Kushina's room wasn't far from mine—a short walk through halls thick with the quiet weight of the injured and dying. Both of us had been placed in the executive ward, a rare privilege of rank and proximity to power. It felt like a hollow victory amidst so much loss.
We walked leisurely down the hall, quietly escaping the eavesdropping range, at least from the guards that stood at my door. Jiraiya got rid of Ao with one of them, having my trustee bodyguard step away under the guise of retrieving my weapons and assorted scrolls. I didn't mind at all and gave Ao the okay; the Toad Sannin hadn't said much earlier and I expected he would have much more to say in private.
I watched him out of the corner of my eye, his towering presence a stark contrast to my own. His face was set, his gaze fixed straight ahead, his furrowed brows betraying a storm of thoughts. I shook my head and stopped before we reached Kushina's door, she too had guards posted out of it.
We passed the third-to-last door before Kushina's, and still, he said nothing. The silence between us was heavy, not awkward but expectant—as though he were waiting for me to break it.
I stopped abruptly, forcing him to halt as well. Kushina's guards stood nearby, their wary eyes tracking our every movement. "Is there something on your mind?" I asked, keeping my tone neutral. I didn't look up; the disparity in our heights only added to the feeling that I looked like an Academy student next to him. Had my regalia survived the storm of battles it would have been a different story.
Jiraiya's sharp exhale broke the silence. "Yes. A lot, actually." His gaze finally shifted to me. "But I shouldn't be so distracted. I asked to escort you here for a reason."
I raised an eyebrow, surprised. "And that reason is?"
"To thank you," he said simply.
The sincerity in his voice made me falter. Jiraiya—the Jiraiya I knew from memory—was larger than life, a man of laughter and riddles, wisdom and foolishness intertwined. Yet here, he was solemn, almost reverent.
His white mane wasn't as rowdy either and while his clothes were a bit rumpled and smelled old and dirty, he stood without a scroll on his back.
"For saving lives. For saving Kushina." His hand raked through his unruly white hair before jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "Those old fools back there might not see it that way. To them, you're…suspicious. But Minato…" His voice cracked slightly, and he cleared his throat. "Minato would have appreciated what you've done. And so do I."
Gratitude wasn't something I sought, yet hearing it from him struck a chord I hadn't anticipated. And so I shrugged, "I didn't do it for thanks. But it's…good to hear." I would be satisfied as long as I left Konoha with the S-rank forbidden Kinjutsu I asked for, "Besides, there is fair reason to be suspicious of me, even though a closer look would reveal my innocence."
"Minato's opinion of you already clears you of that sort of suspicion. Your insistence on keeping what you know to yourself on the other hand…that's what makes you fishy."
I smiled, glad to know he thought well of me, "Then Konoha better decide who its next Hokage will be, or perhaps, I am already speaking to him?"
He snorted and entertained the thought, "And if you were, would you tell me what you know?"
"The knowledge I wield is not the most important thing at the moment. Whether you become Hokage or not, Jiraiya, your village will need you more than ever now, Kushina, Naru-"
"All due respect, but I know that more than you do, Mizukage. What I don't know is what you're hiding, what secrets you know that no one else does. Whether I choose to become Hokage or not…know that I will find out."
I nodded, "All the better, Jiraiya, all the better."
With nothing more left to say we moved onto Kushina's room. Her guards gave me a strange look as they parted for Jiraiya. I ignored their stares and straightened the cloak that hung over me as we walked in.
The sound of Naruto's cries greeted us as the door opened. The room was painted in soft, warm colors, yet the atmosphere was anything but comforting. A nursemaid danced across the floor, her arms full with a wailing bundle.
Beside the bed stood a cylinder, taller than Jiraiya and longer than the bed itself. A network of tubes fed a chakra dense gas into Kushina's nostrils—pulsing, alive, potent. Even without touching it, the nature of the chakra was unmistakable.
Kurama.
His power lingered, sustaining her—because without it, her body wouldn't last. The beast had scattered enough of himself across the village, leaving behind pockets of chakra potent enough to create pseudo-jinchuriki if harnessed correctly. It was a process I was well familiar with and one of the options Kirigakure considered when Isobu last roamed free, in the end the Sandaime Mizukage and council— my council now— decided nothing beat a true Jinchuriki. But right now, here, it was the only thing keeping Kushina tethered to life.
The irony.
On the bed, Kushina lay curled on her side, her vibrant red hair spilling over the sheets in chaotic waves. She looked as she had that night—exhausted, broken, and far too fragile for a woman who had once held back a force of nature.
And yet, I couldn't help feeling proud at seeing her, proof of the effect of my memories, proof of change. The timeline is…unpredictable. With Kushina alive and well, I wondered how future events would play out, if at all. How much of the future have I erased by saving her?
I might not have saved her directly but my mere, rebellious presence has changed the history of this world. Would the Uchiha be massacred still? Would Naruto be ostracized? Surely not, yes? I couldn't say, I couldn't predict and worse of all, I couldn't watch, at least not personally.
Ao had a separate mission besides retrieving my weapons. He was to deliver new assignments to the sleeper agents we met when we arrived. Through them and hopefully a pleasant relationship with the next Hokage, it was possible I could watch the chosen one grow into himself.
In the meanwhile, he cried.
Jiraiya sat at the edge of Kushina's, her hair was splayed all about it, disorganized and frenzy. The dark edges under her eyes hadn't even begun to fade away, whether it was grief, the exhaustion of childbirth or the trauma of…of that night, I couldn't be sure, all I could do now was renew the promise I gave Minato.
"Kushina...how are you?" Jiraiya began, the useless question weakly escaping his lips. He reached out, his hand hesitating before gently brushing her hair away from her face. "Have you eaten?"
She said nothing, her eyes were hollow and nearly as lifeless as Minato's was in his last moment. Is this what happens in marriage? One dies and a part of you dies with them? I gulped as I took a step forward, manufacturing a smile for her sake, "Kushina. It's me, Yagura."
Once Minato passed all I could do was hold her and Naruto as they wailed. She didn't stop sobbing even after I passed them off to Hiruzen. In a way, this would be our first time meeting and yet, it felt like she was looking through me, through everything and onto something no one but she could see.
Jiraiya beckoned the dancing nurse for Naruto. The newborn babe was pink skinned, swaddled in a blanket longer than him and pressed into Jiraiya's titan arms. His wails petered to choked sobs and whines as Jiraiya made the most ridiculous faces at him.
It wasn't long before Naruto's cries ended in an infectiously cute giggle, the sound seemed to bring the colour back to Kushina and her eyes focused on me at last, "Yagura…I mean, Mizukage-dono."
"Call me Yagura, please." I said as I stood by her bed, "I've only come to say goodbye, Kushina, for now at least. It's best if I return to Kirigakure to heal."
She nodded mutely, her eyes turning to Jiraiya playing with Naruto so I continued, "I meant to tell you that…if you need anything, if you and Naruto need a friend or an ally, I am here."
Kushina managed a shadow of a smile, "Naruto will need friends…I'm sure you understand, being like us, being a Jinchuriki is difficult. I hope you'll keep your promise and bring him a friend someday."
I hesitated, then smiled sheepishly. "I'll do my best. Maybe I'll even manage to be a father myself…someday." I reached out, taking her hand in mine. "But don't worry. Naruto will be safe. And because you're here, he'll be loved."
Her tears came suddenly, silently. She pulled her hand away, her sobs muffled against her pillow even as Naruto's laughter filled the room. Jiraiya and I exchanged a helpless look. For all our strength, for all our power, there was nothing we could do to mend the fractures in her heart.
And so, we simply stayed. Silent witnesses to her grief, her pain, and the faint glimmers of hope she held for the future.