A pale sky hung over Konoha as soft snowflakes drifted down. The temperature plummeted below zero, and villagers hurried into thick coats.
Even so, the village remained lively—children and adults alike delighted in this rare winter snowfall.
The snow grew heavier.
A masked ANBU, dressed in the grey uniform of the assassination corps, sprinted across rooftops toward the Hokage Building.
—Urgent report from the front lines:
Intelligence Division analysis:
Due to the Sand–Rain, Stone–Rain, and Fire–Rain border offensives pushing deeper into the Land of Rain, Amegakure has suffered catastrophic losses.
There is a high probability that Hanzō has already negotiated surrender with two villages—Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
But not with Konoha.
A secondary report: Stone shinobi have crossed Rain territory and clashed with Konoha forces stationed at the Fire–Rain border.
[In short: He surrendered to two villages… just not to us.]
…
"Hanzō…!"
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the report onto his desk, furious.
This intelligence meant he would have to deploy even more shinobi to the front.
"Bring Orochimaru here."
"Yes, sir!"
The ANBU immediately vanished using Body Flicker.
Hiruzen exhaled heavily.
"White Fang… it seems this time, I must ask you to act."
Shuu—
Hatake Sakumo appeared kneeling before the Hokage.
"I will obey your command, Hokage-sama!"
Amegakure's resistance had collapsed far too quickly—so quickly Hiruzen had no time to respond.
"Don't worry. The village will protect your wife. Kakashi will be born safely."
"Go unleash your strength at the Fire–Wind front."
"Yes! Please take care of my family!"
If a shinobi had no assurance their loved ones would be protected…
How could anyone march willingly into a slaughterhouse like the warfront?
It was supposed to be the Konoha New Year, yet Hiruzen felt none of the joy.
Only the crushing weight of wondering how many of the teams he was sending out… would ever return.
"By the way—any progress on identifying that suspicious ninja appearing at night in Konoha Hospital?"
Sakumo stiffened.
"My apologies, Hokage-sama. That person is extremely cunning.
We matched footprints, physical features, compared every young jōnin, chūnin, even genin…
No one fits."
Hiruzen fell silent.
If he wasn't a Konoha shinobi, why would he secretly heal Konoha's ninja for free?
He must have a purpose…
"…Forget it. I'll have Jiraiya investigate the matter personally."
"For now, I leave the front line to you."
"Yes!"
…
Meanwhile, at Konoha Hospital
Within the white walls of a quiet hallway—
A child who would one day shine brilliantly across the world… was born.
Outside the operating room, a thick-browed young man was no longer shouting about youth.
Instead, he paced nervously, fists clenched, repeatedly swallowing dryly.
Along the corridor, leaning against the windowsill, stood two boys:
One with a face that didn't seem to age—handsome and calm.
The other, slightly younger, with soft brown hair and a clean, childish face.
"Kaito," Nawaki asked excitedly, "do you think Uncle Duy's baby is a boy or a girl?"
Given that Might Duy was more than a decade older than Nawaki, calling him "Uncle Duy" felt accurate.
Shinku himself was twelve this year.
Kaito kept his expression deadpan.
He already knew the answer from Nonō, who was now a trainee nurse.
"Probably a boy," Kaito said, pretending to guess.
"I think it might be a girl! Then I could treat her like a little sister."
Nawaki's eyes sparkled. "Don't you think Aunt Rin would give birth to a super cute little girl~?"
"A thick-browed baby girl, huh?"
Kaito's mouth twitched.
If a female version of Guy popped out… I wouldn't even know where to start roasting.
A new title suddenly floated into his mind—
Kai Empress.
God forbid.
Click.
The red light above the operating room turned green, and the door slowly opened.
Everyone held their breath.
A nurse stepped out holding a loudly crying, wrinkly newborn.
"Congratulations—it's a boy~!"
"From today on, you're a father!"
"Oh!! I will raise him with the power of YOUTH!"
"Quiet down, this is a hospital."
Kaito couldn't help muttering:
"Shouldn't you check on the baby's mother first?"
"Right! Right!!"
"Is Rin okay?!"
Duy panicked again.
In the shinobi world, it was almost always the mother, not the child, whose life was at risk during childbirth.
"Relax," the nurse replied. "You've been buying her nutritional supplements regularly, right? She's perfectly fine. Just needs some rest."
Soon, a hospital bed was pushed out.
On it lay a tired but smiling Rin.
"Duy."
"RIN! Thank goodness you're safe!!"
Duy burst into tears.
Kaito watched with a soft smile.
He understood this emotion well.
Beside him, Nawaki… did not.
He stared at the newborn in disappointment.
The baby was ugly.
And not a girl.
…
For days, Squad One hadn't taken missions.
Nawaki insisted that celebrating the birth of Duy's baby was more important than earning money.
Kaito didn't mind—after all, if the clan prince was giving orders, who was he to argue?
Especially since he wasn't truly Orochimaru's personal disciple, nor was Nonō yet a formal apprentice under Tsunade.
They were merely "students," receiving basic teachings—not high-level techniques or Sage training.
At this point, Kaito could openly use the C-rank jutsu he'd learned, and Shadow Clone.
He still deliberately made mistakes during practice, leaving Orochimaru disappointed enough to stop teaching him more.
Exactly as Kaito wanted.
Later, Kaito found Uchiha Mikoto on patrol and shared the good news.
Every police officer and even the captain—Uchiha Fugaku—looked over.
"What?! Uncle Duy had a baby and didn't tell me? I would've taken the day off!"
"I'm telling you now," Kaito said dryly. "Finish your shift properly."
Mikoto's teammates glanced at her, and Fugaku approached.
"Kaito. It's been a while."
"It has, Fugaku-jōnin. You left quite an impression last time."
They'd only crossed paths briefly during missions and patrol work—never long enough for a formal greeting.
Fugaku looked at Kaito, then at Mikoto, and spoke gently:
"Mikoto, you may take leave today. Go visit your former teammate."
Her two squadmates immediately pouted.
Of course the captain gives her special treatment…
"Thank you, Captain," Mikoto said stiffly.
"I told you," Fugaku smiled warmly,
"Just call me Big Brother Fugaku."
"We were never an official squad. There's no need to be so formal."
"If you take the clan's chūnin exam this summer, you'll be promoted."
He looked at her with admiration—and perhaps something more.
"With your talent, in a year or two, you'll be an excellent Uchiha jōnin."
"Ahaha… thank you, Captain~"
She still called him Captain.
Fugaku frowned slightly, but let it go.
Before leaving, he glanced seriously at Kaito.
Let's hope… we never become enemies.
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