Kazuki's first arranged marriage meeting ended with him receiving the classic "you're a good person" card. But honestly, he was fine with that—he hadn't planned on falling in love anyway. At least not right now.
If he ever did, it'd be after he defeated Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Akimichi Ren'ō had been upfront with him: she'd been forced into this meeting. In truth, she already liked someone—an ordinary shinobi, not from a clan. She hoped Kazuki could understand.
And Kazuki absolutely could. It didn't matter to him. Sure, Ren'ō was cute and had a graceful charm, but she didn't particularly captivate him.
In fact, this saved him the trouble of trying to escape the whole situation. Mission: Survive Marriage Meeting—complete.
Uncle Suzaku was a little disappointed, but he didn't push. He understood: you can't force a melon to ripen by pulling on it.
"Kazuki, actually…" Suzaku began, eyeing him with that familiar uncle vibe.
Kazuki immediately shook his head. Please no—no more clan beauties trying to tie him down! If he really wanted that, he could've gone drinking with Jiraiya and experienced the adult world the fun way.
"Well, I suppose… after all, she's Shimura Danzō's daughter," Suzaku sighed.
Kazuki froze.
Wait, WHAT?
Danzō had a daughter?!
That old bastard actually reproduced?
But, thinking about it—it made sense. The Sarutobi clan stood behind Hiruzen. The Shimura clan stood behind Danzō. It wasn't a big clan, but it was still a shinobi family.
So, Danzō having a daughter wasn't strange.
"Elder Shimura Danzō… really has a daughter?" Kazuki asked, curious. In the manga, Danzō was basically the designated scapegoat, the guy everyone blamed, a clown carrying all the village's sins. His personal life was almost never touched on.
"Yeah, I've seen her. Quite a cute girl, actually," Suzaku added, thinking Kazuki was interested. But Kazuki quickly waved his hands—absolutely not.
No way he was getting involved with Danzō's kid.
Suzaku looked a little regretful. He even started suspecting Kazuki might have a secret girlfriend outside the village. But after Kazuki explained himself, Suzaku seemed convinced. He patted Kazuki on the shoulder, clearly reassured.
Kazuki's decision to focus on improving his strength first wasn't a bad one. The stronger a shinobi was, the more options they'd have for marriage later anyway.
Well—except for Terumī Mei.
But Kazuki figured Mei's singleness was probably because her standards were too high. Combine that with her raw power, and most men wouldn't even dare approach her.
Having survived the near-marriage debacle, Kazuki returned to his usual training routine. In his dreams, he was already the strongest ninja in the world—slapping down Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha like gnats.
But reality came knocking the next morning, when Kazuki was summoned to the Hokage Tower.
What the hell?
Something big must've happened.
When he arrived, he was greeted by several familiar faces.
Sarutobi Hiruzen—still not completely aged—was smoking his pipe. When he saw Kazuki, he nodded and gave a warm smile. Kazuki bowed respectfully. Hiruzen had taught him several jutsu and offered a lot of support; Kazuki genuinely respected the man.
One of the jutsu Hiruzen had given him was quite unique, but Kazuki hadn't practiced it yet. He already had too many techniques on his plate, and adding more would only lead to chaos.
Then he saw Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzō.
Danzō, unsurprisingly, shot him a look of thinly veiled hostility.
Kazuki knew exactly why.
He'd rejected Danzō's invitation to join Root. That must've thrown a wrench in Danzō's plans, so now the old snake had it out for him. Still, as long as Kazuki stayed in Minato's camp, he had nothing to worry about.
But seeing all the elders gathered in one place made Kazuki uneasy.
This wasn't a matchmaking setup.
It had to be…
Then it clicked.
Of course.
Moments later, Minato entered the room, scanned the faces, nodded at Kazuki, and sat down at the head of the table.
Time for the Konoha council meeting.
"The main topic today concerns the steam locomotive blueprints that Kazuki submitted after his mission," Minato announced, placing the plans on the table.
Everyone in the room had clearly reviewed them already. No one said a word.
Kazuki's instincts had been right—it was about the train.
He'd wondered if Minato had forgotten all about it, but it turned out the Hokage had simply been waiting for the right time.
And now that time had come.
Since Kazuki was the one who brought the schematics back—and had seen the train in action during his mission in the Land of Snow—he was now the village's designated train expert.
So he was pushed forward to brief the elders.
"This steam locomotive… I came across it during a mission in the Land of Snow. It can haul a lot of cargo, and its transport capacity is—" Kazuki explained what he knew, painting a picture of potential for Konoha's future.
The elders listened quietly.
Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Kazuki a warm, approving smile—clearly proud that Kazuki was thinking of the village's long-term development.
"This train… the cost won't be small. Building the train itself is doable, but how will we lay down the tracks? The village's budget can't support that," Mitokado Homura said, raising the first objection.
And it was true—track-laying was a huge logistical headache.
Within moments, the entire room erupted into noise, turning into a chaotic market square. Every elder had their own opinion.
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