A Wedding Witnessed by Mountains, Rivers, and Grass

Then Zhou Yang said, "In my memories, a couple I saw at the orphanage got married like this. Because they had no means, the man could only make a simple iron ring, and then, beneath the gaze of heaven, earth, and the orphanage director, they became husband and wife." At that, Zhou Yang suddenly raised his head to look at the girl before him and said affectionately, "Would you be willing to become my wife and enter into a marriage covenant with me? To love me, care for me, respect me, accept me, and remain forever faithful to me until the end of life, whether in sickness or health, or for any other reason?"

Nan's already tear-reddened eyes suddenly widened. At the same time, she thought, Isn't this a little too fast? I'm not even an adult yet! But seeing Zhou Yang's solemn expression, wouldn't rejecting him be too cruel?

Then she looked into the boy's eyes. Starlight shimmered within them, and there she seemed to see everything they had experienced together today. She even seemed to see their future lives: the two of them, grown up and embracing each other, with a child with pale blue hair between them. Looking at the grown-up Zhou Yang, she thought, Perhaps he is the husband fate has destined for me.

"I do." The childish voice came from a girl no more than seven years old. It was soft, but firm.

"I, Zhou Yang, am willing to enter into a marriage covenant with the woman beside me! To love her, care for her, respect her, accept her, and remain forever faithful to her until the end of life, whether in sickness or health, or for any other reason." Then he placed the paper ring on Nan's ring finger and pulled her down to kneel toward the cave entrance. "Today, Zhou Yang and Nan become husband and wife. But since neither of us has elders, we shall have the heavens, the earth, the mountains, the rivers, and the grass and trees stand in for them as witnesses. Zhou Yang thanks you all." With that, Zhou Yang banged his head against the ground several times, and Nan copied him, bowing several times as well.

After bowing, Zhou Yang was visibly excited. How could he not be? On his very first day in another world, he had accomplished something he had failed to do for the previous twenty years. Though it had no legal effect in his original world, it did here!

He lifted Nan into his arms again. This time, Nan did not stop him. They only came to a halt when they were nearly dizzy from spinning. Now that they had become husband and wife, Zhou Yang could no longer think only of himself. From now on, they were one.

At that moment, Zhou Yang suddenly realized that he had married her without even knowing how old she was. That was rather awkward. He turned to Nan, who was mending his clothes, and asked with a polite yet embarrassed smile, "Nan, I still don't know how old you are?"

Hearing that, Nan stopped what she was doing and rolled her eyes at him. "You only just realized that? I married you on the very day we met, and all we know about each other are our names. Honestly, if I hadn't been so dazzled by you, your proposal probably would've been doomed!"

"Hehehe, once you're on the pirate ship, you still think you can run?" Zhou Yang grinned wickedly.

"Ah, who told me to be softhearted? All right, let's introduce ourselves again! My name is Nan—no, I should be called Zhou Nan now. I'm six years old. I like illustrations and paper folding, and I hate being alone."

Nan's introduction reminded Zhou Yang of when he had watched Naruto. He remembered that when Kakashi and the others formed their team, they had introduced themselves in much the same way. So he followed suit. "My name is Zhou Yang. I'm twen—" He nearly blurted out twenty-two, then immediately corrected himself under Nan's puzzled gaze. "Plus three, five years old. I like delicious food and Nan, and I hate being alone. My wife, please take care of me."

The two smiled at each other. A newlywed couple aged only five and six—who would believe it if they told anyone?

It was already very late. The two said goodnight to each other and lay down on the same pile of grass. Before long, Zhou Yang heard Nan's steady breathing.

Though it was time to sleep, Zhou Yang had no mood to do so. As the man of the family, he had to consider their future.

By learning Nan's age, he could not only obtain that information, but also use it to deduce the current era.

As far as he knew, Nan had met Yahiko first, and only after some time had she met Nagato. Yet she was alone now, which meant that she had not met Yahiko yet. But considering that, if he had not appeared during this incident, Nan would have been unable to escape being abducted, how had she later ended up with Yahiko? There was only one explanation: Yahiko had rescued Nan in the original story. That also proved why Nan still loved Yahiko even long after his death. After all, Nagato had spent even more time with her!

Furthermore, according to what he knew, the Sannin received their titles after their battle with Salamander Hanzo. When the three found the children, Nan was nine, Yahiko was ten, and Nagato was fifteen. Therefore, there were less than three years left until the Second Shinobi World War.

What could he do in those three years? At first, he considered seeking out Yahiko, Nagato, and the others, following the original timeline, and becoming Jiraiya's disciple. It sounded safe enough, but the thought of dragging his wife around everywhere and exposing her to life-threatening dangers made him hesitate. More importantly, whether he could even find Yahiko and the others was still a question mark. It simply seemed too unreliable, so he immediately rejected the idea and began searching for another way.

At that moment, Nan moved beside him and then wrapped her arms around his arm. Fear showed on her face, as though she had dreamed of something terrifying. He immediately reached out and held her, hoping to give her a greater sense of security.

That's right. My wife has wandered for so long. Who knows what she has gone through? She doesn't even feel safe enough while sleeping. How could I bear to let her keep living like this? A bold plan then took shape in his mind.

After thinking it through, he let out a long breath and whispered, "Whether I can keep her from suffering like this again depends on the next few days." Then he did not sleep, because he knew this was when his bloodline produced blood—when his "illness" would strike.

Sure enough, less than two minutes later, intense pain spread from his spinal nerves throughout his body. Yet he made no large movements, merely trembling slightly. This was the result of the previous month. To train himself, he had forced himself to endure this pain for that entire month. That was also why he had been able to kill a ninja in return during an episode. Of course, there was a limit to how long he could endure it. Previously, he could hold out for roughly thirty-five minutes.

After thirty-five minutes, Zhou Yang finally reached the most painful moment. The pain was like a mountain: it grew increasingly agonizing during the first half, then gradually weakened during the second. He had now reached the critical limit of what he could bear.