The wind of early autumn moved through Konoha like a quiet warning.
A few yellow leaves drifted through the streets, spinning in little circles before settling on the ground. The village looked peaceful on the surface, but Uchiha Tsukiko could not shake the tension in her chest. Ever since Sasuke had been born, she had been watching the days pass one by one, silently counting down toward the night she knew would come.
At that moment, however, she was sitting in a tree in the courtyard of Minato's house, looking as lazy and harmless as ever.
She held a piece of foxtail grass between her fingers and used it to tease a fat little sparrow that had landed on a branch near her knee. The bird hopped around in confusion, chirping angrily whenever she brushed its beak with the grass.
Tsukiko sighed.
Ever since little Sasuke had arrived, she had shown a rare bit of self-control. For two whole months, she had forced herself not to run to Mikoto's house every day and poke the baby's cheeks whenever she felt like it. She had even boldly declared that she was giving Aunt Mikoto a "luxury-level postpartum recovery period."
Of course, that only meant all her extra attention had shifted somewhere else.
"Tsukiko! I can't do this anymore! Put down that red bean cake! I want one too! This ramen is going to burn me alive!"
Kushina's miserable voice came from inside the house, already halfway to tears.
Tsukiko dropped down from the tree at once and moved through the corridor with light, quick steps. A plate of beautiful red bean cakes sat in her hands, each one soft, smooth, and shining under the light.
She stopped at the doorway like an unreasonably strict little manager.
"Nope," Tsukiko said, raising the plate higher the moment Kushina reached for it. "The doctor said pregnant women need to watch their sugar intake. I already allowed that spicy ramen as your cheat meal for the day. These are not happening."
Kushina was lying across the sofa with all the grace of a beached sea creature. Her belly was large and round, her face red from the ramen, and her eyes watery from the spice. She looked at Tsukiko as though she had been betrayed by the world.
"Just one bite," Kushina pleaded. "One tiny bite! Tsukiko, you love me, right? You wouldn't let your poor godbrother cry from hunger inside my stomach, would you?"
"Don't use Naruto as an excuse," Tsukiko said mercilessly.
She set the cakes aside and poured Kushina a glass of warm milk instead.
"That little guy is going to be an Uzumaki. He'll survive. If he can't handle this much, how is he supposed to become the future king of gluttons?"
Kushina took the milk with the saddest face imaginable, drank half of it in one go, and collapsed dramatically against the sofa.
"Waaah... Minato is never home because he's always working, and now even my cute little Tsukiko has become heartless. I'm suffering."
"This is for your own good," Tsukiko said, sitting beside her.
Her hand moved almost automatically to Kushina's stomach, and the moment she touched that warm roundness, her expression softened.
Only Tsukiko knew what kind of destiny the life inside that belly carried.
"Sister," she asked in a voice that sounded casual on the surface, "have you noticed anything strange lately? Anything unusual with the seal?"
Kushina blinked, then laughed.
"The seal? It's fine! That big fox is behaving. I even beat him up in my mind space not long ago. He's as obedient as a house cat right now."
Tsukiko's mouth twitched.
Only Kushina could casually talk about beating the Nine-Tails like it was ordinary household business.
Still, that answer did nothing to ease her real worries.
The masked man was out there. Watching. Waiting.
He might already have eyes inside the village.
"That's good," Tsukiko said at last, looking toward the fading light outside the window. "Just remember this. No matter what happens, I'm staying close. If anyone dares target you or this little guy, I'll make them regret being born."
At the same time, in the Uchiha compound, the setting sun spilled gold through the paper doors and covered the tatami in warm light.
Itachi sat beside Sasuke's cradle, holding the two-month-old baby carefully in his arms. In one hand, he shook a small pellet drum.
Dong. Dong. Dong.
The crisp rhythm caught Sasuke's attention at once. The tiny baby stared with wide dark eyes, blew a bubble of spit, and reached out his soft little hand to grab at the source of the sound.
"Yes, just like that," Itachi said gently. His voice was so soft it hardly seemed to belong to the same boy who was already known for his talent and seriousness. "Grow strong quickly, Sasuke."
A family photo sat nearby on the low table.
It was the one Tsukiko had forced them to take last month.
In the picture, Tsukiko was grinning brightly and making an exaggerated peace sign. Mikoto looked beautiful and calm. Fugaku looked like a man who had already lost the will to resist. Itachi himself still remembered how much chaos had been involved in simply getting everyone to stand still.
His eyes rested on the photo for a long moment.
Then he looked down at Sasuke with the gravity of someone about to deliver sacred clan wisdom.
"Sasuke," Itachi said, "there is something you must remember from your big brother."
Sasuke blinked up at him and made a tiny noise.
"Eeya?"
Itachi nodded solemnly.
"Absolutely do not learn from Sister Tsukiko."
Sasuke stared at him.
Although he was only two months old and understood nothing, Itachi continued as if he were speaking to someone much older.
"She is strong. She is good to us. But... some of her habits are too strange."
A series of painful memories flashed through Itachi's mind. Tsukiko dragging him into all kinds of nonsense. Tsukiko shamelessly pushing him toward Izumi. Tsukiko singing absurd songs in the bath loud enough for the whole house to hear. Tsukiko turning serious lessons into chaos in the blink of an eye.
His eyelid twitched.
"You must become a calm, elegant, and steady ninja," Itachi continued. "Like Father. Not someone who runs around causing trouble and saying ridiculous things all day."
Sasuke waved one small fist and popped another saliva bubble.
Itachi smiled in relief, as if his little brother had truly accepted the lesson.
"Good," he said softly, wiping Sasuke's mouth with a handkerchief. "Then this is the first promise between brothers."
Unfortunately for him, the world rarely listened to pure wishes.
And with Tsukiko around, any dream of Sasuke growing into a perfectly reserved and elegant child was already hanging by a very thin thread.
Back at Minato's house, Tsukiko suddenly sneezed.
She rubbed her nose suspiciously.
"Someone's definitely talking about me," she muttered. Then her eyes narrowed. "Probably Danzo cursing me again. Old fossil. I should go make his life more exciting one of these days."
Days passed.
Then finally—
the night arrived.
Tsukiko shoved the window open.
Cold air flooded the room at once, but it did nothing to ease the pressure in her chest. The moon outside was full and pale, hanging over the village like something ominous.
Inside the room, Kushina sat on the edge of the bed surrounded by Lady Biwako and several medical ninja. Her labor had already started. Sweat covered her forehead, and her face was pale, but her red eyes still held that stubborn fire.
"Sister," Tsukiko asked, her voice steadier than she felt, "is everything ready?"
Kushina forced a smile and held out her hand.
"Tsukiko, stop looking like the world is ending. Minato's here. Lady Biwako's here. I'll be fine."
Tsukiko took her hand and squeezed it.
Tonight, she was not dressed in her usual bright style. She wore fitted black ninja clothes. Her tool pouch was full. Every seal, every kunai, every prepared trick was in place.
"This isn't me being nervous," Tsukiko said quietly. "Tonight the seal will be at its weakest. No matter what happens, do not leave Brother Minato's side."
Lady Biwako frowned.
"Tsukiko, the place we're going is a high-level secret. The Anbu have already secured it. You should stay home and wait."
"I'm not staying home," Tsukiko said at once.
Her voice was calm, but her eyes did not waver.
"I'll stay outside if I have to. I'll guard the door. But I am going tonight."
Before Biwako could argue further, Minato appeared at the entrance.
His white cloak shifted with the wind.
"Let her come," he said. His face was grave, more serious than usual. "Tsukiko's instincts have been right too many times. I'll feel safer with her nearby."
Lady Biwako sighed, but she said no more.
In another part of the village, Itachi stood on the roof of the Uchiha house, holding the sleeping Sasuke against his chest. He looked toward the distant shape of Hokage Rock and felt a pressure he could not explain.
The night air felt wrong.
He gently rocked Sasuke in his arms.
"Sasuke," he whispered, "please don't cry tonight."
At the hidden location outside the village, Kushina's strained cries rose and fell from inside the protected chamber. The barrier around the place was layered and strong. Anbu stood guard in the shadows.
Minato's anxious voice could occasionally be heard inside.
"Kushina! Just a little longer!"
Tsukiko stood outside the barrier in silence.
Every nerve in her body was sharp.
Then—
A ripple moved through the air.
It was so slight that most people would have missed it.
Tsukiko did not.
Her eyes went cold.
"He's here."
Her hand closed around a kunai.
At the same moment, a wet, horrible sound split the silence.
Two Anbu guarding the outer perimeter dropped before they could even cry out.
Then the space in front of Tsukiko twisted.
A figure stepped out of the distortion.
A black robe.
An orange spiral mask.
One exposed Sharingan.
The masked man.
The atmosphere changed at once.
Cold. Heavy. Violent.
"I've waited a long time for this night," he said in a low voice.
Tsukiko didn't let him finish.
"Then wait for your funeral!"
She activated the Flying Thunder God instantly.
A silver flash tore through the dark as Tsukiko appeared in front of him, her kunai driving straight toward his throat.
But the blade passed through him like smoke.
He was intangible.
Tsukiko landed hard, her sandals carving into the ground. Her eyes narrowed at once.
"Space-time ninjutsu," she thought.
The masked man tilted his head.
"An Uchiha child," he said. "Interesting. How did you notice me?"
Tsukiko gave him a mocking smile.
"How could I not notice something that reeks this badly?"
Inside the chamber, a newborn baby's cry suddenly cut through the night.
Naruto.
For one brief instant, the masked man's attention shifted.
And then he moved.
He slipped through the wall like a ghost.
Tsukiko's heart clenched.
In the original future, this was the moment Biwako would die. This was the moment Naruto would be taken hostage.
But Tsukiko had prepared for this night for too long.
Her Sharingan spun.
She used her eye technique and caught a glimpse of the immediate future.
The terrible script unfolded in her vision—
Blood.
Panic.
Naruto torn away.
Minato forced into desperation.
"No," Tsukiko whispered.
Then her second eye power bloomed.
The world lost its color. Time slowed. Only she could still move freely.
In that frozen world, the masked man hung in mid-motion, reaching toward Biwako and the newborn child.
Tsukiko shot forward like a shadow.
She did not attack him directly. That would have been useless.
Instead, she kicked Lady Biwako sharply aside, using just enough force to throw her out of danger without seriously hurting her.
Then she snatched Naruto and shoved him safely into Kushina's arms.
After that came the final step of her plan.
A replacement bundle.
Warm.
Carefully shaped.
Prepared in advance.
And absolutely vile.
Tsukiko had built it earlier for a dirty trick, never expecting it would become this useful. Inside the fake baby wrap was a nasty explosive surprise and a disgusting substance so foul that no sane person would want to touch it twice.
She placed the decoy exactly where Naruto had been.
Then she leaped back.
Time resumed.
Lady Biwako yelped as she flew sideways.
The masked man's hand closed around the fake bundle.
For half a second, everything seemed normal.
Then the smell hit.
He paused.
Even through the mask, his body reacted with confusion.
From the broken wall, Tsukiko threw both hands on her hips and shouted, "How does it feel, you child-stealing freak? I prepared a special welcome present just for you!"
The masked man looked down.
There was only enough time for realization to begin—
Then Tsukiko formed a hand seal.
"Explode."
BOOM!
The bundle detonated in his arms.
The explosion was not huge, but it was perfect. Heat, force, smoke, and a truly unbearable stench burst into the air all at once.
The masked man stumbled backward in complete shock.
Even Minato, with all his speed and composure, froze for one brief, human second at the sight and smell of what had just happened.
The terrifying invader who had entered like a nightmare now looked utterly ruined.
His black robe was stained.
His mask was marked.
His dignity was gone.
For a moment, the fearsome atmosphere of the attack collapsed into something so absurd that it was almost impossible to process.
Lady Biwako, clutching her waist, stared at him in disbelief.
Kushina, weak and exhausted, held Naruto tightly while struggling not to laugh.
Even Minato blinked once as if asking the universe whether this was really happening.
The masked man trembled.
Whether from rage, humiliation, or disgust, even he probably didn't know.
"You... little brat..." he hissed.
Tsukiko pinched her nose dramatically.
"This is your punishment for trying to steal someone else's baby," she said. "Take it as your first lesson in basic human decency."
The masked man's killing intent exploded.
The air around him twisted violently.
"I'll kill you," he snarled.
Tsukiko's expression sharpened at once.
The joke was over.
"Brother Minato!" she shouted. "I'm taking Sister Kushina and Naruto out first! He's all yours!"
Before anyone could respond, she touched Kushina's shoulder.
The Flying Thunder God activated again.
In a flash of light, Tsukiko, Kushina, and newborn Naruto vanished from the room, leaving Minato face-to-face with a furious, humiliated, foul-smelling enemy whose plan had just been destroyed.
And as Tsukiko disappeared into the night, one thought burned in her mind above all else—
This time, the story would not go the way fate intended.
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