Chapter 400

Late at night, the lights in many rooms of Konoha Hospital were still on.

In a top-floor ward, Temari had just turned off the lights, preparing to rest when a soft knocking sounded at the door. The person knocking was careful not to disturb her and the baby. If she had already fallen asleep, she might not have even heard it.

But since she was still awake, she called out, "Come in."

Shikamaru pushed open the door and hurried inside. As soon as he entered, he apologized, "Sorry, Temari. I just finished dealing with some things. There have been a lot of mission requests lately. Are you okay? Do you need me to do anything?"

"Shh, keep your voice down. The baby just fell asleep. Don't wake her."

Temari gestured softly, speaking in a hushed tone. She had just put the baby to sleep. Then, she asked in a low voice, "Why are you here? Everything's fine. You should be checking on Shikadai."

"Shikadai is doing fine. He's grown up a lot now. I just wanted to come and see you and the baby. By the way, have you decided on our daughter's name?"

Shikamaru rubbed his hands together, clearly excited. This was his first time seeing his daughter. Two days ago, when Temari went into labor, Sasuke had discovered traces of Kara's movements, and Naruto had gone to assist.

With no one else available, Shikamaru had been forced to stay at the Hokage's office to manage things. He hadn't even been present when Temari entered the delivery room. Now, he was finally able to visit.

"…Not yet. I'll decide in the next couple of days."

"Do you want me to—"

"No," Temari's voice immediately turned firm. "We agreed beforehand that I would decide our daughter's name."

"Alright, alright. I won't interfere."

Seeing that there was no room for discussion, Shikamaru dropped the subject. He turned to look at his daughter and found her increasingly adorable. Though he wanted to hold her, he was afraid of waking her up, so he simply stood by her bedside, watching over her.

After some time, he reluctantly decided to leave. As much as he wanted to stay and take care of Temari, she was right—there wasn't much he could do here. If anything, his presence might disturb her. So, after taking another glance at his daughter, he left the hospital.

Once Shikamaru was gone, Temari turned off the lights and lay down. However, before she could fall asleep, she suddenly felt a presence beside her bed.

Opening her eyes, she saw Yoichi standing there. Her face immediately flushed, and her voice trembled slightly. "Y-You're here."

Having been under his control for over half a year, Temari couldn't help but feel a warmth spread through her body the moment she saw him. Though she struggled to say "Master" in normal circumstances, once in bed, she had no such reservations.

"I'm here to see my daughter. After all, she carries my blood… You didn't let Shikamaru touch you, did you?"

Yoichi picked up the baby as he spoke. Although his movement woke her up, the little girl didn't cry. Instead, as if recognizing him, she reached out with her tiny hands, trying to touch his face.

Even before she was born, Yoichi had frequently used his life energy to enhance her constitution. Given his bloodline, by the time she was five or six, she might be able to fully manifest the potential within her.

Would she awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan? The power of Wood Release? Or perhaps the Byakugan?

Or, considering his genetic inheritance, would she develop abilities akin to Godzilla's?

All possibilities were on the table.

"N-No, I didn't let Shikamaru hold her."

Temari felt immense guilt toward Shikamaru, but she couldn't resist Yoichi anymore. When he asked, her instinct was to comply—even if it meant betraying Shikamaru.

"Good. He should consider himself lucky just being allowed to see my daughter. As for her name… let's call her Ayako."

Yoichi thought for a moment before deciding. He wasn't great at naming things, but this sounded fine to him.

"Nara Ayako… Wait, no, I didn't mean for her to have the Nara name! It's just… we're still in Shikamaru's household."

Temari panicked when she realized what she had just said, quickly explaining herself after noticing Yoichi's gaze on her.

"I-I'll talk to Shikamaru about it. Ayako's name will follow the Wind Country's traditions—she won't have the Nara surname."

"That's more like it, Lady Temari. If you had done this earlier, wouldn't I have rewarded you?"

Yoichi smirked as he traced his fingers across Temari's delicate face. Over the past six months, thanks to his life energy, her skin had become even more radiant.

Even after just giving birth, her body and complexion had recovered rapidly. Sakura had been astonished—after she had given birth to Sarada, she had been weak for weeks. Yet Temari seemed to only grow more beautiful.

"I understand…"

Blushing, Temari reached out to unbuckle Yoichi's pants, but before she could touch him, he gently pushed her hands away.

"Not today. Wait until you're discharged. We'll continue on the same schedule as before."

It wasn't that Yoichi was rejecting her—rather, her desires had grown increasingly intense. If they started anything here, she wouldn't be satisfied with just simple movements, and the hospital setting wasn't ideal for their activities.

After playing with his daughter for a bit longer, Yoichi noticed she was getting sleepy again. He carefully placed her back in her crib before turning to Temari.

"I'm leaving. Get some rest."

"Alright… Should I come to your pharmacy next Wednesday?"

"Yeah."

With that, Yoichi left Temari's hospital room.

It was now the 80th year of Konoha's calendar. Boruto, Sarada, Shikadai, and Inojin were now third-year students at the academy.

Yoichi had gained significant rewards in this world. Ever since he had stolen Kara's Ten Tails, the organization had gone completely silent.

However, his Kamui clone had tracked down their whereabouts and planted nano-trackers made with the Pioneer's Manufacturing Assistant, allowing him to monitor their every move.

On the surface, Kara seemed inactive, but in reality, Jigen was focusing on cultivating new Vessels while Amado was creating more clones like Deepa to strengthen their forces.

Losing the Ten Tails hadn't crushed Jigen's ambitions. Though he was furious, his primary goal was always his Vessel.

As long as his reincarnation plan succeeded, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki would obtain a new body—one even stronger than before. Thus, Kara was currently in a period of silent preparation.

Clones, modified warriors with divine abilities—these were what Kara was working on.

Yoichi wasn't in a rush to strike. He was waiting for information on Ōtsutsuki Shibai.

The corpse of the so-called Ōtsutsuki God was in Jigen's hands, and even Amado was only allowed to study it under strict supervision.

Yoichi had different plans—he intended to feed Shibai's remains to the Divine Tree and see what kind of chakra fruit it would produce.

(End of Chapter)

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