The New Year came right on time. Despite ongoing warfare, no one's festive spirits were dampened. Every household was decorated with lanterns and streamers, buzzing with celebration.
The first day of the new year was also Mori's wedding day. Bright and early, Saitama slipped into the brand-new outfit Ka Po-pu had prepared for him yesterday. The top half remained the classic High-necked Top long associated with the Uchiha Clan, while the lower half had been swapped out for thermal joggers by Ka Po-pu, who insisted it was simply too cold otherwise.
"Grandma, I'm heading out today for a colleague's wedding. I don't think I'll be back till tonight. Take care at home."
No sooner had he gotten up and finished dressing than Saitama told Ka Po-pu his plans for the day.
"Eh! Okay, didn't we already go over this yesterday? Who knew you'd get so chatty?" Sitting on a lounge chair below, Ka Uchiha seemed already done with breakfast, idly digesting her meal.
"Then I'm off, Grandma!"
Since today was Mori's wedding day, Saitama wanted to arrive early—to help out, or maybe just enjoy the festivities.
He carried no weapons at all, dressed lightly. After all, it was someone else's wedding—bringing weird stuff along might make the hosts uneasy.
"Hey, Saitama!" Just hundreds of meters after leaving home, a voice called from behind.
"Oh, isn't that Nagare?" Without turning around, Saitama immediately recognized the speaker despite their long history together.
Hands clasped behind his head, Saitama stood still, waiting for Nagare to catch up.
"Hehe! You sure are an early bird, Saitama!" Looking as sleep-deprived as ever, Nagare sneaked up beside Saitama.
"Well, I left early precisely for that reason. Aren't you also?" Saitama gave a nonchalant shrug.
"I haven't even eaten breakfast yet. When I saw you passing my house just now, I rushed out right away," Nagare replied, pointing toward a nearby house behind him.
"Huh?" Having known each other for so long, Saitama never realized Nagare actually lived this close.
"In that case, neither have I. Let's go to Mori's place and mooch off him," Saitama smiled, completely unashamed.
"Hehe!" Nagare nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
Mori had personally invited every member of the Clan Guards himself, without waiting for Saitama's official announcement from the guards' HQ yesterday—so of course Nagare was included.
"What were you doing last night anyway?" Saitama eyed Nagare's panda-like dark circles—comparable even to those of the One-Tail Jinchuriki.
"Hehe, you know, Saitama," Nagare scratched the back of his head mysteriously.
"Yeah, teenage boys do struggle during puberty," Saitama naturally understood the cause but couldn't resist teasing.
"Hehe!" Nagare didn't pick up on what Saitama meant—it wasn't like he was anything close to dating age yet. He was only eleven, after all.
Side by side, both walked toward Mori's residence. Located in the eastern part of the Uchiha compound, Mori's home wasn't far from the Clan Guards' barracks.
Along the way, Saitama repeatedly managed to gather fellow Clan Guards members, forming quite a grand group heading toward today's host's place.
It was the New Year, after all—everyone dressed neatly. Some wedding guests even wore flashy kimonos specially for the occasion.
A group of cheerful youths arrived at today's wedding venue, joking and laughing all the way.
"Saitama!"
As soon as he arrived, Saitama saw Shisui waving at him.
"Eh!" Saitama made his way over and stood beside Shisui.
"You're already here? Didn't expect to see you so early!" Since they hadn't met on the way, Saitama had assumed Shisui was behind him. He never expected Shisui would already be here.
"Mori Aniki specially asked me yesterday to come early and help," Shisui replied with a smile, holding some tea in his hands.
Looking around, Shisui noticed the large courtyard had nearly ten tables already set up, each with tea and water.
"Everyone, stop sitting around—go help out back!" Saitama called out. The Clan Guards members who had been sitting around one table drinking tea began to rise one by one, slowly and half-heartedly; they had come early precisely to help anyway.
"Alright!"
"Let's go check what food there is at the back!"
"Hey hey, let's go!"
...
Taking the tea from Shisui's hands, Saitama gave him a little push. "Go help out quick! Don't worry about me!"
With that, he headed toward a familiar figure nearby—a man dressed entirely in bright red, smiling at him.
"Well, look who it is—the groom!" Saitama placed the tea he'd just taken from Shisui onto the table and approached, speaking cheerfully.
"Don't mess around, Saitama!" Mori seemed unusually serious today, his expression stiff, like someone trying hard not to smile.
"It's almost eight o'clock. How are things going?" Saitama could see Mori's nervousness and knew this was his first marriage, without any prior experience, so he tried to lighten the mood.
"Everything's ready. Just wait for you guys to eat your fill later." Mori relaxed a bit, though his tone still carried happiness.
"Where's your better half?" Saitama grinned slyly, casting a glance behind Mori.
Since Mori had lived with his girlfriend for many years already, she had moved into his home before today—only officially formalizing their relationship now.
"She's upstairs. She'll come down later," Mori replied, tilting his chin upward slightly.
...
As someone highly favored by the Uchiha Clan leader, Mori had drawn quite a crowd of clan members attending his wedding, filling every seat in the courtyard.
During the simple ceremony, Saitama and the other guards finally got to meet Mori's girlfriend—in name only now, as she was officially his wife.
She was a seemingly gentle and virtuous woman whose every movement and word radiated affection for Mori.
...
"No more, no more!" Mori groaned after being forced to drink heavily by others at another table. His face was flushed, and his eyes looked dazed.
Saitama's table consisted of people too young to legally drink, so they could only watch helplessly as Mori was bombarded with alcohol, which made them itch with sympathy.
The meal lasted a full three hours, leaving the courtyard in complete disarray afterward.
"I'm off then. Congratulations, Mori!" Since there was no tradition of *nao dongfang* (wedding pranks) in Konoha Village, Saitama prepared to leave after the meal.
The party was over and drinks had been had—he needed to get ready for his next mission and dig up some intel first.
"Alright. Shisui, you may go first!"
Mori had lost consciousness and was patting Saitama's shoulder, calling out Shisui's name.
Beside Mori, his wife was happily supporting him, continuously nodding and smiling at Saitama. She knew that the Saitama before her was the one her husband trusted.
Without paying attention, Saitama and Nagare left while Shisui remained to help. As a warm-hearted person, he naturally couldn't bear to let Mori's family continue struggling to clean up the mess.
...
"Saitama, I've applied for the Chunin Exams after the New Year," Nagare said as they walked side by side.
"You've got this; your abilities are more than enough." Saitama nodded.
"I don't want to fall too far behind you. When are you planning to become a Jonin?" Nagare added with a nod.
"Let's just build up some experience gradually — it's not urgent for now." Saitama hadn't really considered it yet. These rankings didn't boost attack power or offer any real benefits. Why would he even bother chasing titles when secretly boosting his own strength felt so much better?
"Let's go!" After parting ways with Nagre, Saitama continued forward.
Time was getting more and more precious — Saitama couldn't afford to waste it. He needed to return first and fetch his own weapon before heading to the training ground.
...
"Has it been confirmed?"
In the darkness, a gloomy voice broke the tranquility of this space.
"Drip!"
Water dripped from the pipe above, falling onto the ground and making a sound.
"Yes, the Uchiha have confirmed the personnel for the mission. The mission request has also been submitted to the Hokage Office. Exactly our target will be executing this mission."
The semi-kneeling figure kept his head bowed respectfully while answering.
"Keep monitoring. I need to know the confirmed date when our target leaves the village." The voice continued.
With a clinking sound, only the half-kneeling shadow remained in this place.
"Understood!"
The shadow raised his head slightly, revealing a mask under the faint light.
This place once again returned to its calmness, with only the continuous "drip" sounds echoing.
An unknown storm seemed to be approaching Saitama, but he was completely unaware of it. Would he fear it? The answer was obvious.
"Hmph!" A Ninja Sword slashed downward in a surge of electricity, cleaving the nearby training dummies into two halves.
"Huh!" The current on the blade disappeared as Saitama exhaled deeply.
"Time to go back, wash up, and sleep. Tomorrow I'll officially receive the mission from the squad leader." Swinging his arms a few times, Saitama hung the sword at his waist.
Currently, Saitama had abundant chakra flowing within him. Just how much? Enough to match several Moris or even dozens of Shisuis?
Saitama couldn't be sure. His chakra had steadily increased every day, and he rarely experienced chakra depletion. Without a reference point, he could only make a rough estimate.
[Swordsmanship], [Lightning Release], [Sharingan]! This was currently Saitama's most frequently used attack combination, and also the direction he was developing toward.
Later stages wouldn't rely heavily on swordsmanship alone, but the Lightning Release and Sharingan were things Saitama couldn't abandon.
"My body still contains wind and fire chakra natures," Saitama mused to himself. "In the future, I can also slowly incorporate them into use."
"Wind Release techniques can be combined with swordsmanship. During attacks, they can alternate with Lightning Release or even mix with Rasengan. We could also make some orbs to play around with." As he walked, Saitama's mind started drifting.
"The Sharingan isn't improving as fast as I hoped, but I can feel there's a bottleneck—like something's still missing." Thinking about the Sharingan reminded Saitama of how he obtained the "King finger"—the so-called gift from his transmigration—when he first arrived in this world.
"What a piece of trash for being called the ultimate talent!" Saitama frowned. Since awakening the Double Tomoe Sharingan, his Sharingan hadn't evolved for quite a while.
"And this is supposed to be the ultimate talent?" The more he thought about it, the more deceived he felt inside. After all, the legendary cheat ability promised by that godlike figure during his transmigration had yet to fulfill its expected potential.
All his strength came from hard work and sweat—no sign of any game-breaking power. It was somewhat disappointing for someone bearing the title of 'transmigrated protagonist.'
"Forget it, forget it." After muttering for a bit, Saitama relaxed both mentally and physically.
The weather had been getting colder recently, and he guessed this climate would last a while longer. But since mastering Lightning Release — Chakra Mode, his body had become completely immune to such changes.
Back home, he chatted casually with Ka Po-pu for a bit and then helped her shape some rice balls. Dinner was just a simple affair.
After dinner, Saitama continued practicing swordsmanship in the yard to aid digestion before heading upstairs to study ninjutsu further.
"I heard there's a new interesting invention appearing in the village recently—it can play purchased videos. I should grab one next time to help Ka Po-pu pass the time."
Before climbing upstairs, noticing the light still on in Ka Po-pu's room, these thoughts lingered in Saitama's mind.
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