smile.
He soon arrived at the embroidery shop. The seamstress at the door smiled and immediately came forward to greet him when she saw Torifu. "Hokage-sama, you've arrived. Madam Beni has been waiting for a long time. Please come right in."
Torifu smiled. "Alright, you all keep busy." He then walked directly into Madam Beni's office.
The moment the door opened, a wave of festive red washed over him! Two red long robes were hanging on two mannequins. The red was a pure, auspicious crimson. Each robe was embroidered with a phoenix. The male robe featured the male phoenix, and the female robe featured the female phoenix. The female robe clearly had a long train embroidered with flying birds that seemed to be paying homage to the phoenix. When the two outfits were placed side-by-side, one could see that the phoenix's head on the male robe was looking toward the phoenix on the female robe, suggesting the idiom Fèng Qiú Huáng (The Phoenix seeks its Mate).
"These must be my wedding outfits. Honestly, they are quite striking."
Madam Beni was sitting on a chair, sporting large dark circles under her eyes. "Hokage-sama has arrived. Yes, these are the wedding outfits you requested. Are you satisfied?"
Torifu nodded. "I am very satisfied. They are very close to what I imagined. I am already very pleased."
Madam Beni's face also showed a hint of joy. "I'm glad you're satisfied. These two outfits were truly difficult. They took a full month to embroider."
Torifu knew the difficulty of the garments. He had indeed given Madam Beni quite the challenge, but he hadn't expected them to turn out like this. They were very impressive.
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what these two large birds mean. Is it a legend from your family?"
Torifu smiled. "It is. They are the Emperors of the Birds and represent auspiciousness." Originally, they were meant to be a dragon and a phoenix, but the Kumotsuru family crest was a crane, which didn't match the dragon well. Torifu himself wasn't particularly fond of the dragon motif; he preferred flying birds. That's why he used the Fèng Qiú Huáng metaphor. If he had asked Madam Beni to embroider a dragon, she would have had some idea, but she probably would have been driven to a breakdown. After all, a dragon is much more difficult than a phoenix.
Most men and women in Konoha Village get married with the bride wearing a white wedding kimono, and the groom wearing traditional attire. Wedding outfits as vibrant as Torifu's were almost unheard of, making this a first-time experience for Madam Beni. This Hokage was a hard client to please; everything from the Hokage robes to the wedding attire was completely different from what others wore. The customs of the Kumotsuru Clan were truly unique.
"Are these two wedding outfits completely finished? Can I take them now?"
Madam Beni nodded. "Of course. They are the final products. I can't find any flaws; they are the limit of my craft." Madam Beni spoke from the heart. These outfits used virtually every technique she knew, but the final product still felt like it was missing something—perhaps not perfect.
But Torifu felt they were very good. He only hoped Naori would like them. Naori had also been quite busy these past two days, and the time they spent talking on the phone had significantly decreased. They only chatted for three hours yesterday and didn't meet at all.
Fortunately, the trivial pre-wedding matters hadn't impacted their relationship. Both of them were seriously proceeding with the wedding preparations. After all, a person only gets one wedding in a lifetime, and Torifu had to find a way to give Naori the best. He felt that the wedding he was planning was unprecedented and unlikely to be replicated. Looking across the entire Ninja World, no one would have a more glorious wedding than Naori. He wouldn't be surprised if the story of their wedding day was told throughout the Ninja World in the future.