Chapter 123

One month after the destruction of the Daimyō Prefecture,

Konoha Village held a grand wedding ceremony.

As the Fifth Hokage and the Daimyō's wife, Tsunade sat before a mirror, dressed in an elaborate wedding gown, while Shizune assisted her.

"Shizune, how's my eyeshadow? Is it too plain?"

Tsunade kept glancing at herself in the mirror, visibly anxious.

Even with her usual fiery personality, she was as nervous as any ordinary young woman at this moment.

Shizune smiled in amusement as she helped straighten Tsunade's hair.

"Tsunade-sama, you've asked me that more than ten times already! It's perfect—you look stunning today."

Then, with a playful tone, she added:

"Besides, didn't you say yesterday that this was just a political marriage and that there was no affection involved?~"

Tsunade paused, pursed her lips, and muttered:

"A political marriage is still a marriage. It should be done properly."

Shizune chuckled softly, then said teasingly, "Oh, come on, Tsunade-sama, stop fooling yourself. You know whether this is political or not. He has so many women, and some of them have been by his side for years. Yet in the end, he chose you as his official wife.

"With Lord Toki's personality, do you think he would treat marriage as a joke? If he didn't want to marry you, he wouldn't—no matter how great the benefits were."

A faint smile tugged at Tsunade's lips, but she quickly snorted in defiance.

"Tch. Who cares?! That playboy!"

Shizune chuckled again but chose not to say more.

---

Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Clan Compound,

Toki stood tall, looking dashing in a suit and tie.

By his side, Uzumaki Chizuru and Uchiha Mikoto helped straighten his clothes.

Chizuru's slightly bulging belly made it clear—she was already pregnant.

Seeing this, Toki smiled and gently reassured her,

"Don't worry. Tsunade was the first to know me, so naturally, she's the first to marry. But I won't make distinctions between wives and concubines—you will all be treated equally."

A complicated expression crossed his face.

This feeling… It was strange, knowing he had altered the plot so drastically.

Especially now that Chizuru was pregnant—

Did that mean Uzumaki Karin was now his daughter?

In his past life, when he had watched Naruto, Naruto had always been the protagonist in his eyes. But now, as a reincarnator, he saw things differently.

Naruto's life wasn't as tragic as it seemed—

Compared to Gaara, Uchiha Sasuke, and even Uzumaki Karin, Naruto had it easier.

Sure, Naruto was ostracized and suffered from childhood abuse—

But Karin?

She was tortured, forced to endure people biting her for chakra, and even witnessed her mother being brutally killed.

That kind of horror was on another level.

Now, because of a single act of kindness, Toki had completely changed the fate of both mother and daughter.

That thought filled him with a deep sense of satisfaction.

Hearing Toki's words, Chizuru's eyes shone with joy.

She had long prepared herself for a tragic fate—

Yet, everything had changed just because she had met Toki.

She didn't even care about his flirtatious nature.

Especially after Toki decided to become the Daimyō, such things became almost… natural.

After all, no matter the world, the actions of those with power and privilege were always easier to accept.

It was something deeply ingrained in human instincts.

Standing beside them, Uchiha Mikoto hesitated for a moment, glancing at Chizuru's pregnant belly.

A silent struggle flashed in her eyes—

Should she tell him about Sasuke's true identity?