Minato did indeed go on many missions afterward, but the good news was that the local conflicts were quickly quelled, giving the couple a chance to return to the village. Kushina disliked that place; she said it was less about protection and more about surveillance—surveillance of the Nine-Tails inside her. In the past, she might have minded, but now she didn't care at all. Buying things for her child was what mattered most.
On the commercial street, while cradling Hiatohi, Kushina was directing Minato to buy this and that. It seemed they had both forgotten to buy the essentials for Hiatohi, as they were, after all, first-time parents.
After walking only a few steps, they ran into someone head-on. "Kushina, Minato."
"Mikoto, long time no see!" Kushina hurried over, her long red hair dancing in the breeze. Minato turned around to find only a flash of a red shadow, and she had already rushed ahead. *Sigh*, and to think she had only given birth to the child less than two months ago; that’s Kushina for you.
"Oh, is this your child?" Kushina curiously looked at the little ball of black hair in Mikoto's arms—a tiny, pink, delicate creature with large, wide-open black eyes.
Kushina leaned closer to the baby, frowning. "So cute. Is it a girl?"
"No, it's a boy," Mikoto said, rocking him gently. The little one blinked his eyes in response, looking indescribably adorable.
"Ara, I really am no good with babies. Oh, by the way, this is my little princess, Hiatohi." Kushina showed off Hiatohi to Mikoto so she could see her clearly. It wasn't that she was being narcissistic, but with her and Minato's looks, Hiatohi was destined to be the most beautiful girl of the new generation in Konoha.
Hiatohi was staring at Mikoto. *Wait a minute, Mikoto?* It seemed that in Sasuke's memories, his mother was named Mikoto. Looking at her now, this beautiful woman did indeed look like the gentle mother in those fragments of memory. If that was the case, then this little ball of a baby was Sasuke? And that would mean Naruto was also…
After a while, a question suddenly struck Kushina. "I haven't even asked yet, what is his name?"
"Itachi. Uchiha Itachi."
Uchiha Itachi? The "Itachi-god" people worshipped?
Hiatohi was shocked. Although she didn't know why people worshipped him—honestly, after murdering your entire clan, it was hard to see what there was to worship—she knew that many people were obsessed with villains and couldn't help themselves. So that was possible. However, based on her years of experience watching palace intrigue dramas, she sensed a conspiracy—a massive, deep-seated conspiracy. She decided to just sit back and watch the show for now.
But getting back to the point: just how old would she be by then? Let’s speculate. Sasuke looked to be about seven or eight at that time, which meant his brother must have been at least twenty when he wiped out the clan. He was probably the same age as Kakashi. That was a bit depressing.
So, did that mean she would become a middle-aged lady? Oh well, at that point, she would truly be a "mom fan." That would be perfectly fine, too.
Kushina frowned. "Itachi? What a strange name. It must have been Fugaku who picked it; only someone with his personality would choose such an odd name." Kushina didn't like people with Fugaku's temperament. How should she put it? Fugaku was too stoic and never really smiled. Furthermore, he was now the head of the Uchiha clan, so he naturally had to be more reserved in his dealings. That was why she didn't like people like him.
Mikoto laughed. "Kushina still doesn't like Fugaku, then." Kushina had a straightforward personality; although she was a few years younger than her, her fighting spirit was by no means inferior to the upperclassmen.
"That's right. I still don't know why you married him in the first place." Kushina was very blunt. She had wanted to say this for years. She hadn't been optimistic about their relationship when they started dating, but who would have thought they would actually get married and now even have a child?
"That’s just the way Fugaku is. If you really love someone, do you even care about those things? Anyway, never mind that. Kushina, would you like to come over to my place for a visit? But I won't make ramen for you this time, since it's not great to eat that right after giving birth."
"No, I haven't tidied up the house in a long time, so it'll probably take some time to settle in. Let's go next time. Now, Momoko, say goodbye to Aunt Mikoto." Kushina held Hiatohi and smiled at Mikoto.
Mikoto just shook her head helplessly. "Kushina, you always say such silly things. Hiatohi is so small, how could she possibly talk? Come to think of it, your naming skills aren't much better than Fugaku's. 'Momoko'? If it were a boy, would you have called him 'Bamboo Shoot'? Or 'Narutomaki'?"
"Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore." Kushina's cheeks flushed slightly. Before Hiatohi was born, she had indeed considered naming the child Naruto, but since she was a girl, she wanted a sweeter name—like the honey peach she loved so much.
"Don't be angry. I'll be going now. Remember to come over to my place next time."
"Mhm, goodbye."
Hiatohi stared at the little ball of a baby opposite her. The little one seemed to react and looked back at Hiatohi. Of course, as a science student, Hiatohi could tell you with certainty that there was absolutely no deeper meaning behind it. She didn't know how long these days would last, but it was very comfortable for now. She’d deal with the future when it arrived.
After walking two steps, Mikoto suddenly stopped. "Ara, Momoko? Perhaps she and Itachi will be a perfect match, what do you think, Itachi-kun?"
However, the little bundle at that moment couldn't understand his mother's words; he just blinked his large eyes, looking indescribably cute.
Kushina and Minato's house was quite messy, and it took the couple a long time to organize it before they could move back in. After that, Minato was often out on missions and rarely at home. Fugaku also had to lead people out, so Kushina naturally visited the Uchiha house often. Hiatohi and Itachi basically grew up on the same bed.
By the time Itachi and Hiatohi were seven months old, Hiatohi—having an adult mind inside that shell—could already crawl around freely and stand up with some difficulty. Itachi wasn't bad either; he was already able to crawl around carefully and tentatively.
One day, Kushina and Mikoto were in the living room discussing housewife topics, and the two little ones had been left on the bed. It was nap time. Little Itachi had already fallen asleep, but Hiatohi suddenly opened her eyes. She turned her head to look at Itachi. If she kicked this little thing off the bed right now, would it save a lot of trouble later?
Hiatohi crawled up slowly and moved step by step toward Itachi, poking his cheek with her chubby little hand. *Yo, not bad. What a soft little dumpling.*
He was blowing bubbles with his little mouth, looking incredibly cute. Hiatohi, who was the same age as him, felt a bit jealous. No wonder he was so worshipped—it was just because he was handsome. Generally speaking, if a villain wasn't handsome, they would be despised for all sorts of reasons. But as long as you were handsome enough, it didn't matter if you were a villain or a hero; you could always capture a group of little fan girls. Uchiha Itachi clearly belonged to this category.
Hiatohi reached out and pinched his cheek. Little Itachi quickly felt the pain and frowned. Hiatohi hurriedly pulled her hand back; it would be a disaster if she made this guy cry. She considered herself a "good baby" who barely ever cried, but this little dumpling was very prone to crying, and she didn't know who he learned it from. He cried when he was hungry and cried even when he was full—maybe he had overeaten.
*No, I still have to kick him off the bed to save my Naruto from the fire and water. Well, actually, it doesn't really matter that much, I just think that little Sasuke fellow is too pitiful.* "So, if you don't go to hell, who will? For the future happiness of a group of people, I'll have to wrong you, my Itachi-san."
Hiatohi reached out, placed her hands on Itachi's shoulders, and pushed with all her might. Then she was stunned. *What has this guy been eating? Why is he so heavy? I can't even budge him!*
Hiatohi tried many other methods, but still couldn't move him. So, she turned around and aimed her feet at him, deciding to kick him off for real. She pressed her feet against his shoulders and kicked hard, but there was still no reaction. Hiatohi rolled over and lay on the bed, panting. *What in the world is this?* She had never wanted to save the world, but here she was, trying to save it. According to her years of experience lurking on web novel sites, this Uchiha Itachi was definitely the main boss; solving him would make things much less troublesome.
Thinking of this, Hiatohi steeled herself and was just about to continue the work when she didn't notice that little Itachi had suddenly opened his eyes. He reached out to rub his sleepy eyes, turned his head, and saw a piece of white, tender thing that also smelled delicious. Generally, babies did nothing but eat and sleep, and he was truly like that. After waking up, he suddenly felt a bit hungry. He didn't know what was in front of him, but it felt delicious. So, he bit down.
Just as Hiatohi was about to get up, she felt a piercing pain in her lower leg. She couldn't help it and burst into loud tears. "Waaaaah!!!" Hiatohi sobbed, but little Itachi still wouldn't let go.
When the two adults heard the crying and ran in, they saw little Itachi gnawing on Hiatohi's lower leg, while Hiatohi was crying her heart out.
Mikoto hurriedly pulled them apart and carried Itachi to the other end of the bed, while Kushina rushed to pick up Hiatohi to comfort her. "Don't cry, don't cry, my little Momoko is the bravest. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt."
"Is she all right?" Mikoto turned around to look at Hiatohi. She saw three tooth marks on Hiatohi's fair lower leg, already red and showing traces of blood. "I'll go get some medicine."
In a little while, Mikoto brought the medicine back and applied it to Hiatohi's leg, patting her back while saying, "It's alright, it's alright, it doesn't hurt anymore."
Hiatohi felt so wronged. She just wanted to save the world in passing, was it necessary to treat her like this? *You, Uchiha Itachi, I, Namikaze Hiatohi, will remember you. From now on, I'll hit you every time I see you.* Hiatohi buried her head in Kushina's chest. *I feel so wronged...*
Thinking this, Hiatohi drifted off to sleep.
And little Itachi just kept watching, his black eyes fixed on Hiatohi. For some reason, he actually thought the taste was quite good. So, from that moment on, a strange cognition formed in his mind: Namikaze Hiatohi was delicious.
Mikoto sighed. "I didn't think they'd be enemies. I thought they would be..."
"Ara, these things depend on Hiatohi herself. But," Kushina reached out and touched little Itachi's cheek, "I still have high hopes for you."