Mikoto's sudden pallor made both Yuto and Kushina freeze. They exchanged a quick, concerned glance before their full attention snapped back to her.
"You okay?" Kushina asked, tilting her head. "You're looking a little… pale."
Mikoto waved a hand weakly. "It's nothing. I probably just overdid it with the pickled plums at lunch. My stomach's just a bit upset."
Kushina raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Since when does your stomach get upset? You're not exactly… human anymore, you know."
Yuto stayed quiet for a moment, then chose his words carefully.
"Maybe we should get it checked out? Just to be safe."
Mikoto laughed softly, a faint blush on her cheeks. "Oh, come on. It's far too early for that kind of thing."
"Is it, though?" Kushina mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I mean, better safe than sorry, right? What if… you know."
She wiggled her eyebrows meaningfully.
Yuto nodded, his expression serious. "She's got a point."
And that's how, with a little persistent nudging, Mikoto found herself sitting in the OB-GYN department of the Land of Waves Central Hospital, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the situation.
—
Meanwhile, back at the Allied Shinobi Forces camp…
The command tent was thick with a stifling tension. Uchiha Madara and the other clan leaders sat in grim silence as Uchiha Itachi finished his debrief on the disastrous clash.
"Let me be certain I understand," Madara said, his voice a low rumble. "Shisui did not even release his Resurrección?"
"No, sir," Itachi confirmed, his tone unnervingly calm. "Even without it, his power was… significant. If we rate Fuguki Suikazan's strength as a five, then Shisui would be a ten. At a minimum."
A sharp intake of breath came from the Second Tsuchikage, Mū. He had been on the field when Suikazan unleashed his transformation—it had taken the combined efforts of himself and the Third Raikage just to force that move out, and they had still been utterly outclassed.
And now Itachi was claiming Uchiha Shisui was exponentially stronger? Just how deep did the Espada's power run?
"Shisui holds the rank of Third Espada, correct?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice cut through the heavy silence.
Madara's eyes flicked toward White Zetsu, who lingered near the edge of the tent like a pale shadow.
Zetsu perked up.
"Oh! Yes, indeed. Based on my intelligence gathering within the Land of Waves, Uchiha Shisui is confirmed as the Third Espada. The ranks of One and Two are personally assigned to guard their leader, Hayashi Yuto. Their identities, however, remain… shrouded in mystery."
Hiruzen gave a slow nod. "We do have one report. Number One is said to be a woman with very distinctive wine-red hair."
Minato Namikaze's expression tightened almost imperceptibly. For a single second, his mind flew to Kushina—but no, it was impossible. He dismissed the thought entirely.
'She would never betray Konoha.'
"She is likely a remnant of the Uzumaki clan," Hiruzen continued. "Danzō and I saw her once in Yuto's office."
Hashirama Senju looked around, his expression genial. "The Uzumaki… Mito's clan. How are they faring these days?"
The tent fell into an even deeper, more uncomfortable silence.
Hiruzen cleared his throat, unable to meet the First Hokage's gaze.
"They… were wiped out, Lord Hashirama. Some years ago now."
"Wiped out?" Hashirama's voice was soft, the single word laden with grief.
Madara let out a cold, mocking laugh. "The word is, Konoha didn't lift a finger to help when it happened."
The Konoha higher-ups immediately erupted in defensive protests.
"We weren't responsible!"
"That's a gross misrepresentation!"
"We were facing our own existential threats at the time!"
"I didn't say you did it," Madara said, his tone dripping with disdain. "I said you didn't help."
Hiruzen's face tightened with a mix of guilt and frustration. "We were in no position to aid anyone! The village itself was vulnerable—Kumo was already beating the war drums!"
"So you left your oldest allies to die," Madara summarized, his bluntness a weapon.
Hashirama held up a hand.
"Enough." He didn't raise his voice, but the weight of his authority silenced everyone instantly. "What's done is done."
But the look he gave Hiruzen was heavy with disappointment.
Hiruzen could only stare at the ground.
"This is boring. Meeting's over," Madara announced abruptly, standing and striding out of the tent without a backward glance.
The others slowly filtered out after him, the air thick with unspoken recriminations.
Tobirama leaned toward his brother, his voice a low murmur. "I am beginning to regret our choice of successor, elder brother "
Hashirama shook his head, his shoulders slumping slightly. "It is far too late for regrets, Tobirama."
Near the tent flap, Itachi swayed slightly on his feet.
Minato was instantly at his side, catching his arm. "Itachi? Are you alright? You pushed yourself too hard back there."
Itachi steadied himself. "I am fine, Lord Fourth. Just tired."
But it wasn't physical fatigue that gripped him. It was a sudden, inexplicable coldness in his chest—a chilling premonition that something had just gone terribly wrong.
—
Back at the hospital…
Tsunade looked up from the medical chart, her expression unreadable.
"Well," she said, her voice matter-of-fact. "You're definitely pregnant."
Mikoto's face flushed a brilliant scarlet.
"Make sure you eat more nutritious food from now on—and I mean actual nutritious food, got it?" Tsunade added, her tone leaving no doubt that it was a deliberate jab.
Yes. That was definitely a dig.
Flustered, Mikoto hurried out of the examination room, where Yuto and Kushina were waiting with bated breath.
Kushina's eyes were wide as saucers.
"So… it's true? You're really…?"
Mikoto could only nod, words failing her.
Kushina pouted, her hands on her hips. "No fair! We got the same dosage! How'd you beat me to it?!"
Yuto, for his part, was just standing there, motionless, his mind trying to catch up with reality.
A kid. He was going to have a kid.
He was going to be a dad.
_____
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