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Chap-44 The White Wedding
🕑 Added 2022-03-02 01:34:18 +0000 UTCTajima and Naori peacefully ate their breakfast while watching the two young men before them nursing their heads quite painfully. It was quite hard for the two older Uchiha to see these two as men for in their eyes they were still young boys whom they had watched grow over the years.
Today was going to be a historic day for their family and they needed the boys at their best behavior, but for now both brother and sister couldn't help but enjoy Naruto and Madara's suffering.
"How much did you two idiots drink?" asked Tajima amusedly, and watched Naruto glare at Madara.
"More than I'd like..." muttered the new King sourly, earning a snort from Madara.
"I organized a party for you because after today you're going to be bound to that woman. I don't regret making you have the best time of your life..." replied Madara without remorse, even as he groaned from his hangover.
"She's not that bad, brother. Maybe you should give her a chance..." urged Naruto tiredly,
"Hn"
Naori could not help but smile at the fact that Naruto atleast respected his future wife if not love her outright. But at the same time, he also knew Madara was still sour with the Senjus and it was best if he was not pushed any further. He had already sacrificed his revenge for Naruto which was more than Naruto could ever ask from the older boy.
But she also didn't miss the fact that her favorite nephew aside from his painful hangover looked quite nervous. And she had a feeling why. Just when she was about to speak, her brother cut her off...
"Am I to believe that you do know what happens on wedding night, Naruto?"
Madara spewed the lemon juice he was drinking all over the table before bursting out loud laughing while his younger brother blushed crimson and grabbed his forehead in agony and humiliation.
"Naruto!" snapped Tajima, and smirked when his son raised a patronizing hand.
"I am aware of the procedure" muttered Naruto,
"I'd say" teased Madara, earning a sharp glance from Naruto but was relieved when Madara gave him a reassuring nod.
"Good. I cannot afford for you to shame the Uchiha name in the marriage bed and now is your chance to clear away any doubts. Theory is quite different than the real thing, boy" advised Tajima seriously,
"You would know, wouldn't you, Father?" grinned Madara,
It was one of the rare times Tajima was left speechless and gaped at what Madara just said. Naori chuckled loudly at her brother's stupefied expression before giving an approving grin to Madara who returned the gesture.
"Not so loud!" muttered Naruto painfully,
"Oh shut up, you baby!" chastised Madara, before playfully smacking Naruto on the head making the younger boy groan in even more pain.
Madara's moment of victory didn't last long when he noticed his father gaining a cold smirk on his lips. He knew better than most what that gesture meant...
"Madara, since you're so cheery today I'd like you to oversee the final decorations of the royal castle. Co-ordinate with the Yamanaka and make sure all the flowers are in place..."
Naori howled in laughter when Madara cried out in horror and even pleaded with his Father to make him not do that dreadful work. Unfortunately for The Wild Dragon, his brother had similar thoughts...
"The King insists" said Naruto with a savage grin,
"Fuck you!" cursed Madara,
"Care to repeat that again?" asked Tajima a little too calmly, making Madara gulp and lower his head in defeat.
Naruto could not help but smile as he watched his family sit together and enjoy for the first time in years. Such a phenomenon would never have happened if the war had gone on. But most of all, he knew these three had given up a lot for him.
"I am glad you are all here today" said Naruto honestly with a smile,
"Wouldn't be good if I miss your wedding with the Senju..." mocked Madara, but the smile on his lips was enough to show Naruto that despite his reservations about this union, Madara would have his back just as he always had.
The King got up from his seat and approached the eldest members of their family. Despite his painful headache, he knelt before them and took each of their hands in his own. He could only imagine what kind of tragedies these two had borne together, the death of Naruto's own brothers haunted him to this day.
But these two had watched so many of their siblings be torn apart in ways worse than Naruto's brothers ever had. They watched their parents die painful and miserable deaths, their people almost fall apart...
Yet both Tajima and Naori despite their pain and hatred had given up everything for him.
Words would never suffice how indebted he was to these two but he felt he had to do this regardless.
"Thank you..." said Naruto sincerely,
Naori cupped his cheek and placed a warm kiss on his forehead before looking into his eyes.
"I wish you all the happiness in the world, Naruto. I hope you find the peace you deserve with Tsunade..." said Naori happily,
Tajima merely placed his other hand on Naruto's shoulder and looked at his son with a firm but proud gaze.
"Uchiha are loyal to their own. The Uzumaki are not the only ones who value family above all else" answered Tajima frankly,
"I understand" replied Naruto with a smile, earning a nod from Tajima as the older man adopted a distant gaze in his eyes.
"I just wish your brothers could be here today..." whispered Tajima sadly,
Both Naruto and Madara were shocked on hearing what their father just said. Never once had Tajima talked about his dead sons to anyone much less his own family except for Naori. However, the unending sorrow that the man had kept at bay for years was finally visible for his sons to see.
Tajima gave a weak smile and Naruto was stunned to see his father's eyes were moist. Before he could say anything, Tajima got up from his chair and hurriedly walked out of the room. Naori was about to follow her brother but Madara gave her a reassuring nod before running after his Father.
Her gaze then turned to Naruto and the emotion in his eyes was clear for her to see.
Guilt.
"Does this pain ever go away?" whispered Naruto, looking at this woman who could understand his suffering better than most people ever could.
"No" answered Naori gently but honestly,
"I often dream of them. Of what they would think of me now. Izuna had always loved me, Yashiro and Inabi were distant" confessed Naruto sadly,
"They were boys, Naruto. They didn't understand..." consoled Naori, as she caressed his hair making him chuckle humorlessly.
"They were mean to me most of the time. I'd call them Twin Demons, but those same brothers nearly pummeled other boys to death when few of them tried to take my baby dragon toy from me. I asked them if I'd ever see a true dragon in my life, they laughed at me and said dragons don't exist anymore. When I started crying, Yashiro bonked me on the head and smirked before pointing at himself and calling himself a Dragon. Inabi did the same...they had such stupid grins on their faces which made me laugh. They were angry and sad because Mother died giving birth to me...but they did love me, Naori. I know that now...I swear, I'll go to my grave thinking about the stupid grins on their faces and their god awful howls as they tried to imitate a dragon's roar" whispered Naruto with a wistful smile,
She embraced him in her arms and felt him shudder for a few moments before he managed to regain control over himself. Naori knew better than most what pain their family had endured and yet Naruto had found it in his heart to forgive the Senjus. It could be said both Uchiha and Senju had murdered each other in equal measures, but to her their family was not just murdered but butchered in very cruel ways. The faces of her own lost siblings flashed before her eyes followed by the faces of the various clan heads that now infested Naruto's court. Those men and women had also their own pains and grievances, all it would take to shatter this peace was Naruto's death. If such a horror happened, Madara and Tajima would wage war and kill every last one of those traitors before getting killed themselves.
Naruto had a good heart but Tajima and Madara were both going away. Madara was going to focus on the upcoming war against the other nations while also building the ninja village, Tajima on the other hand would be focused on maintaining peace in their own nation while also governing the Uchiha Clan.
That left Naruto alone in the midst of these former enemies, none of them would dare attack him openly or risk being butchered by the fox but ninjas had other subtle ways of making their enemies go away.
She looked at this boy who was her son in all but name and the thought of seeing his cold corpse would break her completely. Her decision was made...
"I'm staying here with you" said Naori fiercely, making him look up at her.
"The clan-"
"Can survive under Tajima. I'm not leaving you alone here in the midst of these snakes" said Naori seriously, her tone leaving no scope for opposition but it only made Naruto smile.
"I can live with that" said Naruto cheekily, making her smirk.
"You better"
Naruto and Madara both observed the finely decorated Capital before them. There were still traces of the battle that was fought here not so long ago but with the help of the ninja clans, much of the damage had been repaired. The residents of the Capital were initially hostile to the new regime until Naruto despite the warnings of his advisers marched out and interacted personally with the people, a phenomenon that had not happened in nearly a century with the previous Daimyo's considering it beneath them to personally visit their subjects.
Madara had watched his youngest brother patiently listen to the people and their grievances. He immediately punished the few former royal guards still alive who had terrorized the civilians, imprisoned the corrupt officials, with winter coming the citizens requested more food, work and coin for their families.
A demand which the King promised to fulfill with his first act giving a considerable sum of the crownlands for civilians to grow farms upon, build houses and claim some lands for themselves. The kindness didn't go unnoticed and now the tales of Naruto The Good were spreading like a raging fire throughout the Land of Fire.
To add further to the joy of the civilians, their King had organized a grand festival for them on the occasion of his marriage. Tonight, these poor and impoverished families would eat a feast they could have never imagined in their wildest dreams, they would get to share some good wine and be happy with their friends and loved ones.
At first, Madara thought his brother to be to more than lenient with people whom ninjas could pacify very easily. But as each day passed, he watched his brother's popularity grow to the point that now if anyone tried to take this city from Naruto, they would have to go through thousands of civilians loyal to their King.
But right now the same King looked nervous...
"What is it?" inquired Madara with a raised eyebrow,
"I don't know if I can be the husband Tsunade wants me to be" confessed Naruto, making his brother snort in disbelief.
"Trust me. If the Senju cannot see your worth then she's stupid. You're more than what she deserves..." assured Madara confidently,
"I don't know, brother. If she ever finds out about my unborn daughters..." whispered Naruto, his fear over that possibility clear for Madara to see.
"We'll deal with it when we get there. But if it gives you peace, I've already assigned 100 of my best men near the temple. If anyone tries to harm my nieces, they'll have to go through those 100 Uchiha first and I won't be far away. I won't let anything happen to them, Naruto" promised Madara fiercely, earning a smile from the King.
"Thank you, truly. But I need another favor..." said Naruto hesitantly,
"Careful, brother. You owe me quite a lot already..." japed Madara, earning a nod from his youngest brother.
"I know. And whenever you need me, I will be there for you" promised Naruto sincerely,
"I'll hold you to it" replied Madara seriously, before continuing with a smile...
"Good. Now tell me what you need..."
Madara listened as Naruto explained to him of the fact that Mikoto was leaving the Kinsguard. He didn't have to be a genius to see his brother had great affection for the woman and was now worried about her future. When Naruto told him about her fighting skills, Madara was quite impressed. But he soon frowned when Naruto told him about her origin of being a servant's daughter and how many would try to take advantage of her now that she was not under his protection.
"I'm thinking of forming a small elite force loyal to me. Considering her experience and recommendation, I'll see her worth and if she proves herself then she can command men sworn to defend me, not that I need it" said Madara honestly with a wink,
"I owe you one" said Naruto happily, earning a light bop on the head.
"More than one...''
Naruto wryly smiled at that statement knowing it was true. Still another concern crossed his mind and only his brother had the answer to that problem.
"Is Father okay?" asked Naruto worriedly, earning a grim nod from Madara.
"The old's man more tougher than the both of us combined. He'll be fine..." assured Madara, and didn't miss his brother sighing in relief.
Without hesitation, he placed a hand on the nervous boy's shoulder.
"This is your day, Naruto. And your family will be there for you, so cheer up and enjoy" encouraged Madara,
Naruto could not help but smile.
