With the leaders of the other four great villages already in Konoha, Jie's wedding no longer felt like a normal wedding.
But Jie had no interest in what they were thinking.
At the moment, he was busy being arranged by Mikoto.
Although this was his wedding, Jie felt less like the groom and more like someone being dragged through a process. The clothes, the ceremony, the timing, and even the small details were all handled by Mikoto. His only job was to follow instructions.
After changing into another outfit that looked almost the same as the last one, Jie finally could not help asking, "Why is getting married this troublesome?"
Mikoto glanced at him. "Look at that expression. Do you think this is good enough for Izumi?"
Jie immediately chose silence.
Mikoto continued, "Don't think being Hokage makes you special. If you make Izumi suffer after marriage, I'll break your legs myself."
Jie did not know whether to laugh or sigh.
At this point, he was starting to wonder whether he was really Mikoto's son, or if Izumi was.
Of course, he knew Mikoto was only saying that because she cared. She had treated Izumi like her own daughter for years, and now that Izumi was truly going to marry into the family, Mikoto naturally wanted everything to be proper.
Under her arrangements, the wedding day arrived smoothly.
That day, Jie wore a black kimono with the Uchiha clan crest on the back. Izumi wore a white kimono, her face slightly red as Mikoto led her toward him.
The ceremony was more complicated than Jie expected, but he followed the process without complaint.
In the end, he brought Izumi into the Uchiha clan's Naka Shrine for the final vow.
Jie did not care much for vows made before a shrine. Still, Mikoto wanted the ceremony to be complete, and he did not want Izumi to have any regrets, so he went along with it.
After the vows were finished, Izumi looked at him and smiled.
Jie paused for a moment, then smiled as well.
At that moment, a familiar voice sounded in his mind.
"Ding!"
"Host has married and escaped single status. Reward settlement complete."
"Reward: Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan evolution progress increased by five percent. One Six Paths-level chakra seed obtained."
Jie was stunned.
The five percent progress saved him a lot of time. With this, his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was even closer to evolving into the Rinnegan. Now, he would only need another two or three months before the transformation was complete.
As for the Six Paths-level chakra seed, Jie did not know what it was yet.
But this was still his wedding, so he did not check the reward immediately. He decided to leave it until everything was over.
When Jie and Izumi walked out of Naka Shrine, the wedding venue erupted with cheers.
The formal ceremony had ended. What came next was the celebration for the Uchiha clan, Konoha's villagers, and the guests from the other villages.
Jie accepted the congratulations one by one. When his gaze passed over Hinata, he noticed that her smile looked a little forced.
He frowned slightly.
Was something wrong with the Hyuga clan?
Or was Hinata worried about something else?
Jie was strong enough to stand at the top of the ninja world, and with his knowledge of the future, most schemes could not escape his eyes. But when it came to emotions, he was not that sharp.
It was his wedding day, so Jie did not think about it for long. After the celebration, he would visit the Hyuga clan and ask what was going on.
The wedding ended smoothly.
From that day on, Izumi officially became the Hokage's wife.
Three peaceful days passed.
After resting for three days, Jie was about to visit the Hyuga clan and ask Hiashi about Hinata's recent state. But before he could leave, Hiashi came to find him first.
The moment Jie saw his expression, he knew something had happened.
"Clan Head Hyuga," Jie asked directly, "what happened?"
Hiashi took a deep breath, but the anger on his face did not fade. "Lord Hokage, my younger daughter, Hanabi, is missing."
Jie's eyes narrowed.
"Last night, Hanabi's attendant helped her go to sleep as usual," Hiashi continued. "But this morning, she was gone."
His voice grew heavier. "This must be the work of one of the other villages. Kumogakure tried to take Hinata before. Now that Hinata has grown up, they must have changed their target to Hanabi."
The veins near Hiashi's temples bulged as he forced down his anger.
"Lord Hokage, I request permission to go to war. Let the Hyuga clan take the lead. No matter which village did this, we will bring Hanabi back."
The Hyuga clan had already gone through this once with Hinata, so it was natural for Hiashi to suspect the other villages first.
But Jie did not think they were responsible.
With the current gap between Konoha and the other villages, kidnapping one Hyuga child would not change anything.
If Konoha found out, the village behind it would face revenge far worse than anything Hanabi's Byakugan could bring them.
More importantly, Hanabi's disappearance reminded Jie of something.
Hinata and Hanabi both had unusually pure Byakugan. In the future he knew, Hanabi's eyes had once been targeted by someone from the moon.
Otsutsuki Toneri.
Had the butterfly effect made him act earlier?
If Toneri was involved, then this was not a matter between Konoha and the other hidden villages. It involved the Otsutsuki on the moon, Hamura's descendants, and the giant Tenseigan hidden there.
Jie had planned to visit the moon sooner or later. Now it seemed that time had come early.
Not only for Hanabi, but also for the giant Tenseigan.
The Tenseigan's power was not inferior to the Rinnegan, and in some ways, its path was even simpler. Jie did not have Hamura's bloodline, but he had the Thousand-Eyed Byakugan, an ability connected to countless Byakugan.
With the system, many things were possible.
After thinking for a moment, Jie looked back at Hiashi. "Calm down. This was most likely not done by the other villages."
Hiashi froze slightly.
Jie continued, "I already have a possible target in mind. Leave Hanabi's matter to me."
His tone was calm, but there was no room for doubt.
"I'll bring her back."
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