[Read up to Chapter 231 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/SlytherinManor]
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The day of the wedding, Naka Shrine—
Red and white cloth hung from the eaves, and paper lanterns lined the path up to the shrine. Pine and bamboo stood at the entrance in the old style, shimenawa stretched across the gate, and the altar had been dressed with sake, salt, and carefully arranged flowers.
The courtyard itself had been cleared and laid with fresh mats. Gold thread caught the light on the banners bearing the Uchiha fan. With that much care and expense, the place looked less like the wedding of a clan patriarch and more like a ceremony for royalty.
That was not surprising. The man being married was the Uchiha Kanzou. Was he any less than royalty? Obviously not!
He may just be the Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan, but before long, he'd become the God of this entire world. This opulence and regal treatment is the least that he deserves, right?
It's just that even with all that grandeur, something was missing.
People.
The venue had been prepared for the kind of crowd that never arrived. Invitations had gone out to the other clans, and almost none of their patriarchs or leaders had come.
The Ino–Shika–Chō trio had originally meant to make an appearance. But once word reached them that the Hokage himself would be boycotting the wedding, they reassessed the risk and stayed away.
Someone as sharp as Shikaku could not miss the tension growing between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha. Attending Kanzou's wedding would have been a statement, and a dangerous one. Their alliance had always thrived under the Hokage's favour. Siding with the Uchiha now would have put that at risk.
Their choice was obvious. They would stand with the Hokage.
But Shikaku also understood that giving Kanzou no face at all would sour relations completely, and that could become its own trouble. So the trio sent expensive gifts, and they sent other people. Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Chōza did not come themselves; they did send Nara Yoshino, Yamanaka Fuyumi, and an Akimichi fat girl, who is completely irrelevant because of her obese body.
The presence of these three Kunoichi could be read as personal, not as the will of the clans, and it kept the alliance looking neutral.
A few other clans followed the same example. They sent expensive gifts and junior member of the Clans that may have some private tie or contact to the Uchiha Clan, so the visit could be called a personal choice rather than a clan decision.
While that was better than nobody appearing, the fact remained that not many representatives of another clan or family had come to attend.
Only one outsider who was a real leader showed up, and that was Hatake Sakumo.
Hiruzen had not told him about the boycott. He had wanted to see whether Sakumo would attend Uchiha Kanzou's wedding. And Sakumo did. He had not thought the matter through, and he did not know the quieter game being played. Holed up at home, he had little sense of what was moving through the village. He came because he had been invited, because he did not want Kanzou offended enough to target Kakashi, and perhaps because he needed a change of air.
But arriving at the Shrine, Sakumo noticed the missing faces, and only then did he realize something was off.
"Otou-san… what's the matter?" Kakashi tugged at his sleeve.
"It's nothing." Sakumo did not want to put any of this on the boy. "Aren't your friends also here? How about you go and play with them?"
"It's just Guy and Bakabito." Kakashi snorted. Both of them were weaklings and losers. Why would he want to hang around them?
"You should make friends," Sakumo said. But at that, he recalled his own friends that had been accusing him and blaming him for abandoning the mission, and he was no longer certain whether friends should be made or not...
'No... something like that is too much to put on Kakashi...' he thought and urged his son.
Kakashi went, reluctantly, toward Obito and Guy. Meanwhile, Sakumo sat down. He could feel that something was wrong, but he had already come. Leaving halfway would be rude, so he could only attend the rest of the ceremony.
Fortunately, a few faces from his academy days appeared to accompany him. "Isn't this Hatake Sakumo-san?"
"Ohh… Uchiha Makoto-san." Sakumo stood to greet him. Makoto had his family with him, and Uchiha Tsubaki was there as well, alone.
"Tsubaki-san."
"Sakumo-san." She returned the greeting.
Makoto and Tsubaki went back with him to the academy. The ties were not close. Different clans, different factions. Even so, it was not difficult to stand together and catch up. Sakumo had company, and they were kind enough not to touch the matter of his recent mission failure.
...
Even though outsiders were few, the ground around the Naka Shrine was still full. Most of those present were, of course, Uchihas. After all, it was the Patriarch's wedding, almost the entire clan had come.
With a population in the thousands, the venue did not feel empty at all.
In front of them, the groom and the bride stood opposite each other.
Kanzou wore a black montsuki haori marked with white crests at the chest, a white under-robe, and a long black hakama striped in dark gray. White tabi and black geta completed the formal look.
Opposite him, Mikoto wore a pure white shiromuku. The sleeves and skirt were embroidered with golden cranes in flight and delicate floral motifs. A red-and-gold obi cinched her waist. A white tsunokakushi framed her face, pinned with red flowers and gold ornaments along with red earrings that caught the lantern light. Kanzou had to say... Mikoto... she really looked too beautiful. So beautiful that even he couldn't help but want to burn that beautiful face gazing at him with devotion and desire in her eyes into his memories.
It was only the priests' voice that brought him out of his stupor, "Then let's begin the wedding rites,"
"Yeah..." nodded Kanzou and Mikoto.
First came the purification. At the temizuya they rinsed their hands and mouths.
Then they approached the altar together.
The shrine priest conducted the ceremony in a measured voice. Kanzou and Mikoto performed the san-san-kudo, exchanging three sips of sake three times from the shared cups.
When the last sip was taken, Kanzou playfully warned Mikoto, "This is the last chance, Mikoto... do you want to back away?"
Mikoto pursed her lips in annoyance, "Please don't start this... I have already made my decision."
"Since that's the case then... From this day, Uchiha Mikoto is my wife," Kanzou declared, the words carrying across the quiet courtyard.
She met his eyes and answered in a steady, longing voice. "And I, Uchiha Mikoto, take Uchiha Kanzou-sama as my husband. I will stand beside him through everything."
Then, under the instructions of the priest, they stepped before the altar together and presented a sacred sakaki branch adorned with paper strips. They laid it down in the same motion, then executed two deep bows, two crisp claps, and a final bow as Mikoto whispered to the Gods, "May our bond remain forever and in every karmic cycle."
Kanzou chuckled. "Are you sure you won't regret forever and every karmic cycle?"
She shook her head. "No. I want this to be for... forever."
"Fufu… very well then."
They turned to face the gathered clansmen. Attendants filled the cups with sacred sake. Kanzou raised his. "To the future of the Uchiha!"
The answer came back in a roar. "To the Patriarch and Matriarch!"
The clan drank together, binding Mikoto into his line.
The head priest offered a final blessing. Kanzou turned and offered Mikoto his arm. As they walked side by side out of the inner courtyard, the solemn quiet broke into applause and cheers.
The gathering then moved to a banquet under lanterns within the Uchiha compound.
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Rows of tables had been set, traditional dishes laid out, casks of sake opened. At the head of the feast, beside Kanzou, an unveiled Mikoto listened as clansmen stepped forward to offer toasts and gifts.
The other guests came in turn. They praised Kanzou, admired Mikoto's beauty and virtue, and congratulated the two of them on marrying each other.
Familiar faces passed as well. Uchiha Hazuki, Kurama Uroko, Fūma Misaki, Fūma Chiaki (Neko-baa), Might Duy and his son, and Kanzou's own subordinates, Shin, Souta, Satoru, and the rest, each with a gift. Uchiha Seiji came with his wife Kasumi and their son Shisui. Uchiha Makoto came with his wife and their daughters, Natsuhi and Mira. Uchiha Araki, with his non-Uchiha wife and half-blood children, Uchiha Tsubaki, Uchiha Kurumi, and others, followed.
Some congratulated them openly and with real warmth. Some stayed polite and nothing more. A few hid envy behind the same polite exterior and did not let it break.
Kanzou and Mikoto received them all. Even Sakumo, with Kakashi at his side, gave a polite nod, a short congratulations, and a gift before stepping back.
Through all of it, Mikoto kept looking for a certain red-haired figure and did not find her.
"Kushina-chan… did she not come?" she murmured, frowning. She could understand the others staying away. Political tension explained that. Kushina not showing up was different. Mikoto did not know the secret Hiruzen was guarding, so the absence only felt odd.
Kanzou had made sure the invitation reached her. She still had not arrived.
Mikoto glanced at him, wondering whether he knew something, or whether he had already moved on her.
"Don't look at me like that... I haven't done anything to her yet." Kanzou defended himself and murmured, "It seems she didn't come at all..." The reason was obvious enough to him. Hiruzen must have kept her away.
Since he said she had not come, Mikoto did not suspect him of having already laid a hand on her. He did not lie about things like that, so she trusted him. That only left the other question. "Then how come she didn't come?"
It was strange. Kushina had been clingy that day at the tea shop, and after that she had not contacted Mikoto at all. 'Did she get offended?'
Mikoto was not sure what to feel. Glad that Kanzou might not go after her? No. Distance from Kushina did not mean he would leave her alone, so that relief was useless. The real problem was simpler. Kushina might be keeping her distance. 'Did she... really get offended?'
"Let's think about that later," Kanzou said.
"Yes." She nodded. It was her wedding day. She was a little sad that one of her closest friends had not come, but she turned her attention back to the ceremony. The man she loved was Kanzou. As long as he was there, the others did not concern her all that much.
In this scenario, the wedding continued before coming to a conclusion, and at the end, Kanzou only snorted, "Humph, a lot of people I wanted to show up didn't show up..." But he wasn't offended; rather, he was amused, "How utterly ignorant of them."
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Hokage Office—
Hiruzen received word of who had shown up at the wedding and who had not. Most of it matched what he had expected, and that part left him satisfied. The report that Hatake Sakumo had attended did not. "Sakumo, huh?"
His eyes turned colder. He had wanted to see whether Sakumo would go. Sakumo had gone. "It seems… you really do intend to betray me…"
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Uchiha Kanzou & Uchiha Mikoto Wedding Photo (Image here)
For the happy couple, be sure to drop loads of power Stonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter 231 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/SlytherinManor]