Mouths to Feed

I slowed down for a moment after hearing that statement.

"Can you repeat that?" I asked, making sure I didn't mishear.

Isn't the snake supposed to "die" at the hands of a grown-up Sasuke?

Why the hell would Orochimaru kill Onoki of all people?

Iwagakure is the most ignored village in the series for a reason… they have nothing outstanding!

"The thing is…"

I paid attention to the explanation from the Kazekage as I continued traveling on my way to Seimeigakure, albeit a bit slower so that the den den mushi could handle it.

Let's not forget it's a living being!

Oh, I also left some gold next to Tsume; I don't think they'll have trouble finding it.

"I got it. By the way, Konoha has been attacked by the Akatsuki organization and is in a ruined state. If you want to take advantage and grab a portion of fertile land, you should seize the moment," I explained the approximate situation of Konoha for a couple of minutes. "I'll call the Raikage afterward."

"I didn't expect both villages to face problems simultaneously," Temari exclaimed, surprised, before motivating herself. "But between the territories of Iwagakure and Konoha, it's an easy choice, especially considering the casualties you mentioned in the Land of Fire. I'll issue the orders!"

"Good, see you," I hung up and made the same call to the Raikage, who, though surprised by the death of old Onoki (though not any less happy), also prepared his people to get ready to take a portion of the Land of Fire.

I spent the rest of the trip reflecting on Temari's explanation.

If I understood correctly, Onoki laid his hands on an invaluable item for Orochimaru, notified by a spy planted in the upper echelons. The obstinate snake personally attacked him mercilessly to successfully snatch the item.

The positive part of this matter for Iwagakure is that the fight took place outside the village, but I'm still confused.

Even Orochimaru would discard the idea of attacking a Kage in his village (at least in the main ones) just to steal something unless it had immeasurable value to his eyes.

And this kind of thing isn't exactly abundant with Orochimaru's values!

Rasa died ambushed and manipulated two villages to be able to treat the Third Hokage.

—Things are getting too complicated for my liking —I rubbed my neck in frustration, the satisfaction of finishing off Shikaku and Nagato disappearing.

At this point, my knowledge of the plot can almost be completely discarded.

Soon, Sunagakure and Kumogakure, with support from their assets in Kirigakure, will invade the Land of Fire, swallowing a not-so-small portion of territory.

Moreover, if the Fire Daimyo doesn't think of something and provides a large amount of resources and personnel to Konoha to speed up its recovery, it's likely that the other Daimyos will ignore the attack to expand their countries' territories.

A conservative estimate dictates that half will disappear and become part of the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning.

So, what use will the Fire Daimyo have for us?

In less than twenty years, the rest of the territory would be systematically annexed if someone intelligent is in charge, and the Land of Fire will exist only in history books.

And when Iwagakure discovers the expansion of Suna and Kumo, they can only consider whether to make an aggressive move to somehow destabilize the situation with severe losses in a self-destructive path, or they will have to act like a turtle, waiting for a slow death due to the imbalanced distribution of resources at their disposal, such as population and food.

Not to mention that the latter situation is if the others let them be a turtle; Onoki didn't exactly have little hatred on his back, and those who want to make a move for payback won't be few.

Later, in Seimeigakure...

We are having dinner after a hectic day for many, especially for the Hyuga children who have just arrived and are still trying to process that they will now live on a cloud, where no one will put the Caged Bird Seal on them.

Almost all of them are about to turn four years old (not counting the youngest), and add the drama of knowing they have slim chances of seeing their parents again...

Better not tell them what kind of meat is on the plate; it seems like they just want to eat, go cry, and then sleep, in that exact order. They'll need a few days to process things.

The positive part is that their minds are not brainwashed with the Will of Fire, and they are young enough to receive a real education. The Academy of the now Four Great Villages (soon probably decreasing to one more), is a poorly told joke. They barely teach primary knowledge, and the rest is brainwashing. Fortunately, Mariko already has a mature school plan to work with my help and the knowledge in the library available to complement it.

The education in my village will have levels for kindergarten, primary, secondary, university, and more!

We won't have many problems handling the children either; they are in their obedient phase, and it turns out that Nemu, Maki, Haku, Karin, and Fuu like taking care of them, so they'll take turns.

I suspect they do it to have more free time from training...

I have no evidence, but no doubts either.

Kimimaro... doesn't seem to have patience for the little ones, or it would be more accurate to say he feels uncomfortable about handling them. Tsunade isn't any better; she tries to please them, but it seems like it has been a while since she dealt with young children.

But Shizune, in particular, is delighted and handles them with patience and skill.

Although considering she had to take care of Tsunade for a few years, her resume is simply overqualified.

As the village's Kage, she didn't ignore them either; it's just that they seem a bit stunned seeing my height. My wives also take care of them while our children sleep, and in their words, it will be a good way to gain more experience for when they grow up.

Although at the end of the day, they still seek to be with Hinata and Hanabi, who are their "elders" and are the heads of the family, which actually seems pretty normal.

A week later...

I had to help Haku and the others prepare things for the Hyuga children to be comfortable. We decided that while they are small, it's best for them to share rooms of three to support each other, and when they grow up, they can have their own room if they wish.

Most of them want to train and become ninjas, so we are trying to review their basics and discussing with Hinata and Hanabi how their training will be since after exposing it, they realized how much they were limiting themselves by learning such a meager amount of clan techniques.

Those who don't want to be ninjas will only be asked to have a basic education to be able to defend themselves, and the rest of the time, they will be learning from different people according to their goals.

For example, those who want to research medicine will learn from Karin, Tsunade, and Shizune, occasionally with a class taught by me.

If they want to help in the kitchen, Pakura will happily show them the essentials, as with the increase in mouths to feed, we would be in trouble without volunteers.

Oh, I also learned that my wives killed Jiraiya in Amegakure. Good for them.