On the day of the wedding, the sun over Konoha was warm and bright. The sky was clear, and there was no rain.
The ceremony was held in the most secluded corner of Konoha.
In Obito's previous life, this place had been where the Uchiha clan was forced to move after the Nine-Tails incident. It had been separated from the main residential area of Konoha by a stretch of land that, for a long time, was desolate and empty, symbolizing the rift between the Uchiha and the village.
But now, that was all gone. The area had been transformed into a sea of flowers.
A vast, endless ocean of pink blossoms.
Obito, already dressed in his wedding attire, gazed at the scene before him, yet he knew, this wasn't Rin's favorite kind of view.
Because Rin liked seashells, not flowers. She liked purple, not pink.
Of course, pink strawberries didn't count.
Rin stood beside him in a beautiful wedding gown. Seeing Obito distracted, she asked softly, "What's wrong?"
Obito asked, "Why did you choose this place?"
Rin could tell what he was thinking. She looked out at the field of flowers and said, "Because this is a place that countless girls dream about. They all like chasing romance. You, Obito, in your past life, you wanted to show everyone the most beautiful side of this world. So… I want to do the same."
"After all, between you and me, we don't need this kind of ceremony anymore. You just wanted to give everyone an answer, and I simply followed your wish."
Obito murmured, "Is that so? It really is beautiful."
Rin sighed, "It is."
The two of them stood together at the center of the flower field, waiting for the speeches to begin.
The wedding was grand, but the ceremony itself was short.
The host was Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Rin's parents were the elders representing the family.
When Minato passed the microphone to Obito with a smile and told him to say something to Rin, Obito took the mic and instead asked everyone present a question.
["What do you think peace is?"]
Many people immediately had the same thought, "Peace is when there is no war."
Obito seemed to have already expected that answer. He said, ["A long time ago, an elder from the Uchiha clan once talked to me about peace."]
["He told me that human desire is something that can never be satisfied. Now that there's no more war on Earth, sooner or later, people's vision of peace will start to demand even more."]
["For example, that everyone can live a good life. That every person can be happy."]
["But what kind of life counts as a good life? What kind of happiness truly counts as happiness?"]
["Is it when everyone has food to eat and clothes to wear? Or when everyone can fulfill their own wishes?"]
["Clearly, there's a huge difference between those things. Everyone's standard is different."]
["So now that war has ended, I've thought about it for a long time… and still couldn't figure it out."]
["I can only leave it to all of you to think about."]
He paused, then suddenly turned to look at Rin, and said each word slowly and clearly, ["I'll be watching over all of you, with Rin, always."]
For some reason, the crowd below felt a sudden chill run down their spines. And those who held great power, those who could steer the fate of humanity, felt an even heavier weight settle in their hearts.
But Obito only smiled lightly, ["Not every beautiful vision needs to be realized. Sometimes, the effort we put into trying is more meaningful than the result itself."]
["After all, from my experience, failure is the main theme of life, success is the miracle. We can chase miracles, but we shouldn't expect them to become the norm."]
At this, Yahiko couldn't help but ask from the audience, "Then if miracles don't happen, what will the world become?"
Obito thought for a moment, then smiled, ["Yahiko, do you really want to know?"]
Yahiko nodded, "I do. But even if the outcome is bad, I won't stop trying."
Obito nodded, ["Then perhaps… the Akatsuki will simply fade into history, disappear altogether."]
But Yahiko's expression stayed firm as ever, "Then what about the far future?"
Obito murmured, ["The far future, huh?"]
He paused, a little uncertain, ["After even greater wars, the world seems to have returned to this very same state, but in another form."]
Yahiko smiled, "So that's not a miracle, then, it's the natural course. You always think that if humans imagine a bad result, that bad result will happen. But you forget, when humans imagine something good, that too can come true."
"No matter how, as long as people still long for beauty, I believe, one day, that beauty will come."
Obito thought to himself, 'It does sound true.'
In that first world, he'd died saving Naruto. From his own perspective, yes, there had been regrets. But from humanity's perspective, after the Fourth Great War, perhaps people hadn't lived so badly after all.
Of course, that was assuming that unknown Otsutsuki he'd dealt with wasn't secretly stirring up trouble.
But even if that one wasn't, would there really be no other Otsutsuki causing chaos?
Obito suddenly pointed to the sky, ["Maybe most of you don't know this, but the peace on Earth still faces a great threat."]
["Beyond our world exists a clan known as the Otsutsuki. They harbor deep malice toward Earth and constantly seek to drain our chakra to strengthen themselves."]
["Would you accept something like that?"]
Immediately, many people shouted, "NO, WE WOULDN'T!"
Even though, deep down, they weren't really sure whether such a clan even existed.
Obito smiled, ["Since we won't accept it, then let's work together to stop it."]
After saying that, he handed the microphone to Rin. "Rin, anything you'd like to say?"
Rin just reminded him softly, "Obito, this is our wedding."
Only then did Obito realize he'd gone on a long tangent completely unrelated to the marriage.
So he suddenly raised his voice and declared in the most exaggerated way, ["Then, Rin, I want to be with you for all my life, never part, grow old together till our hair turns white. Will you marry me?"]
Rin stared at him in a daze. She thought she wouldn't be moved anymore, but in that moment, she truly was.
She nodded firmly, "I will."
Then, from somewhere in the crowd, applause suddenly broke out, spreading wider and louder until it filled the entire field, echoing in all directions.
Obito felt in his heart that it was time to act.
He stepped close to Rin, lifted her chin gently, and kissed her.
And they lived happily ever after—