After leaving the Hokage's office, the next stop was the Military Police Force.
The Military Police Force was busy too. Sasuke and Neji, the two captains, were extrely invested—after all, they were trying to win support votes, so they were determined to handle the village's security as perfectly as possible.
It just so happened that both Team Eight and Team Nine were there, saving Natsuki and Tenten from having to make extra trips.
"Hi, everyone—we're here to deliver invitations," Natsuki and Tenten said in unison. "The wedding is next month, so you all have to co!"
The invitations were handed out with full ceremony. It felt genuinely formal.
After Yaemi, Tomoya, and gumi from Team Nine accepted theirs, the three of them imdiately spoke in perfect sync: "Boss, sis-in-law—congratulations!"
The key detail was that all three of them were wearing sunglasses. If you didn't know better, you'd think so underworld kingpin was getting married.
The scene left everyone else half amused, half speechless.
Natsuki thanked them with a grin and gave Tomoya a friendly pat on the shoulder. "You and gumi need to hurry up too. gumi keeps getting more and more amazing—if you don't move fast, soone else might snatch her away."
Tomoya nodded solemnly. "Boss is right! A good wife like gumi—I'm definitely not letting her slip away!"
gumi imdiately flushed red and lightly punched him. Tomoya scratched the back of his head and laughed like an idiot, the lovey-dovey atmosphere pushing Yaemi right out of the way—so much so that even Akamaru ended up getting fed the "dog food."
Natsuki also had gumi summon Pakkun specifically, so he could deliver an invitation as well.
Pakkun blinked in surprise. "Didn't expect you'd even send invitations to us ninja dogs. That's thoughtful."
Natsuki answered seriously, "You fought alongside us too. That makes you comrades. Of course you're invited. When the ti cos, have gumi bring all of you—we've prepared top-grade dog food for the occasion."
Pakkun's eyes lit up instantly. "Alright! We'll definitely go. We'll be waiting for you at the Ninja Hound Unit Eight!"
Over there, Kiba held up two invitations and laughed. "Didn't expect Akamaru would get one too. Just for that sincerity alone, my gift is gonna be legendary!"
Akamaru barked. "Woof woof!" He didn't understand, but the aning was close enough.
Hinata looked openly envious, but she only said softly, "Natsuki-kun… Tenten-san… congratulations."
Tenten patted Hinata on the shoulder. "You need to work hard too. You have to fight for yourself—don't leave yourself with regrets. When Natsuki chased after , he was only six, you know. You've got to learn to be thick-skinned. Otherwise the person you like will end up becoming soone else's partner. Don't you think?"
Hinata knew Natsuki and Tenten's love story, which was exactly why she admired them so much.
Now, with Tenten encouraging her, she imdiately clenched her teeth and nodded. "I understand. Thank you for supporting , Tenten-san!"
Nearby, Shino adjusted his sunglasses, calm but clearly pleased. "Natsuki… my invitation is a little different, isn't it? Am I attending the wedding as the matchmaker?"
Natsuki and Tenten nodded firmly. "That's right. You're our matchmaker."
Shino shot the others a faintly smug glance and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Naturally. Since I'm the matchmaker who brought you two together, it's only proper that I serve as matchmaker for the wedding as well."
For a close friend like Shino, of course Natsuki and Tenten wouldn't forget him.
Back then, the whole reason Natsuki had even gotten the idea to pursue Tenten was because of Shino's misunderstanding. After that, Shino had helped in all sorts of ways—so much so that Natsuki and Tenten beca a couple early on. Shino truly, genuinely was their matchmaker, so his role was naturally special.
But seeing Shino act smug for basically the first ti ever, everyone else couldn't help feeling numb.
It's just "matchmaker." What's so great about that?
Neji smiled. "I've received the invitation. Natsuki, you said a long ti ago you were waiting for my big gift—my big gift will definitely be the best."
Sasuke scoffed. "Mine will be the best."
No. You two don't need to compete here!
This has nothing to do with the Hokage position!
But what the others didn't know was that the two weren't competing because of politics at all. They both felt Natsuki had helped them far too much, and they wanted to repay him properly. If their gift was worse than soone else's, then their repaynt wasn't enough—and that was the one thing neither of them could accept.
After finishing with the Military Police Force, they went on to the hospital, the academy, and other places.
Sakura, Ino–Shika–Chō, Aoba Yamashiro, Genma's trio, Konoha's two "gate gods," and more—naturally, all of them had to receive invitations too.
After that, they still needed to visit the major clans: the Hyūga, the Ino–Shika–Chō clans, the Inuzuka, the Abura, and so on. The invitations had to be delivered to each clan head in person (even though Hiashi wasn't the clan head, he was familiar enough that he still needed one). And these invitations weren't only for individuals—they were invitations for entire clans. If any clan mbers wanted to attend, they were welco.
However, once Natsuki and Tenten reached the Abura clan, they were grabbed and flat-out refused permission to leave. They had to stay for dinner.
Shino's mother was extrely warm and welcoming. After all, the two of them were Shino's best friends, and when they were kids they'd eaten at the Abura ho many tis with Shino. They were practically family.
Abura Shibi looked at the invitation and smiled with quiet satisfaction. "I knew when you were children—you two were the best match. Now you're finally getting married. You've kept us waiting long enough."
Shino's mother hurriedly added, "Honey, I heard Shino was the one who brought them together."
Shibi's smile faded a notch. "I heard that too. Shino really did a wonderful thing. But he can't only worry about other people's business—he should worry about his own as well. The war is over, and he still hasn't invited Fū over to visit. Honestly."
Shino's mother sighed. "That girl Fū is truly wonderful. Bright and lively—perfect to balance out Shino's quiet personality. And she likes insects too. It's rare for Shino to et a girl that good."
Natsuki and Tenten exchanged a look, both clearly surprised.
They were close with Shino, but they rarely interfered in his personal life.
Before, they'd been too busy dealing with the war to pay attention. Natsuki had only introduced Shino and Fū so they could study insects together—and the research had been going great.
But now it sounded like Fū ca to Shino's house often, and she got along pretty well with his parents.
More than that… the two elders approved of her.
The only question was what Shino thought. After all, that guy's expressions were hidden behind his sunglasses, his tone never changed, and it was hard to read him—plus, it wasn't really sothing they could ask about casually.
And the biggest issue of all was whether Shibuki would even be willing to let his little sister marry out of the village.
Natsuki and Tenten couldn't ddle too much. If Shino asked for help, they would help without hesitation—but if he didn't say anything, they couldn't just force their way in.
By the ti they finished delivering invitations throughout the village, the sky had gone completely dark.
They went ho, then headed straight to the new house.
All the surrounding land had already been assigned to Natsuki, and he'd built the new ho with Mokuton (Wood Release).
Even though they weren't married yet, they still needed to live in the new house. And it was the perfect chance to leave "proof" of their love all around the place—on the sofa, by the windowsill, in the entryway, and so on.
Oh, the ceiling worked too. After all, shinobi could stick to ceilings. The difficulty level wasn't that high.
(End of Chapter)
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