The moon hung high in the sky, and the stars were sparse.
Kaoru carefully supported Kushina as they walked back to the bedroom, treating her as if she were something fragile.
Kushina looked helplessly at the adorable blonde girl beside her.
"Kaoru , you really don't have to be this careful."
"I'm only two months pregnant. It's not like I'm seven or eight months along."
As someone who had already gone through childbirth once, Kushina had plenty of experience. She didn't need to be treated like this.
And it wasn't just Kaoru .
Kyūsei had been the same.
In just one afternoon, he had fed her an entire bunch of grapes.
He even insisted, with complete seriousness, that eating more grapes would make the baby's eyes bigger.
Where had he even heard something like that?
But Kaoru looked at her seriously and said,
"There's a new life growing inside you. That's not just your matter alone, Sister Kushina."
"And besides… I'm really looking forward to it too."
She gently touched Kushina's still-flat stomach, almost as if she were looking at her own child.
"…Alright."
Kushina sighed helplessly.
When she had been pregnant with Menma, aside from Minato, no one had treated her with such care.
But seeing Kaoru like this reminded Kushina of Minato back then.
The same serious expression.
The same earnest concern.
Kushina sat on the bed and stared at the moon outside the window.
She wondered how Minato was doing now.
Seeing the red-haired woman quietly gazing at the moon in longing, Kaoru hesitated before speaking.
"Sister Kushina… why don't you just give birth here?"
If Kushina returned to her own Konoha, she would be completely alone.
Minato was imprisoned.
Right now it was manageable since she was only two months pregnant.
But when the pregnancy advanced…
Kushina would have no one beside her.
She would go to medical checkups alone.
Handle paperwork alone.
Give birth alone.
Kushina seemed to understand what Kaoru was worried about.
She reached out and pinched Kaoru 's cheek gently.
"Kaoru is really kind…"
"But it's okay."
"By then, won't Karin still be there?"
Kushina wasn't some fragile woman.
She knew herself well.
Even if she had to do it alone, she would take good care of the child growing inside her.
Seeing her determination, Kaoru could only sigh and drop the subject.
The next day.
Hokage Tower.
Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he looked at yet another letter of protest sent by Akatsuki.
"Take it away."
"Respond the same way we did last time."
"And don't bring things like this to me anymore."
"Do I really have to deal with everything myself all day?"
"What exactly are you people here for?"
His tone was calm, almost casual.
But the staff member standing before him instantly felt his scalp go numb.
He accepted the letter with trembling hands and quickly left the office.
The words sounded ordinary.
But each one cut like a blade.
It was basically the Hokage asking:
Are we paying you just to sit around and do nothing?
The staff member walked down the hallway nervously.
He felt that the Third Hokage had changed.
In the past, Hiruzen had been strict but never like this.
Now he spoke indirectly, hiding anger beneath calm words.
Sitting alone in that office, he felt like a sleeping tiger.
Majestic and terrifying.
Hiruzen didn't pay attention to the departing staff member.
Another person had already arrived.
ANBU operative Blue Phoenix—Mitarashi Shishō.
One of his trusted subordinates.
"Blue Phoenix. What is it?"
Shishō stepped forward and handed him a report.
"Hokage-sama."
"There's unusual activity near the Land of Grass."
Hiruzen frowned as he read.
The Land of Grass?
What unusual activity could happen there?
Even Kusagakure had been wiped out by Kyūsei's single Tailed Beast Bomb.
But the more he read, the deeper his frown became.
Within the Land of Grass was a territory called Hōzuki Castle.
It was an island prison located in the ocean.
Kusagakure had used it to imprison dangerous criminals and rogue ninja from all nations.
Back when the ninja world had not yet split into two factions, the five great nations had agreed to let Grass Village serve as the wardens.
But now Kusagakure had fallen.
The ninja world had divided into two great forces.
The prison guards stationed on the island had survived because they were overseas.
But with their home village destroyed, their control over the prison had weakened.
Some of the most dangerous criminals were already starting to rebel.
The Fire Release: Heavenly Prison sealing technique could still suppress them for now.
But eventually, a riot in Hōzuki Castle was inevitable.
Normally that wouldn't be a major issue.
But there was another complication.
Hōzuki Castle had an internal council composed entirely of Grass Village members.
And recently…
They seemed to be planning something.
Even worse—
Akatsuki operatives had begun appearing near the island.
That was what truly puzzled Hiruzen.
In the current ninja world, everyone acknowledged one thing:
Top-tier combat power determined everything.
So why would Akatsuki bother contacting these prisoners?
What could those criminals possibly offer?
Or what could the remnants of Grass Village possibly have that interested Akatsuki?
They were nothing more than scattered rabble.
Still—
Hiruzen believed in one principle:
If the enemy wanted something, you should stop them from getting it.
"Send for Namikaze—"
He paused.
"…Hatake Sakumo."
He had almost ordered Kaoru to handle it.
But changed his mind.
Kaoru was excellent.
But she was still young.
Hatake Sakumo was mature, reliable, and experienced.
A man Hiruzen trusted completely.
And this mission felt… strange.
Why had Akatsuki turned their attention to such a remote place?
Was there something hidden in the ruins of Grass Village?
Hiruzen didn't know.
But sending Sakumo would reveal the truth.
Evening approached.
Autumn winds rustled through falling leaves.
Kyūsei stood beneath a tree, watching students leave the ninja academy in small groups.
Then he spotted a flash of white hair.
"Kakashi!"
His voice cut through the crowd.
Kakashi looked up.
Seeing Kyūsei standing under the tree, he immediately made a bitter face.
"Huh?"
"Big Brother Dango!"
The girl beside Kakashi suddenly waved excitedly.
It was Rin Nohara.
"Big Brother Dango?"
What kind of ridiculous nickname was that?
"Did someone feed you dumplings once and suddenly that becomes their nickname?"
Kyūsei walked over and rubbed Rin's head, turning her neat brown hair into a mess.
"Hey!"
"That's mean!"
Rin escaped his grasp and ran to fix her hair.
"You're the one giving me weird nicknames."
Kyūsei flicked her forehead.
Even though she tried to dodge, his finger landed perfectly.
"Hmph! I'm ignoring you!"
"Kakashi, bye!"
The little girl puffed her cheeks and ran off.
Kakashi sighed.
"So… why are you picking me up again?"
"Because your teacher suddenly left the village on a mission."
"So I'm in charge of you for the next few days."
"Seeing your beloved big brother Kyūsei must make you happy."
Kyūsei ruffled Kakashi's hair and slung an arm around his shoulder.
"No."
"It just makes me feel unlucky."
Kakashi walked ahead with his usual deadpan expression.
Not toward the Hatake house.
But toward the Uzumaki residence.
He knew resisting Kyūsei was pointless.
The Uzumaki house was unusually lively that day.
Normally only Kyūsei and Kaoru lived there.
Now there were seven people.
When Kyūsei brought Kakashi home, he found everyone gathered around the table discussing something.
The fruit plates had been cleared away.
In their place were scrolls and diagrams of sealing arrays.
"If the chakra becomes unstable even slightly, the entire sealing structure will collapse."
"And chakra quantity is also a problem."
Kaoru was sketching something with a pencil.
"If Menma and Kyūsei provide chakra together, it should be enough."
Kushina said thoughtfully while sipping tea.
"Tch. Like I'd cooperate with that guy."
Menma muttered.
"What are you all talking about?"
Kyūsei leaned over curiously.
Kaoru handed him a diagram.
"Karin thinks if we need constant contact with their Konoha, traveling back and forth between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire is too troublesome."
"And since the Land of Wind is Akatsuki territory, it's dangerous."
"So she suggested…"
"Moving the entire Loulan city and the Dragon Vein here."
Kyūsei laughed.
"You guys really have wild imaginations."
But after glancing at the diagram—
He froze.
The design used Uzumaki sealing arrays as a foundation.
Then placed Flying Thunder God markers across the entire city of Loulan.
A matching network of markers would be built near Konoha.
Finally—
Using Kaoru 's newly developed Flying Thunder God: Guiding Lightning variant, the whole structure could perform a massive long-distance teleportation.
Kyūsei stared at them.
Kushina.
Menma.
Karin.
Kaoru .
…Well, Kaoru would take his surname eventually anyway.
Calling her Uzumaki wasn't wrong.
The Uzumaki clan really is full of geniuses…
He had only stepped out to pick up Kakashi.
And in that short time these people had designed something utterly insane.
If this actually worked…
Wouldn't it create a space-time tunnel?
And the Dragon Vein already contained cross-dimensional teleportation energy.
This idea…
Actually had potential.
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