Love May Be a Mess, but Did He Really Have to Spread His Gift-Giving Favors Everywhere?

In a dimly lit room.

A bright orange lamp suddenly lit up, revealing a long, gleaming wooden table beneath it. Slowly moving in the light, one could see a serious-looking young man's face.

Konohamaru looked around, nodded, raised his fist, and shouted with great enthusiasm.

"Now that everyone's here, let's begin our battle plan!"

"What?" Udon scratched his head, somewhat puzzled. "What battle plan? Weren't we supposed to be discussing what gift to give Naruto?"

"Giving gifts is also part of the battle plan! We need to give something original!" Moegi jumped out, clenching her fist. "We can't lose!"

"But... nobody's comparing us to them," Udon couldn't help but complain.

"How about recording wedding wishes?" Konohamaru wasn't discouraged by Udon's teasing at all, and said enthusiastically, "Let's find people everywhere to record wedding wishes!"

"Is there enough time? The wedding is the day after tomorrow, we can't possibly find too many people!" Udon expressed his concerns. "If we go looking for people now, it'll only take two days."

"That's why it's worth the challenge!" Konohamaru said confidently. "Very good. Udon, go find the recording equipment. Moegi, go contact the Lord Hokage!"

"I'll find someone else to make sure the wedding wishes are ready before the day after tomorrow!"

"Yes!" Moegi was the first to respond.

Udon sighed silently. Since things had come to this, he could only raise his hand and continue. Getting a video recorder wouldn't be difficult for him.

~~

"Naruto's getting married! What kind of gift should we give him? Damn it!" Kiba Inuzuka slammed his head on the table twice. "I've received quite a few gifts from that guy over the years."

"Who isn't? That guy really loves giving gifts." Choji rubbed his temples. "I was so happy for him that I forgot what gift to choose. I can't just leave it empty-handed."

"What will Shikamaru give?" Choji asked, turning his head.

"I don't know, I'll give him a pair of big deer antlers." Shikamaru waved his hand, equally conflicted. "I receive so many gifts, I don't know how to return them to Naruto."

"Neji, you too?" Choji curiously.

"Mm." Neji nodded.

"Where's Rock Lee?"

"I don't know what gift to give. How about a pair of dumbbells?" Rock Lee asked, scratching his head.

"Not very good." Choji curled his lip. "What's the point of giving dumbbells to newlyweds? Are they going to use them for exercise?"

"What should I send?" Rock Lee was a little overwhelmed.

"Naruto is such a jerk when it comes to relationships, and he's so generous with his gifts too!" Choji sighed. "I've never seen such an extreme person before. He's unbelievable."

"He's sent gifts to everyone he could. Now his wedding is even more spectacular than when Kakashi became the Sixth Hokage," Kiba Inuzuka muttered, sprawled on the table.

"There's nothing we can do. That's just how people from the Land of Fire are. They don't like owing favors." Shikamaru slumped back in his chair, holding his head, and looked up at the night sky. "I've taken too much. I don't know how to pay it back."

"Yeah, we already have kids, and we don't know what to get them as gifts. It's giving us a headache!" Kiba Inuzuka chimed in.

Shino Aburame looked even more worried. He was not good with words to begin with, and it took him a long time to utter a single sentence.

What should I send as a gift?

"I don't know. You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?" Kiba Inuzuka exhaled a breath of stale air. "I originally thought this guy would get married earlier than all of us, but who knew he'd be so late."

"If he gets married sooner, we won't have to rack our brains for gifts. He's already given us most of the gifts we could have given him, so we can't just give him the same gift as everyone else."

"Yeah." Choji felt a headache coming on. "I was planning to send out high-end dining vouchers, but one might not be enough. I'll need at least a stack."

"Then I'll send you a high-grade shogi set, along with a few large deer antlers and some deer velvet," Shikamaru said casually.

"It's a pity Naruto doesn't like dogs and doesn't keep any." Kiba Inuzuka pondered for a moment, "How about giving him gold? A gold dog head would be a dog in a way, right?"

"What are you giving as a gift?" Choji turned to stare at Kiba Inuzuka. "Fine, fine, so this is how you give gifts? What are you doing? If you keep doing this, I'll tell your mother first."

"Get lost, just find another one." Kiba Inuzuka said impatiently. Raising dogs was indeed quite profitable, but he had to take it back because of Choji's words.

"Neji? What are you sending?"

"Relatives, there's no need to be so formal." Neji said indifferently, flicking his sleeve. "The Hyuga Clan has fine wine; just give him a few bottles to collect."

"What? This is possible?" Kiba Inuzuka was stunned.

"I know what gift to give. There's royal jelly honey in the northern part of Konoha Forest, which is very valuable. I can go and get some," Shino Aburame said.

Choji was sweating profusely, as if his gift was the most ordinary one. However, he was convinced that Rock Lee couldn't come up with any normal gift, Kiba Inuzuka was also a blockhead.

In short, as long as you're not at the bottom, that's fine. A stack of high-end dining vouchers is something you can only dream of.

Just as the group was hesitating, Konohamaru suddenly emerged from the shadows, holding a flashy red video camera, and started snapping photos right in their faces.

"Hey guys, can you record some wedding wishes?"

Choji and the others who were already married instinctively turned their heads away, not wanting to face the camera. Only after hearing that it was a wedding blessing did they awkwardly turn their heads away again.

"I haven't decided yet, Kiba, you go first," Choji said, declining.

"Why should I go first?" Ya protested. "Let Rock Lee go first!"

"Yo-ho! I'll go first, Naruto, happy wedding!" Rock Lee rushed forward, startling Konohamaru, who was in charge of filming, and he kept backing away.

Next was Kiba Inuzuka, who said something pointless like how couples should get along well.

Choji scratched his head and said, "Eat well even after you get married." This was even more pointless nonsense. Shikamaru looked up at the sky and managed to stammer, "Happy wedding!"

Neji offered a few words of blessing, Shino remained silent for a while before speaking.

"Hinata, Ino, Naruto, happy wedding."

As soon as I said it, something felt off, but upon closer inspection, it made sense, and I suddenly didn't know what to say next.

Several people took turns offering their blessings, stumbling and struggling for quite a while, but the effect was less than satisfactory. Konohamaru put down the video camera somewhat dejectedly and couldn't help but sigh.

"This video is completely unacceptable; it's utterly unpresentable as a wedding gift!"

"Who cares about you, brat?" Kiba Inuzuka's opening line was a direct attack, a natural troublemaker.

Konohamaru glanced at Kiba Inuzuka, recognizing him as the shameless man who had made them pay the bill last time. He felt a surge of contempt, completely forgetting that Naruto was the one who had initially stood them up.

"Can you guys please be serious? Time is running out!" Konohamaru collapsed to the ground, utterly dejected. "Why?!"

"Why, you ask?" Shikamaru scratched his head and looked around. "Most of us are married, so it's really hard to say things against our conscience."

"What happy wedding? Look at us, none of us are that happy."

Konohamaru was stunned; he couldn't understand.

"Marriage is supposed to be a happy thing, right? My grandfather used to say that."

"That kind of thing, the premise is not getting married for the sake of getting married." Choji interrupted Konohamaru, standing up and saying, "It's not that we're unhappy, it's just that we don't have much feeling about marriage."

"Why?" Konohamaru asked, unwilling to give up.

"Not everyone can marry someone they truly love. In reality, the timing just doesn't match, and you can't even meet in the same place. You just end up getting married without really knowing what's going on," Shikamaru explained.

"Brother Naruto," Konohamaru said, his arms hanging down, with a camera dangling beside his legs.

"Him? That bastard is an exception." Choji waved his hand impatiently. "That guy seduced all the prettiest female ninjas in our group."

The final blessing recording failed to materialize, resulting in a series of awkward and embarrassing videos. Konohamaru decided to leave for now. He planned to find other more mature adults to record first, and then contact them later.

It was late at night at the Hokage Building.

Looking at the dark lens in front of him, Kakashi hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said.

"In the blink of an eye, I'm about to get married. I don't really have anything to say right now, probably because I have no experience with marriage. Let me think about it first."

"Why don't you go find Lord Jiraiya first?"

Upon hearing this, Konohamaru was taken aback.

"Lord Jiraiya is back?"

"Yes, you should stay with Naruto now. Go look for a tavern in the eastern part of Konohagakure Street; you should be able to find one there," Kakashi said.

"Staying with Naruto? Forget it." He looked dejected. "This was supposed to be a surprise. If Naruto sees it beforehand, it won't be fun."

"I see." Kakashi said lazily. "Then you'll have to wait until tomorrow to look for Lord Jiraiya. You can try looking around the hot springs in the west wing; you should be able to find him there."

"Tomorrow is way too late!" Konohamaru complained.

"What can we do? Naruto got married in such a rush." Kakashi waved his hand. "I don't even know what gift to give him. If all else fails, we can ask Shikamaru."

"What about Lord Tsunade? Has she returned?" Konohamaru asked again, unwilling to give up.

"No." Kakashi shook his head. "We can't find her. Lord Tsunade's whereabouts are unpredictable. Unless the Shinobi World explodes, she can't possibly appear."

At this point, Kakashi couldn't help but sigh, resting his head on his hand.

"I really envy Lord Tsunade's life. When can I finally step down?"

Konohamaru left with a sigh, having spent the whole night working on something but accomplishing nothing, mainly because of the time constraints.

If given more time, perhaps

A small tavern in the eastern part of Konohagakure Street.

Under the orange light, Naruto sat with a tall man wearing a red coat and with long, white, frizzy hair, with plates of snacks in front of them.

"Getting married now, and in such a rush?" Jiraiya tilted his head back and drank a glass of wine.

"The war has only just ended. One Zetsu escaped, and the White Zetsu haven't completely disappeared." Naruto casually picked up a piece of snacks with his chopsticks. "Who knows what will happen next? We can't just keep waiting like this."

"What did you hear?" Jiraiya paused for a moment, then turned to look at Naruto.

"No, just a guess," Naruto said casually. "By the way, you've been wandering around for so long, besides browsing Love Hotel, have you found the Child of Prophecy?"

"I guess I've found it, but it's not certain yet." Jiraiya seemed a little hesitant. For the past two years, he had been either gathering intelligence or searching for the Child of Prophecy.

The former received reimbursement from Konohagakure, while the latter has been sought for decades without any definite answer.

Upon hearing this, Naruto was speechless.

He thought to himself, "Old Deng, I'm almost done here, and you're saying you're about to find the Child of Prophecy?"

"Who is it?" he asked.

"I said I wasn't sure, but maybe I'm mistaken." Jiraiya's words were vague, and he only spoke after being pressed for a while, "It might be related to the Uchiha Clan."

"The evil Uchiha?"

Naruto blurted it out almost without thinking, though he wasn't much better. But having done so many bad things like framing and slandering others, the words came out almost instinctively.

"What evil Uchiha?" Jiraiya asked. "Are you talking about the defector Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Pretty much, the Uchiha members are all pretty strange." Naruto chuckled, not dwelling on the topic. "What do you mean by the Child of Prophecy being related to the Uchiha?"

"Toad Old Master Toad had another dream, and this time he gave an even more accurate prophecy." Jiraiya leaned closer, a hint of hesitation on his face. "You're getting married soon, so don't worry about this."

"I didn't say I was going to interfere, I was just curious and wanted to hear it." Naruto was really annoyed by that old Toad, who was always making predictions, probably influenced by the Otsutsuki Chakra.

"Alright, who knows?" Jiraiya said with a troubled expression. "Old Master Toad said that the Child of Prophecy might also be the one who destroys the Shinobi World, and has a pair of evil eyes."

"Then it's most likely the Uchiha," Naruto analyzed.

"Good and evil are separated by a single moment, who knows?" Jiraiya shook his head and said, "Based on the information I have gathered, the Child of Prophecy may be Sasuke, but it is most likely not accurate."

"Why?"

"Sasuke Uchiha did want to change the world; he even tried to join forces with Kabuto to destroy it." Jiraiya sighed, somewhat discouraged.

"It's not just Sasuke's an Uchiha, but you don't need to worry about the Pervy Sage," Naruto comforted him. "Anyway, the prophecy was inaccurate, so there's no need to look for him anymore."

"I've been searching for the Child of Prophecy for half my life, how can I give up so easily?" Jiraiya muttered. "Let's not talk about this anymore, you should worry about your wedding."

"There's nothing to worry about. I'm the most idle one right now. Someone else has taken care of everything," Naruto said. "Let's just say I've been wandering around outside these past two days, watching what kind of weird gifts those guys will send me."

"I usually give them gifts whenever I have the chance. To exaggerate a bit, I even gave them a dog. I've been waiting for this day, haha."

Seeing Naruto's carefree smile, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. It was truly a misfortune for his sect; he now finally understood Kakashi's feelings.

If there are a few disciples like this, they will most likely never want to take on any more disciples in their lives; it's truly shameful.