The Hokage Tower had changed under Kagami Uchiha's administration.
The stacks of paperwork were organized with military precision. The guards were a mix of Uchiha Police Force and standard ANBU, standing side-by-side without the tension of the past. The air felt lighter.
But the man sitting in the chair looked heavier.
Kagami Uchiha, the Third Hokage, rubbed his temples. He had been in office for three years. His curly black hair had a few premature strands of grey, and the lines around his kind eyes were deeper.
"Report," Kagami said, not looking up from a scroll.
Nanami Kento leaned against the window frame. He wore his standard black outfit, though he had abandoned the flak jacket years ago. He didn't need it. His skin was harder than the armor.
"Mission complete," Nanami said, his voice carrying a relaxed lilt. "The Fire Daimyo has been delivered safely to the Capital. The journey required two weeks. No hostile engagements encountered, though the Daimyo talks excessively."
Kagami finally looked up, a small smile breaking his exhaustion. "He is fond of his own voice. Did you endure it?"
"I meditated," Nanami replied. "It was... educational."
Kagami shook his head, signing the mission scroll. "You have been traveling for fourteen days straight. Go home, Kento. Take a break. That is an order."
Nanami pushed off the window frame. "A break? Sounds dangerous. Last time I took a break, I ended up going on a month long mission."
"Maybe this time you will simply rest," Kagami retorted.
"Thank you for the break."
Nanami raised two fingers in a lazy salute and vanished.
Zip.
The Nanami-Senju Residence
The house was quiet. It was late afternoon, the golden hour where the light filtered through the paper screens.
Nanami appeared in the genkan. He stepped out of his sandals, arranging them perfectly.
"I have returned," he called out softly.
Usually, the response was immediate—either a shout from Tsunade regarding the hospital administration or the sound of ARIA debating philosophy.
Today, there was silence.
Nanami walked into the living room.
Tsunade was sitting on the sofa. She wasn't reading medical scrolls. She wasn't drinking sake. She was just sitting there, her hands resting in her lap, staring at the garden.
Nanami paused. He sensed her chakra. It was turbulent.
He walked over and sat next to her.
"Tsunade?"
She turned to look at him. Her face was pale, but her eyes... her golden eyes were shining with an emotion he couldn't quite place.
"You're back," she whispered.
"I am," Nanami said, reaching out to tuck a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Kagami ordered me to leave the office."
Tsunade laughed, a wet, shaky sound. She grabbed his hand and held it tight. Her grip was strong, as always, but her hand was trembling.
"Kento."
"Yeah?"
"We need to talk."
Nanami stiffened slightly.
"Okay," Nanami said carefully. "I am listening."
Tsunade took a deep breath. She took his hand—the one with the hardened callouses—and moved it.
She placed his palm flat against her stomach.
It was firm, warm.
Tsunade voice barely above a whisper. "For sometime I have been feeling... drained. My chakra control was fluctuating."
Nanami frowned. "Are you ill?"
"No," she shook her head, tears spilling over her lashes. A smile broke through. "Not ill."
She pressed his hand harder against her belly.
"Kento... there is a second signature."
Nanami froze.
His mind stopped its calculations.
A second signature.
He focused a tiny amount of aura into his eyes. He looked at her stomach.
He saw it.
A tiny, flickering spark of chakra. It was microscopic. It was fragile. It was nestled deep within her coil, protected by her own massive life force.
It was a life.
"You..." Nanami started, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat. "You are..."
"Pregnant," Tsunade finished for him, laughing through her tears. "We are going to have a child, Kento."
Nanami stared at her stomach.
He had fought ninjas and bandits. He had altered the laws of space-time.
But this terrified him.
"A child," he whispered.
A sudden wave of emotion hit him. It wasn't gratitude. It was joy.
He surged forward, wrapping his arms around her, burying his face in her neck.
"Thank you," he murmured into her skin. "Thank you, Tsunade."
She hugged him back, rocking him gently. "You better start building a crib. And make it sturdy."
"I will build a fortress," Nanami promised, pulling back to kiss her. "I will reinforce it with barrier seals."
"Don't you dare seal the baby," she warned, though she was grinning.
The Feast
The news reached the family quickly.
That evening, the Senju compound was lit up. The Nanami parents had closed the bakery early and rushed over with crates of cakes. Mito Uzumaki had come out of her study. Even Tobirama had left his reasearch room.
The table was full of food.
"A GRANDCHILD!" Daichi Senju was shouting, hugging Nanami's father. "HARUTO-SAN! WE ARE GRANDFATHERS!"
"I KNOW!" Haruto Nanami shouted back. "OUR LEGACY!"
Kaede and Haruka were huddled in the corner, discussing fabrics.
Tobirama sat at the head of the table, sipping sake. He looked at Nanami.
"Congratulations," Tobirama said. "You have secured the line."
"It was a happy development, Sensei," Nanami laughed, refilling the former Hokage's cup.
ARIA walked by, carrying a platter of sushi.
"The probability of conception was high," ARIA noted dryly. "Humans are predictable organisms."
"ARIA!" Tsunade shouted. "Quiet!"
"I am merely stating facts," ARIA dodged a napkin. "Also, I demand guardian status."
"Absolutely not," Nanami and Tsunade said in unison.
"Boring parents," ARIA sighed.
Nawaki ran up to Tsunade, poking her stomach. "Is the baby in there?"
"Not yet, brat," Tsunade ruffled his hair. "But soon. You're going to be an uncle."
"I'll teach him the Leaf Spin!" Nawaki cheered.
Kushina, now twelve, sat next to Mito. She smiled at Nanami.
"Congratulations, Kento-niichan," she said softly. "I hope the baby is healthy."
"Thank you, Kushina."
Then, the inevitable happened. The lull in conversation was broken by Tobirama setting down his cup with a decisive clack.
"The name," Tobirama stated, his face serious. "We must decide on a name worthy of the line. I propose 'Butsuma'. It is a strong name. It means 'Buddha of War'."
The table went silent.
Tsunade looked at her granduncle with horror. "Butsuma? That was my great-grandfather's name! He was a grumpy old warlord!"
"He was a disciplined leader," Tobirama argued. "Or perhaps 'Kawarama'. To honor the fallen."
"We are not naming our child after tragedy," Tsunade snapped. She looked at Nanami for support. "Kento, tell him."
Nanami rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, 'Butsuma' is a bit archaic. I was thinking of something more... efficient."
"Efficient?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"Yes. Like 'Prime'. Or 'One'. Or maybe 'Zero'."
"Zero?!" Tsunade shrieked. "You want to name our baby 'Zero'?!"
"It represents infinite potential," Nanami argued calmly. "It is the beginning of all numbers. Or 'Index'. That has a nice ring to it."
"I am not naming my child after a library filing system!" Tsunade slammed her fist on the table. The sushi platter jumped.
"What about 'Pastry'?" Haruto Nanami suggested helpfully.
"No food names!" Tsunade yelled.
"How about 'Mountain'?" Daichi suggested, flexing his bicep. "Something solid!"
"Too literal!"
Mito chuckled softly into her tea. "Perhaps we should wait until we know if it is a boy or a girl before we start declaring war over the name."
"Agreed," Tsunade huffed, crossing her arms. "But I am vetoing 'Butsuma' and 'Zero'. Immediately."
"Your lack of vision is disappointing," Nanami teased, dodging a piece of thrown broccoli.
The night was filled with laughter and sake. For a moment, the threat of war, the darkness of Black Zetsu... it all faded.
There was only the family.
Three Days Later
The peace of a ninja is temporary.
Nanami was in his workshop when a tap came at his window.
He recognized the chakra signature.
"Enter."
An ANBU wearing a cat mask slid the window open.
"Lord Nanami. The Hokage requests your presence. Immediately."
Nanami put his pencil down.
"I'll be there."
He grabbed his cloak and vanished.
Zip.
The Hokage Office
Kagami Uchiha stood by the window. The room was dark.
Tobirama Senju sat in the advisor's chair. There were no Elders. No Hiruzen, no Danzo. Just the Third Hokage and his mentor.
Nanami appeared in the center of the room.
"You called?"
Kagami turned. His face was serious, the easy-going smile gone.
"We have received intel," Kagami said. "From our spies in the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth."
"Troop movements?" Nanami asked, leaning against the wall.
"Mobilization," Kagami corrected. "Massive mobilization. Kiri, Kumo, Iwa, and Suna. Four Great Nations are moving simultaneously."
"Four against one," Nanami murmured. "That is not a skirmish. That is an eradication force. What is the target?"
Kagami hesitated. He looked at Tobirama.
"We don't know," Kagami admitted grimly. "That is the problem. Their trajectories are concealed. But they aren't converging on Konoha borders."
"If they aren't hitting us," Tobirama spoke up, his voice sharp, "then they are hitting someone else. Someone dangerous enough to warrant a coalition."
"Uzushiogakure," Nanami said.
The room went silent.
"It fits," Kagami nodded. "The other villages fear the sealing jutsu. They fear the power of the Uzumaki to suppress Tailed Beasts. If they want to remove a threat before the next era begins, Uzu is the logical target."
"But we don't know for sure," Tobirama warned. "It could be a feint."
"We can't send a battalion based on a guess," Kagami said, rubbing his temples. "If I mobilize the army to Uzu and they attack the Fire border instead, Konoha falls."
He looked at Nanami.
"I need you to go, Kento. You know the Uzukage. You need to deliver a warning personally. Tell him what we know. Tell him to raise the barrier to maximum alert and prepare for a siege."
"Just a warning?" Nanami asked.
"For now," Kagami said. "Until we have confirmation of the target, we cannot commit forces. But they need to be ready. If Uzu falls, we lose our strongest ally."
"I understand," Nanami said. "I will tell them to sleep with one eye open."
He pushed off the wall.
"I'll go."
"Be careful," Kagami warned. "If you encounter the coalition vanguard... do not engage unless necessary. We need intel, not a diplomatic incident."
"I am always careful," Nanami said.
"Dismissed."
The Nanami Residence
Nanami walked into the kitchen. Tsunade was cutting vegetables. She looked up, smiling, but her smile faltered when she saw his face.
She put the knife down.
"Mission?" she asked.
"Mission," he confirmed.
"Is it... dangerous?"
"It involves Uzu," Nanami said.
Tsunade's eyes widened. "The Whirlpools? That is days away! You just got back! And... and the baby..."
Her hand went to her stomach.
Nanami walked over to her. He took her hands.
"The nations are moving, Tsunade. We don't know where yet, but if they hit Uzu... Kushina won't have a clan left to visit."
Tsunade bit her lip. She knew the stakes.
"Okay," she whispered. "But you hurry back. You hear me?"
Nanami grinned. It was a confident grin.
"What are you worried about, Princess?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a three-pronged kunai.
"Did you forget?"
"Forget what?"
"Our honeymoon."
Tsunade blinked. "Our honeymoon? We went to the Hot Springs... and the Capital... and Uzu..."
Her eyes lit up.
"You didn't."
"I did," Nanami smirked. "I placed a marker. Outside the village walls. The barrier prevented me from placing it inside, but I found a secure tree line just beyond the perimeter."
Tsunade stared at him. Then she started laughing.
"You paranoid idiot," she said. "You tagged the Uzukage's front door?"
"Strategic placement," Nanami corrected. "Why walk when you can zip?"
He kissed her forehead.
"I'll be back in an hour. Maybe two if the Uzukage wants to argue."
"Go," she pushed him gently. "Save them."
"On it."
Nanami stepped back.
He closed his eyes. He reached out with his sensory perception, searching for the specific frequency of the seal he had placed five years ago.
It was faint, buried under layers of distance, but it was there.
Locked on.
"Hiraishin."
Zip.
The kitchen was empty.
Tsunade picked up the knife.
"An hour," she whispered. "He better bring back souvenirs."