The moon had vanished.
The oil had dried.
The bedsheets had long since been changed.
And still, the tension hung like mist in the Harem Seal House.
No one said the words.
But everyone knew.
Someone might be carrying Naruto's child.
And none of them knew who.
Naruto sat at the center of the largest lounge cushion, wrapped in a light robe, hair still damp from a morning bath. He stared at the soft rise and fall of Hinata's chest as she slept against his lap.
Sakura passed behind him, brushing her fingers across his shoulder — possessive, absent.
Sasuko leaned in the corner, arms crossed, her eyes never leaving him. Calculating. Calm on the outside. Burning inside.
Ino paced slowly near the garden window, sunlight kissing her bare skin. Every so often, she pressed a hand gently to her lower belly… just in case.
Tsunade watched them all. Not with jealousy — but with certainty.
One of them would change forever.
"None of us have bled yet," Ino said softly.
It was the first sentence in an hour.
Sakura glanced over. "It's only been two days."
"That's long enough for a kunoichi to feel something," Hinata whispered, still resting on Naruto's lap. "Even chakra can't hide what the body knows."
Naruto swallowed.
He looked at each of them — women he'd touched, loved, filled with his seed not out of lust alone, but because something deeper had pulled him to them.
And now… that depth might become life.
Sasuko finally stood.
Walked slowly toward him.
Knelt.
Pressed her forehead against his chest.
"I don't care who it is," she said.
"As long as it's real."
The others gathered around.
No anger.
Just ache.
No moans.
Just breath.
And beneath it all?
Hope.
Later that night…
When Naruto laid his head in Sakura's lap, and Hinata curled around his waist…
When Ino spooned his back and whispered, "Would you raise them with me if it's mine?"
When Sasuko held his hand and refused to say what was in her heart, and Tsunade kissed his forehead and whispered, "Sleep, baby fox…"
He finally understood.
They didn't just want to own him anymore.
They wanted to build him into forever.
And one of them?
Already had.