On the Moon, before the castle.
"Great-Grandfather… this is the castle you were talking about?" Kushina asked, putting on an exaggerated look of awe out of pure politeness.
Akio nodded in satisfaction.
Naruto, anwhile, was already yelling excitedly as he charged straight into the castle to explore.
"…If I had a casino like this," Tsunade muttered to herself.
Akio sighed helplessly. Ever since opening the gambling hall, Tsunade seed physically incapable of entering any place without ntally converting it into a casino.
Minato, on the other hand, was calm or rather, fully focused on Kushina.
"Elder, this place is huge. Where are we staying?"
Akio gave him a reassuring look.
"Kimimaro, Haku did you bring everything?"
"All accounted for!"
The packs on their backs were stuffed with sealing scrolls, each containing daily necessities and dical equipnt for the coming month.
"You two go organize the largest room on the first floor. Set everything up properly."
"Yes!"
After a pause, Akio added helplessly,
"Karin… you too. Go handle your own things."
Karin bead.
"Got it!"
Her pack alone was enough to decorate a room to magazine standards.
Once the four kids scattered, Akio and the remaining adults entered the castle.
"Tsunade, Minato dical supplies and baby supplies?" Akio asked.
"If anything's missing, we still have ti to grab it."
"Relax, Great-Grandfather," Tsunade replied confidently.
She had delivered enough babies already Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto included.
Minato double-checked anyway.
"Everything's here, Elder."
"Good," Akio nodded. "Then all that's left is for Kushina to give birth to a cute little girl."
"She definitely will!" Kushina agreed enthusiastically. One Naruto was more than enough.
The castle was massive, and the largest room on the first floor was deep inside. Since Kushina couldn't walk quickly, it took nearly twenty minutes to arrive. Kimimaro and Haku had already finished setting things up.
"This room's over two hundred square ters," Akio said cheerfully.
"You three will stay here for the next few days. I'll take the room next door and turn it into a kitchen. If you crave anything, just tell , I brought most ingredients."
Half his storage space was food.
The other half was the spacecraft.
Completely full.
"You're really good to , Great-Grandfather," Kushina said softly, suddenly emotional.
Akio waved it off, about to reply when Karin's voice thundered from above.
"Brat! This is MY room!"
A brief silence followed.
Then Naruto shouted back,
"Get lost, violent girl!"
Kushina gently rubbed her stomach.
"Those two get along pretty well."
Akio sighed. Kushina still hadn't given up on the idea of Karin becoming her daughter-in-law.
"All done!" Kimimaro reported.
Akio nodded, raising an eyebrow as he looked at him.
This kid's really growing into his looks…
Naruto? …Let's not go there.
Four adults and four kids lived on the Moon for a week.
On March 8, a new life was born.
Kushina already had experience and possessed exceptional vitality. From the mont her water broke to the baby's first cry, it took less than an hour.
"It's a girl!" Tsunade and Minato shouted from inside.
Outside the room, Akio pumped his fist.
"Excellent! Not another Naruto, looks like I'll live a few more years!"
"Great-Ancestor, that's too much!" Naruto protested, having just been about to celebrate getting a sister.
Akio ignored him.
"Karin hit him! Kimimaro, cut off his escape! A princess is born let's celebrate properly!"
"Hey, don't co closer, violent girl OW! Hey....!"
Ignoring Naruto's beating, Akio raised his voice toward the room.
"Blonde or red hair?"
No answer.
Monts later, Tsunade stepped out holding a tightly wrapped baby.
"W-White hair?!"
Haku stepped forward… then quietly stepped back.
Tsunade smiled.
"Just newborn hair. It'll fall out in a few months and grow back normally."
"Right, right, newborn hair," Akio exhaled deeply.
"You were the sa, Kushina. Mito held you up and showed sa pale color."
Naruto returned, bruised and swollen, eyes shining with curiosity as he reached out
Smack.
"Wash your hands!" Akio snapped.
"Actually, washed or not, don't touch!"
Kimimaro and the others leaned in and were imdiately shooed away.
"You four head back first. Newborns are fragile, don't go poking around."
Once the kids were gone, Akio and Tsunade entered the room. Minato gently placed the baby beside Kushina.
"Great-Grandfather, it's a girl!" Kushina said brightly, glowing with excitent rather than exhaustion.
"Mm. A princess deserves to be pampered," Akio agreed, equally radiant.
Minato smiled warmly.
"Elder… her na?"
Akio fell silent.
He had prepared nas for red-haired and blonde girls
but had completely forgotten about newborn hair.
Was he supposed to wait six months?
"That white hair really startled …" he murmured.
Then—
"Ah!"
"Tsukika. Uzumaki Tsukika, how about that?"
A new life always brought joy but for soone like Akio, whose loved ones had dwindled over ti, Tsukika's birth was especially precious.
Kushina was already thirty-two. Her vitality kept her youthful for now. But how long would that last? Five years? Ten?
Once, Akio had relied on Kushina to ease the sorrow of watching Nana grow old.
Soday, Tsukika would do the sa.
And there was another reason.
Naruto's future followed a familiar path.
Tsukika's future was limitless.
She was one of the greatest deviations Akio had ever created in this world.
"The Uzumaki Sage Body… the second after Nagato," Akio thought.
"She'll surpass Kushina soday. As for Naruto, if he ever bullies his sister, I'll personally straighten him out."
Four adults, four kids, and one baby lived on the Moon for two months.
By early April, Kushina had fully recovered but she insisted on enjoying castle life a bit longer.
So it wasn't until May that Akio finally brought everyone back to Konoha.
Naruto sulked the entire way.
"We'll co back soday," Akio said.
"And Naruto, I only got you one month off school. You already took two. Be grateful."
Tsunade stretched.
"I need to check the casino. Who knows what ss Jiraiya's caused."
He'd been running it in her absence.
"Elder, what about us?" Karin asked.
Akio considered briefly.
"I'll send you back to the Uzumaki lands later. Konan can escort you. I'm going to be busy."
Kushina cradled the sleeping baby.
"That's right, Great-Grandfather, you still need to watch over Tsukika's growth!"
Akio chuckled.
"She's healthy. I don't need to monitor her every second like before."
Then his expression sharpened slightly.
"I've got real work to do."
"…Ti to prepare.
Ti to invest those points."
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