The wedding ceremony of Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki had already concluded, and they had officially become husband and wife in the presence of witnesses.
Now, the two were moving from table to table, personally offering sake to their guests.
First on their list was naturally Hiruzen Sarutobi, the most senior figure present.
Chinya and Kushina approached where Hiruzen Sarutobi and Biwako Sarutobi were seated, each carrying a cup of sake.
Smiling, Chinya said, "Third Hokage, Lady Biwako, thank you both for making time to attend our wedding."
Hiruzen smiled warmly. "For your wedding with Kushina, of course Biwako and I would make time to be here. Chinya, you're a great hero of Konoha, and we've practically watched both of you grow up."
After smiling and raising his cup for a toast, Chinya continued, "Then please feel free to enjoy yourselves, Third Hokage and Lady Biwako. Kushina and I still need to greet other guests."
Chinya and Kushina then made their way to where Danzo was sitting.
Right now, Danzo was putting on a forced smile.
He had assumed that Chinya wouldn't invite Minato Namikaze to the wedding, yet Minato Namikaze had actually shown up.
This caused Danzo, who was naturally suspicious, to start thinking deeply.
Chinya was extremely important now—not only in terms of strength but also reputation. Even more importantly, he played a crucial role in the Uchiha Clan's plans.
If Chinya turned against them, Danzo would lose the initiative. He had been planning to gain significant benefits through Chinya during the Uchiha Clan's scheme.
Although Chinya bore the Curse Seal of Absolute Silence, the seal itself held no real control over him.
If Chinya truly switched sides, there wasn't much Danzo could do about it.
Seeing Danzo's sour face, almost like he'd bitten into something rotten, Chinya smirked and raised his cup for a toast.
"Lord Danzo," he said, "Tomorrow I plan to personally visit Root Headquarters to see you—I have some matters I'd like to discuss with you. Do you happen to have time tomorrow?"
When he heard this, Danzo raised his head and locked eyes with Chinya. Chinya's gaze briefly flicked toward Minato Namikaze's direction.
Instantly understanding, Danzo's forced smile disappeared.
So Chinya hadn't betrayed him and sided with Hiruzen Sarutobi or Minato Namikaze after all—he was still on Danzo's side.
And by saying he wanted to talk things over, Chinya probably intended to explain why he invited Minato today.
Even without any explanation, though, Danzo now believed Chinya remained loyal to his faction.
After all, Chinya had clearly shown where he stood.
Danzo raised his cup and clinked it with those of Chinya and Kushina. "Congratulations on your marriage! Don't rush to visit me—you two just got married today. Take some time off and enjoy your new life together."
Still smiling, Chinya responded, "Thank you for your understanding, Lord Danzo, but I'll still drop by tomorrow. There are some matters I really want to discuss with you."
Danzo nodded. "Alright, I'll wait for you at Root Headquarters tomorrow."
Next, Chinya approached the table where Minato Namikaze and Uzumaki Miyuki sat.
Uzumaki Miyuki offered her congratulations. "Congratulations to you both. You've finally tied the knot."
Kushina Uzumaki said happily, "Yes, Miyuki! Next it'll be your turn!"
Uzumaki Miyuki replied shyly, "Don't say such things, Kushina."
Minato Namikaze raised his glass toward Chinya and said, "Congratulations, Chinya."
"Thank you," Chinya responded.
Chinya tapped glasses with Minato Namikaze.
Then Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki walked over to where Orochimaru sat. Kakashi was also seated beside Orochimaru, enjoying the banquet.
"Teacher Orochimaru, Kakashi, thank you for all your hard work at the wedding. We really appreciate your help."
Orochimaru took a sip of wine before replying, "It wasn't any trouble. As your elder, I'm very happy to see you two getting married."
Kakashi swallowed his food and added, "Yeah, I was just greeting people, and there weren't even that many guests. Not tiring at all."
After offering drinks to Orochimaru and Kakashi, Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki finally approached the table where Kushina's three good friends were sitting.
Kushina's three friends—after all, just ordinary ninja—seemed even more nervous than Chinya and Kushina themselves. Everyone here, except Kakashi, were big shots only seen on important occasions. They felt both excited and anxious inside.
After the wedding ended and everyone left, Chinya and Kushina returned home with their gifts.
Back home, Kushina let her guard down completely, collapsing onto the sofa and complaining, "I shouldn't have gotten tired at all, but it feels like I just came back from an S-rank mission."
After changing clothes, Chinya gave Kushina a meaningful wink and said, "Wait until later—you'll get even more tired."
Used to Chinya's playful ways, Kushina instantly understood what he meant. Her face turned bright red as she shot back defiantly, "Who gets more tired is still up in the air!"
...
The next day.
Chinya and Kushina slept in until noon.
Still lying in bed, exhausted from the previous night, Kushina didn't feel like getting up.
Chinya gently pinched Kushina's soft cheek before getting up and asking, "Kushina, what do you want for lunch? I'll cook it for you."
Her voice slightly hoarse, Kushina replied, "I feel like having sukiyaki (a sweet savory Japanese hot pot)."
"Great. Then I'll go buy the ingredients first. I'll call you when it's ready."
"Mm-hmm."
Chinya left the house to purchase groceries.
A smile had been plastered on his face since he woke up.
After knowing Kushina for so many years, they had finally achieved their happy ending.
Moreover, he had achieved one of his key milestones—successfully preventing Kushina from becoming a Jinchuriki. Everything was moving in a positive direction.
Now, it was time for Chinya to achieve his ultimate goal.
The future Shinobi World would be full of dangers.
His goal was simple—to carve out a place for himself in this perilous world.
Perhaps because of the Uchiha fighting blood that ran through half his veins, Chinya longed to test himself against powerful opponents.
After purchasing the ingredients for sukiyaki, Chinya took out the Ring on his way home, infused it with chakra, and notified Yahiko. He asked Yahiko to bring the new members to Tonton Street in the Land of Fire.
Judging from the Ring Chinya gave to Yahiko, two members had already joined the Xiao organization.
Back home, Chinya prepared sukiyaki—a sweet and savory hot pot dish. After finishing lunch with Kushina Uzumaki, he headed toward the Root Division.
Besides wanting to reassure Danzo, Chinya also wanted to find out Danzo's next plan regarding the Uchiha Clan.
As a hardliner, Danzo would inevitably want him to continue harshly targeting the Uchiha Clan.
But as a moderate, Hiruzen Sarutobi would certainly not agree. Previously, his radical stance was due to wartime necessity—stopping the Uchiha Clan from gaining great achievements to prevent them from becoming uncontrollable after the war.
Now that the war had ended and peace prevailed across the Shinobi World, Hiruzen would absolutely no longer support such an aggressive approach, nor allow Chinya to keep targeting the Uchiha Clan so intensely.
Chinya clearly had no place in such a moderate strategy. Moreover, someone more suitable had now come forward—Shisui Uchiha.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>