Shindai wanted to hole up at home like usual, making excuses to avoid going out, but plans never survive contact with reality.
He originally thought Obito, that scatterbrain, would become Hokage before getting married. However, he never expected Obito's sequence would be getting married first, then becoming Hokage.
After digging into things, Shindai realized it had actually been Kushina Uzumaki who'd set him up.
It came up during a casual chat between Obito, Rin Nohara, and Kushina Uzumaki that Minato Namikaze had gotten so swamped with work after becoming Hokage that he barely had any time left for her.
So Obito and Rin decided to get married before Obito succeeded as Hokage, instead of waiting for Kakashi.
Although they'd briefly considered holding a joint wedding, Kakashi was still busy building his relationship with Hanare.
However, on the day of Obito and Rin's wedding, Pakura and Hikaku Uchiha forced Shindai to hit the road for a trip the moment the ceremony ended — no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
"I mean, why are you in such a rush, Obito? Can't you become Hokage first and then get married? Does that little bit of time really make a difference?"
An hour before the wedding was set to officially kick off, Obito already had everything sorted and was just waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Obito shot back with a cheeky grin, "Oh totally! There's absolutely a difference! If I wait till I'm Hokage to marry Rin, chances are I won't have much time with her at all. But if we tie the knot now, I'll have plenty of time to spend with Rin."
Grabbing Obito by the shoulders dramatically, Shindai begged, "Obito, for my sake — delay your wedding! Just wait till after you become Hokage, alright? Let's stage a full-on runaway groom situation!"
Kakashi smacked Shindai upside the head and shot back, "Have you even heard yourself? Saying stuff like that? Postponing a wedding for you? Elopement? Are you watching some cheesy soap opera or something?"
Looking thoroughly miserable, Shindai mumbled, "But...I'm gonna get dragged on a road trip the second your wedding's over anyway~"
Obito blinked in confusion, "Wandering? What do you mean, wandering?"
Kakashi snarked, "Pakura and Hikaku are planning to travel with Shindai right after your wedding, but this guy — Shindai — doesn't even wanna step outside."
Obito gave Shindai a look mixing envy, jealousy, and pure disbelief as he said, "I'd kill to go traveling with Rin too! And here you are, Mr. Shindai, refusing to leave the house!"
Shindai shrugged it off, "What's fun about traveling? Camping outdoors and roughing it? I'd rather just hang at home, eating, drinking, and sleeping in comfort."
"Pfft, sure thing! Enjoy your freedom while it lasts, Shindai!"
Suddenly, Hikaku Uchiha's voice cut through Shindai's thoughts.
Startled, Shindai snapped, "Could you stop spying on me with [Eight Trigrams Sealing Array]?! I need some privacy too! Fine, fine, I apologize!"
Kakashi and Obito exchanged pitying glances as they watched Shindai. This guy always remembered every bite he took but somehow forgot the beatings he got right after.
The door to the room opened, and Minato Namikaze stood at the doorway with a smile on his face as he said to Obito, "Obito, it's time."
Obito took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart as he followed Minato out of the room.
Just outside, Kushina Uzumaki was also stepping out of her room, hand in hand with Rin Nohara.
Obito and Rin stood facing each other. Obito gently took Rin's hand and smiled. "Let's go, Rin."
Rin gave him a bright smile in return. "Okay, Obito."
Obito and Rin walked hand in hand into a future filled with love and light.
...
Three days after the wedding ceremony.
Shindai frowned as he asked, "Do we really have to leave so soon? Can't we wait another one or two months?"
Pakura pinched Shindai's ear. "One or two months? Why don't you just say one or two years?!"
Muttering under his breath, Shindai said, "Well, one or two years would be fine too. That way, I could attend Obito's succession ceremony, maybe even see Kakashi's wedding. If we wait longer, I might even get to see Naruto's wedding…"
Hikaku Uchiha pinched Shindai's other ear. "Why don't you just leave in your next life then?!"
Wincing from the pain, Shindai still tried to negotiate. "But what about the shop if we leave? What about Maki's Puppet training?"
Pakura huffed, "Don't worry about that. Maki has been working hard these past few months. She's almost completely mastered Puppet-making based on what you taught her, and she already knows how to create the shop's puppets. So she'll handle the shop for us. Alright, no more excuses. It's time to go!"
Once they had packed all their belongings, Pakura and Hikaku left home with Shindai.
When they arrived at Konoha's main gate, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Biwako Sarutobi, and Minato's group were already there, along with Naruto and others.
Jiraiya and his companions were preparing to take the elderly Hiruzen and Biwako on a journey of exploration.
Minato's group was there to see them off.
Minato noticed Shindai loaded up with heavy bags and expressed surprise. "Oh? Are you guys leaving today too?"
Shindai made a bitter face. "Yeah~"
Hinata said with a tinge of sadness, "Teacher, how long will you and Teacher Pakura and Teacher Hikaku be gone on this trip?"
Shindai immediately answered, "At the very least, one or two days. At most, a week!"
Hinata's sadness vanished instantly, and she tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"
Pakura and Hikaku smirked slightly and told Hinata, "Don't listen to him. The minimum would probably be one or two years."
Shindai nearly dropped to the ground when he heard "one or two years."
Naruto sighed wistfully, "I won't see Shindai-niisan for one or two whole years. I'm really going to miss you."
Shindai replied with a scowl, "I'm not dying yet! Why would you miss me?"
"
Sasuke said with a hint of schadenfreude, "At least it'll be quiet for the next one or two years."
Shindai glared darkly at Sasuke. "Don't worry, I've got plenty of ways to keep things lively for you!"
Sasuke's eyelid twitched. For some reason, he suddenly felt something bad was about to happen.
Obito asked in surprise, "Then does that mean none of you will be able to attend my succession ceremony?"
Shindai rolled his eyes at Obito. "Who cares about you? Just becoming Hokage? If I weren't uninterested in the position myself, do you really think it would fall to you?"
Kakashi mocked, "I wonder who was the one telling Obito to get lost, pushing him to become Hokage and have his face carved on the Hokage Rock?"
Exposed by Kakashi, Shindai became so embarrassed and angry that he almost attacked him.
Asuma nudged Shindai with his elbow and raised his eyebrows teasingly. "When we return to Konoha next time, don't come back as just three people. You should definitely bring four... no, at least five people back, right?"
Shindai cast a dangerous glance toward Mirai Sarutobi in Kurenai Yuhi's arms, grinning mischievously. "Rest assured, I'll definitely send you a blondie then!"
Asuma immediately turned green with anger. He stepped in front of Kurenai Yuhi, blocking Shindai's view and shielding Mirai from sight—just because he opened his big mouth and mentioned the kid!
"Alright then, we're off!"
Shindai, Pakura, Hikaku Uchiha, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen Sarutobi with Lady Sarutobi left Konoha and embarked on their separate journeys.
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