Time rewinds to one month ago.
At that time, Danzō was being harassed endlessly by Kakuzu, while Orochimaru was running himself ragged somewhere near the Land of Earth. Sarutobi Hiruzen was scratching his head bald, desperately trying to come up with some clever solution.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha Clan was welcoming two great pieces of joyful news.
The first — Uchiha Fugaku had slain the veteran Kumo shinobi powerhouse Amundsen of the North Pole at the border of the Land of Water, and even returned to Konoha safely without suffering from the Kumogakure's vengeance.
The second — the pride of the Uchiha Clan, the Golden Asura, Uchiha Kairen, was getting married.
The wedding date was set for the second month after the Project Sunflower began.
To ensure his marriage went smoothly, Uchiha Kairen even paid Kakuzu another 200 million ryō, asking him to delay his operations for one more month. Kakuzu, surprisingly decent about it, promised to kill one of Danzō's closest aides as a wedding gift.
As for the Land of Earth — there was no need to pay extra. That place was already a complete mess, especially after the Seven-Tails had appeared there twice. The "Olympics" had practically begun.
---
Today was an auspicious day.
Uchiha Kairen's groomsmen included:
Uchiha Retsu, Uchiha Honō, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Gorou, and Uchiha Hankan.
The bridesmaids were the fiancées of his brothers:
Uchiha Tenshu, Uchiha Muyō, Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Reiko, and Uchiha Chimu.
The wedding followed the Shinzen-shiki, the traditional Shinto-style wedding ceremony once most popular among samurai families. The rituals were numerous and intricate — during the ceremony, both the bride and groom were to take three sips each from three shared cups of sake, swearing their love and lifelong bond.
This san-san-kudo ritual — "three times three sips" — symbolized their vow to stay together until their hair turned white.
Thus, the most important moment of the entire wedding was the drinking of this ceremonial sake. Afterward, they exchanged cups and poured sake for each other — a symbol of joining their lives together. Throughout the banquet, they continued to exchange toasts back and forth, a sign of mutual affection and shared fate.
Uchiha Kairen handled it easily — after all, he was a seasoned warrior; a few cups of sake were nothing.
But Meimei, having only just begun her training — a fledgling still learning to sense her chakra — had a far lower tolerance. Even so, she gritted her teeth and drank it all.
After all, no bride wants to falter on her wedding day. Even if she couldn't outshine others, she would at least not embarrass herself.
Then came the wedding vows.
Perhaps because of the sake, Meimei seemed unusually brave and confident. She spoke first, before Uchiha Kairen:
"I know I'm a very lucky girl — many envy me for being able to marry my husband.
My identity may be special, but you treat me like a precious treasure.
My strength may be weak, but you promised to protect me for a lifetime.
To the world, you may be just one man —
but to me, you are my entire world.
I wish to hold your hand and grow old with you."
Uchiha Kairen looked at Meimei, deeply moved.
After calming himself a little, he said:
"When a person is born, they are incomplete — only half of what they should be.
They walk this world in search of their missing half.
Some are lucky and find them quickly; others spend a lifetime searching.
When I decided to spend the rest of my life with you, I only hoped that the rest of my life would begin as soon as possible.
One word — love — isn't enough to express what I feel.
I love you. I truly, deeply love you. I will love you forever.
I will use my life to defend our love, to protect our home."
Then came the exchange of rings.
Each placed a ring upon the other's left ring finger — rings forged from chakra-infused metal, engraved with a Uzumaki sealing pattern.
The enchantment allowed the wearer to unleash a Great Fireball Jutsu forward — a heartfelt gift from the Uzumaki Clan to show their gratitude to Uchiha Kairen.
Next was the Tamayoribusa offering — presenting branches of sakaki tree wrapped with sacred white paper to the kami, as a gesture of reverence.
Finally, the entire Uchiha Clan raised their cups. Relatives and friends toasted each other in turn — thus concluding the formal wedding rites.
But of course, the brothers weren't done yet.
"We still have to mess with the groom!" they shouted.
At the very least, they said, they had to drink Uchiha Kairen under the table.
Uchiha Kairen, in high spirits, accepted every challenge — though he secretly slipped away to the bathroom several times to vomit.
In the end, he was well and truly defeated by those bastards and completely passed out…
He was carried into his new home — a residence near his old one.
This was the new household of Uchiha Kairen and Uchiha Meimei — their wedding home.
On the door hung a couplet:
Left: "Wielding a three-foot sword to bring peace to the world."
Right: "Riding the wind upon the blade — the great immortal, that's me."
Top (horizontal): "A salted fish in paradise."
Everyone asked what it meant, but Uchiha Kairen would only smile mysteriously.
He had once told Meimei in private — those words were given to him by his supporters and friends, who had offered precious advice that shaped the man he was today.
---
After everyone left, Uchiha Kairen suddenly sat upright, startling Meimei — only to realize he'd been pretending to be drunk.
He laughed loudly:
"Those bastards — if I hadn't pretended, I really would've been drunk to death! Next time they get married, I'll make sure to return the favor!"
Meimei couldn't help laughing too. The usually composed and mature Uchiha Kairen now looked just like a mischievous boy being bullied by his friends.
Kairen looked at his laughing wife — her beautiful attire, the soft blush on her cheeks, her delicate face, her long hair — and couldn't take his eyes off her.
Meimei noticed his gaze, and her face turned red as she lowered her head, too shy to speak.
"Meimei," Kairen said softly, "you're so beautiful. To marry you is the greatest blessing of my life."
He took her trembling hand in his. Feeling her nervousness, he added quickly,
"Meimei, let's take a bath first. I'm a little uncomfortable."
"Mm…"
Her soft reply was barely audible — only in this quiet night, in this still room, could it be heard.
Uchiha Kairen lifted Meimei into his arms and carried her toward the bath.
…Several tens of thousands of words omitted here…
---
The morning sunlight brushed against their faces, warm and gentle.
Uchiha Meimei felt something ticklish on her cheek — she opened her eyes to find Uchiha Kairen teasing her with a fluffy dog plush, grinning mischievously.
She tried to grab it, and the two began wrestling playfully on the bed over the little stuffed dog.
Suddenly, Kairen pulled her into his arms, held her close, and kissed her deeply on the lips.
The air was filled with the sweetness of newlyweds.
…Another tens of thousands of words omitted here…
---
By midday, after washing up, the two went to visit Kairen's parents.
Under the teasing gaze of his father and Uchiha Ran, they went through the formalities of offering tea and sake.
"Son," his father said, wrapping an arm around him and lowering his voice — though not nearly enough —
"you've grown up now. Your mother might be eager for a grandchild, but remember, you're still young. You should, ah, take it easy."
Uchiha Meimei nearly died of embarrassment.
They were supposed to serve tea early in the morning, but because of certain events, they didn't show up until noon — and now her father-in-law was saying this out loud!
She shot Kairen a glare — This is all your fault!
Kairen was mortified. Dad, seriously? You're doing this here? Are you trying to kill me?
"Alright, Meimei, come here and let Mom take a good look at you,"
said Uchiha Ran warmly, pulling her daughter-in-law close and starting to share all sorts of advice on married life and child-rearing.
She didn't forget to throw a sharp glare at her husband — a clear warning — while giving her son a meaningful, encouraging look that said, Do your best, my good boy.
In her heart, Uchiha Ran thought:
If conditions allowed, I'd lock the two of you in together until the job was done.