Chapter 361: Interlocking Stratagems
Outside the General's Residence in the Land of Iron.
Masahiko led the three children onto the spaceship. It slowly lifted into the air as they waved goodbye to General Mifune and the others on the ground.
The wind and snow were kept out by the spaceship's shield. As the ship ascended, a panoramic view of the Land of Iron gradually unfolded before them.
"So the Land of Iron really is quite beautiful," Karin murmured. With the freezing cold earlier, she hadn't had the mind to appreciate the scenery at all.
"I told you from the start that I was taking you to see the snow scenery," Masahiko smiled, controlling the spaceship to climb straight up. Mifune and the others below grew smaller and smaller until they completely disappeared, leaving only the vast, boundless earth below and... clouds beside them?
Karin's small face paled, and she quickly shrank toward the center of the spaceship. If she fell from here, she would probably turn into a Karin-pancake... no, a Karin-filling.
Haku, however, wasn't afraid of heights, using the telescope to look around everywhere. Kimimaro didn't care about these things at all, minding his own business by 'pulling out bones to play'. He had encountered far too many opponents he wanted to defeat on this training journey.
Even at this altitude, the spaceship still hadn't stopped ascending. Karin finally realized something was wrong.
"Great Elder, didn't you say we were going back to the Land of Whirlpools? Where are we... Eh?! Is that the moon?!"
Masahiko smiled and nodded. "For the finale of our training journey, I'm taking you for a spin on the moon. Surprised? Unexpected?"
Hearing their conversation, Haku and Kimimaro hurriedly looked up.
"Great Elder, on the moon... will we be able to stand firmly?"
Masahiko smiled. "Of course we can. This involves a lot of complex astronomical knowledge. Hmm... I won't go into details, you wouldn't understand anyway."
Karin rolled her eyes.
Masahiko gave her a 'stop yapping' look.
"Gravity, orbits, what was it again?" Masahiko felt a bit troubled. "My knowledge has gotten all mixed up."
When the spaceship securely landed on the moon's surface, the group set foot on solid ground. Masahiko was surprised to find his castle right near their landing spot.
"Does this mean if I flew straight down from the castle, I'd roughly land around the Land of Iron?"
The three children also noticed the castle, exchanging glances, their faces filled with a sense of unreality.
Seeing their expressions, Masahiko revealed a satisfied look. This greatly fulfilled his 'vanity'.
"Let's go, I'll take you to see my private castle!"
"Is this... the Realm of God?" Kimimaro murmured.
For once, Karin didn't have a sharp comeback. A castle covering a full square kilometer was truly far too spectacular.
"Great Elder, can I go inside to take a look?"
"You can, let's go together," Masahiko waved his hand.
...
Two hours later, Masahiko piloted the spaceship away from the moon.
Reluctance was written all over Karin's face. "Great Elder, next time you come to the moon, remember to notify me in advance. I've already picked out my room. Next time I come, I need to bring some things to decorate it. Oh, right, Kimimaro-kun, I picked a room for you too."
Masahiko teased, "You actually didn't arrange for Kimimaro to be in your own room?"
Karin surprisingly blushed and changed the subject: "Great Elder, such a huge castle, I saw hundreds of rooms. Where are you going to find that many people to live in them?"
Masahiko turned his head. "I'm more worried it won't be enough in the future. There's Kushina and the others, Nagato and Konan, their children and grandchildren... Oh, right, and a whole bunch of dead people."
"Dead people?" The corner of Karin's mouth twitched.
Masahiko smiled and didn't explain further.
The spaceship slowly descended over the usual landing spot near Konoha, but Masahiko directly steered it to turn toward the Land of Whirlpools.
"Great Elder, aren't we going to Konoha to say hi to Aunt Kushina?"
Masahiko shook his head. "No need. The Konoha Ninja Academy will be on break in a few days. Kushina and her family will come back to the Land of Whirlpools for the New Year."
The rest of the journey passed in silence. The spaceship traveled at full speed until it reached the front of the Patriarch's Hall in the Land of Whirlpools.
"Great Elder!" The two guards immediately bowed in greeting, and one turned to go inside and report.
Masahiko nodded and turned to Karin. "You go home first. Gather at the usual spot tomorrow morning."
"Mm. See you tomorrow, Kimimaro-kun, Haku, Great Elder." Karin bid farewell to each of them.
"You two, don't follow me either. Go to Sara's place and eat a bowl of ramen. I'll drop by later," Masahiko continued.
"Yes, God (Great Elder)."
After sending the three children away, Nagato's familiar voice rang in Masahiko's ears. "Yo, Sensei, you're finally back."
Masahiko tilted his head slightly and carefully sized Nagato up. After more than half a year unseen, he still looked exactly the same.
"How is your relationship with that girl in the village named Konan?" Masahiko teased.
At the mention of the song lyrics, Nagato's eyes instantly lit up. He thought about singing a couple of lines, but hurriedly held it back, because that girl named Konan was walking over from not far away.
"Sensei! You're finally back!"
Masahiko smiled and nodded. "I'm back. Let's go, let's head inside and have a good chat."
Inside the Patriarch's Hall, Masahiko first asked the two about the recent situation in the Land of Whirlpools. The replies he got left him quite satisfied.
The population of the Land of Whirlpools had finally broken through the one million mark not long ago, and they had a full 3,500 ninjas, over half of which were from the Uzumaki clan.
Although it was still a far cry from the Land of Fire's nearly ten million population, compared to the other Great Nations, the gap wasn't that wide anymore.
Masahiko pondered for a moment, then turned to face Nagato. "Next, we need to encourage more civilians to become ninjas to increase our numbers. Strive to have the ninja count break four thousand within three to five years."
Nagato nodded. "Yo, I understand, Sensei."
"And the population isn't enough either. One million people is still the lowest among the large countries. Continue to encourage childbirth. Strive to have the population break 1.5 million within three to five years!"
Nagato subconsciously wanted to nod and agree, but Konan hurriedly pulled him back. "Sensei, this requirement... I'm afraid it's a bit too high."
"How is it high? One million people pairing up means 500,000 babies can be born in a year. Spreading it out over three to five years is already very lenient, alright?" Masahiko's math was very slick.
Konan smiled bitterly and helplessly. "Sensei, you can't calculate it like that. Among this one million, there are many elderly and children. Moreover, because we've been encouraging childbirth these past few years, many of the men and women of appropriate age already have more than two children at home..."
Masahiko paused, revealing a smile like his scheme had succeeded. "Appropriate age... you two are as well, right?"
Konan was stunned and immediately blushed. "Sensei, you're doing this again!"
Nagato scratched his head and laughed foolishly on the side.
"Haha." Seeing Konan's expression, Masahiko laughed out loud. "Alright, alright, I won't tease you guys anymore. Actually, I'm quite curious. The two of you, one with red hair and one with blue hair, your descendants should end up with purple hair. That will definitely be very pretty."
Konan was stunned again, asking curiously, "Will it really be like that? Red and blue mixing into purple?"
Masahiko once again revealed his successful-scheme smile and raised an eyebrow. "Don't believe me? Your teacher is never wrong. If you don't believe me, have one and try."
Konan: "..."
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