Jie's return did not attract much attention in Konoha.
Other than Tsunade complaining for a while, life in the village stayed the same. Many villagers, and even some ninja, did not know that the Fifth Hokage had quietly left the village for two years.
After Jie carried out many reforms, the Hokage became more of a symbol of the village's highest authority. As for Jie, who often came and went without warning, people slowly began to see him as mysterious and powerful.
However, not long after he returned, a piece of news spread through Konoha and shocked the entire village.
The Fifth Hokage was getting married.
"What? Lord Fifth is getting married?"
"Who is the bride? His childhood sweetheart?"
"That's great!"
"This is really good news!"
People talked about it everywhere, excited and happy.
To them, Jie was the best Hokage Konoha had ever had. He was strong enough to keep the other great villages in check and even made them pay compensation to Konoha. He also helped the village become rich and prosperous.
Now, when Konoha's people traveled outside, they could proudly say where they came from. The village was strong, wealthy, and safe. The ninja were powerful, and ordinary people could live without fearing war.
This strength made everyone feel secure.
For the first time in many years, both ninja and civilians were proud to be part of Konoha.
So when they heard that their Hokage was finally getting married, they were happy for him and sincerely wished him well.
As the person everyone was talking about, Jie was sitting at home in the Uchiha clan area.
But he was not smiling.
Instead, he looked helpless.
It was not because he did not want to marry Izumi. During the two years they traveled together, their feelings for each other had become very strong. Jie had always known that they would get married one day.
The reason he felt helpless was something else.
Even though he was the groom, he found out about the wedding later than many people in the village.
When he thought about what had happened a few days earlier, Jie could only shake his head.
After he and Izumi returned to Konoha, Fugaku and Mikoto were very happy to see them again after such a long time. Mikoto only needed one look at Izumi to notice that something had changed between her and Jie.
Izumi looked a little shy, and the way she stayed close to Jie made it easy to understand.
Mikoto immediately knew what was going on.
The two children had grown up.
Mikoto was very happy about it. In her heart, she had already thought of Izumi as her future daughter-in-law for many years. Now that the two of them were finally together, one of her wishes had come true.
Since their relationship was already settled, a proper wedding could not be skipped.
Mikoto did not want Izumi to feel wronged in any way.
So, without telling Jie, Mikoto and Fugaku went to visit Izumi's grandmother. Izumi's grandmother agreed right away. In her opinion, Jie and Izumi had known each other for many years, and there was no better match for her granddaughter.
Just like that, before Jie and Izumi could even react, their marriage was decided.
The wedding date was set for two months later, on a day the elders said was lucky.
Jie did not understand why people in the ninja world cared about lucky dates, but since everything had already been arranged, he did not object.
He had no problem with it.
Izumi had even less reason to object.
When she first heard the news, she could hardly believe it. She had liked Jie for many years and had been by his side through so much. Now, she was finally going to marry him.
For the next few days, every time Izumi saw Jie, her face would turn red.
Sometimes, even when they only met by chance on the road, she would quickly look away and leave, acting as if she suddenly remembered something important.
Jie found it both funny and a little frustrating.
They had already spent two years traveling together. He did not understand why she was still so shy now.
Even so, when he thought about their wedding, Jie could not help feeling a little excited.
Even after living two lives, this was still Jie's first time getting married.
In his previous life, he had stayed single until the day he came to this world. It was only after meeting Izumi that he learned what it felt like to have someone truly important by his side.
Maybe getting married was a good thing.
It would give him a deeper connection to Konoha and the ninja world, making everything feel more real.
As the Uchiha clan started preparing for Jie and Izumi's wedding, the whole village became more cheerful. People all over Konoha talked about the wedding and shared their blessings.
But while everyone else was happy, one young girl could not smile.
She quietly went alone to the mountain behind Konoha.
There, she sat beside a river and looked at one of the faces carved into the Hokage Rock. With a blank expression, she picked up small stones and tossed them into the water one after another.
Up to 40 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/Vristikk