So, I couldn't stay in the bed I'd been lying in this whole time anymore. After all, he, my partner of food trading, broke everything, wrecked it all, leaving nothing intact.
" How should I deal with him once I leave here? Should I punch him? Or maybe force-feed him all the spicy food he hates? His face would be watchable at that moment, hehehe!
Wait. WAIT! Hold on a second, was he a boy?
Was he really a boy?? What if he was a girl? Then, should I still do so?"
" Could it be... he was a girl all along for real?"
" No way. No way in the world! What kind of hospital lets a male and female patient share a bed? Especially when one of them is in a coma? Wait... that's not even the problem here!"
" It's illegal for any patients to share a bed!
Where the hell am I!?"
" Something's wrong. Really wrong.
How did I not notice this earlier?
Am I... Truly in a coma?"
" No, that can't be. How am I seeing light? Fooling around in here like it's nothing? Thinking so clearly? Tasting food?! Not just tasting it, choosing what to eat?"
" Someone! anyone, please tell me what's going on!!"
If there was a sonography at that moment, they would see an infant waiving it's hands and feet around like the world is coming to an end. But well, the unusual movements inside was still noticed by the experienced woman, holding another newborn outside.
.....
" Okay, okay... I'm panicking.
Deep breath.
...Right. I can't breathe. Doesn't matter. Just imagine it. Inhale. Exhale."
" You calm now?
Good."
" First priority: get out of here.
The space is getting tighter. It's uncomfortable. I need to leave. I'll figure everything else out later."
" Now... where's the exit?"
" Hm.
...Under me?
How the hell do I turn around in here?"
" Guess I'll have to roll.
Okay. Left turn. Right turn. It's working, yes! Now faster.
Left, right, left, left, right, left, right, right, wait, no! This isn't a GTA cheat code!"
" Alright. Almost there. Left, right, left..."
" Finally! The exit is above me now."
"How do I crawl forward? Maybe... if I use the shrinking space to build pressure and shoot myself out?"
" Yes, that's it! Let me aim... a little down... a little left... locked on.
Now I just need to wait for the right timing..."
" I don't know why, but I feel like I know what's happening right now.
I just... can't quite put my finger on it.
Maybe after I'm out, things will make more sense.
Hopefully, nothing important is being missed."
" Also... since I'm leaving, shouldn't I eat all the leftover food? Especially the spicy ones. It'd be a waste to leave them behind."
" Wait... what is this "food," anyway? Is it actually food?? Dam... Who cares! There is not much time. Anyway, let's just eat as much as I can. That's it for now."
---
Meanwhile, outside the cave...
The happiest moment of a young couple's life was unfolding, but beyond the barrier protecting the cave, the air was thick with the metallic scent of blood.
Corpses littered the ground.
Their deaths made no sense, no clear signs of a struggle. Jagged, unnatural branches pierced through chests and abdomens. Their bodies looked as if they had faced a massive ambush, yet no signs of a large-scale battle could be seen. To any trained ninja, it was an illogical scene.
And in the center of it all stood a lone figure.
Draped in a black cloak, his identity hidden by a spiraled mask, only a single right eye visible. He stood in silence, admiring his work, his twisted "art."
Moments later, he began walking toward the stone walls around the cave entrance and the barrier surrounding it.
Without touching a thing, he phased through the wall, disappearing as though he'd never been there. Behind him, the barrier rippled, like a drop disturbing the surface of a still lake.
From beneath the corpses, white humanoid figures emerged from the ground. They dragged the bodies down with them and vanished once more, cleaning the scene, erasing every trace.
Inside the cave walls and passways, the masked figure moved silently.
Anyone who crossed his path was killed and erased. No blood. No bodies. Just silence.
He advanced like a phantom, swift and efficient, leaving behind nothing but emptiness.
Then, he heard it, screams, urgent voices, commands from a midwife and a woman, sign of a new leaf sprouting in this twisted cruel world. A world not ready to welcome such a pure and weak being.
He stopped near a side wall, pressing close and listening in, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
---
"Ah, it hurts... Minato, it hurts! Please, just finish it already!"
Kushina Uzumaki, the last known member of Uzumaki clan, the jinchuriki of the strongest Biju in ninja world, someone feared for her knowledge of sealing arts and fearsome chakra, screamed while holding the hands of the fastest man in the world, blaming him for the slow process of child birth.
"I... I've never seen Kushina in this much pain. Is she okay?"
Minato, still in shock and pain, asked the midwife,lady Biwako, the wife of third hokage, weakly.
"She'll be fine. Focus on the seal."
Being reassured so strongly and dryly, Minato turned his head weakly toward Kushina and tried to give her strength by his master's talk-no-jutsu...
"Hang in there, Kushina. Come on, Naruto... you can do this."
But despite his dry words and helpless action, the jutsu seemed to work!
"Good! I can see his head. Just a little more!"
Minato was surprised that his encouragement worked, turned his head happily to encourage Kushina more but the pain that suddenly increased made him swallow his words.
"Ughhh..."
Along with the pain, nine tails chakra also began to flow more violently, as if he was feeling the pain of child birth too...
"Come on, Naruto. Come out. The Nine Tails is trying to break free!"
After a short while that felt like eternity, finally the pain substitute a lot, leaving Kushina behind on the stone bed, with tears and lifeless eyes behind.
"Unnh..."
Snap.
A soft, crisp sound echoed, followed by a tender cry.
"Waaah, waaah..."
Lady Biwako, holding a yellow haired boy, congrate the couple and turned to her student, giving orders while cutting the umbilical cord.
"Congratulations! You're the parents of a big, healthy boy! Bring hot water!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Minato, who had finally calmed the surging chakra of nine tails for now, turned his head, looking at the child being washed by the midwife and her student.
"I'm a father... Kushina, we are a family of three now! You did it my love!"
" It hurts! Minato it still hurts! Wasn't it supposed to end?! Why is it. Still hurts? Ahh!"
As the Biwako gently washed the newborn, she noticed something odd. Kushina's pain has returned and was getting stronger again.
Suspicious, she carefully injected chakra into the womb, just enough to inspect without disrupting the seal. That was being held by Minato.
What she found made her gasp.
"Wait... there's another child! They're twins!"
The words stunned everyone, even the masked figure, who froze where he stood.
Kushina, still in pain, was the first to react.
"WHAT?!! There's another one?! Just kill me already! Minato, it hurts! Wuuhhh!!"
Still in shock, Minato, scared and unsure if Kushina could hold on, turned to the lady Biwako.
"What should we do?"
Biwako, annoyed by the recklessness of the couple and the fact that the existence of the second child wasn't noticed until now, answer angrily.
"What do you mean what should we do? You hold the Nine Tails. Kushina keeps pushing. I'll deliver the baby."
So blunt it left them speechless but it worked. They got back to it.
Minato focused on the seal.
Kushina, exhausted but determined, began pushing again.
They both glanced at the yellow hair newborn, washed, bundled, and resting peacefully in the midwife's arms.
The masked figure also continued to watch in silence.
He wouldn't make his move yet, not until the second child was born too. But he couldn't help wondering how no one had sensed this second presence up until now. Was Konoha getting so unreliable now? Was it so bad?
As labor continued, Kushina and Minato noticed something strange about this suddenly appeared child.
It didn't hurt as much as the first child. This was Kushina's thoughts. In fact, it was easier than the first. Kushina even began regaining some strength.
The Nine Tails' chakra, once wild and violent, was weakening. Fading. Minato was getting better of it's chakra, something that wasn't possible even at the very beginning. Even Kushina felt something odd... like the beast was confused. Unsure.
Was she imagining things?
---
"His head is out! Hey, he's got red hair! Just like Kushina-san!"
This time, it was Biwako's student who informed the couple, with a little mischief mixed in.
Hearing that, Kushina's heart swelled a little, wanting to cry.
She had been happy Naruto inherited Minato's yellow hair, but secretly, she had hoped for red.
A sign that the Uzumaki bloodline would live on in Konoha.
Now her second child carried that legacy.
She smiled weakly and thought: If it's a boy... I'll name him Menma.
Not long after, the second child was born, healthy, just like the first.
But... he didn't cry.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
Nothing.
Minato and Kushina felt their hearts clench. They turned toward the midwife, searching for reassurance.
The old woman calmly flipped the baby, massaged his back, cleared his airways and gave them a small nod.
"He's fine. Just quiet. He's actually even heavier than the first. Another healthy boy. Congratulations again."
Relief washed over them.
They smiled, bright, warm, and full of joy.
It was the happiest day of their lives.
---
Meanwhile, the baby in the midwife's hands... was not quite as joyful.
Inside, a voice grumbled.
" So... I really died back there.
No wonder everything felt so strange. This whole time... I was being reborn.
God, I want to die again just from embarrassment.
And you! The one slapping me, what do you want from me?! Let me go"
"Aaaaah!"
"Alright, he finally made a sound. Bring more hot water."
---