Kushina's due date was fast approaching.
Rei had chosen the Konoha Research Institute as the delivery location.
From his point of view, it was the safest place in the village.
It had been nearly a year since he took office as Hokage.
Under the deterrent of his overwhelming strength, the influence of the opposition, led by Sarutobi Hiruzen, had been reduced to its lowest point.
Not to mention, the Konoha Military Police Force had just undergone a purge not long ago.
The Shimura clan now had very few members left.
The Sarutobi clan had also been affected, with dozens of their ninjas dismissed from their positions.
Rei conveniently reassigned several civilian ninjas, significantly weakening the Sarutobi clan's control over the guard units.
Now in Konoha, most people had become united by the same shared fate and experience.
Even if the former factions still wanted to stir up trouble, they'd have to consider whether they still had the strength to do so.
By early morning, the area surrounding the research institute had been fully cleared.
Anbu ninjas handpicked by Minato were stationed throughout the facility.
Kakashi and Obito were in charge of assisting Minato with the inner perimeter.
Jiraiya had been temporarily recalled to the village by Rei.
He was now personally in charge of overseeing Konoha's outer defenses.
As for surveillance on the Sarutobi clan, Uchiha Fugaku and his elite squad were responsible.
Should they make any moves, Fugaku, as the Deputy Minister of Anbu, had full authority to execute them on the spot.
The Yamanaka and Hyuga clans had pushed their sensory abilities to the maximum, monitoring activity outside Konoha around the clock.
Under this level of surveillance, even a fly trying to enter would be immediately detected.
Meanwhile, Rei summoned the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, Four-Tails, and Five-Tails to strengthen the defenses even further.
"I'll leave the village's outer defense to you," Rei said to the four tailed beasts.
"Leave it to me, Master Rei!" the Two-Tails replied enthusiastically.
The Three-Tails, a newer addition, was also eager to prove itself.
Though more reserved by nature, it recognized the importance of the moment.
Having accepted Rei's protection, it was natural to offer its strength in return.
Only the Five-Tails scratched its nose arrogantly and said,
"Relax, kid. Even if the Nine-Tails comes out, I'll smack it back down for you."
Thus, the four tailed beasts spread out, each taking a different defensive position around Konoha.
Many ninjas greeted the Two-Tails warmly.
Thanks to Rei's efforts, the tailed beasts were now quite popular within the village.
The most beloved among them was the Two-Tails—its gentle voice, kind nature toward animals, and playful attitude toward humans made it a favorite.
Its plush toys were also the best-selling in the village.
Second place went to the Five-Tails, whose horse-like appearance made it especially popular with the boys.
In comparison, the Three-Tails and Four-Tails had less fanfare.
The Three-Tails was too quiet, and the Four-Tails too proud—both had minimal contact with the villagers.
Still, their presence clearly boosted the morale of the village.
However, to the spies from other ninja villages, this kind of display was anything but comforting.
Recalling the Sannin, deploying all of Anbu, sealing off the village, and even summoning four tailed beasts?
Are the Konohans seriously planning to launch the Fourth Great Ninja War?
The spies trembled as they tried to send out intel—but all communication channels had been completely blocked.
Even the villagers could feel the sudden heaviness in the atmosphere.
But once they learned it was all to ensure the safety of the Hokage's wife during childbirth, everyone was fully supportive.
They even stayed indoors to avoid adding to the stress of Hokage-sama.
Only two people were responsible for delivering the baby.
One was Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin.
The other was Rei's disciple, Rin Nohara.
Inside the institute, Rei gently held Kushina's hand.
"Don't worry, I'll stay right by your side."
"Mm."
Kushina smiled warmly at him.
Tsunade, on the side, rolled her eyes.
"Family members aren't allowed in the delivery room. Get out."
She promptly shoved Rei out of the room.
Rin Nohara chuckled.
"Don't worry, Sensei. With Tsunade-sama here, everything will be fine."
"Yeah..." Rei nodded.
His Observation Haki was already covering all of Konoha—no threat could escape his perception.
"Hissss…"
Kushina winced in pain from her lower abdomen.
Labor had officially begun.
As the process continued, the seal on her stomach gradually became visible.
The Nine-Tails' violent chakra and malevolent aura began to leak out, enveloping the entire institute in a terrifying atmosphere.
Fortunately, Rei had already ordered the sealing team to set up powerful barriers throughout the building.
This oppressive chakra wouldn't affect the people nearby.
As the pain deepened, Kushina's control over the seal weakened.
The Nine-Tails seized the chance to strike at the barrier within her.
Its chakra became increasingly turbulent.
Even Rin could barely hold on any longer.
Thankfully, Tsunade was more than capable of withstanding the Nine-Tails' sinister aura.
If it had been an ordinary medic-nin, they would've fainted already.
Feeling Kushina's pain, Simu's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
He said in a deep voice,
"If anything happens to Kushina, I'll kill you, Nishio."
Simu suppressed the killing intent in his heart,
but his words still caused the temperature of the entire institute to drop several degrees.
The impact of the Nine Tails stopped instantly.
Sensing the change, Tsunade couldn't help but pause.
"This kid..."
Unexpectedly, the Nine Tails — fearless until now — was frightened by someone's words for the first time.
If she remembered correctly, the last time something like this happened was with her grandfather.
But Simu soon shifted his attention elsewhere.
In his chakra-colored perception, tens of thousands of individuals were moving rapidly underground around Konoha.
"So many White Zetsu?"
Simu froze for a moment.
White Zetsu's stealth is extremely high — ordinary prison ninjutsu is useless against them.
But since that's the case...
"Hai Yi."
Before childbirth began, Simu had already established a spiritual connection with the head of each unit through the secret arts of the Yamanaka clan.
"They exist."
"Notify the Second Brigade that the enemy is approaching and to be ready to attack."
Although Yamanaka Haiyi was a little surprised that the troops hadn't detected them sooner, he hurriedly responded,
"Yes!"
Simu vanished in a flash and appeared at the upper end of the laboratory.
Instantly, black lines appeared on his face, symbolizing immortals.
Raising his arm, countless golden lights gathered, forming a two-meter-long bow in Simu's hand.
He drew the bowstring like a full moon.
The surging golden light condensed into a golden arrow in his grasp.
"Immortal Art — Sunburn Arrow!"
A golden streak flashed across the sky above Konoha.
Immediately afterwards, Yamanaka Haiyi's voice rang in the ears of all the ninjas.
"Attention all! The enemy is approaching!"
The moment the arrow struck the ground, the golden light suddenly expanded, shattering the earth with terrifying force.
It broke the ground with unparalleled strength.
Beneath the thick rock formation, countless White Zetsu melted rapidly under the golden light.
A huge ball of light exploded in the forest around Konoha!
The powerful shockwave directly struck Konoha's defensive barrier.
"Good boy..."
Jiraiya looked at the flashing golden light in surprise.
Although Simu's attack was extremely powerful, it couldn't wipe out tens of thousands of White Zetsu's large clusters.
A massive number of White Zetsu instantly charged toward Konoha.
The ninjas fought back fiercely, bombarding the incoming White Zetsu army with all kinds of ninjutsu.
The battle between the two sides was intense.
Meanwhile, Black Zetsu possessed a Konoha shinobi and sneaked into the location of the enchantment class.
His identity was the squad leader of the enchantment class.
"Don't worry, Squad Leader Sato. Just relying on these guys, they definitely won't defeat us."
The ninja from the enchantment class said confidently.
But the usually honest monitor of the enchantment class showed a strange expression.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Immediately afterward, the ninjas in the enchantment class saw black arms growing from the squad leader's body.
Sharp fingers pierced directly into their bodies.
Although Black Zetsu's frontal combat ability wasn't strong,
as the creation of Yin Yang Dun, he easily defeated these ninjas.
After eliminating them, the barrier protecting Konoha was immediately removed.
Sensing Simu's killing intent, Black Zetsu grinned.
But Simu didn't move, as Anbu ninjas had already outflanked the enemy.
His most important task was to stay in the institute to protect Kushina's safety and not be distracted.
The White Zetsu army raided toward the area guarded by Three Tails.
This might be due to Three Tails' relatively limited strength on land.
Of course, enemies appeared in other directions as well,
though not as many as near Three Tails.
Their purpose was likely to restrain the other tailed beasts.
In addition, many special White Zetsu were born for this battle.
For example, the titan White Zetsu, which grew to ten meters tall.
There was also White Zetsu that looked like various beasts.
Even a flying bird White Zetsu appeared — which Simu noticed.
Fortunately, such special White Zetsu were rare.
They were quickly dealt with by Wind Style ninjas.
Even if one slipped through the net, it would die at Simu's hands.
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