Malachite

“By the sage..” Minato exclaimed. His sensory range was tightly wrapped around Kushina from the moment the Harunos had entered the compound. Immediately, the continuous rage of the kyūbi had muted and turned cautious and curious. The moment the youngest Haruno had laid her eyes on Kushina, his chakra had stalled. Now, he was completely relaxed. Happy even.

“What..” Fugaku and Mikoto, who had turned on their sharingan, watched the whole thing, shocked. Fugaku had even dropped his jaw, never having expected this result, probably. Mebuki and Kizashi had let loose their held and bated breath, probably expecting to be executed on the spot.

Not that he would, he was the one who brought Kushina here after hearing about Mikoto’s miracle.

“You both have founder clan heritage correct?” He asked, looking at the couple. The Haruno head couple were not just some simple retired shinobi. Haruno Kizashi was the head of the clan and was skilled enough to be an elite jōnin but retired at chūnin after the war to marry when he found his romantic Haruno soulmate. As Hokage, he was able to learn as much as he could about the Haruno Clan and their relationship with balance in the world. There is a reason all villages have a branch of the clan, as minor as they can. 

He also learned that all blood-born Haruno have soulmates. Platonic and romantic. And while he never found his platonic ones, he found his romantic one. One Senju Mebuki, the youngest daughter of Senju Morio. Hashirama’s eldest son with an inferiority complex the size of the Hokage monument. Especially when his younger brother produced Tsunade, the best medical ninja in the world.

Mebuki turned to stare at her husband after a moment, they both nodded.

She straightened up, her posture much sharper and sophisticated, showcasing her Senju heritage, “As you know, my father is the eldest son of Hashirama-jii-sama… And Kizashi’s mother was a pureblood Haruno and his father a Nara.” 

Kushina's eyes were no longer wary but happy even. She cuddled the rosette closer and bowed her head slightly to Mebuki, “I'm sorry for springing this on you, but thank you for trusting us. And this test.”

The adults all nodded and Minato turned to Fugaku, “What did you see?”

The Uchiha patriarch adopts a scowl and turns his gaze to his senpai of sorts, “Did you know her chakra reserves are fairly large for an infant?”

Kizashi's eyes widen, “No? She has about the amount of a regular civilian baby.. Are you saying she's instinctively hiding her large reserves?”

The Uchiha nods gravely, “You seem to have a chakra control prodigy. I'm guessing that healing chakra comes from her Senju heritage. It is rumored that the Shodaime had chakra like that. Only he couldn't send it outwards, or he hadn't learned how to until later in life.”

The room's atmosphere is tense and chilly. This news is not good. Not for the Harunos at least. They take a very important nondescript role in the village. Haruno’s were neutral as neutral went. Only Harunos who had soulmates (platonic or romantic) from shinobi backgrounds could escape that fate. And that was rare in and of itself. The only reason Kizashi didn’t stay in the shinobi world is because Mebuki left it behind to elope. She was tired of the weight her surname carried and the pressure her father put on her shoulders. They couldn't have a daughter who was so.. prodigious. Not right now at least. When the girl was no more than a newborn with no power to protect herself. 

Fugaku and Kizashi begin to talk amongst themselves and Mikoto and Kushina have curled around Mebuki. The older woman was clearly distraught and Mikoto knows firsthand what having a prodigy means in this village. Especially with the elders on the council. They especially won’t care for what happens to the girl, since for all her founder heritage, her current clan is civilian in nature, despite its neutral stance. She clutched Sasuke to her chest, just a bit more.

Minato was looking at the rosette sleeping peacefully atop his wife though. His eyes turn to Mebuki, with understanding. While his child is unborn, he had been a child prodigy and could relate to the woman’s fears. The only saving grace to this situation is that there is no war. 

He hates to ask it, but he has to. If he wants to help protect the child of his friends and shinobi. He’s trying to clean house, but it’s going slow because Sarutobi-sama gave his old teammates and friends too much power, but he’s trying. Now his mind races with possibilities. And with Mebuki's infamous temper and mercilessness coupled with Kizashi’s intelligence that he's systematically dumbed down, they make a fearsome pair. While the Haruno name has no clout for most shinobi circles, they do for civilians. 

Minato hates to do it, he really does, but a lot of things are starting to make sense and not at all. So he has to ask. 

“Kizashi. Mebuki. Thank you for trusting us with this again. As parents, I know this was a huge ask. But I'm afraid I need to intrude once more.” 

Kizashi, who had gone over to help his wife stand up, turns to face him. Mebuki's face turns stern once again. Minato doesn't break. He can't. 

Considering the hints dropped- the healing chakra, the keen intelligence, and the kyūbi's reaction to the girl and her chakra, he has to ask this final question. It'll drive the final nail into the coffin. Make or break this plan. 

“Has your daughter grown any.. plants?”

Kizashi's jaw drops, “Minato, I know she has Senju ancestry, but only the Shodaime had mokuton in recent years. No other Senju has had it since his time!”

“I'm only asking. Has Sakura-chan acted odd outside these two circumstances?” He counters, just as exasperated. 

“Oh, Sage..” 

Everyone turns to Mebuki. Kizashi grips her arms tighter to steady his wife. She's green and sweating. She looks well and truly sick. As if some obscure detail makes more sense all of a sudden. 

“Mebu-chan?” Kizashi asks, clearly not understanding her reaction. 

Megumi's evergreen eyes turn to her husband, they're glossy with unshed tears and a hidden drive. Of what, no one knows yet. 

“Sacchan.. Sakura hasn't grown any trees per se.” The room waits with bated breath for her next, possibly damning words, “but.. But! She constantly gestures to sleep in the garden! Except for bedtime, all her naps have to be on a blanket outside in the backyard or she turns fussy!” The blonde woman explains, hysteria wrought in her voice. She looks from her husband, whose face colors with recognition and remembrance to downright dread. 

“It's the end of summer, our garden should be dried out. But it's flourishing, no one watered any of the plants since she's taken to napping out there! It’s only our backyard that looks so lively… ” Mebuki breaks down in a sob, overcome with this knowledge she had overlooked. And anyone would, in her position. So Minato can't fault her. 

Mebuki is back on the floor and Kizashi and Mikoto hold her. Kizashi looks up at the Yondaime, “So.. she's either Hashirama reincarnated or the first mokuton user since his era?”

Minato nods, gravely, “This conversation is put on hold and not to be touched again unless we're in a more secure room.” 

All clan head homes are filled to the prim with active privacy fuinjutsu, but this conversation needs to be had in a more enclosed location. Away from the public.

The rest nod, having long since caught on. The Haruno head couple think back to Sakura’s 100 Day celebration where she chose two items instead of one. All the times she’s napped in the garden unbothered. 

Minato turns to his wife, she is looking in the distance at nothing as if pondering. She still has an iron grip on the baby of discussion. 

“Honey?”

“I can't hear it.” She says and Minato immediately knows what she's talking about. 

“At all? Has it submitted in fear?” He asked, excitement barely repressed. 

“No.. I don't think that's it.” Kushina says, looking at Minato with furrowed brows, “But it's not a bad feeling. Almost nostalgic.”

Minato stares and sighs, “Let's get the children in so we can eat and let the Harunos go home and rest.”

GASP

Minato and Kushina snap their heads to Kizashi, Mebuki, and Mikoto. Mebuki is standing up, holding Sasuke and no longer as pale. But Kizashi and Mikoto are holding hands (Kizashi was probably helping her stand up) and staring at each other. Kizashi’s chakra is spinning wildly and Minato can only stare in shock as Mikoto’s chakra spins in tandem. The Haruno patriarch’s hair begins to flare and loses its sakura petal shape completely and his eyes glow an eerie blue, no pupil in sight, as he stares at Mikoto. Mikoto’s sharingan whirls to life and her midnight blue hair whips around her wildly.

SLAM!

Minato barely registers Haruno Kaede running into the house, obviously having felt what is occurring in here. His hair is sticking up and his pupils swallow the blue of his eyes completely.

The nine-year-old heir confirms it for all to hear though, his voice reverent as he watches, teary-eyed, “Unmei no hito…” 

Kaede falls to his knees right beside his mother and begins to chant, probably Haruno scriptures in the ancient era tongue. A near-forgotten language.

Minato makes eye contact with Fugaku across the room. His best friend looks well and truly shocked. An incredible feat for an Uchiha as stoic as him.

This just got infinitely more complicated…