Just as Takeshi was muttering to himself, Obito, who had come to take over his shift, quietly climbed up.
"Hey, Takeshi, I'm here to take over."
Obito called out softly to Takeshi, who was standing in front of him, seemingly lost in thought.
"What are you staring at so intently?"
Curious, Obito peeked into the room, only to see Jiraiya sitting there red-faced and stammering incoherently.
"Nothing much. Kushina-san's baby finally has a name."
Glancing back at Obito, Takeshi didn't keep him in suspense and told him that Minato had decided to use the name of the protagonist from Jiraiya's novel.
"'If I remember right, the main character's name was..."
Obito recalled the days he helped Jiraiya organize his manuscripts. That particular book was rare in that it didn't contain any inappropriate content, so Jiraiya had felt confident enough to let Obito handle it.
"I think it was Naruto, right? Wait—that's just a ramen topping, isn't it?!"
Obito couldn't understand why Minato would choose such a name.
"Tsk tsk tsk, silly, huh?"
Takeshi waggled a finger in front of Obito with a gossipy grin.
"Think about it—you're familiar with Minato's naming skills. If he came up with the name on his own..."
Obito imagined it for a moment, then shivered.
"That poor kid might've ended up with some ridiculously awkward name."
"Exactly. So yeah, Naruto it is. At least it's catchy and easy to say."
While the two of them hid in the shadows criticizing Minato's naming sense, Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head, was also quietly trying to come up with a name for his not-yet-born second son.
In Takeshi's opinion, Fugaku's naming skills were just as bad as Minato's.
After all, what kind of normal person would name their kid after a weasel?
Of course, compared to something like "Flash Spiral Chaos Dance Style Three," "weasel" was at least bearable.
...
Walking along the nighttime streets of Konohagakure, Fugaku looked like a thief, constantly glancing around, wary of being discovered.
Eventually, he arrived in front of a house.
After collecting his thoughts and organizing his words, Fugaku finally raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Coming."
A young man's voice came from inside. As the door opened, Fugaku was greeted by a man who bore a striking resemblance to a younger Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Fugaku-sama?"
Before Fugaku could speak, the man had already called out his name.
"You're Shinnosuke, right? Long time no see."
Fugaku also recognized him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eldest son, who had served in the ANBU, was rarely seen in public.
"Is the Third-sama home?" Fugaku asked urgently as he was ushered inside.
In the study.
Hiruzen cheerfully offered Fugaku a cup of hot tea. Seeing how nervous Fugaku was, he quickly gestured for him to relax.
"How is Mikoto's health? The due date should be approaching, right?"
Smiling warmly, Hiruzen didn't immediately ask about Fugaku's reason for coming. Instead, like a concerned elder, he started chatting about family matters.
"Thanks to you, Mikoto is in great health. If all goes well, the baby should arrive next month."
Mentioning his wife and child, Fugaku's face lit up with a genuine smile.
"Is that so? Around the same time as Kushina then..." Hiruzen murmured and instinctively reached for his pipe.
"Actually, the reason I came this time..." As a member of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku didn't engage in too much small talk. He soon couldn't hold it in and got straight to the point.
"I want to name my child after your father."
Fugaku had carefully thought this through.
After Sakumo became Hokage, the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village had slowly started to mend.
After a conversation with Sakumo, Fugaku had also begun to suppress the radicals within the clan.
However, he could still tell that in today's Konohagakure, the faction associated with the Second Hokage Tobirama still held great influence.
Hiruzen, Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Koharu Utatane still served as advisors and were involved in every major decision in the village.
So now, Fugaku needed to maintain a good relationship with Sakumo while also currying favor with elders like Hiruzen.
...
"The Jinchūriki of Konoha is about to give birth."
In a certain cave, White Zetsu brought the latest intel to Setsuna.
"Oh? The Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails? That's quite the news."
Setsuna, who was using his dōjutsu to craft a new puppet, paused and casually tossed aside the lifeless body of some unfortunate soul.
Soon after hitting the ground, the body awkwardly rose again and obediently followed Setsuna.
"Should we act now? But we haven't found the Rinnegan's next host yet. And the order of sealing the Tailed Beasts is also..." Black Zetsu noticed Setsuna's intent and began to speak slowly.
"Shut up, you worthless thing. I have my own plans."
Setsuna didn't care for the opinions of artificial creations. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Uchiha Yōwan, who stood not far away.
"Konoha's power is growing too strong. If we let them continue like this, it will interfere with the Tailed Beast collection plan."
Yōwan leapt down from the boulder he had been standing on, having guessed Setsuna's thoughts.
"You're not completely useless, huh." Setsuna didn't deny it and tacitly acknowledged the statement.
"Besides, we can take this opportunity to bring Nagato under the control of my dōjutsu."
Setsuna caressed his eyes, a cruel glint flashing within them.
"And I've got a certain brat I'd like to have a little reunion with."
"Is that so..."
Seeing Setsuna in this state, Yōwan said nothing more and turned away, no longer looking at him.
"Then leave the Jinchūriki to me."
Yōwan's eye techniques were indeed perfect for surprise attacks like this.
...
They weren't the only ones itching to act.
Somewhere in a hotel within Konohagakure, a red-haired boy was staring intently out the window at the Hokage Rock.
Sasori.
After assassinating the Third Kazekage and turning him into a human puppet, Sasori had been waiting for the chance to kill Sakumo.
He had originally planned to ambush him at the Kikyo Pass hideout, but unexpectedly, Sakumo had been summoned back to the village by Hiruzen and appointed as the Fourth Hokage.
This had caused Sasori's original plan to fall apart, forcing him to infiltrate Konohagakure through other means and bide his time for another opportunity.
"Hatake Sakumo, you will become my next trump card."
Fingering the scroll containing the Third Kazekage, Sasori's beautiful face was as cold as ice.