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Half a month flashed by.
Today was the wedding of Minato Namikaze and Miyuki Uzumaki.
As the Hokage's wedding, it was a grand affair by default. Even if Minato wanted a low-key affair… good luck with that.
Every high-ranking official in Konoha, the heads of every major clan, and Minato's personal confidants were all in attendance.
But with so many guests and the village's security needs taking priority, Minato's wedding couldn't follow his personal whims.
Take, for example, the quiet, intimate Shinto-style wedding Qianyu and Kushina had held. Or a Buddhist ceremony before a temple altar. Since neither could be held within Konoha's walls, those options were off the table for the Hokage.
That left one final style.
A wedding ceremony conducted before one's personal faith or conviction.
Minato's faith was the Will of Fire. He'd probably like that. At least, that was Qianyu's guess.
Right now, Qianyu and Kushina Uzumaki, bearing gifts, stepped into the main hall.
They were ushered to their seats by Genma Shiranui, Raidō Namiashi, and Aoba Yamashiro. At a wedding this big, with so many rival factions in one room, letting people sit wherever they wanted was asking for trouble. Seating was pre-assigned.
Orochimaru hadn't come, but Minato had invited him. So Qianyu was carrying a gift on the snake sage's behalf.
Their seats were near the front. Name cards stood on the table.
They sat.
Kushina looked around, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Qianyu chuckled. "You look like it's your first wedding. Weren't you the bride at ours?"
"It's different!" Kushina replied, her mood bright. "We were the main event back then! I was too nervous to even breathe properly. Now we're just guests. This is my first time attending someone else's wedding! And Miyuki's ceremony seems different from ours. Of course I'm curious. I wanna see her in her dress! I'm going to check on her!"
Kushina was already hopping to her feet, practically vibrating with energy, and darting toward the backstage area before Qianyu could respond.
Qianyu shook his head with a fond, helpless smile. He picked up his teacup and took a sip.
Setting it down, his eyes swept across the hall.
The ceremony started in an hour. Most guests had already arrived and were seated.
The front row was reserved for the elders like Hiruzen Sarutobi. Danzō's seat was among them, of course.
Hiruzen and his wife, Biwako Sarutobi, were already seated, waiting patiently.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane had just walked in.
Danzō was nowhere to be seen. Typical.
If not for the risk of appearing disrespectful, the old warhawk probably wouldn't have shown up at all. In Qianyu's opinion, Danzō would slink in at the last possible second.
Across the aisle sat the clan heads: Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyūga, Shikaku Nara, and others.
On Qianyu's side sat other notable Konoha ninja, like the jonin he'd worked with before—Nara Kubota, for instance.
Qianyu's gaze drifted to the child sitting beside Fugaku Uchiha across the way.
The 'Filial' one. Itachi Uchiha.
The kid was only four, but he carried himself with a weird, unnatural gravity. The kid looked… old. Like he'd been born with a frown and a mission.
Itachi seemed to sense the attention. He looked up, his dark eyes meeting Qianyu's across the room.
The boy's small brow furrowed slightly. Then, with a calm that was unnerving in someone so young, he held Qianyu's gaze.
Qianyu's smile widened. Oh, this kid. Interesting.
Fugaku, seated beside his son, noticed the stare-down. "Itachi," he said, his voice low.
Itachi broke eye contact, turning to his father. "Yes, Father?"
"Observe the people here," Fugaku instructed quietly. "They are Konoha's pillars. Some, our clan must cultivate. Others…"
He let the sentence hang.
Itachi, sharp as ever, understood. Some to befriend. Others were already… problematic.
Qianyu fell squarely into the latter category.
Just then, a man holding an infant sat down in the empty seats beside Qianyu.
Qianyu glanced over. It was Hyūga Hizashi, holding his son, Neji, who wasn't even a year old yet.
Looking at the father and son, a wave of quiet melancholy washed over Qianyu.
What a tragic pair.
Hizashi was born mere moments after his elder twin, Hiashi. Those moments condemned him to the lot of the Branch Family—a life of servitude, controlled by the Main House. His fate was to die protecting his brother, or rather, protecting the institution of the Main House, by taking Hiashi's place in death.
And Neji… a prodigy of staggering talent. He'd master the Gentle Fist techniques meant only for the Main House through sheer, relentless effort.
But for all his genius, his status was fixed at birth: a child of the Branch, destined to serve the Main House, to live and die as another's shadow.
He'd watch his father strive for the Main House, suffer under them, die for them.
Was it any wonder that a child who lived through that would grow cynical? To believe fate was an unbreakable chain? In Qianyu's view, it was the most natural reaction in the world.
Later, Naruto Uzumaki's infamous "talk-no-jutsu" would get through to Neji, reshaping his worldview, giving him the courage to defy his supposed destiny. On that point, Qianyu thought Naruto's mouth had done some genuinely good work.
If a person simply accepted their lot, Qianyu believed, they'd never achieve anything remarkable.
But it still left a pang of regret. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Neji Hyūga became the only one of the Konoha 12 to fall. He died protecting Hinata.
It was his choice. A free will.
Yet, to Qianyu, that was also the tragedy's final, bitter twist.
Because in the end, Neji still died for the Main House. The Caged Bird Seal on his forehead was with him until his last breath.
It seemed like he'd rebelled against fate… only for nothing to really change. Like it was all predetermined anyway.
Maybe Neji felt he'd broken the chain. But from Qianyu's vantage point as an observer? It looked like he'd fought a battle only to confirm the prison's walls were still there.
Hizashi, now seated, noticed Qianyu's lingering look and turned, preparing to offer a polite, formal greeting.
What he didn't expect was for Qianyu to speak first.
"Head of the Hyūga Branch Family," Qianyu said, his tone neutral but not unfriendly. "It's been a while."
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