Starting with rogue ninjas, building the insect kingdom.

Chapter 184 A Relationship That Cannot Be Diminished

The medical ninja continued, "Lady Mikoto only suffered a minor shock; she'll be fine after a few days of rest. The child... is perfectly healthy."

Fugaku Uchiha was silent for a few seconds, then nodded slightly. "Thank you."

The medical ninja tactfully withdrew and gently closed the door behind him.

Silence returned to the room. Fugaku looked at Mikoto, at her peaceful sleeping face. His gaze moved from her face to her lower abdomen, and then back to her face.

For the first time, a barely perceptible hint of tenderness appeared on that perpetually expressionless face.

He reached out and gently stroked her hair. "Mikoto," he whispered, "we have a child."

"Thank goodness...you're all alright. Thank goodness my son is alive and well..."

Mikoto didn't respond; she remained asleep, and Fugaku didn't mind. He simply gazed at her quietly, at the woman who was about to become the mother of his child, his eyes shining with a gentler light than ever before.

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

"Fugaku." It was Shikaku's voice: "Minato's surgery... is over."

Fugaku stood up, walked to the door, and opened it: "How was it?"

"It was a success." Shikaku's expression relaxed a bit. "Lady Tsunade said he's out of danger and has been transferred to a VIP ward. If nothing unexpected happens tonight, he should wake up tomorrow."

Fugaku nodded, glancing back at Mikoto on the bed: "I'll be there in a bit."

Shikaku glanced around the hospital room and asked softly, "Mikoto, what about her...?"

"She's pregnant," Fugaku said.

Shikaku paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Congratulations."

Fugaku didn't laugh, he just nodded and closed the door.

He returned to the bedside and sat there for a while. Then he leaned down and gently kissed Mikoto's forehead.

"Wait for me to come back," he said softly.

Then he stood up, walked out of the ward, and at the end of the corridor, a red figure was squatting in the corner—Kushina.

She didn't leave the hospital, but she didn't dare go near the ward, didn't dare face Meiqin's husband, and didn't dare face the friend she had hurt. She buried her head in her knees, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Fugaku walked up to her and stopped. Kushina looked up, her eyes slightly red, clearly having just cried.

"I'm sorry." Kushina Uzumaki lowered her head and sincerely apologized, "I'm sorry, Fugaku, I didn't mean to. I was just... just too worried about Minato..."

Fugaku Uchiha looked at her, remained silent for a few seconds, and then said, "Mikoto is fine. She's pregnant. You two shouldn't see each other again."

Kushina froze, then hurriedly apologized again, "I'm so sorry, so very sorry. I almost got her and the child hurt!"

"She won't blame you, and Minato is out of danger. You should go see him."

After finishing speaking, Fugaku Uchiha gave the final order to leave. He had just used his actions to slightly suppress the Nine-Tails, although it was only the initial leakage of chakra and no tail was exposed.

However, such actions under the circumstances will likely soon give the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his men quite a headache. Therefore, it's best to minimize contact in the future.

"Really, this is wonderful!"

Kushina felt like crying and laughing at the same time, her face contorted in pain. She stood up, about to enter the ward, when she saw several people walking towards her from the end of the corridor.

Hiruzen Sarutobi also has two other ANBU members.

"Kushina."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was gentle yet formal. "Go back and rest. I'll have someone notify you when Minato wakes up."

"But I just want to see him once..."

"That's not appropriate; he's badly injured right now," Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand.

Two ANBU ninjas stepped forward and said, "Lady Kushina, please don't make things difficult for us."

She looked towards Minato Namikaze's hospital room, took a deep breath, and finally turned and left.

As she walked past Fugaku, she whispered, "Please tell Mikoto I'm sorry for me."

Fugaku Uchiha did not turn around, because the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was standing beside him, inviting him, "Fugaku, I think we should have a good talk."

"Lord Hokage, I'm preparing to visit Minato Namikaze."

"No rush, you'll have plenty of time later."

……

The news of Jiraiya's death spread like wildfire throughout the Five Great Nations.

Land of Earth - Hidden Rock Village.

Onoki, the two-day Libra, sat in his office, holding intelligence in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hahahaha! Jiraiya is dead! Konoha has lost another top-tier fighter!"

He slammed the intelligence report on the table, and the wrinkles on his face smoothed out.

Huang Tu stood to the side, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Father, the one who killed Jiraiya was that strategist named Shiraki," Huang Tu said. "I heard he also mastered immortal techniques."

Onoki's smile faded slightly: "Yeah, it is a bit troublesome."

He stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then said, "Huang Tu, do you think we can win him over?"

Huang Tu thought about it carefully, and then honestly replied, "Father, I think it's probably not possible."

"..." Onoki glared at him. "Fine, I was hoping you could give me some feedback, but it seems that's all the brains you have left."

"So what should we do?"

"What can we do?" Onoki scoffed. "Can we send troops over there? The Land of Hot Water and the Land of Waterfall are blocking our way. How far would we have to go to get to the Land of Fire?"

He picked up the intelligence report again and looked at it, his expression turning grim: "That Hanzo the Salamander guy is a real pain. He has no idea who his enemies are and who his friends are."

Huang Tu dared not respond.

Onoki was silent for a moment, then said, "Pass down the order to strengthen border security. Also, send someone to the Land of Hot Springs... no, send someone to make contact with that Shiroki. Even if we can't win him over, we must find out his background."

"Yes."

……

The Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.

The Third Raikage slammed the intelligence report on the table, his face beaming with excitement: "Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! With Jiraiya dead, Konoha's strength has been further weakened. Our Land of Lightning is one step closer to becoming the leader of the ninja world! Issue the order to mobilize three thousand Cloud Army soldiers to garrison the Land of Night! Be ready at any time."

Three days later, a messenger rushed in, panting, and said, "Urgent report from the border!"

Raikage frowned and said, "Speak!"

"The ninjas of the Land of Hot Water have stopped our army at the border! They say no army is allowed to set foot on their territory. If you want to attack the Land of Fire, please take a detour!"

"What?"

Lei Ying's eyes widened as he snatched the intelligence from the messenger's hand and quickly scanned it.

Then, his expression became quite interesting.

"Lord Raikage, what should we do next?"

Raikage remained silent. Though reckless, he wasn't stupid. These small nations seemed poised for a rise. Since no one was willing to fight, he wouldn't oblige.

"Withdraw them all."