Main World.
Konoha Year Twenty-Two, summer.
British Continent, New Capital.
Imperial Palace, the Empress's bedchamber.
Sunlight streamed through the thin window gauze, casting golden patches on the floor. Toyotomi Liuli leaned against the headboard, cradling a newborn infant. The baby's face was still wrinkled, his skin red, his eyes tightly shut, his tiny hands curled into fists beside his mouth. His hair was black, just like Toyotomi Yinglang's. His brows were faintly furrowed, as though he were adjusting to this unfamiliar world.
Toyotomi Yinglang sat beside the bed, looking at the baby, a faint smile curling his lips.
"Ryukōshi."
He murmured the name.
"Toyotomi Ryukōshi."
Liuli raised her head and looked at him.
"Yinglang, is he... healthy?"
"He is."
Toyotomi Yinglang reached out and gently stroked the baby's hair.
"He has vast chakra reserves and strong vitality. In the future, he will become powerful."
Liuli's tears slipped silently down her face.
"That's good... that's good..."
She held the baby close, pressing her face against his tiny cheek.
"Ryukōshi... you are the Crown Prince... the Empire's Crown Prince..."
The baby let out an "ah, ah" in his sleep, his meaning unknown. But Liuli knew he was saying-"I understand."
Imperial Palace, Side Hall.
Senju Tsubaki had also just given birth to a boy. Her face was pale, her eyes filled with exhaustion, yet a faint smile rested on her lips. The baby lay in the crook of her arm, sleeping peacefully. His hair was dark brown with a faint tinge of red-a trace of the Senju bloodline. His skin was fairer than an ordinary baby's, as though a faint luminescence flowed beneath it.
"Jin Zhiyin."
Senju Tsubaki murmured the name.
"Toyotomi Jinsyokuin."
Her tears slipped silently down her face.
"You are... the heir to Wood Release... the... future of the Toyotomi