As she spoke, Tsunade's eyes couldn't help but reveal a trace of envy.
After all, Kushina and Mikoto, who were younger than her, had already given birth. Not only that—they weren't even married, and yet they had already become mothers.
Thinking of this, her gaze subconsciously drifted toward Ryoma.
What am I even thinking…
Shaking her head to dispel the inappropriate thoughts, Tsunade forcefully patted Ryoma on the shoulder.
"What are you standing around for? Go in already."
After entering the room, Ryoma immediately saw the two women lying on the bed, their expressions weary but peaceful. Each of them was holding a child wrapped in white cloth.
He walked over quickly. Seeing this, the others silently withdrew from the room, giving the family their privacy.
Ryoma leaned down and gently kissed both women on the forehead.
"You've worked hard."
Although Kushina and Mikoto had long been nourished by Ryoma's chakra—greatly strengthening their physiques—childbirth was still an exhausting ordeal. The pain and strain were not something that could be completely erased.
The two women were too weak to speak, but the identical smiles on their faces said everything.
At that moment, all three of them turned their attention to the two children.
Their small faces were flushed red, like ripe apples in early autumn.
Two pairs of still-unfocused eyes stared at Ryoma. There was no fear, no strangeness—only an instinctive sense of closeness, as though they recognized him from birth.
"Ah…"
Looking at the two adorable baby girls, all three of them couldn't help but laugh softly.
"Husband," Kushina said weakly, her voice gentle, "choose names for them."
Mikoto, lying beside her, nodded with expectation in her eyes.
Ryoma carefully lifted the two children, gazing at their innocent faces and bright eyes. His expression softened.
"From today onward," he said quietly,
"you are Naruko… and Saku."
Time always passes silently.
In the blink of an eye, ten years had gone by—and countless things had changed.
Above the Hokage Rock, a vast and majestic palace now stood.
The city stretched nearly 900 meters from north to south, and 700 meters from east to west, covering an area of roughly 600,000 square meters. Ten-meter-high walls surrounded it, while the interior palaces were laid out with precise symmetry.
Carved beams, painted pillars, jade railings—the grandeur rivaled that of ancient imperial capitals.
Nine years ago, under the joint planning of figures such as Tsunade and Sarutobi, an imperial city had been constructed to better match Ryoma's status as the ruler of the land.
By November of that year, the construction was completed, and Ryoma moved into the palace with his entire family.
At this moment, Ryoma was seated in the Imperial Study, quietly reading.
Though called a "study," the place more closely resembled an immense, boundless library. Endless shelves stretched as far as the eye could see, filled with meticulously arranged books.
For an ordinary person, even with clear guidance, finding a single book here would likely take an entire day.
Ryoma, however, had no such trouble.
He knew every corner of this place—the location, title, and contents of every book.
Over the past ten years, aside from cultivation, reading had been his primary pursuit.
The study contained texts gathered from across the continent: ninjutsu scrolls, forbidden techniques, medical research, art, music, engineering, and even civilian sciences.
To put it plainly, the accumulated civilization of the shinobi world was stored here.
Though reading did not directly increase his combat power, the knowledge, insight, and perspective he gained allowed him to understand the very essence of power on a deeper level.
All paths ultimately led to the same truth.
Even without being a shinobi, Ryoma could reach the pinnacle of nearly any discipline through knowledge alone.
Flipping through a newly released issue of Ninja Honji, Ryoma paused at a research paper discussing scientific ninja tools.
The author—Professor Sakamoto—proposed an ambitious idea:
To create tools capable of storing ninjutsu, allowing shinobi to use techniques beyond their chakra limits… and even enabling ordinary people without chakra to use ninjutsu.
This concept was originally meant to appear decades later, yet now it was already entering the experimental stage.
"Looks like I should have Orochimaru speak with this Professor Sakamoto," Ryoma murmured.
At that moment—
A beautiful girl quietly stepped into the Imperial Study.
Her long, bright red hair was tied into twin ponytails. Her delicate features, snow-white skin, and ruby-like eyes gave her a lively, radiant charm. Dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts, she looked full of youthful energy.
The girl skipped over to Ryoma in just a few steps, plopped down beside him, hugged his arm tightly, and shouted:
"Dad!"
She was Naruko, the daughter of Ryoma and Kushina, already ten years old.
Shaking his arm vigorously, she said eagerly, "Dad, come play with me today!"
Ryoma looked at her with indulgent eyes and chuckled.
"Why the sudden idea? Where's your mother?"
"She went shopping with Aunt Mikoto!"
Naruko puffed up her cheeks and waved her little fist in dissatisfaction.
"Mom hangs out with Aunt Mikoto all day and never takes me along. Hmph!"
"That's because you're always causing trouble outside," Ryoma said calmly.
He gently poked her forehead and added, "And don't you dare tattletale to your mother again. If she finds out, your backside will probably bloom once more."
"Even Dad is my enemy now!" Naruko shouted angrily.
Just as she lunged toward Ryoma, clearly intending to "teach" her father a lesson, another girl walked into the study.
She had long, straight black hair and delicate yet cool features. Though she looked about the same age as Naruko, her eyes held a calm maturity far beyond her years.
She glanced at Naruko clinging to Ryoma and frowned slightly.
"Naruko, are you bothering Dad again?"
"Damn it! She was only born a few hours earlier and acts like an older sister all the time!"
Naruko complained angrily, but Saku ignored her sister entirely and walked straight up to Ryoma.
"Dad," she said seriously, "I've hit a bottleneck in my Lightning Release training. Teach me."
Unlike Naruko, who loved mischief and play, Saku was obsessed with ninjutsu cultivation—especially Lightning Release and Fire Release.
Despite being only ten years old, her level of ninjutsu was already comparable to that of a jōnin.
Faced with her earnest gaze, Ryoma felt a trace of helplessness.
He hoped his children could enjoy a relaxed, happy childhood. Strength was never urgent—when the time came, he had countless ways to elevate them.
Maybe it's just an old father's mentality, Ryoma thought.
Or maybe… I really am a bit overprotective.
(End of Chapter)
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