Arashi finished handling Konoha's affairs in just half a day.
Early the next morning, he set off to return to the Fire Capital.
Due to her pregnancy, Ragyō did not return with him and instead remained in Konoha to recuperate.
With Tsunade in the village, her care in Konoha was even better than what she would have received in the Fire Capital.
By the time Arashi rushed back to Mei's courtyard, it was already late at night.
She was not asleep. She wore an elegant kimono, her waist slender, a faint trace of melancholy between her brows.
She sat quietly under the veranda, gazing up at the crescent moon.
Moonlight draped over her like silver gauze.
Hearing footsteps, her body tensed slightly, then relaxed.
At this hour, no one else would come here except that man.
She slowly turned her head.
Sure enough, she saw Arashi walking through the courtyard, approaching her step by step.
As he got closer, Mei's heart suddenly started pounding.
Not from admiration.
But from the sudden unease of facing the father of her child.
She stood up, intending to bow, but her legs felt weak, and even her breath became unsteady.
Arashi glanced at her calmly and said, "Sit."
He walked straight to her side and sat down in the spot where she had just been.
There was only half an arm's length between them.
Seemingly close enough to touch, yet as distant as the horizon.
The only sound in the air was the wind rustling through the leaves.
And the pounding of Mei's own heartbeat.
She clenched her fists inside her sleeves.
The sting of her fingernails digging into her palms helped her remain clear-headed, keeping her from losing composure.
Arashi looked at her and spoke indifferently, "I heard you were looking for me."
She froze for a moment, then looked up, meeting his gaze directly.
Her voice was low but clear. "Yes. My body has developed some issues."
Her gaze dropped slightly to her flat abdomen.
Then she looked up again.
"I… might be pregnant."
The moment those words left her lips, Mei felt a strange sense of release.
She felt like a prisoner awaiting judgment.
She watched Arashi's expression closely.
She had anticipated many reactions.
He might be surprised, might question her, might even get angry.
But none of that happened.
His expression didn't change. He simply turned his head and looked at her.
Then his gaze slowly moved down and rested on her abdomen.
That emotionless stare made her feel deeply uncomfortable.
"Not 'might be,'" Arashi said. "You already are."
Mei froze, then gave a bitter smile.
Of course. Nothing could be hidden from this man.
A chill rose within her. Fortunately, she hadn't made any rash decisions.
Her lips trembled, parting slightly as she tried to speak, but her throat seemed to be blocked by something.
"My child. Naturally, I know." Arashi smiled slightly, his tone calm.
He took off his cloak.
A fine black cloak, embroidered with the crest of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
He gently draped it over Mei's shoulders, covering her slender frame.
"It's late. Be careful not to catch a cold."
That action, and that tone, held a trace of unspoken tenderness.
She was stunned, the man's scent drifting into her nose.
Feeling the warmth of the cloak, her mind went blank. She didn't know how to respond.
"What… what do you want?" she asked instinctively, her voice carrying a hint of reluctant dependence.
Arashi looked down at her, his eyes calm and deep.
"This child will be a prince or princess of the Land of Fire."
"They will possess the noblest bloodline and receive the finest education."
"Their life will be free of hardship."
"As for you…"
He paused.
Mei's heart leapt to her throat.
Then she heard him slowly say, "From today on, you are my wife."
"You should understand what that title means."
"This is the reward you deserve for bearing a royal bloodline for the Land of Fire."
Wife… reward… Her body stiffened.
Her thoughts raced.
She understood clearly.
This man, from beginning to end, never saw her as an equal opponent.
Not even as a piece worth his attention.
Her probing, her veiled negotiations.
To her, they were a gamble that would decide her future.
To him, they were merely the tricks of a concubine seeking favor.
Then, with a single title—"wife"—he marked her and the child in her womb as his property.
Branded them with his name.
Was it humiliation?
Perhaps.
Because he never asked for her will, nor made any promises.
He simply and directly categorized her as one of the women belonging to him.
This future, so clearly laid out, left her with no room to resist.
He used his most direct, most domineering will to dictate the rest of her and her child's life.
He gave her a status that could guarantee safety and dignity in the Land of Fire.
In that moment, Mei suddenly felt it was all so absurd.
She had fought for so long. Endured fear for so long. Risked her life for the Resistance. Struggled for her own future.
And in the end, it was all just a joke.
With one sentence, this man crushed everything from her past.
Her eyes fell on the cloak she was wearing. His warmth still lingered in the fabric.
After a long silence.
She finally said, barely audibly, "…Yes."
In the days that followed, Mei's life changed drastically.
She still lived in that courtyard.
But her identity shifted from a closely watched Kirigakure Resistance fighter to the wife of the Daimyo's residence.
The maids who had once monitored her now bowed respectfully when they saw her.
At noon, when a maid accidentally spilled a bowl of soup while serving her, the maid immediately knelt down without a word.
Her forehead touched the floor, her body trembling.
She didn't even dare to plead for mercy.
Every day, the most skilled female physician in the Land of Fire would personally check on her condition.
Her reports were delivered with the utmost care.
Medicinal herbs that once required the Resistance to shed blood for now filled the storerooms.
Supplements said to bring the dead back to life became part of her daily meals.
She no longer had to worry about supplies.
No longer needed to scheme from the shadows, wearing a mask.
Her only duty was to carry this child to term.
To await the birth of the life Arashi had called the prince or princess of the Land of Fire.
This ease and luxury was something she had never dared dream of.
But when it actually came, there was no sweetness.
She was merely a canary, locked in a cage without a lock.
She would sometimes wake in the middle of the night, instinctively wanting to form hand seals.
Only to find her hands clutching soft, silken quilts.
The instincts of a shinobi were slowly being erased.
She understood clearly.
Her freedom ended the moment she said "yes."
Now, she was just a wife capable of bearing a child.
There was no other path before her.
Only acceptance.
(To be continued.)