Itachi's Engagement

"Konoha Express! Konoha Express!"

"Lord Hokage is getting engaged to Uchiha Izumi!"

"Uchiha Itachi is getting engaged to Uchiha Izumi!"

Konoha Express founder: Uchiha Yoru. Editor-in-Chief: Uchiha Yoru.

The paper gave villagers a way to stay informed—and something to talk about over tea.

For the price of a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen, you could buy a copy!

This issue of Konoha Express devoted every page to the engagement of Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Izumi.

The cover showed Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Izumi kissing.

"Oh my! I never knew Izumi could be so bold when she got carried away!" Izumi's mother teased.

Uchiha Izumi hid in her room, too embarrassed to come out.

What am I going to do? All of Konoha knows I kissed Itachi! This is so embarrassing!

"Yoru!"

When Uchiha Itachi saw the newspaper in his office, his Fire Release Chakra burst out in anger and burned it to ash.

"What are we going to do, Shikaku?"

"Why don't we make a grand occasion of the engagement? We could invite the leaders of the other villages and use it as a chance to strengthen ties." The speaker wore a tattered coat and had a scar on his face. He looked strikingly like Shikamaru.

"That was Little Yoru's idea, wasn't it?"

Shikaku Nara scratched his head sheepishly.

"Only Little Yoru would suggest bringing every nation's leader to Konoha! If anything goes wrong, Konoha will become the common enemy of the great nations!"

"Still, it's a good idea. They'll see Konoha's strength, and the other great nations will see how much the village has changed," Shikaku Nara said.

"Send the invitations first. We'll see if they come." Uchiha Itachi looked rather helpless.

He had only wanted a quiet engagement. He had never expected it to turn into such a grand affair, let alone an event involving the Five Great Nations.

Shikaku Nara agreed to handle it, then went downstairs.

"Uncle Shikaku, how did it go? Did Itachi agree?"

Uchiha Yoru slipped out from a hiding place.

"Don't forget what you promised me!"

"I know, I know!"

Uchiha Yoru handed him several little square objects.

"Uncle Shikaku, is Aunt Rokichi really that strict? She won't even let you have a smoke?"

"That's because of that health program you made, saying smoking is bad for you. Your Aunt Rokichi won't let me have even one!" Shikaku Nara said after blowing out a cloud of smoke.

"The ones you make yourself really hit the spot!"

"Uncle, listen to me. It really is bad for your health!"

"You think I don't know that? But I feel awful when I don't smoke!" Shikaku Nara said.

"Uncle Shikaku, remember to send out the invitations! I'm off!" Uchiha Yoru called.

Watching Uchiha Yoru leave, Shikaku Nara shook his head. "Ah, Itachi. How did you end up with such a good little brother?"

He looked like a slacker, but he had arranged everything down to the last detail.

Konoha's growth owed much to Uchiha Itachi's tireless work, but Uchiha Yoru had played an indispensable part too.

With Uchiha Yoru's help, Uchiha Itachi might even become a Hokage who surpassed Hashirama Senju.

After all, Konoha's progress was plain for everyone to see.

The engagement was another example. Uchiha Itachi stood to gain the most: having the leaders of the other four great nations witness his Engagement Ceremony would be a first in the entire Shinobi World!

If they handled it well, it would bring honor to Konoha too.

"You few, deliver these invitations. And be quick about it!"

Shikaku Nara handed the invitations to several Jonin and gave them careful instructions.

Among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, they had already called Sunagakure, but delivering an invitation in person would show more sincerity.

As for the other nations, they were so afraid that Uchiha Yoru's strange inventions would spread into their villages and cause trouble that they had strictly banned them.

But who knew how many people used them in secret?

Mist swirled through Kirigakure.

"Konoha's Hokage is getting engaged, and he even sent an invitation! Another good man is slipping away!" A beautiful woman with long, crisscrossing auburn curls and a blue dress opened the invitation. She looked at the photograph inside and sighed.

"Ao, get ready. We're going to Konoha!"

"Lord Mizukage, won't that be dangerous?"

"If I received an invitation, do you think the other four great nations didn't?"

"I also want to show the other nations that Kirigakure is no longer the Bloody Mist Village it once was, and that we're willing to engage with them!"

In Kumogakure, built among towering peaks—

"Konoha's Hokage has the nerve to make such a spectacle of his wedding!"

"And he even dared to invite me!"

"Then we'll show them Kumogakure's strength and tell Konoha that its days as the strongest shinobi village are over! Yugito, Darui, and Shee are coming with me!"

In Iwagakure, surrounded by rock, where even the houses were built from massive stones—

"Konoha invited me? Then I'll see for myself what they're plotting."

"Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, come with me!"

"I'm leaving the village in your hands, Kitsuchi!"

Elsewhere, a bandage-faced man cut off a ninja's head with a single stroke.

"It's time to bring Haku back!"

"Konoha, it's time to settle the score over the Land of Waves!"

The short, middle-aged man radiated a terrifying presence. A white-haired young man stood beside him.

At the middle-aged man's words, the young man thought, Konoha. It's been a long time since I saw those old friends. If I quietly take someone away during the festivities, no one should notice!

Somewhere in Amegakure, beneath its unending rain—

Several projections stood atop enormous fingers. Below them loomed a colossal figure dozens of meters tall.

"Konoha's Hokage is getting engaged, and the One-Tail Jinchuriki will be there too! Should we move up the plan?"

"Konoha must have plenty of good material."

"It's time Konoha saw my art!"

One figure disagreed completely. "The organization shouldn't expose itself yet. If we reveal ourselves just to capture the One-Tail, it won't be worth it!"

"It would affect our later plans! With pressure from the Five Great Nations, carrying them out would become much harder!"

After some thought, the figure standing highest nodded. "Wait until the One-Tail Jinchuriki returns to the village. Then capture him."

With that, the figure's projection vanished.

"Shisui, I thought we'd get to make a scene! This is all your fault!"

"If you want to cause trouble on your own, go ahead. Just don't forget Pain's wrath!"

Shisui Uchiha's projection vanished. Itachi, this is the most I can do for you. I hope you and Izumi will be happy!

At that very moment, news of Uchiha Itachi's engagement was stirring up a storm across the Shinobi World.