Then Orochimaru uttered a bombshell that completely overturned everything they thought they knew.
"Sarada is Uchiha Itachi's child."
The instant those words fell!
The entire Hokage Office went deathly silent!
The air froze.
Naruto stiffened on the spot, his eyes widening so far they nearly popped out of their sockets.
His mouth hung slightly open, his face filled with utter disbelief as his mind briefly went blank.
Beside him, Sasuke Uchiha was even more stunned. He stood rooted in place, his whole body rigid, his gaze unfocused and his head buzzing, utterly blank.
Itachi... his brother?
Only after a long while did Sasuke manage to speak, his voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor, still dazed.
"Orochimaru, what did you say? Say that again?"
"Sarada... is Itachi's child?"
Naruto finally snapped out of it. He hastily waved his hands and shook his head, disbelief written all over his face as he challenged the claim.
"Impossible! Orochimaru, you've definitely got it wrong!"
"I've been using Sarada as a weapon all along. I investigated her background ages ago!"
"By the time she was born, Uchiha Itachi was already gone! He was dead! How could he have left a child behind?!"
At those words, Sasuke's wavering composure instantly tightened. Anger flooded his eyes as he whipped his head around to glare at Orochimaru, his voice carrying an icy warning.
"Orochimaru, this joke isn't funny at all. Don't you dare joke about Itachi!"
Faced with Sasuke's anger and their doubts, Orochimaru remained calm. Ignoring Sasuke's fury entirely, he merely turned toward the bewildered Naruto and offered a quiet reminder.
"Naruto, you've forgotten something."
"Ten months of pregnancy."
Those few simple words struck their hearts like a thunderbolt!
Naruto jolted, understanding at once!
Right! Ten months of pregnancy!
Before his final battle with Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi