On the eaves of the Princess's Bedchamber in the Land of Whirlpools.
"Kyosuke ~" Mito pouted angrily, wishing she could whip the man to death with a chain.
You promised to marry me, but it's been three years already.
If we keep dragging this out, who knows if we'll have to wait another three years?
The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. The Ponytail Princess hugged her knees and began to sob softly.
"... Here we go again." Kyosuke, standing to the side, looked rather troubled.
It wasn't that he broke his promise; it's just that Mito looked too young.
Um... I'm mainly referring to age here.
Having finally managed to drag this out until now, Kyosuke knows what he should do.
Watching her pitiful figure recede into the distance, Kyosuke was about to speak when he heard the Ponytail say haltingly, "My father asked me yesterday what I thought of the Senju Clan Leader."
"Waaaaah, I'm marrying someone else, you jerk, don't you know that?!"
Feeling wronged, the Ponytail burst into tears, disregarding her status.
She's a girl, and although she's usually a bit outgoing, there are some things she's always too shy to say.
If the situation hadn't been critical, Mito would never have pulled off such a Shinobi World- style forced marriage.
"What did you just say?" Kyosuke shook his head, his expression becoming slightly serious.
Marry me.
"... I meant the previous sentence."
"Oh, my father is forcing me to marry Hashirama Senju."
"That old geezer, he never thinks about anything else."
Mito: "..."
Dust off, Kyosuke stood up, waved, and said, "I'm leaving now."
"Ah!" The Ponytail completely panicked, grabbing the young man's arm and refusing to let go. "Where are you going? If you leave, then I, I..."
"Sigh, silly girl." Kyosuke reached out and ruffled the girl's hair, then said with a smile, "You are, after all, the princess of the Land of Whirlpools. I can't just kidnap you, can I?"
"Of course I need to go back to my clan to make preparations, so I can marry you openly and legitimately."
"Oh~" Mito looked extremely happy and skipped back to her room.
"Then I'll wait for you at home, Kyosuke ~"
With a smile and a shake of his head, Kyosuke vanished from the Land of Whirlpools in a flash.
He didn't notice that a white shadow was hiding in the shadows, secretly observing the two of them.
It was late at night, Uzumaki Ashina was still processing official documents.
The invasion of the Uchiha failed, and a rift has appeared in the relationship between the two families.
The death of Senju Shinma later made many people secretly resent him.
Uzumaki Ashina understood all this, so when Butsuma proposed a marriage between the children of the two families, he agreed without hesitation.
They hadn't even consulted their daughter beforehand.
In his eyes, Hashirama Senju was the perfect son-in-law. Who else could he choose but that little brat from the Uchiha Clan?
Stop joking. If we don't talk about him, the entire nation of the Land of Whirlpools won't stand for it.
Unless he kicks the bucket, it's absolutely impossible!
Just a few days later, devastating news arrived: the Butsuma Senju was about to become in-laws.
It's said he died at the hands of Hyuga Tennin, but he certainly wouldn't get any definite information.
A bewildered Uzumaki Ashina immediately wrote a letter to confirm whether the marriage should proceed as planned.
Soon, Senju sent back a message.
"The wedding date remains unchanged."
Otherwise, how could he so leisurely approve arrest warrants?
Behind the Uzumaki Clan, in a corner where the oil lamp couldn't reach, a dark figure was stealthily approaching along the base of the wall.
"Sigh." He sighed softly and muttered to himself, "Mr. Black Zetsu, do you always have a habit of acting secretly?"
A strange laugh rang out, and the intruder who appeared behind him was none other than Black Zetsu.
"As expected of you, no matter how many times I try, I can't sneak in successfully. Is it some kind of special sensory Barrier?"
Ignoring the other party's nonsense, Uzumaki Ashina cut straight to the point, asking, "If you have something to say, Black Zetsu might as well just say it."
Previously, he had conspired with the other party to scheme against Uchiha Kyosuke.
The Sealing Jutsu that isolates Space-Time Coordinates was perfected only under Black Zetsu's guidance.
Otherwise, how could Uzumaki Ashina allow such a sneaky fellow to roam around right under his nose?
Others can't do anything about Black Zetsu, a product of Yin-Yang Release, but Uzumaki Ashina is different. If he wants to, he has plenty of ways to torture his opponent.
Knowing this, Black Zetsu didn't act particularly recklessly, but simply stated something. "Did you know, the Uchiha Clan is also preparing to set off."
"Where to?" Uzumaki Ashina hadn't reacted yet.
"Hehehehe, of course I've come to your Land of Whirlpools to propose marriage." Black Zetsu laughed like a child with intellectual disabilities.
Seeing the other person's dumbfounded expression, Black Zetsu slowly climbed onto the chair, trying to remind him, "The three Uchiha boys have grown up. If you still treat them as weaklings to be toyed with, you're making a big mistake."
"To tell you the truth, Butsuma Senju died at the hands of Uchiha Kyosuke."
These words shocked Uzumaki Ashina.
"Impossible!" His first reaction was to reject it, but considering the other party's intelligence gathering capabilities, he ultimately fell silent.
"What do you want to do?" he asked.
If this is true, the two groups seeking marriage will inevitably clash.
At that time, the Land of Whirlpools will become the battlefield for the two to contend for power.
Regardless of who wins or loses, they'll just walk away, leaving him to clean up the mess.
Having laid the groundwork enough, Black Zetsu finally revealed his true thoughts.
Initially, Uzumaki Ashina immediately voiced strong opposition.
However, when he heard that the Uchiha might try to forcibly take it, all his objections seemed so pale and powerless.
Ultimately, the Land of Whirlpools is a weak nation; all it can do is struggle to survive among the various powerful nations.
"Alright, I agree." Uzumaki Ashina thought for a moment and took out a packet of highly effective medicinal powder from Secret Chamber in the room.
After taking it, no matter how strong one is, one will fall into a deep sleep for a full day and night.
He definitely couldn't lay a hand on his daughter, so he could only ask Mito to take a nap first.
When she wakes up, she'll be the matriarch of the Senju Clan. What can that brat Uchiha Kyosuke do if he's unwilling?
"Forgive me, my daughter. Everything I did was for you, for our country."
On the other side, the Uchiha was bustling with activity, decorated with lanterns and streamers.
"This is outrageous! This is outrageous!" Izuna shook his head, unable to believe that Kyosuke was getting married.
However, considering that the object of his affections was Mito, he seemed to think it was a natural thing to do.
Beside him, Madara Uchiha rarely showed a slight smile, "Don't think like that. They are in love with each other. We should be giving them our blessings."
"No, not at all." Izuna waved his hand, struggling for a long time but unable to think of an accurate adjective.
In his view, marriage was something very far removed from his life.
Yes, it's as far away as Susanoo reaching its Complete Form.
Unexpectedly, Kyosuke, having returned from his training (or perhaps his womanizing adventures?), immediately announced his intention to propose marriage to the Land of Whirlpools.
I heard they're even going to compete with that idiot Hashirama Senju?
After thinking for a moment, Izuna suddenly felt full of energy.
In Izuna's eyes, Hashirama was a bastard who tried to steal his older brother away.
The so-called friendship between the Uchiha and Senju is a joke, no, it should be called a shameful lie.
Some things don't fade with time, like love, like... hatred.
A deep-seated hatred.
Sometimes what seems to be fading away can actually be rekindled by just a tiny spark, enough to reignite hatred in people's hearts.
"This time it's good. Kyosuke killed that old bastard Butsuma Senju. Let's see if those two brothers can still put on a hypocritical face."
"Well, what if they can even ignore the hatred of someone who killed their father..."
As he pondered this, Izuna suddenly shuddered, feeling that perhaps those kinds of people were the truly terrifying ones.
Outside the door, Kyosuke sauntered in.
"Hey, here come two single guys."
Under Izuna's speechless gaze, Kyosuke snatched a bright red apple from his plate, took a big bite, and mumbled indistinctly, "Oh Winnie, what happened to the Poetry Monument?"
"... Could you please finish your food first?" Madara shook his head helplessly, feeling that Kyosuke was becoming more and more unrestrained.
"No, he must get a job after the wedding."
"If he doesn't agree, then we'll assign the job to Mito, hehehe."
It must be said that Madara Uchiha's thinking did change somewhat after he became the Clan Leader.
Kyosuke, feeling a sudden chill, swallowed the apple in his mouth before speaking, "I mean, when can we set off? I still want to Hashirama that old bastard Hashirama."
"I wonder how far he's progressed in his Wood Release techniques."
Upon hearing this, Madara was immediately tempted.
Unfortunately, he has too many matters to attend to within the clan, so he probably won't be able to go on this marriage proposal trip.
"Sigh." He sighed softly, then suddenly realized what was happening and looked up to see a face that seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
Madara Uchiha slightly and quickly changed the subject. "Everything is prepared; the betrothal gifts are absolutely befitting your status."
"Big brother," Izuna interjected, "Should we bring more men? What if the Senju..."
"Don't worry," Kyosuke laughed. "The Senju and Hyuga are locked in a fierce battle, Senju won't send too many people to the Land of Whirlpools."
"Oh, I see."
"At most, it's just the Hashirama brothers."
"Ah, these two guys..."
"What are you afraid of? Besides, I still have you by my side."
Upon hearing this, Izuna immediately put his hands on his hips, patted his chest vigorously, and promised, "Don't worry, I'll definitely help you get your wife back, hahahahaha."
Kyosuke: "... This kid is hopeless."
Madara: "... Please take good care of him, make sure he doesn't die out there."
Izuna: "Damn it, shouldn't you just think those things in your head? Why did you say them out loud?!"
After the three of them laughed and joked for a while, Ban looked at the groom-to-be and asked, "When are we leaving?"
"Now," Kyosuke stood up, casually tossing away the half-eaten apple, "We're far away, so of course we need to hurry."
"Alright."