"Say something!"
After Aoba put his hand on her stomach, he stopped talking and sat there like a wooden statue.
Yuhi Kurenai pinched his cheek again.
This time, she simply kept holding it so he wouldn't drift off again.
"Oh, oh."
Aoba quickly came back to himself.
But even though he had snapped out of it, he was clearly still distracted.
It wasn't really his fault. This was a huge matter.
Even for someone who had lived two lives, this was a first.
"What do you mean 'oh'? Is there one or not?"
Yuhi Kurenai didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Although his expression already said a lot, this was something she definitely wanted to hear confirmed from him directly.
"Yeah, there really is..."
Aoba gave her a definite answer.
During his earlier sensing, he had clearly felt a faint life fluctuation inside Yuhi Kurenai's belly.
It was very weak, but it truly existed.
And even though it was only ordinary perception, when he tried touching it with chakra, he unexpectedly felt a sense of closeness coming from it.
As if it had always been intimately connected to him.
It really was amazing.
Besides feeling dazed, there was also an indescribable feeling.
He wasn't a child anymore.
Aoba withdrew his hand, then slowly tightened his embrace around the woman in his arms, who had also fallen into a daze after learning she was truly pregnant.
"Kurenai-nee, congratulations. You're going to be a mother."
"Mm."
Yuhi Kurenai's body trembled slightly. After softly responding, she looked up at Aoba.
His emotions were clearly just as stirred, and he had looked absent-minded moments ago, yet now he was already putting on a mature front.
She couldn't help laughing, "Congratulations to you too, Aoba. You're going to be a father."
After saying that, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his.
After a brief entanglement, considering Yuhi Kurenai's condition and the fact that she couldn't engage in overly intense activity, Aoba stopped after a little while and behaved himself.
"I'm not used to seeing you like this."
Yuhi Kurenai looked at Aoba with a resentful gaze.
Normally, at a time like this, he definitely wouldn't be so well-behaved. He would already be getting handsy.
Now, there wasn't even a wrinkle in the bandages on her legs. It really felt strange.
It was as if something was missing.
"There's nothing I can do. You just got pregnant. Even for a ninja, there are risks."
Aoba was somewhat helpless.
She always complained that he couldn't keep his hands to himself. Now that he was behaving, she had complaints about that too.
Yuhi Kurenai couldn't argue with him after hearing that. She knew that much common sense.
Things would be better once things stabilized later on, but if they didn't exercise restraint during the first few months, the risks really weren't small.
"Come to think of it, this really wasn't easy," Yuhi Kurenai suddenly sighed.
"Wasn't easy?"
Aoba paused for a moment before quickly understanding.
It really hadn't been easy.
Yuhi Kurenai had always wanted a child. Most of the time, she wouldn't use the Mystical Palm Technique or chakra to prevent it.
Yet it had still taken this long before she became pregnant.
"Maybe it's because our physiques are too strong?", Aoba guessed.
"Does that have something to do with it?", Yuhi Kurenai didn't really understand.
"I'm just guessing. Isn't that how it's written in novels?", Aoba replied with a shrug.
"..."
Yuhi Kurenai was speechless.
"You, the number one person in the ninja world, someone even the Sage of Six Paths can't defeat, solve problems by relying on novels other people made up?"
Aoba blinked, "Then how about I have Konoha's medical department research it tomorrow?"
"Can't you do it yourself, or have Shizune and the others research it?"
The moment Yuhi Kurenai imagined those people in white coats studying that thing of Aoba's, she couldn't bear to think about it.
"We'll talk about it later."
Aoba didn't continue the topic.
"By the way, have you thought about what to name the child?"
"I have... but I couldn't come up with anything good."
Yuhi Kurenai shook her head and looked at Aoba expectantly.
"Do you have any nice names?"
"Well... I don't really know either..."
Aoba scratched his head.
This was his first time dealing with something like this too. The name definitely couldn't be chosen carelessly. It would be better to gather everyone's ideas.
"How about we discuss it together tomorrow?"
"Mm... that works."
Yuhi Kurenai nodded.
Discussing names together as a family actually sounded pretty nice.
"Then do you want a boy or a girl?"
After talking about names, Yuhi Kurenai brought up the question that most women ask before having a child.
"I'd be happy with either one. As long as they're not too naughty. What about you?"
After answering, Aoba threw the question back to her.
"Well..."
Yuhi Kurenai began thinking.
Before asking the question, she hadn't considered it herself, "A boy would be nice too, but I think a girl would be better."
"Why?", Aoba was curious about the reason.
Yuhi Kurenai rolled her eyes at him, "Because if it's a boy and he starts chasing girls everywhere at six or seven years old like you did, then I'd have a lot of headaches as his mother."
"...", For once, Aoba had no response.
"Haha~"
Yuhi Kurenai was in a very good mood today. Looking at Aoba's expression, she couldn't help laughing again.
After laughing enough, she slipped out of his arms and said generously, "Alright, I'm fine anyway. Anko and the others are probably getting anxious from waiting. Go see them first."
Aoba gently touched her lower abdomen again, "Then I'll come back and keep you company later."
"Mm..."
Yuhi Kurenai lightly touched his lips once more.
After that, Aoba appeared in the room next door where Anko was.
"Hm?"
Anko was stunned when she saw Aoba arrive alone.
"Why didn't Kurenai come with you? Is she okay?"
The group had been together all this time recently, so it was obviously unusual for her not to be there.
Asaribi, who was making the bed, also looked worried.
Aoba didn't hide anything and said directly, "Kurenai-nee is pregnant."
"?"
Anko and Asaribi froze at the same time.