Chương 136: The Night of the Nine-Tails, Part I

October 10th. Zhen Dongye was at home, ostensibly asleep. Such was the life of those on the graveyard shift—working under the stars and retreating to the blankets when the sun rose. Yet, true sleep eluded him. His senses remained tethered to the pulse of the village, hyper-aware of every shift in the atmosphere. In this world, Zhen was the variable. He knew the history of the original timeline, but fate was a fickle mistress; there was no guarantee Kushina's labor would align perfectly with the records.

However, the gears of destiny seemed to be grinding along their familiar tracks. In the morning, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his wife, Biwako, paid a visit to the Namikaze residence. To an outsider, it was merely a social call between two families—a mentor checking on his successor. In reality, it was a final briefing. By the afternoon, Biwako returned to escort Kushina toward the secret ritual site beyond the village's defensive barriers. The hour of delivery had arrived.

The Dongye estate sat on the village outskirts, far from the bustling center. If Konoha were a city of concentric rings, they lived on the third. As twilight fell, Jiro and Hui returned home from their respective duties. Hui's medical career had flourished, her rank climbing as the village rebuilt. Jiro, as a Jonin, now commanded the defense and patrol units for the Western District—a position of genuine authority reporting directly to the Jonin Commander and the Hokage.

In the eyes of the village, Zhen's wartime exploits were too vast for a boy of his years to carry alone; while he received the gold and the jutsu scrolls, the political prestige was funneled toward his parents. He wasn't Kakashi; the village didn't need to manufacture a boy-wonder Jonin to bolster morale this time.

"Mother," Zhen asked after dinner, "do you have a shift at the hospital tonight?" Hui looked up, surprised.

"No, I'm off. Why do you ask, Zhen? Is something wrong?"

"There is. Something very important. If you hear a commotion in the village tonight—anything out of the ordinary—stay here. Do not go to investigate. Your priority is to organize the neighbors and lead them to the shelters immediately." Jiro set his tea down, his gaze sharpening.

"Zhen, what exactly are you expecting tonight? What do you know?"

"Father... today is the day Kushina-senpai gives birth. As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, her seal will reach its weakest point. There is a non-zero chance the beast could break free." A heavy silence fell. Given their proximity to the Namikazes and their standing in the village, they knew of Kushina's burden. But the specifics of the delivery date were a state secret of the highest order.

"Zhen," Hui whispered, "are you still going in for your shift?"

"I have to, Mother. Until orders change, I follow protocol. Don't worry about me—I can take care of myself." Jiro placed a steady hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Hui, Zhen is stronger than most Jonin. Trust him. But do as he says. If the unthinkable happens, stay clear of the center. You've never seen a Bijuu in person; you cannot fathom the scale of their terror." Hui nodded numbly.

"I understand." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Jiro didn't mention his own role. He didn't have to. As a Jonin of the Leaf, if disaster struck, his place was on the front lines, standing between the monster and the people. Against a Tailed Beast, a Chunin was mere chaff, but a Jonin was the village's last, desperate shield. At the Anbu headquarters, the Owl Squad assembled. Zhen, Hayate, and Yugao donned their porcelain masks and tactical gear.

Zhen turned to his teammates, his voice grave.

"If a battle erupts tonight, your first priority is to return to your sectors. Get your families to the safe zones. Do not wait for a formal order." Hayate's eyes widened behind his mask.

"Kushina-senpai... it's today, isn't it?"

"It is."

"Understood." They moved out, taking their positions around the Namikaze residence. They were unaware that the house was already an empty shell. Zhen didn't hide; he stood atop the roof, silhouetted against the rising moon, watching the tranquil village. Below, Konoha was alive. Citizens walked off their dinners, the izakayas were raucous with laughter, and the streets were a tapestry of lamplight and movement.

Miles away, within the cavernous silence of the mountain's shadow, Kushina's screams tore through the air as the primal agony of labor took hold. The site was far beyond Zhen's sensory range. The Council of Four's paranoia had dictated the distance; they feared the Fox more than any assassin, intending to contain a potential breakout far from the civilian population. The site was cocooned in layers of Uzumaki-grade barriers—far superior to the knock-off seals used by minor villages.

Even if Zhen could reach that far, the barriers would have blinded him to the specifics of the room. Furthermore, the perimeter was crawling with elite Anbu. Unauthorized entry meant death, regardless of one's status as a hero of the war. Zhen found the entire arrangement frustrating. Such a massive mobilization was a beacon to anyone with spatial jutsu. Did Obito know the date? Of course he did.

Kushina had never been one for discretion, often seen wandering the village with her burgeoning belly or visiting the hospital for checkups. Kakashi might have whispered to a gravestone, but he was a professional; the leak wasn't on him. Time ticked by. The moon climbed higher. Suddenly, a violent spike of chakra erupted within the Namikaze residence. Zhen signaled Hayate and Yugao.

"Retreat! Secure your sectors!" The two Anbu vanished instantly. Zhen didn't hesitate; he blurred into the house, crashing into the master bedroom. Inside, Minato stood by the bed, placing a swaddled infant onto the sheets. Sensing the familiar chakra, he didn't look up.

"Zhen, something went wrong. Watch Naruto for me. I have to go back for Kushina."

"Go. I've got him." There was no time for pleasantries. With a crack of displaced air, the Fourth Hokage was gone. To a master of the Flying Thunder God, the distance between the village and the delivery site was a single heartbeat. Zhen stepped toward the bed, looking down at the crying infant. So, this was Naruto Uzumaki—assuming he kept the name. The future "Child of Prophecy," the "Savior of the Shinobi World."

At this moment, he was just a newborn, screaming his arrival into a world that had already tried to kill him. His first gift from his "brother" Obito had been a swaddling cloth rigged with explosive tags. Thankfully, his father had been faster. The child wouldn't stop wailing. Zhen placed a finger near the boy's mouth, and Naruto instinctively latched on, his tiny hands clutching Zhen's finger. Zhen channeled a trickle of chakra into the boy, marveling at the sheer, raw vitality of the Uzumaki constitution.

He couldn't sense the Asura chakra—it was likely so deeply woven into the boy's soul that it was indistinguishable from his own essence. Are you Naruto? Zhen wondered. Or just the latest vessel for an ancient ghost? Another ripple in space. Minato reappeared, cradling a shattered, gasping Kushina in his arms. The vibrant, fiery woman who had mentored Zhen was gone, replaced by a hollow shell of a human being. She was weaker than a dying poet, yet her eyes were fixed solely on her son.

Minato placed her gently on the bed, and she immediately reached for Naruto. This was the first—and in her mind, perhaps the only—time they would ever meet.

"Naruto... my Naruto..." She didn't even notice Zhen standing in the shadows. Minato turned, his face a mask of cold, Hokage-level focus. He opened the wardrobe and pulled out his white haori—the Fourth's ceremonial cloak.

"Zhen," Minato said, his voice hard as iron.

"I'm leaving them in your hands."

"Consider it done." With a final, lingering look at his family, the Yellow Flash donned his cloak and vanished. He knew his wife wouldn't die—not if Zhen was there. But there were enemies at the gate, and a village to save. The time for the father was over; the time for the Hokage had begun.