The next day, Kaito returned to Marine Headquarters with Nami and Nojiko.
It was their first time entering Kaito's palace, and both girls couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Fortunately, Robin was there today — under her calm guidance, they quickly adapted to their surroundings.
By the way, since Kaito had returned, Yamato had also moved in. She constantly pestered him, clamoring to visit the "other world" — the one known as the world of Naruto.
The moment she saw Kaito, she brought it up again. After enough persistent pleading, Kaito finally agreed to take her there for two days of fun.
Yamato was so excited she threw her arms around him, smothering his face in her "enthusiasm."
Kaito hugged her back, opened a dimensional gate, and the two stepped through it together.
...
Their arrival point was Kaito's home in Konoha.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya emerged from the house when she heard the sound. Seeing Kaito return, her expression brightened with delight — but when her gaze fell on Yamato, she froze slightly.
Staring at Yamato's white hair, red horns, and golden eyes, Kaguya couldn't help but ask,
"Master, is this... your daughter from that world?"
"..."
Kaito was stunned, while Yamato nearly jumped in place, shouting,
"What are you talking about?! I'm not his daughter! I'm his most adorable and most powerful disciple!"
"So she's your disciple? My apologies then — I misunderstood."
Kaguya tilted her head slightly, then bowed gracefully to express her apology.
That, however, only made Yamato a bit embarrassed — because she had just noticed Kaguya's slightly swollen belly.
She hesitated, then asked,
"Wait... you're pregnant?"
At that, Kaguya's face softened with a blissful smile. Gently stroking her stomach, she said softly,
"Yes. This is my child with Master."
"Nani?!"
Yamato whipped her head around, staring at Kaito with a mix of seventy percent shock, twenty percent disbelief, and ten percent... admiration?
Well, another perfect pie chart moment.
Kaito flicked her forehead and said irritably,
"What's that look for? Your teacher's not exactly young anymore. Having a kid is perfectly normal."
"Sure, normal... it's just kinda sudden. And why haven't any of the other ladies, like Kalifa, ever had any kids?"
As a king, Kaito's consorts like Kalifa were naturally considered his queens — yet none of them had borne him a child. Not just Yamato, even others had been puzzled by this.
Yamato was no longer the clueless tomboy she used to be. She'd already figured out that the whole "training session" with Ain had been a setup — just thinking about it still made her blush bright red.
Kaito's "official" explanation was that Kaguya's bloodline was closer to his, which made conception easier.
Of course, that was mostly nonsense — but Yamato didn't question it. After all, just from appearance alone, Kaguya and Kaito did look somewhat alike.
Touching her own white hair and horns, Yamato suddenly blurted out,
"Hey, Sensei... you think maybe our bloodlines are kinda similar too?"
Her face instantly turned red, though she stubbornly tried to act indifferent.
Even Kaguya noticed the girl's little crush, covering her mouth with her sleeve as she giggled softly.
From inside that same sleeve, Black Zetsu suddenly spoke up,
"You've got some pretty impure thoughts for a disciple! Look at that blush!"
Being called out so directly made Yamato explode with fury. She whipped out her kanabō from who-knows-where and roared,
"Who said that!? Get out here right now!"
Black Zetsu, unfazed, oozed out of Kaguya's sleeve like black tar and reshaped herself into a humanoid female form.
Yamato raised an eyebrow and asked,
"Who are you? Why're you all pitch black?"
Black Zetsu tossed her head proudly and replied,
"What do you mean pitch black? How rude, little girl! I'm called Black Zetsu!"
"Who're you calling little girl? You want me to smash you?!"
"Tch, who're you trying to scare with that thornless club? You think I'm afraid of a kid who hasn't even finished growing up?"
Veins popped on Yamato's forehead. She slammed the tip of her club into the ground, cracking it in a spiderweb pattern. Black Zetsu blinked, realizing the "big dummy" actually had some real strength.
Resting her club on her shoulder, Yamato began walking toward her slowly, saying,
"Let's see how 'thornless' this club feels after it hits you."
Black Zetsu's yellow, circular eyes darted around before she suddenly darted to Kaito's side and shouted,
"Daddy! Look what she's doing to me!"
The entire room froze — except for Kaguya.
Kaito pointed at himself, stunned.
"Wait... what did you just call me?"
"Daddy!"
Clang!
Yamato's club fell straight to the ground. She stared at Black Zetsu's shadowy body, her mind racing.
"Wait... is this what Sensei's kids are supposed to look like...?"
Kaguya didn't seem the least bit bothered. To her, since Black Zetsu was her child, then of course that made her Kaito's child as well. Perfectly logical.
Seeing that Kaito didn't object, Black Zetsu boldly snuggled up to him, looking every bit the obedient daughter — which only made Kaito's eyebrow twitch even harder.
Yamato, meanwhile, was too stunned to continue her threat. She just stood there, giving Kaito a complicated look.
Kaito coughed twice, suddenly unsure how to even process this situation.
Who could've imagined... the most devious schemer in the entire Naruto world had just called him "Dad"?
His emotions were all over the place.
Thankfully, Kaguya broke the silence.
"Master, let's go back inside. And as for this young lady..."
She paused. Yamato realized she hadn't even introduced herself yet.
And since Kaguya was technically her "Sensei's wife," she certainly couldn't afford to be rude.
"My name's Yamato. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"So it's Miss Yamato. I'm Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
The two white-haired women bowed politely to each other — a surprisingly harmonious scene.
Yamato quickly stepped forward to support Kaguya. There was no way she'd let a pregnant woman bow to her — if anything happened, she could never forgive herself.
Of course, she had no idea that this "delicate pregnant lady" possessed enough power to obliterate the entire ninja world.
Still, her kindness made a good impression on Black Zetsu, who even took the initiative to apologize for her earlier snarkiness.
Yamato wasn't the type to hold grudges. She thumped her chest proudly and declared that from now on, she and Black Zetsu were "good friends," and that she'd protect her.
Kaito simply wrapped an arm around Kaguya's waist. The two shared a knowing smile and then walked together into the house.