The next morning, Yakushi Nonō stirred awake in her bed.
Her body still ached with fatigue, but no matter how weary she felt, she knew she had to get up soon—there were children waiting for breakfast.
Last night had been… exhausting. She hadn't expected Ryosuke to have that kind of stamina, not after everything he had already gone through. Just thinking back on it left her flushed, but also oddly at peace. If life continued like this, she thought, perhaps happiness wasn't so far away.
She turned toward the man lying beside her, reaching out to gently shake his shoulder.
"Ryosuke… can I ask you something?"
Ryosuke stirred at her touch, his crimson eyes fluttering open. His voice was low, rough from sleep.
"What is it?"
He had already given her everything, claimed her as his woman in every sense. For him, doing something for her wasn't a matter of obligation—it was natural.
Nonō's face brightened with hope.
"There's something I've been keeping in my heart… A while back, Danzo came to the orphanage and took a child away. A boy named Yakushi Kabuto. He was forced into Root. Could you… could you bring him back?"
Her tone trembled slightly. She had always known Root was not a place for children. Even with Danzo gone, that cursed organization was no home for a boy like Kabuto. He would be better off back with her, helping run the orphanage, living among people who loved him.
Ryosuke thought for only a moment before nodding.
"Of course. That's no problem."
Just retrieving a single person—such a small thing. If memory served him right, this Kabuto was no ordinary orphan. A brilliant prodigy, with a talent for medical ninjutsu and research that rivaled even Orochimaru's. In the original timeline, Kabuto had gone even further, mastering Sage Mode, something Orochimaru himself had never achieved.
Yes… bringing him back could be useful. A mind like that might even help Uchiha develop a method to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan without the old curse of blood and sacrifice.
Nonō's eyes softened with gratitude.
"Thank you… I'll go prepare breakfast for the children."
Meanwhile, at Konoha Hospital, a young woman with violet hair sat nervously in the hallway, her hands clasped over her lap as she waited for her test results.
Uzuki Yugao had been feeling off for days—her stomach unsettled, sudden nausea at odd hours. At first, she had dismissed it as food poisoning or fatigue from training, but the symptoms wouldn't go away. Even her work was beginning to suffer.
"Uzuki Yugao," a nurse called. "Please step inside. Your results are ready."
She rose, straightening her clothes, and entered the office with a nervous smile.
"Doctor… so what's wrong with me? Did I eat something bad?"
The physician gave her a smile that only deepened her unease.
"Not at all. In fact, I should be congratulating you. You're pregnant."
The words struck her like a kunai to the chest.
Pregnant?
She froze, eyes wide, her face draining of color. That couldn't be right. That wasn't possible.
"T-that… must be a mistake. Are you sure?"
The doctor's smile turned slightly stern.
"There's no mistake. You're expecting a child. That's why you've been nauseous. In the future, try eating sour foods to help with the sickness. No medication is necessary—just take care of yourself and rest."
Yugao left the hospital in a daze, the test results trembling in her hands.
Pregnant. She was really pregnant.
Her mind spun with denial, confusion, and finally, bitter realization. A child meant a man. And there was only one man she had ever been with.
Uchiha Ryosuke.
Her teeth clenched at the thought. That damned man. Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be him?
She remembered the way his presence had overwhelmed her, the way her body had betrayed her with a craving she could never call love—just raw attraction. She had never intended for it to go further than that. And now, here she was, carrying his child.
Her first thought was to get rid of it. To sever the tie before it took root. But as her hand drifted unconsciously to her stomach, her resolve faltered. This wasn't just his child. It was hers too. Half her blood, her life, her responsibility.
Could she really destroy that?
No.
No… this was her child. Not his. Whatever Ryosuke had meant to her, whatever he had done, it ended there. She would raise this child alone, as hers and hers alone.
Her lips trembled, but for the first time since she'd heard the news, a small, defiant smile broke through. She would never go near that dangerous man again.
Elsewhere in the village, Uchiha Itachi's face was grim as he turned to his closest friend.
"Shisui, have you heard? Ryosuke brought the Nine-Tails into the Uchiha compound."
His voice was tight with anger.
"He claims it's for protection, but we both know what this really is—control. He's putting the clan above the village. This will only deepen the divide between the Uchiha and Konoha. Where does this leave the Hokage? If the jinchūriki lives under our roof, then the entire village bends to our will. And Ryosuke went so far as to announce Naruto's heritage! What happens when outside forces come for him? How do we protect the village then?"
Shisui exhaled slowly, his expression conflicted.
He knew Itachi wasn't wrong. Sarutobi Hiruzen must be in agony—his authority as Hokage undermined, decisions made without his consent. Ryosuke hadn't even bothered to negotiate. But…
"Don't be so quick to judge, Itachi. Maybe this isn't such a bad thing. The jinchūriki will be safe among us. Who in the shinobi world would dare challenge the Uchiha to take him away? And Naruto…" Shisui's gaze softened. "He's the son of the Fourth. Yet the village has scorned him, treated him as a monster. That child deserves protection, not rejection."
He spoke with conviction, his confidence in both his own strength and his clan unshakable. With his Mangekyō Sharingan, with the name "Shunshin no Shisui," he feared no outside threat.
But Itachi's eyes dimmed with disappointment.
"This isn't right. The clan should not stand above the village. Konoha comes first."
Shisui shook his head gently.
"Don't think in absolutes. What matters is strength. If the clan grows stronger, the village grows stronger too. Trust in our people. We only want peace."
Itachi said nothing more, but inside, his resolve hardened. Shisui had changed. The balance was slipping. Perhaps the only one who could stop this spiral was the Hokage himself.
In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat slumped at his desk, staring at the endless paperwork without seeing a word.
Once, he had taken pride in this role. Once, the village had looked to him as a pillar of strength. But now? Now he felt only exhaustion.
The external threats that had once rallied Konoha's unity were gone. Instead, the danger came from within—an Uchiha clan that was no longer feared, but admired.
Ryosuke had reformed the Military Police, softened their image, and for the first time in decades, villagers and other clans had begun to speak of the Uchiha with respect. And now, by declaring Naruto's parentage, he had won even more allies.
If Sarutobi called for action against them, few would listen. The tide had shifted.
The truth was bitter and undeniable: if the Uchiha continued to rise like this, they would not need to overthrow him. The people themselves would cast him aside.
For the first time, the Third Hokage felt the cold weight of futility. His hands trembled over the documents he no longer had the will to sign.
Perhaps… it was simply time to wait for death.
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