The grand wedding came to a perfect close.
Throughout the ceremony, Ye Zi had deliberately chosen a seat in the corner, yet she could still often feel the gazes directed her way.
After the wedding, Kushina took Ye Zi and the others to the residence that had been arranged in advance. It was the site of Orochimaru's former home, but only the location was the same. The house had been rebuilt, since Orochimaru's home had also been destroyed in the earlier battle.
Night fell.
As promised, Ye Zi let Might Guy treat her to a meal, fulfilling the wish he had always wanted to accomplish.
Afterward, Ye Zi accompanied Nanako to the Memorial Monument, and then they went to Konoha's cemetery.
The full moon hung high, and the night sky was cloudless, allowing the moonlight to spill over the earth without restraint, as though a layer of silver frost covered the ground.
Nanako crouched halfway before the gravestone, clasping her hands together with her eyes closed, communicating with her departed parents in this way.
Ye Zi stood quietly behind her, silently watching Nanako.
Nanako was ultimately a native of Konoha. Her parents had been born and died there. After leaving Konoha, perhaps because she had too many concerns, she had never asked Ye Zi to bring her to the cemetery in Konoha to visit her parents.
"I've never asked..." Ye Zi sighed silently in her heart. There were too many things she had overlooked in the past to count. Now, she would make an effort to make up for the mistakes she had once ignored.
The moonlight flowed like water. The cemetery was silent, and when one's gaze turned toward the darkness, a trace of chill seemed to cling to it.
Nanako slowly opened her eyes and said softly, "Dad,