Outside the Land of Iron's General Headquarters
Akio boarded the flying vessel with the three children. As it slowly lifted into the air, they waved goodbye to General Mifune and the others standing below.
The freezing wind and snow were sealed out by the vessel's protective barrier. As they ascended higher, the Land of Iron spread out beneath them in full view.
"So… the Land of Iron is actually beautiful," Karin murmured.
Back when they were freezing nonstop, she'd had no mood to appreciate the scenery.
"I told you I brought you here to see the snow," Akio said with a grin, pushing the vessel straight upward.
Mifune and the others shrank into tiny dots, then vanished entirely, leaving behind only endless white land and, beside them…
Clouds?
Karin's face went pale. She hurried toward the center of the ship.
If she fell from this height, she wouldn't just be dead; she'd be flattened.
Haku, on the other hand, wasn't afraid of heights at all and calmly scanned the surroundings with binoculars. Kimimaro didn't care in the slightest, quietly testing his bone techniques. This journey had shown him far too many opponents he wanted to surpass.
The vessel continued climbing.
Finally, Karin sensed something was wrong.
"Elder… I thought we were heading back to the Uzumaki homeland. Why are we, wait?! Is that the moon?!"
Akio nodded cheerfully.
"For the final stop of your training journey, I'm taking you for a walk on the moon. Surprised?"
Haku and Kimimaro immediately looked up.
"Elder… can we even stand on the moon?" Haku asked hesitantly.
"Of course," Akio replied casually.
"It involves a lot of complicated astronomical principles. I'll spare you the explanation, you wouldn't enjoy it anyway."
Karin rolled her eyes.
Akio shot her a don't start look.
"Gravity, orbital mechanics… what was it again?" he muttered.
"I've learned too many things over the years."
When the vessel touched down, they stepped onto solid ground. Akio blinked in surprise.
His castle was nearby.
"So if you fly straight down from the castle, you'd probably land somewhere near the Land of Iron…"
The three children stared at it, exchanging looks of disbelief.
Akio smiled, thoroughly satisfied. His ego was being fed nicely.
"Come on," he said.
"I'll show you my private castle."
"This is… the realm of a god?" Kimimaro murmured.
For once, Karin didn't fire back with sarcasm. A castle covering nearly a square kilometer was simply overwhelming.
"Elder… can we go inside?"
"Of course," Akio waved. "All of you."
Two hours later, the vessel lifted off from the moon.
Karin looked back longingly.
"Elder, next time we come, tell me in advance. I've already picked my room. I'll need time to decorate it. Oh and Kimimaro, I picked one for you too."
Akio smirked.
"You didn't put him in your room?"
Karin actually blushed and quickly changed the subject.
"Elder… that castle has hundreds of rooms. Who's ever going to live there?"
Akio turned his head.
"I'm more worried it won't be enough. Kushina and the others. Nagato and Konan. Future generations…
Oh, and a bunch of dead people."
"…Dead people?" Karin twitched.
Akio only smiled and didn't elaborate.
The vessel descended near Konoha's outskirts, then immediately changed course toward the Uzumaki homeland.
"Aren't we stopping by Konoha to greet Aunt Kushina?" Karin asked.
"No need," Akio said.
"The Ninja Academy will be on break soon. They'll return for the New Year."
The rest of the journey passed quietly.
Soon, the vessel hovered before the Uzumaki Clan Hall.
"Elder!" Two guards immediately bowed. One rushed inside to report his arrival.
Akio nodded, then turned to Karin.
"Go home for now. Meet us at the usual spot tomorrow morning."
"Okay. Kimimaro, Haku, Elder see you tomorrow!"
After Karin left, Akio continued,
"You two don't follow me. Go eat ramen with Sara. I'll come by later."
"Yes, God."
"Yes, Elder."
Once the children were gone, a familiar voice sounded behind him.
"Yo, Teacher. You finally made it back."
Akio glanced over his shoulder and studied Nagato. After more than half a year, he looked exactly the same.
"So," Akio teased, "how are things between you and that girl from the village, Konan?"
Nagato's eyes lit up instinctively, clearly about to say something, then froze as Konan approached.
"Teacher! You're finally back!"
Akio smiled.
"I'm back. Come on, let's go inside and catch up."
Inside the Uzumaki Clan Hall
Akio first asked about the state of the country. The report satisfied him.
The population had recently surpassed one million. The number of shinobi stood at over 3,500 more than half of them Uzumaki.
While that still fell short of the Land of Fire's massive population, it was already comparable to the other great nations.
After some thought, Akio turned to Nagato.
"Next, encourage more civilians to train as shinobi. Increase our numbers. Aim for over four thousand within three to five years."
Nagato nodded.
"Got it, Teacher."
"And the population's still too low. One million is nothing for a major power. Keep encouraging growth. Let's hit one and a half million in the next few years."
Nagato was about to nod again when Konan grabbed his sleeve.
"Teacher… that goal might be a bit unrealistic."
"How is it unrealistic?" Akio replied calmly.
"One million people pair up, that's five hundred thousand children a year. Three to five years is generous."
Konan sighed helplessly.
"Teacher, it doesn't work like that. A lot of those people are elderly or children. And because of previous policies, most couples already have two or more kids…"
Akio paused, then smiled triumphantly.
"'Of age,' huh?"
"That includes you two."
Konan froze and immediately turned red.
"Teacher, not this again!"
Nagato scratched his head, laughing awkwardly.
Akio burst out laughing.
"Alright, alright. I'm just teasing. Honestly, I'm curious one redhead, one blue-haired. Your kid would probably have purple hair. That'd look great."
Konan blinked.
"…Would it really?"
"Red and blue make purple," Akio said, eyebrows raised.
"Don't believe me? Try having one and see."
Konan: "..."
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