___________ POV Narration ___________
"Ha ha ~ Can't believe we got invited to a wedding!" Tatsukio, the 4th Blade, slowly rested on the carriage as he looked around his surroundings, the great village of Konoha was as cheerful as he remembered it.
"Invited?! Who the hell invited you? We're just the plus ones..." Morita, the 5th Blade, had somewhat become the voice of reason to Tatsukio at times.
The 4th Blade was strong, and he was certainly smart, but he sure liked behaving like an idiot at times... At least that was what Morita constantly complained to Ken about.
The Blind Monster was not really all that interested in their spats, at least he was not taking them seriously in any way and just saw them as entertainment.
"We were all invited clearly! You can't have more than one plus one! That's why it's called a 'plus one'." Akira, the Third Blade, seemed to be of the same mind as Tatsukio.
Morita wanted to refute the older Blade, but he couldn't argue against his point... In a sense, the Dark Brotherhood was invited alongside Ken.
The wedding itself seemed to be a grand affair, with an entire street being blocked, decorated and prepared for the ceremony and party that would follow right after.
The Hokage formally invited Ken on behalf of the bride and groom, but he was not going to be providing them with anything other than his presence during the ceremony.
He was also planning to help lower their alcohol supplies at the party, but other than that he was mostly there to celebrate Minato and Kushina's union.
And he wasn't the only one, plenty of merchant families were also walking into the city, bearing rather lavish gifts for the star couple of the Leaf Village.
Minato, the Yellow Flash, was already considered to be the next Hokage. Sarutobi had already recruited him under his wing to show him the ropes, it was only a matter of months or years before he took over.
Not everyone was privy to that information of course, but those who had a finger on the pulse of Konoha knew enough about it to understand that Minato's standing and power made him a prime candidate for future Hokage.
It was important for them to build connections to a potential Hokage. Many came even without an invitation, just visiting the Leaf Village to bring them gifts.
There were also plenty who received invitations. Minato had a great reputation to his name already, and he had made a lot of connections through countless successful missions alongside his Master, Jiraiya.
"Haah... So many people coming out of the woodwork." Tatsukio sighed as he eyed the many strangers entering the gates in lavish carriages.
The Leaf Village was considered the strongest Hidden Village at the end of the day, a big event would always attract plenty of characters from all over the Elemental Nations.
As the 3 Blades present spoke and bickered amongst each other, Ken just stood to the side and scanned the village with his enhanced senses.
'It seems that they have upped their defences quite a bit since last time I was here...'
As a Fuinjutsu Master as well, the Blind Monster could appreciate the intricate arrays that were present within the Leaf Village to ensure its protection.
The Dark Brotherhood was very much the same at the end of the day. They had trained an entire squadron of Fuinjutsu users of varying proficiency to hold and maintain the formations in their compound.
Still, the raised security around the village made Ken wonder out loud for a moment.
"I was not expecting them to have such a big public wedding... I guess they are trying to show off their prosperity amidst the troubles brewing in our Alliance."
The Blades quieted down as Ken spoke out, each one of them respected their master/father at the end of the day, his words always held real weight to them.
Security was a good sign of prosperity at the end of the day, and the happiness of the people, though it seemed that Konoha was not lacking in that regard either.
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All people in the vicinity seemed to at least be content with their situation, which was a good image.
Ken proceeded to their quarters for the night, spending his time idly observing his surroundings and the people who were invited.
The Uzumaki Clan was also obviously present, Yorihikko had come by to salute Ken. He seemed to have left all of the work back home to Kushina's older brother, Kazue.
Kazue was slowly shaping up to be the next leader of the village and the clan, the extra responsibility unfortunately meant that he was going to miss his sister's wedding ceremony.
Alas, they had more than certainly spoken about that beforehand, so there wasn't going to be any drama at the wedding regarding that.
One thing was for sure though... Yorihikko was not going to miss his daughter's wedding, no matter the circumstances.
The ceremony quickly came along, with Ken and the Blades dressing a bit more formally, all wearing costumes and tuxedos whilst still keeping their masks on.
Within a suit, Ken's muscular frame which was usually hidden beneath his coat was now much more accentuated, it made him stand out a lot more in the crowd.
Ken's formal coat extended further than that of the Blades, distinguishing him further.
The Blades were also looking quite fine. Tatsukio's suit was a bit modified due to his missing leg, but he didn't seem to be too bothered by it.
They were all still carrying their blades, wrapped on their backs.
Akira with his regenerating Decapitation Carving Knife, Tosho with his Blast Scroll Blade, and Morita with the twin lightning fangs Kiba.
Ken didn't carry his blade with him, but it was still on his person, hidden within a seal on his palm, drawn directly into his skin with permanent ink.
Of course, the Blind Monster could move it around with his transformative abilities, but he decided to keep it in his hand for now.
"We have gathered here today to witness the union between these two souls, so that they may stay together even in the Pure Lands..."
The ordained Monk was the one to speak out the loudest in that ceremony, his voice booming across the halls.
The Elemental Nations had different religious beliefs when compared to Ken's past world. There was no heaven or hell, there was no specific god either. But there were the Pure Lands, the place that souls went to after death.
There was limited knowledge about it, how one got there and didn't remain stuck In Limbo really differed from person to person, but it was a matter of fulfilment more than anything.
Unlike Ken's past world, the Elemental Nations had definitive proof of their afterlife existing, as there were even Forbidden Techniques that could directly interact with it in certain ways.
But to be stuck in Limbo was to be somewhere in between the living world and the afterlife. To leave the world with regrets, to live in the world unwilling, to have unfinished business, those were things that caused others to remain in Limbo, or at least that was wildly believed.
Many Monks had created countless transcripts further looking into the concepts, and many had even tried to take a glimpse at the Pure Lands by creating strange and esoteric techniques.
But the Pure Lands were not something that the living could see. However their research led to them being able to perform certain ceremonies to lightly bind souls together.
That was a wedding ceremony. To bind partners, so that they would not ever lose one another in the infinity of the Pure Lands.
It was fascinating to Ken, but he was unsure that he would get the chance to experience such a thing in his life.
Romance seemed like a strange concept in the first place due to his inhuman nature, but there was also the fact that the Pure Lands after death were not even a guarantee for him due to his constitution.
But for Minato and Kushina? The soul binding was only natural, they were together for good or for worse, in sickness or in health, in life and death.
'Marriages in this world feel more serious for some reason...' Ken pondered as he listened to the ceremonial rites, discovering the slight differences between those and the ones in his past world.
He didn't know the full wedding ceremony in his past world, as he had only ever been present in one or two when stalking assassination targets.
From the bits and pieces he had heard, they seemed similar, but still slightly different.
The Monk brought his palms together, seemingly sending a silent prayer somewhere as he spoke.
Ken froze for a moment, as he felt a strange energy wrap around both Kushina and Minato for a moment.
No one else seemed to react to it, so it was safe to assume that no one could see it. But Ken could feel it, nothing really escaped his senses.
The energy lingered around the two of them, seemingly embracing them, before flowing upwards into the sky.
That energy was nothing like what Ken had ever felt before. It seemed to be chakra at the base, but that small strand seemed to hold infinite energy.
It was hard to understand or quantify, and even harder to describe but Ken inherently felt that it was otherworldly.
The monk seemed to be pleased with the results as he finished praying, he looked at the couple with a smile.
"Today, a miracle has happened. For even here in this small world, we can make binds that last through to the vast Pure Lands.
The union of souls is only possible when pure love is in the equation, and you have both spoken true of your love of one another."
The Blind Assassin was unsure if that was truly the case, but if yes, then it made sense why he had never heard of any cheating ever happening in ordained marriages within the Elemental Nations.
Of course that was only true for those that had successfully undergone the ceremony.
That way, it was simply impossible to get married in the first place if there was no love between the bride and the groom.
As the blind assassin was coming to that realization, he slowly felt the guests around all stand up and start clapping, understanding the ceremony to be over and beginning to celebrate.
Ken sighed internally as he felt the groom, Minato, kiss the bride, the rosy-cheeked Kushina.
The two of them seemed to be on cloud nine, and how couldn't they be? Their love was now fully realized.
Ken took a deep breath and slowly stood up and started clapping as well.
'It seems that the world always manages to surprise.'