Looking at the little blonde baby being held by Biwako beside her, who was crying incessantly, Kushina's eyes softened even more.
"Our child, we finally get to see you…"
Seeing the glimmer of tears in Kushina's eyes, Biwako, as someone who had been through it, didn't immediately take the child away but allowed Kushina to gaze at her for a few more seconds.
About half a minute later, Biwako finally picked up the little one with blonde hair and whiskers on his face, jokingly saying to Kushina.
"There will be countless mother-child moments that will drive you crazy in the future, so let's handle the important matters first, Kushina, Minato."
"Um…"
Kushina nodded in agreement and then looked at Minato, who was standing by the bed, having just cried and laughed at becoming a father.
At this moment, Minato also held Kushina's hand, concerned and asked.
"Kushina, are you okay? And… thank you."
"Minato…"
Kushina looked tenderly at Minato's face, but the next moment her expression suddenly changed, and she glared at Minato who was rubbing his hands together, ready to reinforce the seal.
"Wait a minute! What about the name? What's the baby's name? It's been so long; you should have thought of something! Don't tell me you haven't thought of it yet! And I won't agree to any long and complicated names!"
"This…"
The cool name Minato had thought of suddenly became difficult to say, and he scratched his head awkwardly, but then he suddenly remembered a conversation he had with Jiraiya-sensei a few days ago on the Hokage rooftop.
****
"I feel like it's a bit rare, you seems to have been in Konoha a lot lately, is it because Tsunade-san is in Konoha? You should work hard too."
"Although being surpassed by a disciple is something to be proud of, it doesn't include romance! As a teacher, having a disciple encourage you in matters of romance is a bit concerning for my face, Minato!"
"Hahaha… if only you could always be in the village."
At that moment, Jiraiya's expression slightly changed, his eyes narrowed, looking at the scenery of Konoha with a hint of seriousness, and he spoke again.
"The prophecy… has changed."
"Huh? The prophecy… is it referring to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy?"
Jiraiya nodded and said, "That's right. The Toad Sage had a new dream: in the burning Flames of Revolution, the Golden Butterfly and the Silver Soul intertwine and shine brightly."
"The Golden Butterfly and the Silver Soul in the Flames of Revolution?"
"Exactly. The Toad Sage said the Flames of Revolution in the Shinobi World might have already begun spreading like wildfire, though he gave no explanation about the Golden Butterfly and Silver Soul."
Jiraiya didn't continue, instead fixing his gaze directly on Minato.
After days of observation, interaction, and investigation, Jiraiya grew increasingly suspicious that the Golden Butterfly and Silver Soul mentioned by the Toad Sage might be Minato and that carefree brat from the Hatake family!
Although the new prophecy didn't mention the Child of Prophecy or himself as the Child's guide, Jiraiya still kept these thoughts close to heart.
"So you think the Golden Butterfly and Silver Soul in the new prophecy might be me and Gintoki?" Minato caught on quickly, then scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well... sensei, my hair is actually blonde... There's a bit of difference between yellow and gold."
"No problem! That's just a bottle of hair dye away!"
Minato: "..."
Jiraiya turned his attention back to the panoramic view of Konoha and added, "Besides... I don't think gold and silver necessarily refer to hair color. So I'll continue my journey to find the answers myself. I leave Konoha in your hands."
"Hai!"
*****
As this memory faded, Minato found himself recalling another moment related to that first glimpse of silver.
"Naruto? What's that?"
"Don't worry about it. You can use it as your future son's name."
"Hey! Minato, Minato!"
Snapped out of his thoughts by Kushina's call, Minato saw her slightly angry expression and made up his mind, smiling gently with crescent eyes.
"Naruto. Our son will be named Naruto."
"Naruto...?" Kushina frowned, then looked suspicious.
"Hey Minato, did you eat ramen yesterday?"
"How did you kn—"
Cutting himself off mid-sentence, Minato coughed lightly into his hand with utmost seriousness.
"Ahem! It's absolutely not what you think—that I randomly picked the name from narutomaki in my ramen. Believe me, this name has special meaning! It's connected to the Great Toad Sage's prophecy!"
"Really? You're not tricking me?"
"Of course not! I swear!"
"Alright alright, I believe you. Then Naruto it is—Naruto Uzumaki, our child's name!"
"Eh? Uzumaki?"
"Did you forget your promise? You said our child would take my name to continue the Uzumaki lineage!"
"Ah... I did say that..."
Minato laughed awkwardly, feeling slightly conflicted.
Those words spoken to appease his girlfriend back then... couldn't be taken back now!
Well... whatever.
They could always have a second child with his surname!
"Yes. Naruto Uzumaki!" Minato nodded firmly.
....
Meanwhile, Orochimaru on the other side had no such naming dilemmas.
Konoha Hospital.
Watching Orochimaru cradle the newborn with its white baby hair, Jiraiya felt increasingly bitter—just what kind of situation was this?
Among the original Sanin, Orochimaru, who was the least interested in such matters, ended up being the first to have a child.
It was simply unacceptable!
Especially when Jiraiya noticed the faint, unconscious curl at the corner of Orochimaru's lips, he couldn't hold back any longer.
"You've been staring at the baby for ten minutes straight, haven't you? Get a grip, Orochimaru. The mother hasn't even seen the child yet!"
Only then did Orochimaru snap out of it, carefully handing the baby over to the nurse who had been standing by, too afraid to interrupt.
"Orochimaru-sama… could you let go now?"
The nurse, now holding the baby, forced a polite smile as she asked.
Watching Orochimaru's behavior, both Jiraiya and Tsunade twitched at the corners of their eyes simultaneously.
Though this was a joyous occasion, they couldn't help but feel irritated!
Tsunade even regretted not punching him harder back then—she should've demanded another stress-relieving punch after the baby was born!
"What's the name?"
As the nurse carried the baby into the ward, Jiraiya suddenly thought to ask.
"Mitsuki."
Orochimaru uttered the name calmly, as if he had long decided on it.
"Mitsuki (Snake Moon)?""
Jiraiya mulled it over before turning to glance out the window, realization dawning.
"Snake and moon? Not bad for your taste. Mitsuki… yeah, good name!"
"Mm. Mitsuki."
Orochimaru confirmed again, his expression unreadable, as if he had always intended the name to be this way.