Shimizu could not help thinking too much about it.
After all, there were still eleven months until the Nine-Tails' Night from the original story. If Kushina was already pregnant at this point…
Then what exactly would be born early? Naruko?
For a moment, the image that appeared in his mind was far too beautiful.
But Shimizu soon relaxed. The plot of this world had already changed beyond recognition. Even Obito and Rin had flown off together as a pair and had become reserve members of his "Nightfall."
Who was going to direct the script for the Nine-Tails' Night?
In the end, however, the matter of "pregnancy" proved to be a false alarm. Kushina's stomach had only hurt because she had laughed too hard.
At this moment, her cheeks were like two ripe red apples.
A girl was still thin-skinned in the end.
So Shimizu was the first to break her embarrassment.
"Wasn't my situation supposed to be absolutely confidential? How did you know?"
With Minato's personality, it was unlikely he would directly tell Kushina about something this serious.
"What part of me doesn't look like an important figure in Konoha?"
What part did?
"I was called over by Lord Hokage to check on your condition."
And yet it had not been useful at all.
Also, now that he thought about it, wasn't this top-secret classification a little too low?
After all, the current Shimizu truly had no strength to even truss a chicken. Even the young nurse could probably tear him apart with her bare hands.
"…Then exactly how many people know about my current condition?"
"Basically, everyone who should know already knows."
Kushina had a look that said he could rest assured.
"Including that little girl from the Hyūga clan."
Although he knew now that everything Kushina had said earlier about Satomi was only a joke, at this moment, Shimizu really did want to know the girl's true reaction after learning something had happened to him.
Had she really kept a blank expression, nodded calmly, and finally said, "I understand"?
"You really want to know her attitude, don't you?"
A little.
"Go ask her yourself, then."
After saying that, Kushina walked toward the door.
"But Shimizu, you really don't take care of yourself enough… You truly need someone to keep you in line."
Suddenly, she turned back, her expression sincere.
"Think about it. After all, a girl's youth only lasts a few years."
Kushina gently pulled the door shut, then quickly left. Who knew what she was rushing off to do with such energy?
Once again, he was alone, lying on this hospital bed in this empty ward.
If he could extract chakra and continue training, at least he would not feel so hollow, lonely, and cold.
But this time, he really would have to wait far too long. If he just kept waiting like this, the battle at Kikyo Pass might already be decided, and Minato might smoothly ascend to the position of Hokage.
However, there was another serious paradox.
If Madara kept lingering without dying…
Could Sasuke and Naruto still be born smoothly?
After all, reincarnation and souls were both far too profound.
Just like how, even now, he still had not figured out why one Mangekyō Sharingan had "glared" him back to his original world.
In a certain sense, however, Madara's teammate had come all that way just to deliver him a piece of equipment.
After all, this body of his had truly been transformed from the inside out.
Although he could not extract chakra yet, and therefore could not prove that he now had talent for every chakra nature, that absolute feeling of reality, that smoothness when he had used Ice Release ninjutsu, had already been carved into his soul.
As long as he could extract chakra, he would be able to master and use the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai he had trained for more than a year in the "real world" within a very short time.
In that case, he would become an entirely new kind of being who possessed both Storm Release and Ice Release, two Kekkei Genkai at once. That was major news capable of shaking the shinobi world. If, afterward, he also used Boil Release formed from the combination of Water and Fire, or even an entirely new Kekkei Genkai formed from the combination of Water and Earth…
Thinking of this, Shimizu again remembered his former self, who had started as the most unremarkable ordinary person and struggled step by step for more than twenty years.
The Body Flicker Technique he had constantly developed back then just to survive had now unexpectedly become his signature.
However, it was foreseeable that, on the path ahead, this "Body Flicker Technique" would only be something that added to his strength rather than serving as its foundation.
As for the Konoha-style swordsmanship he had studied for so many years, if not for his shortage of chakra and his teacher Kosuke's influence, he would never have trained in this kind of Konoha-style swordsmanship that would be completely useless in the late stages.
In the late stages, what could swinging a few fancy sword flourishes actually cut down, aside from looking good?
Mm…
But being cool was a lifelong matter.
In that case, it seemed Konoha-style swordsmanship could not simply be discarded just yet.
Then there were those chakra weapons that were somewhat like unorthodox methods. They would probably gradually fade out of his combat system.
As for the path of hand seal-free ninjutsu that Shimizu had later opened up by accident, along with the Hyūga clan's method of training the chakra points, their original purpose had both been to allow him to release ninjutsu with lethal one-hit power in the shortest possible time.
Because speed was life.
In battles between shinobi, a single moment of distraction was enough to decide life and death.
However, as time went on, once those pay-to-win Kekkei Genkai shinobi truly grew up, the effectiveness of ambushes and surprise attacks would be greatly reduced.
At that point, developing and mastering powerful ninjutsu would become a necessary method.
Originally, he had been somewhat worried that pure Water Release alone would lack staying power in the late stages, while Storm Release would not be enough to deal with every situation.
Now, those concerns had been greatly reduced.
As his body continuously integrated and absorbed the Hero Water, he had now stepped into the Kage level. And as various other conditions gradually matured, a path that belonged solely to him had finally unfolded completely before his eyes.
He would possess four Kekkei Genkai Release natures and master powerful ninjutsu capable of handling all kinds of situations.
Samehada's continuous growth could greatly increase his endurance, while also allowing him to release Water Release chakra that automatically defended his entire body. That meant he could boldly and recklessly bombard his enemies.
The completion of hand seal-free ninjutsu, combined with the Body Flicker Technique into an instant-kill package, would always be ready.
So this was his shinobi path.
This was the true beginning of Shimizu Uzuki in the shinobi world.
With these things, he should finally have the strength to compete with those bugs…
Right?
Then Shimizu suddenly remembered that "Mangekyō eye" that had sent his soul across worlds.
Those "eyes" were truly troublesome. In a one-on-one fight, he naturally had ways to do everything he could to avoid them.
Unfortunately, that did not help if the enemy went prone and hid. In the final circle, who could withstand a sneak attack from an old camper?
Thankfully, in this Third Shinobi World War of Konoha Year 47, the Mangekyō had not yet become completely common, much less reached the terrifying later stage where seemingly everyone had the Eternal Mangekyō.
So Madara and that unknown Uchiha shinobi's Mangekyō ultimately had limits.
He wondered just how far the eyesight of those two had deteriorated by now.