Chapter Text
That was how Sakura found them, just past seven in the morning, with the light pouring golden through the tall windows and the hospital room cloaked in a sleepy hush.
Kakashi was awake, reclined against the headrest, his face relaxed and his color noticeably improved. He looked tired, but no longer sickly or drawn. The steady thump-thump of the fetal monitor echoed softly in the background, a rhythm that filled the space with quiet reassurance.
Naruto, still hunched over the side of the bed, blinked awake just as the door opened, startled by the creak of the hinges. Pakkun lifted his head too, ears twitching.
Sakura entered, eyes immediately scanning the room to then settle on her patient. Her posture eased, tension sliding from her shoulders as she smiled.
“You look better,” she said softly. “Rested.”
Kakashi gave a faint shrug. “Slept a bit. Ate.”
Sakura stepped forward, running a quick diagnostic jutsu. Her hands hovered just inches above him, her chakra featherlight and practiced. A faint glow passed over his chest and abdomen, and she smiled, satisfied.
“Iron levels are steady,” she said. “And your oxygen saturation’s back within normal range. Impressive, especially for this altitude.”
Kakashi opened his mouth to respond when it happened.
A soft knock at the door.
Kakashi’s heart sank. He already knew this was going to be trouble.
The door creaked open, and to his growing horror, in stepped four very distinct and unmistakable figures.
The Kazekage.
The Raikage.
The Mizukage.
The Tsuchikage.
Followed closely by a sheepish-looking Yamato, who offered Kakashi a mortified half-smile and a silent apology with his eyes.
Sakura whirled around with irritation. “Excuse me—what are you doing in my patient’s room?”
Kakashi, still dressed only in his sleeveless undershirt that didn’t quite fit anymore, and covered only by a blanket over his lap, flinched as every Kage's eyes landed on him. He glanced down, clearly realizing how exposed he was, and immediately reached toward the chair beside him where his dark jōnin sweater had been folded.
Naruto, already half-standing, noticed and moved quickly. “Here, sensei.”
He grabbed the sweater and passed it over. Kakashi took it with stiff fingers and pulled it over his head with a wince. The motion tousled his already-messy hair even further, silver strands sticking up in all directions. The sweater stretched awkwardly over his belly, the fabric bunched in places where it used to lie flat, but he didn’t care. It was better than the undershirt.
He pulled his blanket over his bump and shot Yamato a look of thinly veiled betrayal.
Yamato lifted his hands in surrender. “They insisted,” he mumbled. “I—I tried to stall, but they just… came with me.”
Mei smiled, completely unrepentant, and crossed the room with easy grace. “Don’t be too hard on him, dear,” she said, her voice warm and teasing. “He simply couldn’t resist when I asked so nicely.”
Yamato flushed a deep red, looking like he wished the floor would open and swallow him whole.
Pakkun let out a low, muffled growl that was suspiciously close to a laugh. Sakura snorted under her breath, clearly amused despite herself.
Kakashi gave Mei a dry look but said nothing, his fingers tugging at the hem of his sweater, fidgeting with the fabric to keep it from riding up over his bump.
The room fell quiet again.
And then Mei’s gaze shifted, just slightly. Her smile faded into something softer. Her eyes flicked toward the machine beside Kakashi’s bed, where the steady rhythm of the fetal monitor pulsed through the quiet like a heartbeat.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
The sound was unmistakable.
Mei’s eyes lingered, her expression gentling as realization washed over her. The other Kage heard it too. Their postures shifted, Gaara’s brow furrowed just slightly, and even A’s ever-tense shoulders seemed to ease.
Kakashi, sensing their attention turn, instinctively laid a hand over the top of his belly again. Not in embarrassment, but protective.
He didn’t speak.
He didn’t have to.
The room, full of power and politics, felt strangely quiet.
More human.
And no one, not even Mei, said a word.
The atmosphere in the room had settled into something almost reverent. It was quiet, weighted, softened by the rhythmic pulse of the baby monitor and the presence of so many powerful shinobi made, for once, small in the presence of something new.
It wasn’t lost on Sakura that even the most stoic among the Kages had fallen briefly silent, their attention pulled, not by status or power, but by the steady thump of an unborn heartbeat.
Noticing the shift, the young medic moved to ease the tension back into something more functional. She stepped quietly to the monitor and, with a swift hand, disconnected the fetal belt’s cord and deactivated the machine. The monitor screen dimmed to black in an instant, the soft sound of Juu’s heartbeat abruptly cutting out.
Kakashi’s head snapped toward the monitor, his hand pressing instantly to his belly, his posture sharpening as a flicker of panic passed across his face.
“It’s okay!” Sakura said quickly, lifting both hands. “Sorry—I should’ve warned you.” She stepped close, voice gentling as she reached over to unfasten the belt. “The baby's doing great. There’s no more need to monitor their heartbeat constantly. Everything looks stable.”
Kakashi exhaled, the tension in his shoulders dropping slightly as the belt was removed and folded away. He rubbed his hand over his now-unbound stomach, rubbing the tightness away.
Before he could say anything else, Onoki cleared his throat.
“If we could have the room,” he said gruffly, gesturing toward Sakura, Naruto, Pakkun, and Yamato. “This matter concerns the Five Kages alone.”
Sakura tensed but didn’t argue. Pakkun shifted, eyes narrowing slightly, and Yamato pushed himself up from the wall where he’d been leaning. Naruto, however, didn’t move.
Because Kakashi had reached out and caught his wrist.
The grip wasn’t tight but it was firm. Quietly decisive.
“He stays,” Kakashi said flatly, looking directly at Onoki.
The Tsuchikage arched a white brow. “This is a summit between Kages, Hokage. Surely you understand—”
“I understand,” Kakashi cut in gently, “that Konoha made a mistake with me.”
The room paused.
Kakashi’s voice remained calm but certain. “I never worked alongside any of you before becoming Hokage. I wasn’t trained for diplomacy. I had no real introduction to the other villages beyond my missions. That wasn’t your fault, it was ours.”
He looked toward Naruto, who had straightened beside him, eyes wide, hands clenched at his sides. Kakashi continued, “I don’t want to repeat that mistake. If Naruto is going to succeed me, and we all know he likely will, I want him to be involved now. Early. I’m not going to leave him in the same position I was left in.”
Naruto’s face lit up with surprise and pride, but to his credit, he didn’t grin. Not fully. He drew himself up taller, his expression settling into something more composed. Determined.
Around the room, the Kage exchanged quiet glances.
They had discussed this before, without Kakashi. About how his political experience had been lacking. About how Konoha had appointed a war hero to lead without training him to act in diplomatic situations. It had made him unconventional and unpredictable.
Mei gave a slight nod of approval. Gaara followed suit.
Onoki’s frown deepened, but he didn’t argue further.
Sakura exhaled and turned toward Naruto, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder as she passed.
“Do your best,” she said softly, a proud smile tugging at her lips. “You’ve earned this.”
Pakkun moved next. Before hopping off the bed, he leaned forward and gave Kakashi’s belly a light nudge with his nose, gentle, almost affectionate. Then he hopped down with a grunt and padded toward the door.
Yamato opened it, glancing once over his shoulder toward Kakashi, offering a subtle nod of solidarity before slipping into the hallway behind the others.
And then, it was Naruto, Kakashi, and the Four Kage.
Mei was the first to speak. Her voice was gentle, her tone carefully respectful as she folded her hands in front of her.
“We apologize for interrupting your recovery, Kakashi-san,” she began. “Truly. This wasn’t our intention.”
Kakashi nodded slightly, not bothering to feign ease. “I understand.”
She offered a softer smile. “How are you feeling? And your little one?”
He shifted slightly under the blanket, hand absently rubbing slow circles over his bump. “We’re fine,” he replied. His voice was low and quiet.
Mei nodded, the briefest flicker of relief passing over her face before her expression turned more serious.
“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t urgent,” she said. “But with the exams officially concluded and yesterday’s events… we need to return to our respective villages as soon as possible. Our people are afraid. And this situation—”
“—has become more than just an internal matter,” Gaara finished quietly.
Kakashi frowned. His hand stilled over his stomach.
That much was clear.
He hadn’t stopped thinking about the implications, not since he’d felt Sai’s chakra on those tags. Not since he’d seen what seemed to be his own people’s betrayal written in the smoke.
Konoha was tangled in a mess. And it ran deep, all the way to his own council.
The elders had made no secret of their distaste for him, not since the day they had found out he was pregnant. They whispered about his lack of pedigree, his nontraditional household, his status as an omega. After barely weeks of political needling and undermining, they had already done something irrevocable.
They had used Root. Against him, in his own home.
The betrayal still stung. And yet, no matter how deep he and Shikamaru dug, they hadn’t been able to trace the order back to a specific name. Only whispers. Gaps. Ghosts. Unable to directly link the elders to the attack only his words against theirs…
But this? This wasn’t just about him.
His brow furrowed deeper. “What do you mean you have to return so quickly?” he asked. “I thought Konoha was the only—”
Gaara, sitting calmly across from him, gave a small shake of his head. “The five shinobi we captured yesterday—those responsible for placing the explosive tags around Kumogakure—none of them were from the same village.”
Kakashi’s eyes narrowed.
“One from each,” Gaara confirmed. “Konoha. Suna. Kiri. Iwa. Kumo. All are being held in custody right now. Treated for minor injuries, but... still under the effects of a powerful genjutsu.”
The room fell quiet.
Kakashi didn’t speak.
He couldn’t.
Because realization was sinking in slowly, like cold water crawling up his spine. This wasn’t just about Root. This wasn’t just about Konoha.
This was systemic. Coordinated. And bigger than he had imagined.
Onoki leaned forward slightly, his voice rasping but firm. “Something—or someone—is trying to fracture the unity between our nations. And I fear it nearly succeeded.”
Kakashi looked up. His gaze met A’s, and he saw it. The tension but also the unease. The same unease he felt crawling through his own gut.
“Even before the exams,” Onoki continued, “tensions were starting to build. Quietly. But it was there. Lingering distrust. Ancient grudges. Cultural wounds never fully addressed after fourth ninja war.”
A didn’t respond, but he didn’t disagree either.
Kakashi inhaled slowly. The edges of the world were sharpening around him, details falling into place.
Gaara leaned forward, hands steepled. “What happened yesterday might have been preventable, if we had trusted one another enough to share information.”
Kakashi blinked. “Information?”
Mei reached into her satchel and pulled out a tightly sealed scroll, inked and stamped in four different village symbols, bound in reinforced silk.
She unrolled it partially and turned it toward him.
“We’ve spent last night compiling this,” she explained. “While you were resting. Reports from each of our villages. Information collected by our ANBU, Zero Squads and Hunter-nin. There's rogue ninja sightings, disappearances,attacks and desecration on symbols of heritage, monuments defaced and shrines destroyed.”
Her voice softened. “Things that—on their own—seemed isolated. But together…”
She let the sentence hang.
Kakashi stared at the scroll. At the sea of ink.
He was the only one who hadn’t seen it.
The only Kage still in the dark.
Until now.
Kakashi lifted a hand to take the scroll, eyes unreadable, but Mei pulled it back before his fingers could graze the parchment.
Naruto’s body tensed beside him, barely suppressing the urge to step forward.
Mei met Kakashi’s gaze evenly. “Before you read this,” she said gently but firmly, “you need to do what we all did. You need to speak. Openly. We’ve each broken our silence for the sake of cooperation. If you want to understand the full picture, you must help us understand yours.”
There was no accusation in her tone, only quiet expectation.
Kakashi was silent for a moment. His eyes flicked toward his student, and Naruto’s breath hitched. For a moment, he thought Kakashi was about to ask him to leave.
But he didn’t.
Instead, Kakashi sighed softly. “Alright.”
He sat up straighter, one hand resting protectively on his belly. “Months ago, Sota of the Rain village tried to position himself to take over Konoha. That’s when I lost my Sharingan. But it never escalated. In hindsight… it was almost too easy to stop him. Like he never truly meant to go through with it.”
He paused, eyes flickering between the Kages. “Back home, the elders of Konoha council have been disapproving of me. They tolerated me as Hokage… until they learned I was pregnant. That’s when everything changed.”
His voice was steady, but there was iron beneath it. “They tried to turn the Council against me. Tried to sway the village. So far they have failed, but I’m not naïve. I know they haven’t given up.”
A hush fell over the room.
“They resurrected Root,” Kakashi continued. “Or used what was left of it. I disbanded it the day I took office. But somehow, they still managed to used Root agents to attack me in my own home. And even now, I can’t link them directly to the elders. No names. No proof. Just whispers. It’s my words against theirs. The Council won’t act on whispers and uncertainty.”
He hesitated again, fingers tightening slightly over his stomach.
Then, quieter, voice low and rough. “They threatened me. Said that if I was to be an omega Hokage… they’d at least use me to my full potential and breed me by force. Showed me a list of selected shinobi. They also threated to turn my child into a tool the village could use. Said that would at least make my position worthwhile, if not as a leader, then as… stock.”
Naruto’s breath caught. His fists clenched at his sides, shaking.
“They what?” he choked out. His voice was low and trembling with rage. “They—what?!”
His chakra flared in a raw pulse. His eyes burned with fury. “They were going to—”
“Naruto.”
Kakashi’s voice was quiet but commanding.
Naruto froze. Breathing hard. Eyes wide with something like betrayal and heartbreak.
Kakashi met his gaze and gave the faintest shake of his head. “I’m alright.”
But Naruto’s fists remained clenched, white-knuckled, as silence closed in around them again.
A heavy silence settled over the room, thick and unmoving, broken only by the sound of Naruto’s ragged, furious breathing.
None of the Kage spoke.
Kakashi, still composed despite everything he had just said, let the quiet hang. He wasn’t ashamed of the truth, only tired of carrying it alone.
And now they knew.
They all knew.
The Raikage shifted, clearing his throat uncomfortably. For once, the ever-blunt leader of Kumo looked unsure. The weight of Kakashi’s words, of the reality he lived with, as both a Hokage and an omega, had cut through his defenses. It was one thing to speak of policy and equality in abstract; it was another to see the scars left behind.
Mei gave Kakashi a look, soft and regretful. Then, without another word, she offered him the scroll again. This time, she let him take it.
He accepted it with quiet fingers, holding it like something fragile.
Onoki’s voice followed, rough but direct. “Guard that scroll carefully, Hatake. Read it when you’re back in Konoha. Then add your village’s incidents in full detail. Then quickly and safely send it to Gaara. We’ll chain it back to Mei so that we have all access to all the information we can to fight this enemy.
Kakashi gave a slow nod, his gaze steady.
“I will.”
Gaara’s quiet voice broke the silence next, calm and steady.
“We should meet again soon,” he said, his pale eyes scanning the room. “In person. Not just to share what we’ve learned… but to plan. Together. We need to start building an action strategy. Whoever’s behind this has already gotten too close.”
Onoki nodded firmly, arms crossed over his chest. “Agreed. The next summit must happen with full intel on the table. We can’t afford another close call.”
Mei sat at the edge of Kakashi's bed then crossed one leg over the other, thoughtful. “Three months should be long enough for our respective investigations to uncover more threads. If not answers, then at least patterns worth following.”
At that, Kakashi went still.
His fingers, still absentmindedly drumming a gentle rhythm against the curve of his belly, paused.
Three months.
That was getting close to his due date.
He didn’t say anything. Kept his face carefully neutral. But Naruto noticed. He shot Kakashi a subtle glance, eyes narrowing slightly with concern and confusion. Kakashi avoided looking back.
Then Onoki grunted, already moving to logistics. “Iwagakure is next in the hosting rotation. We’ll meet there.”
That was when A glanced toward Kakashi and frowned.
“Wait,” the Raikage said, holding up a hand. He looked directly at Kakashi. “That might not be ideal.”
The others turned.
A gestured, vaguely but carefully, toward Kakashi’s middle. “Heavily pregnant shinobi don’t usually enjoy long-distance travel.”
Then, with surprising bluntness softened only by genuine concern, A asked, “When are you due?”
All eyes turned back to Kakashi.
And for a beat, he didn’t answer.
The moment Kakashi’s fingers had stopped their gentle drumming, his baby had stirred again. A soft roll, followed by a little bump just beneath his ribs.
He pressed his hand gently to the spot, giving his belly a light pat. Juu stilled slightly, but not fully.
Kakashi exhaled slowly, then finally answered the question.
“Around three months,” he said, his voice quiet but steady. “beginning of June."
Mei’s brows lifted delicately in surprise. “Mm.” She glanced toward Onoki, then back to Kakashi. “Then perhaps… the summit should be held in Konoha instead.”
Onoki grumbled, his arms tightening across his chest, but Mei continued without giving him space to object.
“It makes sense,” she said plainly. “Traveling that late in pregnancy isn’t ideal. And even if Kakashi gives birth before we meet, he shouldn’t be expected to leave a newborn behind to travel across the continent. And I doubt bringing the baby is truly an option…”
“We’ll meet in mid June.” A declared, “That should give you a little time to recover, yes? Considering most first pregnancies rarely reach their due date. We can’t delay more then that I’m afraid.”
Kakashi hesitated… then gave a small nod.
It would be close. He wasn’t thrilled about hosting a Kage Summit while recovering from childbirth. But… being there, being present, being part of what came next, was too important to ignore.
“Yes,” he said. “That works.”
Naruto glanced sideways at him again, concern still flickering in his eyes, but also pride.
And across the room, the other Kage nodded. The date and the location had been set.
Onoki let out a low, gravelly grumble as he pushed himself upright, joints cracking audibly. “Hmph. I’m not getting any younger, you know,” he muttered, shooting a mildly exasperated look at Mei and A. “Now I’ve got to haul myself across the continent to Konoha in three months.”
Before anyone could respond, Gaara spoke up, his voice as calm and polite as ever, though there was an unmistakable finality to it.
“The meeting’s over.” He stood smoothly, adjusting the long folds of his robes. “I’ll be leaving shortly. My village needs me and the Hokage needs rest.”
That was enough to shift the tone of the room.
Mei rose as well, her movements fluid and graceful as always. She had been sitting lightly on the edge of Kakashi’s hospital bed, her presence easy but commanding. With a nod to Gaara and a glance toward the others, she murmured, “I agree. We’ve said what needed saying. It’s time to go.”
As the Kage began to gather themselves, Kakashi’s voice cut gently through the movement. “Wait.”
They paused. Mei looked back over her shoulder.
Kakashi shifted slightly against his pillow. “What about the Chūnin Exams?” he asked. “With everything that happened… will the genins have to retake them?”
Mei’s smile returned, soft but sly. “You don’t have any genins, Kakashi.”
He blinked, confused for a second.
She clarified, her voice touched with pride. “Only chūnin. All of them. We discussed it last night, the four of us. After what they went through… the way they handled the attack… every Konoha genins demonstrated the strength, skill, and judgment of a full-fledged chūnin. Unless you disagree?”
Kakashi’s lips twitched, the barest hint of a smile breaking through the exhaustion. He gave a slow shake of his head.
“No,” he said quietly. “I don’t disagree.”
There was something warm in his voice, quiet pride, clear and steady.
Naruto, standing just behind him, broke into a wide grin, practically beaming. “You better believe it!”
Kakashi didn’t look at him but his eyes crinkled with his smile.