June 9th.
Hidden Cloud Village.
Sunny day.
Inside the ninja hospital, Kushina Uzumaki paced back and forth along the corridor while Karura stood nearby, hands clasped tightly together in prayer.
Yuzuru Uchiha spoke calmly, "Kushina, Karura—why do I get the feeling you two are more nervous than me?"
Kushina huffed. "That's because you're way too calm!"
Karura, unusually bold, chimed in softly, "She's right. We don't all have Lord Yuzuru's nerves of steel."
Before Yuzuru could reply, the clear sound of a newborn's cry broke the hospital's silence.
"She gave birth! She gave birth!"
"Hahaha! I'm a godmother! I'm a godmother!" Kushina shouted, laughing with joy as she lunged at the door handle and yanked it open.
Bang!
The entire door came off its hinges under her strength.
Everyone turned in shock. Kushina scratched her head awkwardly. "Oops. Got a little too excited."
She carefully leaned the door against the wall and hurried over to Mikoto Uchiha's bedside.
Yuzuru and Karura followed close behind.
The attending doctor smiled. "Congratulations, Lord Yuzuru—it's a boy." (T/N: oh! so he is…!!)
After saying that, the medical team quietly left the room.
Yuzuru stepped forward, gently taking Mikoto's hand. "You've worked hard, Mikoto."
Mikoto smiled warmly. "Yuzuru. I only feel very happiness."
"Look at him—our baby is so tiny and adorable."
Yuzuru glanced at the sleeping infant nestled by Mikoto's pillow and sighed inwardly.
So this is what they call a mother's bias, huh?
Tiny, sure—but adorable? Not exactly.
Kushina crouched by the bedside, eyes locked on the baby. Without looking up, she asked, "Yuzuru, have you thought of a name yet?"
Yuzuru turned to Mikoto. "Mikoto, do you have one in mind?"
Mikoto shook her head. "You're his father—the name should come from you."
Yuzuru stroked his chin. "What about… Itachi?"
"Itachi?" Mikoto repeated softly, then nodded. "Uchiha Itachi. That's a wonderful name."
Kushina stood up and clapped Yuzuru on the shoulder. "Didn't think you had a knack for naming, huh?"
Yuzuru only smiled.
Well, I already stole Mikoto from under his nose—adding a name is nothing.
He'd already planned it all out:
Mikoto's next child would be Sasuke.
Kushina's would be Naruto.
And if he ever married Karura—her child would be Gaara.
Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha Naruto. Uchiha Gaara.
Just imagining it made him grin.
——
After Mikoto gave birth, Yuzuru stayed in the Hidden Cloud Village, putting his chaos-making on hold.
As the Third Raikage had said—after robbing Konoha so many times, it was only fair to let them recover a bit, right?
Besides, a warm home, a wife, and a child… that kind of life was bliss.
Especially when—
He didn't just have one wife.
——
Time passed, and soon another year had gone by.
Within the Uchiha compound—
In the courtyard, a small boy stood with both arms crossed in front of his chest, taking tiny, cautious steps.
It wasn't so much walking as it was shuffling.
Each step moved just an inch forward, his little body wobbling every time the wind blew—a sight too cute for words.
Finally, the boy reached Yuzuru's legs and hugged them tightly, giggling.
Looking down, Yuzuru smiled. "Itachi, do you want me to pick you up?"
Itachi couldn't speak yet. He just tugged on Yuzuru's clothes insistently.
Yuzuru bent down and lifted him high above his head.
"Hahahaha!"
Itachi squealed in pure delight, clutching at Yuzuru's hair.
Mikoto, having just finished hanging the laundry, walked over smiling. "Itachi, come to Mama."
But Itachi quickly shook his head and buried his face into Yuzuru's chest.
Mikoto pouted playfully and gave her son's bottom a light pat. "You little rascal."
After a while, Mikoto said, "Yuzuru, I'm heading out for a bit. I might not be back for lunch."
"Oh?" Yuzuru asked curiously. "Something up?"
Mikoto smiled. "Nothing serious. A clansman's getting married today, and they invited me."
She lowered her voice, eyes gleaming with gossip. "I heard the bride's from the Chinoike clan. She's been chasing him for years before he finally said yes…"
"I never realized how popular our clansmen are until we left Konoha."
Seeing her getting carried away, Yuzuru sighed. "Mikoto, if you don't leave now, you'll be late."
Snapping out of it, Mikoto hurried off to change.
After she left, Yuzuru played with Itachi a while longer before carrying him over to Kushina.
"Itachi, go play with Kushina for a bit. Daddy's got something to do."
Itachi looked between Kushina and Yuzuru, then pouted sadly.
Seeing those teary eyes, Yuzuru smiled faintly and tapped his son's forehead with a finger.
"Forgive me, Itachi. We'll play again next time." (T/N: He said the thing :o)
Turning to Kushina, he said, "No need to prepare lunch for me."
Kushina pressed her cheek against Itachi's and waved him off. "Got it."
——
After leaving Kushina, Yuzuru entered the Kamui dimension and waited quietly.
Before long, the familiar system voice echoed in his mind.
[ Ding! A special clan bloodline has been detected: Chinoike clan bloodline! ]
[ Current Chinoike bloodline evolution rate: 37%! ]
Yuzuru ignored it, still waiting.
Moments later, another chime rang out.
[ Ding! Congratulations! Your clan population has reached 10,000! ]
[ Current Clan Prosperity: Gold. ]
[ Available Clan Reward: Gold Treasure Chest. ]
Yuzuru's eyes snapped open, his heart pounding with excitement.
After so many years, his clan had finally reached ten thousand!
The purple chest had given him Kage-level power and a Mangekyō Sharingan selection chest—
Then the gold one… had to be even better!