She was wearing a white kimono, with a belt embroidered with Uchiha Clan Crest and Kumogakure thunder pattern around her waist. Her long black hair was pulled into an exquisite bun, with only a simple silver hairpin inserted into the bun.
She was accompanied by two women on the left and right - Tsunade on the left, wearing a dark green kimono, rarely drinking, with a solemn look and a hint of impatience, obviously she was dragged here to be the bridesmaid.
On the right is Uchiha Setsuna. At some point, he got up and walked to Mei, holding the bride's arm tightly with his old hands.
Mei's eyes passed through the crowd, through the lights, through all the noisy sounds, and fell straight on Ai.
Ai stood there, his whole figure seemed to be frozen by Lightning Release.
He opened his mouth but said nothing. Killer B slapped him on the back, and then he seemed to have restarted and took long strides towards Mei.
He walked up to Mei, looked down at her, was silent for three seconds, and then said something in a loud voice that everyone could hear.
"You look better than usual today."
The courtyard was quiet for a second, and then burst into laughter.
Mei also laughed.
Her smile was very light, and the mole on the left corner of her mouth rose slightly with her smile, like a small punctuation point in the lantern light.
She stretched out her hand to straighten the wind-blown red camellia on Ai's chest, and said softly.
"You look better than usual today."
Ai lowered his head, rested his forehead on Mei's forehead, and closed his eyes.
He didn't speak at this moment, and neither did Mei.
The laughter in the courtyard gradually subsided, and everyone looked at the newlyweds quietly.
The light of the lantern reflected on the water, and the reflected light spots swayed among the maple leaves. The whole courtyard seemed to be holding its breath for this moment.
Shaoyu hasn't come yet. But the wedding hasn't officially started yet, and the atmosphere has been pushed to an extremely high level.
Itachi stood under the maple tree and watched all this quietly. He was seven years old and his understanding of the wedding was still vague.
Ai can marry Uchiha Mei, Killer B can practice ninja with Shisui and hook up for a drink, the female ninja in the medical class can chat with the survivors of the Yuki Clan, and the descendants of the Uzumaki Clan can teach Land of Lightning's child Sealing Jutsu.
This is not a slogan, but everything he has seen and experienced personally at Kumogakure since he was a child.
"Kumogakure is just such a place." A voice sounded behind him, low and steady.
Itachi turned around sharply.
Uchiha Shaoyu arrived in the courtyard at some point and was standing next to the maple tree behind him.
He was wearing a formal kimono with gold patterns on a black background, and a Fourth Raikage haori draped over his shoulders. He put his hands behind his back and looked over Itachi's head, landing on the newlyweds whose foreheads were touching.
No one noticed his arrival.
"If you were not brought to Kumogakure by me, you would have grown up like the children in Konoha. You would have been taught that Uchiha is a family and a village is a village. You have to choose one between the two."
"You will see your tribe members being monitored, excluded, and treated as unstable factors in the corner of the village. You will learn to be silent, watch people's actions, and hide your thoughts until someone Tenzo can't stand it anymore and breaks out in silence."
He looked down at Itachi, "What do you think you would look like like that?"
Itachi was silent for a long time. He wanted to say that he didn't know, but that wasn't the truth.
He knows that the Itachi Uchiha in Konoha will only live in hatred and depression for the rest of his life, or become another Uchiha Fugaku.
Be silent and forbearing; or become another Shimura Danzō--twisted and degenerated in the darkness.
"It would be very unhappy," he finally said.
Shaoyu smiled. The smile was so shallow that only Itachi standing next to him could see it.
He raised his hand and patted Itachi on the head, with the same force as when Shisui usually patted him.
Itachi suddenly realized who he learned this action Shisui from.
Itachi stood there, watching Shaoyu's back pass through the crowd, and walked to the pool in the center of the courtyard under the respectful gaze of everyone.
Kakko shines on his feather fabric, dyeing the Raikage logo gold.
Third Raikage also walked out of the crowd and stood next to Shaoyu. The old man looked solemn but there was a smile in the corners of his eyes.
Tsunade, Uchiha Setsuna, Killer B and even all the clan members automatically moved to both sides to make way for the newcomers to lead to the main seat.
Ai took Mei's hand and walked to Shaoyu, and the two stood side by side.
Shaoyu stood there, not angry but with a calm expression. He presided over the wedding not as Raikage, but as a witness.
"Ai." He called the groom's name, his voice not loud but clear throughout the courtyard.
Ai straightened his back and was more energetic than usual during training.
"You are the most capable man among the men I grew up watching," Shaoyu said in an unhurried tone.
"But what you have to face today is not the enemy on the battlefield, but this woman. From this moment on, her joys and sorrows will be your battle report, and her health and safety will be your mission."
"Fourth Raikage orders you to win every battle, but as her friend I also order you - before you die on the battlefield, you must first obtain her approval."
Sporadic laughter sounded around. Ai didn't laugh, but stared at Mei without blinking.
"Mei." Shaoyu turned to the bride.
Mei took a gentle breath and stood tall and straight, like a winter plum.
"You are one of the first Uchiha to leave Konoha with me. You chose to believe in me when I still had nothing, so you will not lack wealth or face, but you will lack someone who can catch all your thoughts."
"I'll hand him over to you now."
He changed the subject.
"When he says 'good-looking' to you, he only says half of it, the other half is in muscle memory. Do you understand?"
Mei couldn't hold back her smile, but her eye circles were a little red. She replied in a deep voice, "I understand."
Shaoyu nodded.
"Oath."
Ai and Mei spoke at the same time—their voices overlapped, like two blades with different frequencies that meshed precisely.
"I, Ai/Uchiha Mei, would like to swear an oath here under the witness of my ancestors Raikage and Uchiha -"
Shaoyu poured three glasses of wine with his own hands, and the newlyweds drank them all in turn.
When he announced the completion of the ceremony, the fiery red maple leaves fell from the branches one after another as if he had received an order.
If you look carefully, you will find that Shisui stood on a high place at some point, and Hand Seals summoned a gust of warm wind, shaking the red leaves from the trees to make a rain of flowers.
The applause rang out like thunder, mixed with Killer B's impromptu rap that he had been holding in for the entire performance and finally found the opportunity, Tsunade's bold laughter as he started begging for drinks, and Third Raikage's hearty laughter as he patted his old friend on the shoulder.
Itachi didn't push into the crowd, he still stood under the maple tree and watched everything, his eyes slightly astringent.