After becoming Hokage, Minato Namikaze grew increasingly busy.
However, the change in leadership brought little noticeable difference to Konoha—people carried on with their lives as usual.
At this time, Chinya was at home discussing the guest list for their wedding with Kushina Uzumaki.
Kushina invited three former teammates she had gotten along well with, as well as Miyuki Uzumaki, to attend their wedding.
As for Chinya, inviting Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura was a must.
Then… Chinya paused, trying to think of others worth inviting, but came up blank.
Kushina asked, "Chinya, should we invite Minato Namikaze?"
Chinya slightly frowned, then thought for a moment before replying, "Let's invite him. After all, he's in a romantic relationship with Miyuki Uzumaki, and now he's the Fourth Hokage of Konoha. As for me, I'm now considered an important figure in Konoha—it would still be appropriate to go through the formalities."
In the end, adding Orochimaru and Kakashi made the wedding invitation list include about ten people.
Of course, if Chinya wanted more attendees, it wouldn't be difficult. During the war, he worked with many people, like Wada Nara and others of that caliber.
If Chinya invited them, they certainly would come to show him respect.
Chinya could confidently say that even if he invited Fugaku Uchiha, he would have to attend his wedding.
But there was no need.
They had never been close—during their cooperation, theirs was purely a commander-subordinate relationship with no personal friendship involved.
Once the wedding guest list was confirmed, the next step was picking a suitable date.
After discussion, Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki decided to set their wedding day seven days later.
"Chinya, I'll go deliver the invitations then," Kushina said as she left home holding the wedding invitations.
"Okay, I'll go too."
Chinya also left home holding the invitations.
Chinya first went directly to Orochimaru's hideout and handed him the invitation.
Orochimaru looked at the invitation with a smile: "Seven days from now, I see. I understand. I'll make sure to attend on time and serve as your witness at the ceremony alongside Kushina."
Chinya sincerely bowed deeply: "Thank you, Master Orochimaru. Thank you as well for your help and guidance over all these years."
With rare sentimentality in his voice, Orochimaru replied, "I once told you I held great expectations for you—I wanted to see where the wind created by you, my disciple, would blow. Now, it seems this wind has already blown past me.
Looking back now, the wisest decision I've ever made was taking you as my apprentice. Throughout our master-disciple relationship, we've always walked on the same path but towards different destinations.
You've now become a wind freely blowing across the sky. Chinya, I hope you continue to blow forward, and may both of our ideals eventually come true."
Chinya nodded and said, "I will."
After leaving Orochimaru's hideout, Chinya made his way to Hiruzen Sarutobi's home.
Since retiring as Hokage, Hiruzen had spent most of his time at home.
Now that Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly understood Danzo held a grudge against him, he planned to take a few days to properly rest before approaching Danzo to discuss matters concerning the Uchiha Clan once some of that resentment had eased.
Chinya knocked on the door, and it was answered by Sarutobi Biwako, the wife of Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Seeing Chinya, Biwako welcomed him warmly. "It's you! You're here to see Hiruzen, right? Come in, quick!"
"Excuse my intrusion, Lady Biwako."
Chinya stepped into the house, removing his shoes politely before entering further.
Sarutobi Hiruzen walked out from an inner room, a genial smile on his face as he asked, "Chinya? What brings you here today?"
Chinya respectfully presented the wedding invitation to The Third with both hands. "Honorable Third, seven days from now will be my wedding with Kushina Uzumaki. We hope that you and Lady Biwako will attend our ceremony."
The Third accepted the invitation with a smile. "So you're getting married! Time really flies—you and Kushina are moving on to the next stage of life. It's only fitting—childhood sweethearts finally becoming husband and wife."
Lady Biwako brought over a cup of freshly brewed tea, placing it onto the table in front of Chinya as she expressed her happiness: "Is that so? Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki are getting married—how wonderful!"
As Uzumaki Mito grew older, Lady Biwako often visited to care for her, which gave her many opportunities to meet Kushina Uzumaki.
Hiruzen then asked, "Chinya, is there anything you need help with for the wedding itself? Please don't hesitate to ask if there is."
Chinya shook his head. "Thank you for your kind offer, Honorable Third, but no need. Kushina and I have very few friends or family members. Altogether, only around ten people will be attending, so our wedding will be quite simple. Orochimaru-sensei will officiate, so we won't need much arrangement."
Surprised, Hiruzen asked, "Only inviting around ten people?"
Chinya nodded. "Yes, Honorable Third. You know how I am—I've always found it hard to make friends, so I've only invited a few close ones and some elders."
Hiruzen spoke earnestly, "Still, after getting married, you should try to be a bit more social. You've always been far too serious, making others feel like you might be difficult to get along with. But everyone here is your village comrade—once they realize how easygoing you really are, friendship comes naturally."
Chinya replied politely, "I will, Honorable Third."
Then, Hiruzen curiously asked, "By the way, Chinya—did you invite Danzo?"
Chinya answered, "I did. Next, I'll go to the Root Division to personally invite Danzo to my wedding, and afterward visit Hokage Tower to extend an invitation to The Fourth."
Hiruzen felt slightly surprised. His asking whether Chinya had invited Danzo was actually an attempt to gauge whether Danzo's anger had cooled somewhat.
He originally assumed that since Chinya and Minato Namikaze had such a poor relationship, Chinya wouldn't possibly consider inviting Minato to his wedding—but now he realized he'd underestimated Chinya.
The fact that Chinya had reached out to Minato meant things between them weren't completely broken yet.
Now Chinya was clearly one of Danzo's men within the Root Division. If Minato were to take action against the Root Division in the future, the opposition he faced would be notably weakened if Chinya remained neutral.
Though Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't trust Chinya, he was glad to see that Chinya and Minato were getting along better.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with satisfaction, "Mmm, we certainly should invite them to your wedding. Alright, Chinya, you may go attend to your preparations. Biwako and I will be there right on time."
After leaving Hiruzen's house, Chinya's next stop was the Root Base where he found Danzo.
"Lord Danzo, seven days from now I will marry Kushina. I hope Lord Danzo will grace my wedding with your presence."
Danzo had been having a particularly bad few days, but Chinya was still one of his trusted men, so he forced a slight smile. "Understood. I will attend. Allow me to offer my congratulations in advance."
Chinya thanked him, "Thank you, Lord Danzo."
After exiting the Root Base, Chinya had only two invitations left in his hands. He made his way toward the Hokage Tower.
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