Shindai looked at Kushina Uzumaki with shock, his body frozen completely.
Because Kushina's current condition looked very much like early pregnancy symptoms.
Since such symptoms had appeared, it meant Kushina must have already been pregnant for some time.
Minato Namikaze worriedly said to Kushina, "Kushina, let me accompany you to the hospital tomorrow too."
Kushina smiled and replied, "It's fine. I've got Pakura with me. You must be busy now—just focus on what's important."
Minato insisted firmly, "Your health *is* important—it matters just as much!"
Kushina looked at Minato affectionately, "Minato~"
Shindai interrupted the couple's tender moment, "Ahem, isn't there a chance that Sister Kushina is perfectly fine and just... pregnant?"
At Shindai's words, both Minato and Kushina stiffened, staring blankly at each other.
Pakura's eyes widened in shock, "A baby? Is Kushina going to have a baby?"
Hikaku Uchiha curiously gazed at Kushina's stomach.
Regaining his composure, Minato's face lit up with joy, "Am I really going to be a father?"
Though Kushina felt equally excited and happy, she still said, "We can't be sure yet—we'll need to go to the hospital for a checkup tomorrow."
Now Minato could hardly contain his excitement, blurting out, "I'm coming with you tomorrow, Kushina!"
Kushina nodded. If she truly was pregnant, she also hoped to learn the good news together with Minato.
However, Shindai felt anything but happy.
In Shindai's opinion, Kushina was definitely pregnant—the timing lined up perfectly.
Her appearance of early pregnancy symptoms indicated she'd already been pregnant for some time.
Inside, Shindai silently prayed,
Oh Naruto, please wait a little longer. Give your Aniki Shindai more time to prepare. When you finally arrive, I'll make you puppets modeled after Uzumaki Narako—you won't even have to pay!
After finishing dinner distractedly, Shindai lay on the sofa, lost in thought.
If something unexpected happened on the day Kushina gave birth, then someone must have replaced Obito.
So who could possibly replace Obito? Probably not another Uchiha, right?
Wait, no—that wasn't right.
Obito has the Mangekyo Sharingan. Can't he just control the Nine-Tails with it?
Still, better make multiple backup plans in case uncontrollable accidents occur.
But the Nine-Tails is extremely powerful. Ordinary methods won't work against it. He would definitely need to conduct extensive research.
After all, trying to grow strong enough to fight the Nine-Tails purely through training, Shindai doubted he could achieve that in his entire lifetime.
Although Shindai did have a Kekkei Genkai, it wasn't a powerful one like the Sharingan.
Shindai understood his own limitations quite well. If it came down to direct combat, he was nothing more than cannon fodder—he didn't have any cheats to rely on.
And even if he somehow managed to cheat, there was no way he could become strong enough in less than a year to fight the Nine-Tails head-on.
The next day.
Minato Namikaze, Pakura, and an extremely curious Hikaku Uchiha rushed Kushina to the ninja hospital for a checkup.
Shindai, wanting to find out how far along Kushina was, followed them there as well.
Meanwhile, at the doorstep of Shindai's Dream Workshop, Kabuto Yakushi stood confused, staring at the closed door, unsure of what to do.
Didn't he tell me to start work at 9 AM?
Where is everyone?
Did it close already on its first day? That can't be possible, right?
At the ninja hospital.
After a series of examinations, Kushina received one clear conclusion:
She really *was* pregnant.
This result kept Minato's smile plastered on his face nonstop.
Their family of two was about to become a family of three — how could he not be happy?
Shindai asked the doctor how far along Kushina was.
The doctor replied that she was about eight weeks along.
Around two months.
This information immediately left Shindai dazed and distracted.
That meant they had only around eight more months left — a very short time for Shindai to waste messing around.
Minato asked Pakura to take care of Kushina, because right now Minato himself was truly swamped.
He'd just disbanded Root; all the ninja from Root, researchers, and various documents required his attention and management.
Plus, there were matters concerning the Uchiha clan that he also needed to resolve immediately.
Pakura naturally agreed right away.
After seeing Kushina safely home, Minato headed back to work while Shindai took Hikaku Uchiha with him to open the shop.
On the way to the shop.
Hikaku turned her head toward Shindai and asked, "You seemed unhappy when you heard at the hospital that Kushina was already two months pregnant?"
"Unhappy?" Shindai shook his head. "I wasn't unhappy. It's just that things are going to get really busy soon."
Then, wearing a serious expression, Shindai said to Hikaku, "Asu, I need a favor from you!"
Seeing Shindai so serious, Hikaku couldn't help but turn serious too.
After all, very few things could make Shindai look this solemn.
Shindai seriously told Hikaku, "Starting tomorrow, I'll need to go early to the research base for my research. My shop… will depend on you and Kabuto!"
Hikaku: …
Without a word, Hikaku lifted her foot and walked ahead, ignoring Shindai completely.
"Wait a second! I'm serious—no joking around!"
Shindai hurriedly chased after him.
When they arrived at the shop's doorstep, Kabuto Yakushi was sitting on the steps, lost in thought.
"Huh? Kabuto, why aren't you going inside?"
Kabuto snapped back to reality and looked at Shindai with an aggrieved expression. "How am I supposed to get in? And weren't we supposed to start at nine? It's almost twelve now!"
"Oh right, sorry about that. Something came up this morning so I was late. I forgot to give you a key yesterday."
Shindai opened the shop door and handed Kabuto a key.
After entering the store, Shindai saw the puppets inside the display case and immediately felt much better.
What an energizing day it would be!
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
Shindai slumped over the table, completely drained of energy.
"Ah, what happened today? Hardly anyone came by. This isn't exactly how I pictured it~"
Hikaku Uchiha and Kabuto Yakushi thought it was perfectly normal.
The reason so many people showed up yesterday was just curiosity. When others gathered, it felt okay for them to stop by and take a look too.
But by today, having even more people would have been strange. After all, the puppets Shindai sold were kind of... weirdly embarrassing. A lot of people would probably feel awkward buying them.
"Oh well, let's just call it a day."
Shindai prepared to close the shop and head home. Before leaving, he told Kabuto, "Listen, starting tomorrow, I've got some important stuff to deal with. From then on, you and Sister Asu Natsuka will help me keep an eye on the shop. If anyone shows interest in buying something, let Sister Asu Natsuka know, and she'll inform me."
Kabuto had already resigned himself to this fate yesterday. He simply replied, "I understand."
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