In the Hokage office, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the wedding invitation that Namikaze Minato had just handed over and suddenly felt like his heart wasn't doing so well.
He could only shakily take out his pipe and take a puff to calm himself.
Normally, during work, he wouldn't smoke in front of his subordinates. If he did smoke, he would do it in private.
But this time, he was genuinely shocked, "Minato, this is a bit too rushed. Right now, war is about to break out. I'm afraid getting married at this time isn't very appropriate."
Minato pointed at his bandaged face, "Third Hokage, please understand, I must get married. Otherwise, the one at home is going to go berserk."
Sarutobi Hiruzen coughed. The moment Minato entered the room, he had already noticed the injuries on Minato's face, "This... was Kushina the one who hit you?"
Minato nodded, acknowledging it. He thought to himself, 'When I learnt about Naruto's tragic future from Obito, if I haven't held Kushina back, the Third Hokage would have ended up even worse.'
For a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know what to say.
In the end, he could only squeeze out one sentence, "Can you, alone, bring an end to this war?"
Minato replied, "I have confidence."
Actually, part of his confidence came from Obito. But in front of the Third Hokage, he naturally wouldn't mention that.
Besides, even without Obito, he could still turn the tide of battle.
The Third Hokage got up and turned his back. For a moment, his figure seemed a bit aged, "Sigh… If you want to get married, then just do it. I can't control the thinking of you young people. Encouraging marriages before a war isn't a bad idea either. It's good for reproduction."
Minato immediately felt awkward and could only say, "If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave?"
The Third Hokage waved his hand.
Seeing this, Minato left immediately.
———
Not long after, while Sarutobi Hiruzen was still lost in his worries, someone walked in.
This time, as soon as they entered, there was a loud "BANG!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
Before the other person could speak, he preemptively scolded, "Danzo, I am the Hokage! Can't you be more careful when entering and exiting? Do you know how many times the Hokage office door has been repaired because of you?"
Shimura Danzo was furious. He slammed the wedding invitation onto the Hokage's desk, "Do you know that this invitation was even delivered to my Root headquarters?"
"This is lawlessness! Absolute lawlessness! How can Minato have no sense of the bigger picture? Doesn't he know how tense the current situation in the ninja world is?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned around and looked at his old friend.
He stared at the additional wrinkles on Danzo's face and sighed, "Danzo, you've gotten old."
Shimura Danzo, who had just worked up his anger, almost let it all slip away, "What do you mean?"
'Is Sarutobi implying that I am no longer fit to become Hokage?'
So, he shot back, "And you think you haven't aged? You can't even stop a farce like this. If that's the case, why don't you just step down and let Namikaze Minato take over?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought to himself, "Danzo, how do you know I haven't already considered that?"
But all he said was, "Don't misunderstand. What I meant was, since we're old, we shouldn't always hide in the shadows. It's good to get out more, attend young people's weddings."
Danzo was stunned, then quickly realized, "So you actually approve of this wedding? And you even plan to attend? Do you know what Kushina's identity is?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at his old friend and suddenly felt that, after all these years, Danzo was still so naive.
"So what if I know? Can you do anything about it?"
Danzo was immediately speechless.
Kushina's current identity was extremely special. Because of Uzumaki Mito's influence, she represented the Senju clan.
In a way, the Senju clan represented the village itself.
Now that Mito had only recently passed away, many of the older generation were still in deep mourning. If anyone dared to touch Kushina at this time, Sarutobi Hiruzen's own position as Hokage would become unstable.
Danzo immediately deflated and finally gritted his teeth, saying, "Damn it, back then, we should have controlled the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and brought Minato into Root as well."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face showed a hint of subtle mockery. Before Minato mastered the Flying Thunder God technique, Root didn't care about him at all.
After mastering it, could Root even control him?
It was just like with Obito. Ever since Obito learned the Flying Thunder God, Danzo had come to ask for him three times.
But was that even possible? A person like Obito, who had fully understood the Will of Fire, was meant to follow Minato and serve as his most loyal subordinate.
Danzo noticed the unusual look in Sarutobi's eyes and snapped angrily, "Hiruzen, what exactly are you thinking?"
"Anyway, whoever wants to attend this ridiculous wedding can go! I'm definitely not going."
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly felt less troubled because someone else was even more troubled than he was.
"Minato has good relationships with many of the clan leaders. He might just be the next generation's leading figure. Are you sure you don't want to attend?"
Danzo was fuming, "Hiruzen, you will regret this!"
This time, he didn't even give his old friend a chance to mock him.
BANG!
Danzo stormed out.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the nearly broken door and shook his head helplessly, "Sigh… Looks like I need to get someone to fix the door again."
———
On the other side, in the Uchiha clan, it was Obito who delivered the invitation to Fugaku's home.
Fugaku was stunned, "Obito, Minato is getting married at a time like this?"
Even he found it inappropriate.
But Obito simply laughed and said, "Clan leader Fugaku, even Itachi is already a year old."
Fugaku coughed, "But right now, the war—"
Obito interrupted, "So what about the war? If we have to fight, then we fight. Who's afraid?"
Fugaku was suddenly reminded that Obito had not only awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan but also learned the Flying Thunder God technique. He had no idea just how strong Obito had become.
So, he laughed, "Since you think there's no problem, then there really is no problem. My wife, Mikoto, and I will attend Minato's wedding. Mikoto will be happy for Kushina."
With the wedding matter settled, Fugaku asked about something else, "Obito, last time, you asked me for a large sum of money. What exactly are you planning? That amount wasn't small."
Obito said indifferently, "This money will solve a very important problem for the Uchiha. When the time is right, you'll be the first to benefit."
Fugaku was surprised, 'What can I benefit from?'
"Obito, are you referring to the Uchiha clan's status?"
Obito shook his head, "Forget it, I might as well tell you. Just keep it a secret."
"This money is to solve the side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan. But the method is a bit sensitive, at least, right now, it's a sensitive issue. So, we'll wait until after the war."
Fugaku was shocked. Obito kept bringing surprises, almost to the point of being frightening.
'That little bit of money can solve the Mangekyō Sharingan's side effects?'
Suddenly, he felt like it was totally worth it.
'Indeed, I, Fugaku, have never made a bad investment.'
"Obito, is the money enough? If not, I can give you another sum. It's secret funds hidden in the Ninneko, and no one will notice it."
Obito shook his head, "For now, it's enough. But once the war starts, I'll be contacting the Akatsuki. It might not be enough then, so we'll talk about it later."
Fugaku nodded, "If you need more, just let me know anytime."
Obito stood up, "Alright, today I was just here to deliver the wedding invitation, so I'll take my leave now."
After saying that, Obito left.
———
Upon returning to his residence, he ran into Shisui.
Shisui had an excited expression on his face, "Obito-senpai! With your guidance, my Phantom Body Flicker Technique has finally yielded results. I've already solved the issue of Sharingan marking. As long as my eye power is sufficient, this technique should be executable without problems."
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