As the officially certified "Number One Airhead of Konoha" by the Fourth Hokage himself, Kushina's social skills were top-tier among the village's married women.
So, in just half an hour of waiting on a bench in the hallway for her prenatal checkup, the cheerful, laughter-loving, and straightforward Kushina had already won over Hinowa's favor and trust with her genuine "personal charm."
From this red-haired woman—who she only knew as the Hokage's wife—Hinowa felt a rare sense of security, something she hadn't experienced much since being brought home by Orochimaru.
"What?! Five months?! Same as me, dattebane!"
Kushina covered her mouth in surprise, so much so that she accidentally let slip her verbal tic.
But she quickly caught herself, waving her left hand while pressing the fingers of her right hand to her lips, looking a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, sorry! Sometimes when I get too excited, this habit just slips out. I just hope my child won't inherit such a bad habit."
Hinowa was unsure how to react and simply smiled as she watched Kushina glance down at her belly.
She wanted to reassure her that the verbal tic was actually kind of cute, but she also felt her own status was too lowly compared to the other woman, so she decided it was better not to say anything.
"I really hope our children can become good friends! Their due dates must be really close too. By the way, has Orochimaru-sama picked a name for the baby yet? Minato still hasn't decided on ours..."
Though it was mostly Kushina doing the talking while Hinowa listened quietly with a smile, the atmosphere between them was genuinely pleasant.
Nearby, their two young guards—Rin and Anko—were also chatting idly about typical girl topics.
"Speaking of which, I never knew Orochimaru-sama had that side to him. When Minato told me yesterday, I could hardly believe it."
"Huh?" Hinowa blinked, seemingly confused by what Kushina meant.
"I mean, who would've thought even Orochimaru could get nervous about this kind of thing, just like any other man..."
"Nervous...?" Hinowa still didn't quite follow.
Kushina glanced around before leaning in close and whispering into Hinowa's ear—revealing how Orochimaru had sought out Minato to ask about Tsunade's whereabouts, and how he had subtly questioned Minato yesterday about who cooked for his wife during her pregnancy.
Upon hearing this, Hinowa's first reaction was disbelief.
But then, recalling Orochimaru's usual behavior—like forbidding her from cooking or doing household chores—a strange thought suddenly occurred to her.
Could it be that Orochimaru-sama's actions were because... he truly cared about this child?
"Listen to this," Kushina said. "When Minato described it to me, he said Orochimaru seemed to be trying really hard to hide his nervousness! But thinking about it, it makes sense. Minato was a complete mess when I first got pregnant too. Even though Orochimaru usually comes across as cold and emotionless, he's still a man at the end of the day. There's no way he wouldn't be nervous in a situation like this."
As she spoke, Kushina suddenly noticed that Hinowa seemed lost in thought and waved a hand in front of her face.
"Hinowa-san? Hinowa-san?"
"Oh! Sorry…" Hinowa snapped back to reality and quickly offered a meek apology, shaking off the strange thought that had just popped into her head.
No way, no way.
There's absolutely no way Orochimaru-sama would be nervous over something like this.
That's just impossible!
"Men really are all the same," Kushina chuckled softly. "When they first find out they're going to be fathers, they're all so awkward and adorable."
For some reason, hearing those words made Hinowa realize that Orochimaru's recent behavior could actually be described as… awkward.
Awkward…
Orochimaru-sama…
That can't be… right?
"By the way," Kushina added, "you absolutely cannot tell Orochimaru that I was the one who told you this."
"Hai…"
Hinowa responded quietly, silently scolding herself.
These wild thoughts of mine are completely unfounded.
Whatever Orochimaru-sama is doing, he must have his reasons!
*****
At noon, after finishing her checkup and being escorted home by Anko, Hinowa walked into the kitchen to find Orochimaru wearing a headband and an apron, frowning intently as he meticulously studied a cookbook.
Seeing him like this, Kushina's words from earlier inexplicably echoed in Hinowa's mind again.
Surely… that's not the case, right?
"Orochimaru-sensei, the results are in! Both mother and baby are healthy!" Anko announced loudly, waving the prenatal report.
"Hn."
Orochimaru gave a cold nod, took the report from Anko, and began scrutinizing it word by word, as if afraid he might miss even the slightest unnoticed issue.
Only after confirming there were no problems did he neatly fold the report and tuck it into his robe.
Then, in a flat tone, he reminded Anko.
"Anko, from now on, keep your voice down when you're here. No unnecessary noise."
"Eh?" Anko blinked.
Just as she was about to ask why, Orochimaru cut her off.
"Now, get out."
Anko: "…"
....
After waiting three hours for lunch with no progress—and with constant thudding noises coming from the kitchen—Hinowa finally mustered the courage to step inside.
"Ninety degrees for the oil temperature… but why isn't it forming properly? The recipe clearly states it should work like this…"
Taking in the disastrous state of the kitchen, Hinowa hesitated before finally biting her lip and speaking up.
"Orochimaru-sama… there are two types of ninety-degree oil temperatures. One is heating it directly to ninety degrees, and the other is heating it past that and letting it cool down to ninety. The frying results are completely different between the two…"
"Hn?"
Orochimaru's expression darkened noticeably at the sound of Hinowa's voice.
After all, He'd heard that pregnant women shouldn't be exposed to cooking fumes, so what's the deal with this woman? How dare she even step into the kitchen?
Unacceptable! Completely unacceptable!
But...
It's set!
By first heating the oil, then lowering and stabilizing the temperature to around 90 degrees before frying the ingredients—it actually worked!
This woman isn't entirely useless.
Orochimaru's mood improved slightly, and he promptly handed the recipe to Hinowa.
"What exactly does 'appropriate amount,' 'a little,' or 'add to taste' mean in grams? And how big is the spoon for 'one or two spoonfuls'?"
"Um... maybe I should just do it myself..."
"Hmm?!"
Seeing Orochimaru's sudden shift in demeanor and the surge of killing intent, Hinowa didn't dare say another word.
She could only silently retreat from the kitchen and stand trembling at the doorway, offering timid instructions.
"Don't just stand there—sit down!"
"Yes..."