It had been five months since Kakuzu was captured.
He had long since lost all hope. At first, he still waited for Lord Kawaki to come.
The higher your hopes, the deeper your disappointment.
Not even a glimpse of Kawaki had appeared before him.
Later, he took the initiative to talk to the guards, even revealing that Kawaki had accepted bribes.
But the guards showed no reaction at all, always giving just one cold sentence.
"Do you really think Lord Kawaki will see you whenever you want?"
After that, no matter what else he said, no one paid him any attention.
He felt that unless something unexpected happened, he would end up dying here.
The heart of his original host couldn't last much longer.
Unfortunately, no one cared about his situation.
Unless, for some reason, Kawaki suddenly remembered him, and if he were still alive, then there might be the faintest glimmer of hope to see the light of day again.
But one thing was certain—that moment definitely wasn't now.
Kawaki currently had no time to think about Kakuzu at all; he couldn't even spare a thought for himself.
Konoha First People's Hospital.
Outside the delivery room, a silver-haired man was pacing anxiously.
"Kawaki, stop turning around like that. You're making my head spin."
Sakumo sat in the nearby rest area, echoing words Kawaki once said to him.
The scene repeated itself, only with their roles reversed this time.
"I'm just anxious!!"
Kawaki stopped briefly in place, then resumed pacing again.
Now he finally understood how Sakumo had felt back then—it was indescribable anxiety.
Even though he knew logically that Tsunade was extremely unlikely to run into danger, he still couldn't help but worry.
"Everything will be fine. Don't you trust Tsunade?"
Natsuki, sitting beside Sakumo, spoke slowly. She herself wasn't particularly worried.
If it hadn't been for Tsunade back then, she probably wouldn't have made it either.
With Tsunade's medical ninjutsu, she couldn't imagine Tsunade getting into any trouble.
"Uncle, Auntie will be okay."
"Here, have a lollipop."
Kakashi obediently walked forward and pulled a lollipop from his pocket.
"Our Kakashi is such a good kid."
"Auntie will have a little brother for you soon. Don't go bullying your younger brother, okay?"
Kawaki paused, ruffled Kakashi's hair, and popped the peeled lollipop into his mouth.
Somehow, he actually felt calmer.
"Don't worry, Uncle."
"I'll definitely protect my little brother."
Kakashi stuck out his chest proudly, his expression quite serious.
"I believe you."
Kawaki led Kakashi over and sat down next to Sakumo.
"She should be almost done. I thought I heard a baby crying earlier."
Sakumo sounded very convincing and even leaned his ear against the wall.
Too bad he had no idea that the room behind that wall wasn't even the delivery room.
"Do you think I'm three?"
Kawaki had seen the blueprints—he knew the layout perfectly.
He shot Sakumo a roll of his eyes.
"I was just trying to comfort you a little, okay?"
Caught red-handed, Sakumo looked a little embarrassed.
"Thank you so much."
Kawaki emphasized sarcastically, clearly unimpressed.
"Well, I do feel better now. Guess we'll just wait here then."
Then he leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his thighs, waiting in silence.
For a moment, the air turned quiet and tense.
On the other side of the rest area, Nawaki, Minato, and others whispered nervously among themselves.
"Why hasn't the teacher's wife come out yet?"
Konan frowned, glancing from the delivery room to Kawaki.
"It's barely been any time at all. It can't possibly be this quick."
Kushina spoke casually, but inwardly she felt some anxiety. Tsunade had always deeply cared for her—even though they weren't blood sisters, they were closer than many actual siblings.
"Kushina's right, Konan. Don't panic," Misaki said gently, like a doting older sister comforting Konan. She too had full confidence in Tsunade; without ever working as a medical ninja, one could never truly understand how amazing Tsunade really was.
None of the other men spoke, except Nawaki.
"Just relax everyone. My sister could deliver the baby by herself if she wanted to."
"Besides, the delivery room's fully equipped already."
Nawaki wore a calm expression—he truly wasn't worried at all.
It's just childbirth! Could it possibly cost my big sister her life?
Come on now!!
...
Kawaki wasn't hearing a word anyone was saying.
Several people still lingered in the hallway, though silence reigned throughout.
This entire area had been surrounded by ninjas.
After all, this is the Hokage giving birth—it's only natural everything would be handled with this level of ceremony.
It was also for Tsunade's safety—being a jinchūriki made it necessary.
To guarantee nothing went wrong, even Mito was still inside the delivery room, personally supervising everything.
"The head's out."
"Tsunade dear, push a bit harder."
Mito glanced between Tsunade's legs—her expression showed no sign of worry whatsoever.
This stood in stark contrast to Kawaki, who waited anxiously outside.
Originally, she'd been afraid the weakened seal might let Seven-Tails Chōmei cause trouble within Tsunade's body.
But now, Chōmei was behaving itself—no tailed beast chakra had leaked out at all.
Even the Nine-Tails within her remained still, making no attempt to provoke Chōmei.
"That's right, just push a little harder and it'll be out."
As a medical ninja, Nemu Koharu had volunteered to assist with the birth.
Tsunade naturally didn't refuse—it was clearly a kind gesture from everyone.
Even though she felt she didn't really need help delivering the baby.
"I know, I'm pushing already."
Tsunade clenched her fists, her beautiful face contorting with effort.
One could clearly see she was pushing hard.
"Keep going—you've got half the baby out already."
Mito sounded like a play-by-play commentator during a live broadcast.
A cloth covered Tsunade's lower half, so she couldn't see anything herself.
"Not so bad after all!!"
Tsunade gave another hard push, and suddenly the baby emerged partway.
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"It's almost there."
Nemu Koharu had already spotted the baby's tuft of hair.
"Heaahh!!"
With another powerful push from Tsunade, a baby's crying rang through the air.
"Ohhh! Look at this healthy little boy!"
Mito quickly cut the umbilical cord before grabbing a prepared towel.
The baby was still slick with amniotic fluid and secretions, looking a bit disheveled.
Yet Mito showed absolutely no disgust, instead wearing an affectionate smile as she carefully wiped him clean.
"Let me see him."
Tsunade couldn't wait any longer to see her own child.
"What's the rush? He's not going anywhere."
Mito shot Tsunade a glance, then slowly wrapped the baby in warm cotton cloth, unhurried.
He held the baby in his arms for quite a while, only handing it over to Tsunade once the baby had stopped crying.
"He looks just like you."
Nemu Koharu felt too shy to touch the baby herself and simply watched from the side.
"But he seems more like Kawaki."
Tsunade gently stroked the baby's soft, silver hair. That had to be said—the powerful genes of the Hatake family meant everyone had the same hair color.
"It doesn't matter who he looks like—you two are both handsome and beautiful anyway."
"This kid definitely won't grow up to be ugly."
Mito didn't stop; she began cleaning Tsunade up. Mito didn't think anything of it, but Tsunade started blushing.
"Grandma, I can do it myself."
"Just call Kawaki in then."
Tsunade quickly handed the baby to Mito. She didn't feel any discomfort in her body. Even though it was her grandmother, she still felt uncomfortable accepting this kind of care.
"Nonsense, what's there to be embarrassed about with your grandmother?"
Mito chided gently, tossing the towel back into the basin. Like she actually wanted to do this? She only did it because Tsunade was her granddaughter.
Holding the baby, Mito walked toward the large door of the delivery room.
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