Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Today was the wedding ceremony of Minato Namikaze and Miyuki Uzumaki.
As the wedding of the current Hokage, it was naturally extremely grand. Even if Minato wanted a low-key wedding, pulling it off would have been nearly impossible.
Konoha's high-ups, clan leaders from various ninja clans, and Minato's closest allies all attended his wedding.
However, with so many guests and security needing to be maintained throughout Konoha, Minato couldn't host his wedding exactly as he wished.
For example, a Shinto-style wedding like the one Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki might have held at Inari Shrine, or a Buddhist-style ceremony in a temple—both were impossible to hold in Konoha, so Minato could not choose either of these two types of rituals.
That left only one option.
A human-witnessed ceremony.
In this ritual, the groom and bride held their wedding before witnesses they personally believed in.
Minato's belief was the Will of Fire; according to Chinya's guess, this method should suit him quite well.
Of course, this was just Chinya's assumption.
At this moment, Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki entered the banquet hall carrying gifts.
Shiranui Genma, Rai Tonami, and Aoba Yamashiro led Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki to their seats.
Given that such a grand wedding involved many guests from opposing factions, seating had been arranged in advance—randomly choosing a seat might cause potential disturbances.
Orochimaru hadn't come to Minato Namikaze's wedding, though Minato had invited him regardless. Thus, Chinya brought a gift on Orochimaru's behalf.
Seats for Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki were arranged near the front.
Name tags labeled "Chinya" and "Kushina Uzumaki" sat on the table.
Chinya and Kushina Uzumaki took their seats.
Looking around restlessly, Kushina seemed extremely curious.
Chinya chuckled and said, "You sure act like this is your first wedding! Come on, you've already tied the knot, right?"
Kushina grinned brightly and replied, "It's totally different! Back then, we were the stars of the show—and I was so nervous I didn't even notice what was going on! Today we're attending someone else's wedding. This is my first time doing that. Plus, the way Miyuki's wedding is being held feels different from how ours was done. Of course I'm curious!
I really want to see what Miyuki looks like in her wedding dress. Chinya, I'm going backstage to check her out!"
With her usual boundless energy, Kushina sprang up and dashed toward the back area.
Chinya helplessly smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
After placing the cup back down, he cast his eyes across the entire banquet hall.
The wedding would begin within another hour, and most of the guests had already arrived and taken their seats.
Near the very front were seats reserved for high-ranking figures such as Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Danzo's seat naturally belonged among them as well.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Biwako Sarutobi were already seated, waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado had just arrived.
Danzo hadn't shown up yet—but that was normal.
If not for fear of idle gossip, Danzo definitely wouldn't have attended Minato Namikaze's wedding.
So in Chinya's view, Danzo wouldn't appear until the very last second.
Across from Chinya stood clan leaders from various ninja clans, including Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyuga, Shikaku Nara, and others.
On Chinya's side were respected Konoha ninjas, such as Wada Nara, an experienced Jonin who had worked with Chinya before.
Chinya's gaze shifted toward a child standing beside Fugaku Uchiha on the opposite side.
Itachi Uchiha, the exceedingly dutiful son.
Despite being only four years old, Itachi gave off an aura of unusual maturity around Chinya.
Itachi seemed to sense someone watching him. When he looked up, his eyes met Chinya's directly.
The young boy furrowed his brow slightly, then calmly maintained eye contact with Chinya.
Chinya's smile widened even further.
This kid Itachi was indeed quite interesting.
Fugaku Uchiha, standing next to his son, noticed Chinya staring and immediately called out, "Itachi."
Itachi broke eye contact with Chinya and turned toward his father. "Yes, Father?"
Fugaku didn't explain directly but said instead, "Memorize everyone here. These people are the backbone of Konoha. Some we must maintain good relations with, while others…"
He left his sentence hanging.
The intelligent Itachi instantly understood his father's meaning.
If one group required good relations, the other was surely already at odds.
And Chinya was among that opposing group.
Just then, a father and son duo sat down beside Chinya.
Turning his head, Chinya saw Hizashi Hyuga and his infant son Neji Hyuga, who hadn't even reached one year of age yet.
Looking at this pair, Chinya couldn't help but feel moved.
Born only moments after his elder brother Hiashi — an event that decided his fate to live under the shadow of the main house — Hizashi ultimately sacrificed himself to protect Hiashi, or rather, to preserve the main family.
As for Neji, he was an exceptionally gifted prodigy who mastered techniques of the Gentle Fist style—traditionally reserved for the main family—entirely through his own talent.
Yet despite possessing such extraordinary ability, he lacked any corresponding status; born into the branch family, fated from birth to serve the main house for his entire life under its control.
He witnessed his father's lifelong struggles, the oppression he endured — all for the sake of the main family — and ultimately, his death.
In Chinya's eyes, it was completely understandable why Neji grew up cynical, believing destiny could never be changed.
Later on, though, Naruto Uzumaki changed everything with nothing but his words, completely shifting Neji's perspective and giving him the strength to fight back against fate.
That left a deep impression on Chinya — it was truly something remarkable that Naruto accomplished.
Chinya believed that if a person willingly accepts their so-called fate, they will never achieve anything remarkable.
But what pained Chinya most was that during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Neji became the sole casualty among Konoha's Twelve Shinobi Rookies — dying in an attempt to protect Hinata.
That had been Neji's own choice, an expression of his free will.
Yet to Chinya, this felt like the most tragic moment of Neji Hyuga's life.
Neji ultimately died for the Main Family, and the cursed seal on his forehead remained until death.
Although Neji seemed to have resisted fate, in the end, it appeared as though he had failed.
It felt like nothing had changed—as though everything had been destined from the start.
Perhaps Neji thought he had resisted fate, but to Chinya, watching from the sidelines, it seemed like he'd resisted absolutely nothing—all for naught.
After taking his seat, Hizashi Hyuga noticed Chinya staring at him and turned his head in response, readying himself to greet him first.
However, much to Hizashi Hyuga's surprise, Chinya greeted him first.
"Lord Hizashi, it's been a long time."
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