As Kakuzu was about to carry Hidan out the door, Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Itachi passed by, carrying hot water. Seeing the two troublemakers, Kisame smirked and teased:
"Heh, it seems Kakuzu has gotten a lot more tolerant. He can put up with Hidan's antics without losing his temper. That's not like him at all..."
Uchiha Itachi responded with his usual stoic expression, "It's not that Kakuzu can tolerate him. It's more that he has no other choice with Hidan. Let's not worry about them; Konan's situation is more urgent."
The two entered Konan's bedroom, where the atmosphere was like another kind of battlefield. Only this battlefield was one they had never experienced before.
Fighting and killing on a battlefield didn't scare them, but assisting in childbirth… was a different story. They all seemed a bit apprehensive.
Deidara was wiping sweat from Konan's forehead, Sasori was administering painkillers, Pain was helping with the delivery, and Black and White Zetsu stood nearby, watching curiously. Everyone was tense, hardly daring to breathe, afraid they might disrupt Konan's labor.
Pain urged, "Konan, hold on. It's almost over! The baby is almost here!"
Deidara exclaimed, "Sister Konan is sweating too much. I'm running out of cloth from my robe! Zetsu, stop standing there and get me a new robe! Yeah!"
Sasori remarked softly, "It's amazing. I didn't realize giving birth would be this painful. My latest painkiller doesn't seem to help at all…"
Konan gasped, "Ugh… Is the baby out yet?"
Pain took a hot towel from the basin, wiping the blood from Konan's legs as he reassured her, "The baby is halfway out. Just a little more, Konan. You can do it!"
At that moment, the cries of a newborn suddenly filled the room, breaking the tense atmosphere.
"Wah… Wah… Wah wah wah wah wah…!"
A tiny, blood-and-mucus-covered baby appeared in Pain's hands.
Konan's child was finally born safely.
Deidara cheered excitedly, "Quick, clean the baby off! I want to see if it's a boy or a girl!"
Sasori gently chided, "Calm down, Deidara. Let me cut the umbilical cord first."
With that, Sasori raised his right hand, revealing a sharp, toxin-free blade from his arm mechanism. With a swift motion, he cut the umbilical cord.
Pain quickly wiped the baby clean with a towel and looked closely, a rare smile of relief appearing on his usually stern face. "It's a boy. A baby boy!"
"Let… let me see him," Konan said weakly.
Pain nodded and placed the baby next to Konan.
Konan, her face pale and weak, raised her hand to gently stroke the baby's cheek. She forced a smile and said, "Look at him. He has such beautiful features…"
The other members gathered around, staring at the crying baby.
Deidara tilted his head and congratulated, "As expected of Sister Konan's son. Even his hair is black and purple. But his looks… hey, wait. Why does he look so familiar? It's almost irritating. Do you guys feel the same? Yeah…"
Sasori nodded, "For once, Deidara, I agree with you. I had that same feeling the moment I saw him…"
Black Zetsu commented, "Tsk tsk… I don't get your aesthetics. I identify people by their chakra. To me, everyone looks the same…"
Pain remained silent, but he shared the same puzzlement. The baby's features seemed familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint why.
Kisame glanced at the baby, then at Itachi beside him. He studied the baby again closely and said, "Don't you guys think… this baby looks a bit like Itachi? Not exactly, but there's a resemblance…"
"!!!"
The room fell silent. Everyone, except Itachi, turned to stare at him for a full five seconds.
Deidara slapped his forehead, "That's it! That's why he looks so annoying. He resembles that irritating Uchiha! Yeah!"
Itachi remained expressionless, showing no emotion. He felt no need to explain such baseless accusations. "..."
Sasori mused, "Deidara, you might be overthinking it."
Deidara insisted, "Sasori, I have a good eye for these things! Imagine the baby's black and purple hair as pure black. Doesn't it look like Itachi?"
"..." Sasori looked again, and his eyes lit up, "You might be right…"
Itachi still didn't speak, but a slight twitch of his mouth was noticeable. "..."
Pain stood up, walking over to Itachi. In a cold voice, he asked, "Itachi, do you have anything to say? To be honest, I think the baby does resemble you a bit…"
Facing the leader's question, Itachi finally showed a hint of unease.
Kisame realized he might have misspoken and stammered, "Um… now that I look again, maybe the baby doesn't look that much like Itachi. I was just talking nonsense, Leader, don't take it seriously…"
At that moment, "Tobi" peeked out from the corner and started defending Itachi, "Hey, hey, hey, seniors, your eyesight must be worse than mine. Itachi has single eyelids, and this baby has double eyelids. Clearly different! You're overthinking this!"
In reality, Tobi, or Obito, had immediately recognized that the baby was an Uchiha. The demeanor, the head shape—every feature screamed Uchiha. However, he was also sure that the baby wasn't Itachi's.
Why was he so certain? He didn't know. It was just a strong, unwavering feeling...
Just then, Kakuzu and Hidan returned.
Kakuzu walked in empty-handed, while Hidan struggled behind him, carrying a pile of baby supplies.
Hidan dumped the supplies on the floor and angrily pointed at Kakuzu, "Kakuzu! No wonder you insisted on bringing me along. You wanted me to be your pack mule! Damn it!"
Kakuzu snorted, "Shut up, Hidan. Complain again, and I'll kill you."
"Huh?" Hidan fumed and was about to draw his scythe when he noticed the baby beside Konan. He froze and innocently asked, "Wait, Itachi, did you have a baby too?"
Uchiha Itachi: "..."
There was no escaping it. Even the oblivious Hidan thought so.
The room's atmosphere turned awkward once more...
...