Minato and Kushina stood at the edge of the crowd.
Minato wore a casual white kimono, while Kushina wore a pale orange dress.
They stood side by side, watching the young people.
Naruto was talking to Shikamaru. Whatever he had said had him doubling over with laughter.
Kushina watched her son's back, her gaze tender yet complicated.
"Minato."
Minato turned to her.
"Hm?"
"When will Naruto find someone he likes?"
Minato smiled and scratched his head, the gesture so like Naruto's that they could have been cast from the same mold.
"Maybe... Naruto just wants to fulfill his dream first. He'll think about marriage once he's become Hokage."
Kushina's brow furrowed briefly, then relaxed.
"How long will that take?"
Minato smiled and pulled his wife into his arms.
"It won't be too long. Look at him. Doesn't he already have plenty of friends around him? Maybe one day it'll finally click."
Kushina nodded gently.
The wedding continued.
The guests were still making a racket.
Some had drunk too much and were singing; others were drunkenly playing finger-guessing games.
At some point, Hashirama had changed into a bright red robe and joined the crowd to see whose fists were harder, his or the Raikage's.
The Raikage said,
"It's your junior's wedding today. Don't wreck the place."
Hashirama waved a hand.
"We're just sparring. I won't wreck anything."
The Raikage believed him, and then the table gained a hole.
The wedding music changed.
The cheerful welcome tune gave way to the lingering melody of "The Road to the Wedding."
The entire gathering fell silent. Even Hashirama and the Raikage forgot their contest.
People moved aside on their own. The red carpet stretched from Genya's feet to the front of the stage, where nine figures in white stood at its far end.
Genya