Chapter 264: Kushina's Pregnancy
Kyosuke sat in his room, his fingers drumming a restless rhythm on the table. "Is the information reliable?" he finally asked.
The secret guard nodded. The Jinchuriki was indeed pregnant.
Kyosuke dismissed him with a wave of his hand and sank into a deep, troubled thought.
He had suspected as much. Fugaku had recently mentioned that Mikoto was pregnant again, and Kyosuke had immediately made the connection. Kushina's pregnancy meant that the protagonist of the original story, the Child of Prophecy, Naruto Uzumaki, was about to be born. It also meant that Obito's attack on Konoha was not far off.
In that single, catastrophic event, countless civilians and shinobi would die, including the Fourth Hokage and his wife, leaving their newborn son an orphan. But it was that very tragedy that would set Naruto on the path to becoming the Child of Prophecy. Even without the hardships of his childhood, the influence of Asura's chakra would have made him a powerful shinobi, though perhaps not to the same extent as in the original story.
Kyosuke now faced two dilemmas: first, whether to save Minato Namikaze, and second, how to deal with the inevitable increase in the high council's suspicion of him and his clan.
The second problem was the least of his worries. It was unavoidable. As long as it didn't escalate to the point of an open purge of the Uchiha, he could live with it.
The first problem was the one that truly troubled him.
He had always had a certain fondness for Minato Namikaze, both in his past life and in this one. To stand by and watch him die... he wasn't sure he could do it. But to save him would mean that on the day of his planned coup, the two of them would become mortal enemies. It was not in his best interests.
He had been agonizing over it for some time. In the end, he decided to leave the decision for the day of the attack.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Coming."
A very pregnant Kushina opened the door and, after a moment of surprise, broke into a wide smile. "Kyosuke! What a surprise! What brings you here?"
"I just heard the news," he said, handing her a gift. "Came to offer my congratulations."
"Ahaha, you shouldn't have," she said, but her hands were already reaching for the gift, her smile growing even wider.
Minato, who stood behind her, couldn't help but smile at his wife's antics.
Kushina ushered him in and sat him down, insisting that he stay and try her cooking.
"I don't want to be a bother. And are you sure you should be cooking in your condition? Don't you have someone to help you?" he asked, hesitant.
"Tch. You underestimate me. I can do more than just cook. I could still take you in a fight right now, believe it!" she said with a huff.
"Don't refuse. It's getting late. Just stay for dinner," Minato chimed in.
"That's right," Kushina said with a grin. "You and Minato can chat. Dinner will be ready in a minute."
As she disappeared into the kitchen, the two of them began to talk.
"Fugaku's second child is due soon. They should be around the same age," Kyosuke said.
"Oh? That's right. I'd almost forgotten," Minato said with a smile. "I hope they can be good friends."
"Haha, I'm sure they will be," Kyosuke replied, a strange look on his face.
Dinner was soon ready, and the three of them sat down to eat.
"Wow, this is amazing, Kushina-san. You're a lucky man, Minato-san," Kyosuke said after a few bites.
"Hehe," Kushina replied, a rare blush on her cheeks.
As they were eating, a sigh escaped Kyosuke's lips.
"This is only the second time someone has invited me to their home for a meal," he said, his voice low and filled with a strange melancholy.
"Who was the first?" Kushina asked, her curiosity piqued.
"...Fugaku's previous girlfriend, Uchiha Chiko. She was also an excellent cook."
"Oh, the one who was killed by the Sand..."
"Kushina!" Minato cut her off, shooting her a warning look. He then turned to Kyosuke with an apologetic smile.
"It's alright," Kyosuke said with a wave of his hand. "It's the pain of war. It's unavoidable. Even though we have peace now, another war is inevitable."
"You're right," Minato said with a heavy sigh.
"When Konoha was first founded, there was a lot of opposition, not just from the Uchiha and the Senju, but from the other clans as well. They thought it was a ridiculous idea. But in the end, it brought a relative peace," Kyosuke said, changing the subject.
Minato and Kushina listened in silence.
"If war is inevitable, then what if the entire shinobi world were to be unified? Would that not be the best way to prevent conflict?"
"A single government, a single system for distributing resources... that is the path to lasting peace. What do you think, Minato-san?" he asked, his eyes fixed on the Hokage.
Minato was speechless. As a follower of the Will of Fire, his first instinct was to reject such a radical idea. But he knew, deep down, that Kyosuke was right. Mutual understanding was not enough. War would always return. Unification was the only true path to peace.
But the implications were staggering. And he was more curious about Kyosuke's true intentions. It was clear that he had come here for more than just to offer his congratulations.
Is he testing me? he wondered.
"Don't just talk. The food's getting cold," Kushina said, breaking the tense silence.
Kyosuke didn't press the issue. The strange, slightly awkward dinner continued.
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