After lunch and a brief one- to two-hour rest...
Yagura, the wedding's general coordinator, gathered all the key participants of tomorrow's ceremony for two more rounds of rehearsal. This time, the groom Kisame and bride Toun joined in.
"Mangetsu, you're the best man. Mei, maid of honor."
"Zabuza, you're officiating. Haku will bring the rings. Suigetsu and Kimimaro, you two will carry the bride's train."
"Logistics and decor, Ringo and Sasori. Ao, you're handling the announcements."
Yagura took the wedding of the first couple in his close circle very seriously. Everyone from their tight-knit group had a part to play, perfectly cast in their roles.
If not for Orochimaru and Uchiha Shisui politely declining, Yagura would've pulled them in too.
They'd all been part of Kirigakure for seven years now, yet those two still kept a bit of distance.
Still, Shisui and Orochimaru kept in touch with each other, and even with a few former Konoha shinobi.
That's why they were only appearing tomorrow as guests at the official ceremony. Shisui would be bringing Sasuke along.
Once the two rehearsals wrapped up, the day's scheduled activities were done.
"Wanna go hang out somewhere?"
Ringo Ameyuri, more proactive than most of the guys, nudged Yagura with a suggestion.
"It's rare for all of us to be together like this. We barely get a chance once a year~"
Aside from Yagura and Sasori—who were pretty much stationed in Kirigakure year-round—everyone else was constantly out on missions across the continent.
Especially now, with their generation of Seven Ninja Swordsmen having grown into Kirigakure's elite fighting force.
Even the youngest, Mangetsu, was already nineteen or twenty now.
They weren't the little ten-year-old sprouts anymore, no longer solely under Yagura's protection. Each of them could now stand strong on their own, making names for themselves in the shinobi world through sheer strength and accomplishments.
So for people like Ringo Ameyuri and the others, they were either out on missions—or en route to one.
Today they might be in the Land of Wind or Fire, clearing out threats from Konoha or Sunagakure. Tomorrow, they could be off to the Land of Rain, working with the Akatsuki to eliminate obstacles.
Yagura glanced around. No one seemed opposed, so he agreed easily.
"Sounds good. Let's use the trendy term for it—Kisame's last weekend of freedom!"
Zabuza grinned at Kisame.
"Your bachelor weekend, huh? Ha! Tomorrow, you walk into marriage and become your wife's loyal shark."
Kisame accepted the tease with good humor. "Where are we going, and how are we doing this?"
"Now you're talking! Leave it to me!" Ringo Ameyuri slung an arm over Yagura's shoulder. "Grilled skewers, booze, karaoke—none of that can be skipped! I'm taking you all to my favorite spot!"
"You still go out a lot these days?"
Yagura gave her a look. She was around Kisame's age—and Kisame was getting married.
Ringo caught the implication. "What's that supposed to mean? So it's fine for men to be forever young at heart, but us women aren't allowed to stay eighteen forever?"
She wasn't even at the age where she had to get married yet!
"Okay, okay," Yagura raised his hands in surrender, smiling. "My bad, my bad. You're right. Now hurry up and lead the way. We've been running around all day—everyone's starving."
"They're already hungry? Did you forget to feed them at lunch or something?"
Ringo took the lead, heading down the road.
She didn't bother with the rougher guys in the group. They could starve for all she cared. But with kids like Haku tagging along, she couldn't just ignore them.
Terumi Mei leaned over and whispered to Yagura,
"Should I take them home first?"
"No!"
Suigetsu threw his hand up. "Sister Mei! We're adults now! We want to do adult stuff!"
"What adult stuff?" Zabuza said dryly, shooting Suigetsu a glance before casting a judgmental stare at Mangetsu, his long-time rival.
He looked at both brothers the same way.
What kind of big brother teaches his little brother that kind of stuff?
Look at my kid, Haku. Not even blood-related, but ten times more well-behaved than your punk brother Suigetsu.
Mangetsu rolled his eyes and shot back a practiced, "Shut up."
He didn't see any issue with how he raised his brother. Zabuza should take a good look in the mirror—wasn't he the one who was ridiculously "mature" at that age?
Suigetsu's eyes sparkled. "Big bro is awesome!"
The brothers stood shoulder-to-shoulder, ready to throw down with Zabuza, in perfect sync—expressions, posture, even that (X) energy, like they were cast from the same mold.
"Kimimaro, heading home early?" Ao crouched down next to him. "I might need to leave soon."
Ao was the one who brought Kimimaro out of the Kaguya compound today.
"I've still got work. Sorry."
Among the trio, Kimimaro was as well-behaved as Haku. Suigetsu was the only one who took after his big brother's rebellious streak.
"It's okay, Ao-san."
Yagura called over, "What kind of work? Is it urgent, Ao?"
"Yeah, from the Elder. Sorry, Mizukage-sama!"
Yagura nodded in understanding. "Got it. You're free to go."
The Elder, Genshi, was still going strong.
Pushing eighty, he'd started to slow down a little on the job, but overall, his health was surprisingly solid. He could continue serving as the country's top minister.
He stayed active, kept up with regular checkups at the medical corps, and kept himself in excellent shape.
But age was still catching up.
The matter of a successor couldn't be ignored forever.
Ao had already been selected as the Elder's successor—a decision made jointly by Yagura and Genshi.
He was incredibly responsible (Kirigakure's #1), methodical and reliable. Maybe a little too stiff, but that actually balanced out Yagura's tendency for bold or erratic ideas. He was like Yagura's anti-fever medicine.
So, while Ao didn't seem part of Yagura's inner circle, his future position was anything but minor.
"I'll skip too," Toun said.
She looked at the group—nearly all top-tier Kirigakure elites—and felt out of place.
"They're all your comrades. I'll take Kimimaro back to the Kaguya compound. Still got a few wedding things to prep."
"Alright. Thanks."
Kisame didn't insist. His large, calloused palm—hardened from years of sword work—settled gently on her shoulder.
"See you tomorrow."
Feeling his hand squeeze softly, Toun's cheeks flushed. She rose slightly on tiptoe in reply.
The rest of the group leaned in, sunglasses on.
"Oooh~"
"Still acting like newlyweds," Mei muttered as she looked away first. Public displays of affection were her weakness.
"Heh, jealous? Hurry up and find someone, Mei," Yagura teased.
Wouldn't do to let things play out like in that other world, where Mei ended up a single woman past her prime.
In that world, she'd sacrificed her youth for Kirigakure and missed her window for marriage.
But in this world, she had Yagura running interference. If she wanted to find someone, she totally could.
As far as Yagura knew, the number of suitors who'd gone to propose to the Terumi clan... well, they'd practically worn a trench through the door.
Sigh... what a buzzkill.
Ringo Ameyuri keenly sensed the mood shift from Yagura's offhand comment. Mei was clearly stressing about marriage.
She quickly broke the tension. "Let's go! If we wait much longer, the place I wanna take you might be packed!"
"Alright, let's move."
Everyone followed behind Ringo Ameyuri. Kisame and the others trailed along.
Sasori was at the end, offering a quiet word to the distracted Mei.
"If you don't want to go, I can speak for you."
They'd worked together during a past battle against Kumogakure. Since then, they'd kept a respectful acquaintance.
Mei forced a smile. "It's Kisame's bachelor night. How could I not go?"
Together, they rejoined the group.
Ringo's favorite joint was a grill tucked away on one of Kirigakure's side streets. Nothing fancy.
The main reason she liked it?
It was close to her place.
Step out her door, take a few turns, and boom—there it was.
Given their status, they reserved a private room.
It wasn't luxurious—kind of out of sync with who they were—but hey, they were here for skewers, not status.
"Boss! This, this, this, and this." Ringo circled items on the menu. "Don't want these. Just grill everything else. Chicken wings, thighs—however much you've got, bring it on!"
The owner had served Ringo before.
But seeing this VIP party today, he felt deep gratitude for his decision to set up shop here all those years ago.
"Right away, right away!"
The food would take time.
Zabuza went ahead and grabbed a few crates of beer.
Pssht! A can popped open. He drank deep.
Haku: staaaaares...
"Don't look." Zabuza, feeling a little guilty, tried to cover Haku's eyes.
But Haku pried open a crack between Zabuza's fingers and stared through.
"Zabuza-san, is it tasty?"
"No, it's awful!" Zabuza barked, glancing nervously at Mangetsu, trying to see how he handled this. Time to steal some parenting tricks.
Mangetsu, however, wasn't even drinking. He just lazily rolled the can in his hand and occasionally pressed the chilled metal to Suigetsu's face to mess with him.
Yagura grabbed the karaoke mic and looked around.
"Anyone want to sing?"
Everyone immediately backed away.
Karaoke was nothing new to Yagura, but for most people in the ninja world, it was still a strange and unfamiliar thing.
Singing in front of so many close friends? Social death. You'd have to change villages the next day.
Even Ameyuri, who came here often, never sang in front of others.
She always booked a private room and sang alone.
Yes, she often did.
And she loved it.
"You guys are no fun. Not even as bold as Suigetsu and Haku."
The two younger boys looked tempted, but with all the grown-ups around, they wisely restrained themselves.
Yagura, ever the instigator, tried again.
"Kisame, you're the groom tomorrow. How about singing one?"
Kisame gave a polite but clearly uncomfortable smile.
Zabuza, noticing Haku's attention had shifted, quickly took another swig—only to choke on it and nearly cough up a lung.
"Cough! Cough, cough— If you want to turn this wedding into a funeral, go ahead and let Kisame sing!"
"Well, we can't just sit around. That's boring."
Clearly, this group wasn't cut out for karaoke. Yagura didn't feel like performing a solo either—that'd just be lame.
He set the mic aside and pulled over a box of board games and card decks from a nearby shelf, spreading them across the table.
"Alright, what do you guys feel like? UNO? Poker? Dice?"
Ameyuri's eyes lit up. She rubbed her hands together like she was about to win big. "Dice! Let me at it! I guarantee I'll destroy you all!"
Her motion with the dice cup was smooth and confident—she was clearly a regular.
Yagura looked surprised.
"Wow, Ameyuri. You're shaping up to be the next gambling prodigy."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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