Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Today was the wedding ceremony of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Miyuki.
As a Hokage's wedding, it was naturally very grand. Even if Namikaze Minato wanted to have a low-key marriage, it would be difficult to arrange.
The top leaders of Konoha, the heads of various ninja clans, and Minato's close friends would all attend his wedding.
However, due to the large number of guests and the need to maintain security in Konoha, Minato's wedding couldn't be held exactly as he might have wished.
For example, Minato couldn't choose a traditional Shinto-style wedding at an Inari Shrine, like the one Sora and Uzumaki Kushina had, or a Buddhist-style ceremony at a temple, because these couldn't be accommodated within Konoha's security protocols.
That left only one type of wedding ceremony.
A ceremony held in front of the people.
This type of wedding was when the bride and groom celebrated their union in front of those who shared their beliefs.
Minato's belief was in the Will of Fire. Sora guessed that Minato would appreciate this type of wedding.
Of course, this was just Sora's own speculation.
At this moment, Sora and Uzumaki Kushina entered the auditorium bearing gifts.
Shiranui Genma, Tatami Raido, and Yamashiro Aoba led Sora and Kushina to their seats.
At such a grand wedding, many of the guests belonged to opposing factions. If they were seated randomly, it might cause tension.
So the seating had been carefully arranged in advance.
Orochimaru didn't attend Minato's wedding, though he had been invited. Sora had brought a gift on Orochimaru's behalf.
Sora and Kushina were placed in prominent positions near the front.
On the table were name placards with "Sora" and "Uzumaki Kushina" written on them.
Sora and Kushina took their seats.
Kushina looked around, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Sora smiled and said, "Why do you look like it's your first time at a wedding? Haven't you been to one before?"
Kushina replied cheerfully, "That's different! When we got married, we were the main characters. I was too nervous to notice anything. Now we're attending someone else's wedding. This is my first time at someone else's ceremony, and Miyuki's wedding seems different from ours, so of course I'm curious!" She bounced in her seat. "I really want to see how Miyuki looks in her wedding dress. Sora, I'm going backstage to see her!"
Kushina jumped up and ran backstage with her characteristic energy.
Sora smiled helplessly, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip.
After setting down the cup, Sora glanced around the auditorium.
The wedding would begin in about an hour, and most of the guests had already arrived and were seated.
The front rows were reserved for high-ranking officials like Sarutobi Hiruzen, with Danzo's seat naturally among them.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and his wife Biwako were already waiting in their seats for the ceremony to begin.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had just arrived.
Danzo hadn't shown up yet, but that wasn't surprising.
If not for fear of criticism, Danzo would definitely skip Minato's wedding entirely.
In Sora's opinion, Danzo would probably appear at the last possible minute.
Across from Sora sat Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, and other clan leaders.
On Sora's side were famous Konoha shinobi, such as Hatake Kakashi and other Jōnin who had worked with Sora.
Sora's eyes drifted to the child sitting beside Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Itachi, the "dutiful son."
Though only four years old, Itachi already had an unusually mature look about him.
Itachi seemed to sense someone watching him. When he raised his head, his eyes met Sora's.
Itachi frowned slightly, then regarded Sora calmly.
Sora's smile brightened.
This Uchiha Itachi was truly interesting.
Fugaku, sitting next to Itachi, noticed Sora staring at his son and immediately called out, "Itachi."
Itachi stopped looking at Sora and turned to Fugaku. "Father, what is it?"
Fugaku didn't speak directly to the point, but said, "Remember the people here well. These people are the backbone of Konoha. Some of them, we of the Uchiha clan need to befriend, and the others..."
Fugaku's voice trailed off abruptly.
The perceptive Itachi immediately understood what his father meant.
Some people needed to be on good terms with, and others were natural adversaries.
Sora was one of those people the Uchiha considered an adversary.
Just then, a father and son took seats next to Sora.
Sora turned and saw Hyuga Hizashi with his son, Hyuga Neji, who was less than a year old, cradled in his arms.
Looking at the father and son, Sora felt a wave of emotion.
This pair had a tragic fate ahead of them.
Hyuga Hizashi and his twin brother Hyuga Hiashi had been born only minutes apart, but that small difference determined Hizashi's fate—relegated to the branch house and controlled by the clan for his entire life.
Eventually, to protect Hiashi—or rather, to protect the clan's secrets—Hizashi would sacrifice himself in his brother's place.
And Neji was destined to be a genius of rare talent. He would use that talent to master Gentle Fist techniques normally reserved for main house members.
But despite his exceptional abilities, Neji wouldn't have the status to match. As a child of the branch house, he was destined to devote his life to serving the main house. He would forever bear the caged bird seal, marking him as a follower.
He would witness his father fight for the clan, be bound by the clan, and ultimately die for the clan.
For a child experiencing such things, it was perfectly natural that Neji would later become cynical and believe that fate was unchangeable.
Later, Uzumaki Naruto would eventually change Neji's outlook, convincing him to resist his predetermined destiny.
Sora thought Naruto's ability to connect with people was quite remarkable.
Sora believed that if a person willingly accepted their fate without question, their future achievements would always be limited.
But what saddened Sora was knowing that in the Fourth Great Ninja War, Neji would become the only one of Konoha's "Konoha 12" to die, sacrificing himself to protect Hinata.
This would be Neji's own choice—his free will.
Yet Sora felt this would also be Neji's greatest tragedy.
Because in the end, Neji would die for the clan, the curse mark on his forehead lasting until his death.
It would seem that while Neji had resisted fate, ultimately he had failed to escape it.
It would appear that nothing had changed—that everything had been predetermined after all.
Perhaps Neji would feel he had defied his destiny, but to Sora, an outside observer, it would seem he had only resisted in vain.
After Hizashi took his seat, he noticed Sora looking at him and turned, preparing to offer a greeting.
But what Hizashi didn't expect was that Sora would speak first.
"Master Hizashi, it's been a long time."
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