On the outskirts of Konoha, Tetsuya stood atop a large tree. He had already entered Sage Mode and was sensing the state of the entire village.
"Heh, just as I thought. I knew they wouldn't give up even if Kakashi didn't blab and leak the information."
At that moment, Tetsuya could sense several White Zetsu moving underground beneath Konoha.
Their movements were fairly discreet, though. After all, Konoha's Sensory Team and Barrier Team were no pushovers, and the village also had two clans possessing powerful visual jutsu: the Sharingan and the Byakugan.
If they moved around too much, someone would probably notice something amiss.
"I knew Black Zetsu wouldn't stop keeping a close eye on Konoha. Or rather, any Shinobi Village with a tailed beast would attract his attention. After all, both the Rinnegan and the nine tailed beasts are essential to rescuing his mother."
The White Zetsu did their best to gather information about Kushina within Konoha, while Tetsuya used senjutsu to observe the village.
"The day should be coming soon. I wonder how things will turn out this time."
As time passed, nothing changed on the surface in Konoha. Behind the scenes, however, the entire village's defenses had been raised several levels. More patrol rounds were added, and entry and exit checks became much stricter.
Still, anyone who wasn't paying close attention wouldn't notice anything unusual.
At last, the day Kushina went into labor arrived.
Konoha had arranged a secret delivery room, and the woman delivering Kushina's baby was the Third's wife, Biwako Sarutobi.
As her husband, Minato stayed by Kushina's side.
"Minato! I can't stand it! It hurts so much!"
"Hang in there, Kushina. I'll stay right here with you. I'll stay right here."
Minato held Kushina's hand tightly. The pain of childbirth made even the strong-willed