A Marriage Proposal

"Hehe... um... Nami."

Mingyou awkwardly greeted her, somewhat confused.

What was this old man Soki trying to do, calling Nami over? Was he arranging a blind date?

"Mm." Nami's face flushed even redder. She nodded in response, then stood there without saying another word.

"Oh, Great Elder, the two of you can sit here." Mingyou pointed at the wooden steps beside him.

At the moment, this was the only sort of setting they had. They could only sit on the ground.

More than two hundred people were crammed into this small building. They even had to sleep on floor bedding at night, so no one cared whether the place was clean.

"Mingyou, keep Nami company for a while."

"Clan head, come with me. There's something I want to discuss with you."

Soki stroked his beard and smiled, pressing Nami down to sit beside Mingyou before repeatedly signaling Fugaku with his eyes.

"Alright, Mingyou. Get to know Nami properly. I'll go discuss something with the Great Elder."

As someone with experience, Fugaku naturally understood Soki's intentions at once.

He chuckled, rose to his feet, and followed Soki out of the courtyard.

"What is that old man up to?"

Mingyou was speechless. Hardly anyone in the clan had ever cared much about him. Although he often ran into Nami coming and going, they had never even exchanged greetings.

What could two people like them possibly talk about if they were made to sit together? This was simply too awkward.

Mingyou turned and asked, "Nami, what is your grandfather trying to do?"

Nami lowered her head and did not dare look directly at Mingyou. "My grandfather... wants to bring the two of us together."

"Huh?" Mingyou cried out. Had the old man taken the wrong medicine?

His most treasured granddaughter, and he actually wanted to offer her to him as a match?

"Brother Mingyou, I know I'm not worthy of you, and you definitely don't think much of me. But Grandpa told me to come, so I had no choice."

A trace of disappointment flashed across Nami's little face. She had mistaken Mingyou's reaction for dislike.

"Nami, that isn't what I meant. It's not that I look down on you. It's just that your grandfather suddenly pulled something like this, and I'm not used to it."

Mingyou waved his hands repeatedly, hurriedly explaining himself.

What a joke. A girl this beautiful and this talented—who wouldn't like her?

Besides, back when she was at the Ninja Academy, Nami had been the famous school beauty. The boys pursuing her could have formed a long line.

Mingyou had once been an unnoticed nobody. How could he have dared entertain such unreasonable hopes?

"Really?"

Nami was clever and perceptive. She heard the hidden meaning in Mingyou's words, and her face reddened all the way to the tips of her ears.

"Hahahahaha!"

"Of course it's true, Clan Head. I told you this kid Mingyou wouldn't look down on Nami."

"So, how about it? Let's settle this marriage, then."

Great Elder Soki strode around the side of the house with a loud laugh. The old man had never gone far at all; he had been hiding nearby and eavesdropping.

Fugaku followed right behind him as well, smiling at Mingyou. He seemed rather satisfied with Soki's arrangement.

"Grandpa, how can you listen in on our conversation?"

Before Fugaku could reply, Nami stood up shyly and ran outside along the small wooden bridge.

"Hey! Girl, you don't know this place. Don't run around!"

Soki waved his hand and shouted after her in warning.

Then Soki returned to the steps and sat down, smiling at Mingyou.

"Mingyou, although Nami's talent may not compare to yours, her strength is still quite good."

"From her attitude toward you, you should be able to tell that she likes you, right?"

"I hope you'll treat my girl well in the future."

Mingyou scratched his head awkwardly. "Great Elder, isn't it too early to talk about this?"

Uchiha was currently fleeing for its life. They did not even have a stable place to settle down.

Making arrangements for marriage at a time like this was rather inappropriate.

"Not early at all, haha. I heard the clan head mention your plans for Uchiha's future development. Mingyou, I have to say, you truly are Uchiha's pride."

"We don't need to discuss marriage right now. I just hope you'll spend more time with Nami."

"Don't be fooled by how stubbornly proud that girl looks. In truth, she admires you greatly."

Soki stroked the white beard on his chin. He was not even seventy yet, but his hair and beard had already turned completely white.

That was all because he had spent so much effort helping Fugaku handle Uchiha's affairs over the years.

Mingyou nodded. "Mm, I will, Great Elder."

Rumble—

Suddenly, a tremendous crash from outside the courtyard interrupted their conversation.

Tazuna's house had been built over a pond. Dense bushes surrounded the pond's outer edge, making it a very secluded place.

Thus, none of the three knew what had happened.

"What's going on?"

Soki was most concerned about his granddaughter's safety. Rising to his feet, he covered the soles of his feet with a layer of Chakra light and sprinted across the water.

"Mingyou, let's go take a look too."

Fugaku got up and followed after Soki.

Mingyou followed close behind.

The road outside the pond was packed with a dense mass of people.

As far as the eye could see, there were roughly more than a thousand of them.

Aside from a few men dressed like gangsters, most were sword-wielding samurai.

Two leaders stood at the front of the crowd.

One wore a flashy nouveau riche suit. Slightly balding, short, and fat, he appeared to be in his forties.

The other had a bare, muscular upper body, a mask over his face, and a massive cleaver-like sword slung over his shoulder.

Beside him stood a little girl of only around ten, delicate and beautiful.

Having read the original story, Mingyou recognized these people at a glance.

That nouveau riche was the detestable capitalist of the Land of Waves, Gato.

And the man carrying the great sword was clearly Kirigakure's rogue ninja, Zabuza, the Demon.

The little girl, who was only around ten years old, was naturally Haku, Zabuza's very foundation.

At that moment, Nami held a kunai in her hand, confronting the other side with a resolute gaze.

A large crater lay in the ground not far in front of Nami, still billowing thick smoke.

"Nami, what happened?"

The Great Elder leaped to Nami's side and asked about the situation.

Mingyou and Fugaku arrived right afterward.

Nami frowned slightly. "They brought people here to cause trouble for Brother Mingyou."

"Oh? Three more have arrived. They all seem to be rather capable ninja."

Zabuza gave a strange laugh and took several steps forward with his great sword over his shoulder.

Over the years, he had wandered and fought outside, and no small number of ninja had died by his hand. He had not expected to encounter four more today.

"Everyone, attack together! Get rid of them for me!"

Gato waved a hand, directing his thousand-strong group of underlings as they prepared to surround and slaughter Mingyou's group.