"Congratulations, Kushina," Tsunade said with a warm smile inside the hospital. "You're going to be a mother."
Kushina, who had been feeling a little anxious, went completely blank the moment she heard Tsunade's words.
Everything Tsunade said after that—reminders and advice—sounded distant, like echoes from a faraway dream.
There was only one thought in her heart now: She was going to be a mother!
And right after that, an overwhelming urge rose inside her—she wanted to find Minato and news with him as soon as possible.
"Speaking of which, Mikoto also came in for a check-up a while back. She's pregnant too," Tsunade added softly, remembering the friendship between Kushina and Mikoto.
It wasn't long before the news that the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was pregnant reached the higher-ups of Konoha.
Neither Kushina nor Tsunade had any intention of hiding it. But respecting Kushina's request, Tsunade waited until after she had told Minato herself before reporting it to the village leadership.
After all, once a jinchūriki becomes pregnant, the village needs to prepare in advance for every possible situation.
For a female jinchūriki, childbirth is the most dangerous and vulnerable time. Fortunately, Konoha had a precedent to refer to—Uzumaki Mito, the previous Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
When Jiraiya, who had no children of his own, heard the news, he was overjoyed. He had originally planned to leave the village soon to continue gathering intel, but now, he decided to delay his departure.
Though he usually came across as loud and carefree, Jiraiya felt a rare sense of emotion in that moment. Original content can be found at ɴovelfire.net
The war was nearing its end, and a new generation was about to be born. It made him feel like something meaningful was being passed on.
He hoped that once this child was born, the ninja world would finally enter an era of peace.
On the other side, Orochimaru and Kagetsu, who had also received the news, remained silent.
"Are you sure you still want Kushina to take this mission?" Orochimaru looked at Kagetsu and suggested.
As the Hokage, he was beginning to understand why the longer his teacher had held the position, the more indecisive he had become.
There were just too many factors to consider, too many interests to balance. The responsibility that came with making decisions that could affect the whole village was simply too heavy.
Even the fact that Danzo's Root division had been allowed to exist for so long—despite causing trouble—made a bit more sense now. His teacher had still gritted his teeth and cleaned up Danzo's messes.
But understanding it was one thing. Orochimaru had his own beliefs and way of doing things.
"Let's leave the decision to Minato-san and Kushina-san," Kagetsu said bluntly, passing the choice over to the couple.
Though he knew that, most likely, they wouldn't refuse.
Still, this mission was going to be long-term and ongoing—something on a scale the ninja world had probably never seen before.
And with Kushina being pregnant, there were definitely things that needed to be taken into account.
"Can't you two do something proper for once?"
Tsunade stormed into the Hokage's office, yelling at Orochimaru and his student like a hairdryer set to max.
Fugaku, who had seen this scene more times than he could count, simply stepped out and gently closed the door behind him.
Lately, he was in a good mood.
With Orochimaru, who had close ties to the Uchiha clan, becoming the Fourth Hokage, the Uchiha's strained relationship with the village leadership was finally starting to ease.
Ever since the Second Hokage's rule, the Uchiha had slowly been pushed out of the power structure, but now things were changing.
As clan leader, Fugaku could feel the weight on his shoulders lighten considerably.
Even the hawkish clan members who used to pressure him during meetings had gradually quieted down in recent years.
At the very least, he hadn't heard anyone bring up the insane idea of "overthrowing the Hokage and launching a coup" in a long time.
There were still a few radicals, but they were now a tiny minority.
His eldest son had the potential to compete for and inherit the title of the Sixth Hokage, and now his wife was expecting a new life.
One good thing after another had put him in a great mood recently—he was even smiling more often.
"You promised me you'd help bring Dan and Nawaki back to life! Now one of you's become Hokage, the other's off messing around with the Ryūmyaku vein, and I'm the only one still working on the research! What's going on with you two?"
Tsunade slammed both hands on the desk in front of Orochimaru, leaving two deep handprints in the wood. Orochimaru's brow twitched slightly at the sight.
"This is a massive undertaking."
"I know that! What I'm asking is—why am I the only one still working on it?!" Tsunade interrupted him, face stern.
Back then, they had divided the responsibilities: she would handle the cloning and biological aspects, Orochimaru would research the jutsu involved, and Kagetsu would manage the soul and spiritual components.
But now, she was the only one still making progress on her part. As for the collaborative updates and meetings—they hadn't had one in ages.
Ironically, they'd managed to squeeze in research time even during the war, but once it ended, the entire project had come to a halt.
Tsunade was clearly frustrated that the other two had fallen behind.
"I've just taken up the role of Hokage. I'm still in the middle of getting used to it and handling village affairs," Orochimaru replied.
If there was still anyone who could give him a headache, Tsunade was definitely one of them.
Even he felt a little guilty facing her.
Not that he cared much for responsibilities like these, but he definitely didn't want Tsunade to lose her temper.
With her current training combining the Hogyoku Mode and Sage Mode from Shikkotsu Forest, if she punched him—even with his altered, durable body—it would still hurt like hell.
"The village is in ruins right now. You can't expect me to drop everything and dive into research immediately, right? What would be the point of stepping down as Hokage for sensei be then?"
Orochimaru said calmly.
He wanted to get back to research as soon as possible. But things were so busy that he had to use Shadow Clones just to keep up with all the work.
If it weren't for the Nara Clan helping to organize and take on at least half of the responsibilities, Orochimaru wouldn't even have time to rest.
The village wasn't a complete wreck, but it wasn't in great shape either.
With the Hidden Cloud acting restless, the Hidden Mist constantly probing and interfering, and countless other problems piling up, he had to deal with everything one by one.
And then there was the financial situation—still being restricted by the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
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