Ryo thought about things for a while and then asked: “Kurama, if someone comes to hurt Ne-san as she is giving birth, would you cooperate with them?”
The Kyubi didn’t seem to expect this question, but he answered without hesitation: “I told you before kid; I don’t want to switch Jinchurikis!”
Ryo answered smiling: “That should be enough! Kurama, trust me, I will definitely protect Ne san, with you!”
Hearing that, the Kyubi could only feel a lot better. Ever since Ryo became Kushina’s disciple at around 7 years old, he had been watching his growth. Along the years, Ryo never made a promise he couldn’t fulfill, and never had trouble he couldn’t overcome in one way or another.
Therefore, although the Kyubi couldn’t grasp the source of Ryo’s confidence, he still believed in him, and returned control to Kushina.
Kushina didn’t get to hear any part of the conversation. Usually, now she would be arguing and urging Ryo to tell her about what she had missing.
However, now she was just too thrilled by knowing she was going to be a mother, and all her interests in life revolved around the one in her tummy; she didn’t have time for arguing.
She got back to asking Ryo about what she should do to preserve the fetus’s health, and he answered every question of her in details until Minato returned in the afternoon.
“Honey, I’m back! Hey, Ryo, you’re here as well!” Minato, who had just entered, found Ryo at home. As he was saluting him, he found Kushina rushing to him while desperately failing to hide her excitement.
“Minato, I have good news to tell you.” She said, trying to speak calmly.
“What good news?”
“Minato, you’re going to become a father!”
Minato froze in place for a good while. He couldn’t process the news quickly, and then he suddenly snapped out excitedly saying: “A father?!”
“Yes! You’re really becoming a father!” Kushina repeated her answer, and Minato had a large smile covering his face as he jumped on her to hug her closely.
Ryo, who was looking from across the room, smiled and teleported back home.
The next day, Ryo went to Minato’s office to ask him for help with his Teleportation Technique.
Ryo had been feeling at ease about the whole deal concerning Naruto’s birth. After all, Obito knew the truth about Madara’s plans, and the relationship between Kurama and Kushina was so good.
But the words of Kurama got to him. For some reason that he couldn’t identify, he couldn’t feel relaxed anymore. Therefore, with nothing clear to prepare for, he could only focus on overcoming his own shortcomings, including his teleportation limitations.
Minato’s mastery over the use of the Teleportation Barrier Technique was much better than that of Ryo, which enabled him to teleport disregarding distance. as for Ryo, he could only sense his marks up to a certain distance.
After getting instructions from Minato, Ryo used Naruto’s method to practice, creating three Shadow Clones to practice alongside with him.
Time went by, and over four months pa.s.sed. This was year 48 after post Konoha’s inception.
Ryo spent this whole period practicing the Teleportation Barrier technique. Besides the period he had spent in Mount Myobuko, this was the longest time Ryo had ever taken practicing a single technique.
Despite this, and despite the fact that he had been using Shadow Clones, Ryo still couldn’t fully master this technique. Nevertheless, he still managed to achieve great improvement compared to before.
“It’s time to start preparing!” Ryo whispered to himself.
At noon, he went to Minato and Kushina’s place, and the former was the one to open the door for him.
When he saw Ryo, Minato smiled and greeted him: “Welcome Ryo! Jiraya sensei is always here. We’re discussing the matter of Kushina’s labor.”
Ryo nodded, for he happened to want to discuss the same matter, along with another thing.
The two entered the house together, and Jiraya was inside eating launch.
“Oh Ni-san, you’re reading Jiraya san’s book?” Ryo noticed the “The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shin.o.bi” lying on the table.
“Yes! This book is awesome. This is not an adaptation of legend or mere fiction; it feels more like an auto-biography of Jiraya Sensei!”
As Jiraya heard Minato, he immediately came of the kitchen and explained: “I’ve written this book in my times of boredom in my early writing days. I couldn’t manage to sell it. Now, I’ve listened to the advice of some knowledgeable people, and a book with the erotic elements I’m good at writing should be released soon.” A wicked naughty smirk showed on Jiraya’s face.
Minato seemed to ignore that last part, and said: “The main character of this book, I thought his determination to never give up was really cool. He’s a lot like you Sensei!”
Jiraya was embarra.s.sed, and his face blushed slightly, “He… he is?”
“This is why I’d like your permission to name my son after him. I really hope my unborn son could become a Ninja that’s just like this main character.”
Jiraya was fl.u.s.tered, and quickly said: “H-hey, are you sure? Naruto… that’s just a name I thought of when I was eating ramen…”
“What’s wrong with that? It’s a nice name! Don’t you think so, Ne san?” Ryo smiled and asked Kushina, who was watching the three chatting.
Kushina smiled and nodded: “Naruto… It’s a wonderful name.”
And so Naruto’s name was determined, and then the three began discussing the matter of the day on which he would be born.
The people Minato trusted the most in Konoha were in this room. He intended to intrust Kushina’s safety to the two in front of him.
While he was sure that Ryo would definitely be around Kushina to protect her, he knew that Jiraya might not have thought that far.
Therefore he said: “Jiraya sensei, I want you to protect Kushina when giving birth to Naruto. You should know well of the risks that involve a Jinchuriki upon delivery.”
Ryo also wanted to support Minato’s case: “Jiraya san, don’t leave the village around that period; it would feel uneasy without you around.”
Jiraya sniffed and nodded, promising to do as they demanded.
With that, Ryo felt greatly relieved. Then, he took the opportunity to ask Minato for permission to leave the village for about half a month.
After some thought, Minato agreed to his request. After all, there was still over 4 months before Kushina would give birth, and there wasn’t much for Ryo to do in the village.
With the Hokage’s permission, Ryo left Konoha alone. He destination, the Lightning Country’s Hidden Cloud!