It had been over a week since Rinjin started attending the mothers' group.
Every day, like clockwork, he brought both Kakashi and Terumi Mei to Sarutobi Hiruzen's house. As for himself, he carried a notebook and pen, quickly befriending the circle of moms.
And credit where it's due—these women really knew their stuff. Parenting tricks he'd never even heard of turned out to be lifesavers for Rinjin.
What do you do when a baby cries in the middle of the night and nothing works?
What if your kid refuses to eat vegetables?
How do you reward and discipline a mischievous child most effectively?
And on and on...
In just a week, Rinjin's notebook was packed from cover to cover.
...
In the Sarutobi backyard, Rinjin sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes gleaming as he listened to Biwako explain her methods, his pen flying across the page.
After a week, the women had completely dropped their guard around him.
For one, he always kept a respectful distance—never getting closer than a meter to anyone.
And two, it was obvious from the way he took notes that he cared way more about raising kids than about flirting.
"Rinjin," said a woman who looked strikingly like Nohara Rin, "Lady Biwako is talking about tips for babies under six months. But your Kakashi and Terumi Mei are almost two. Why are you jotting all this down?"
Rinjin shot her a mysterious wink. "I'm planning to collect all these experiences and publish a book."
He held up his notebook, pointing at a name. "See here? Chopping green peppers into tiny bits and mixing them with ground meat to make hamburgers—that was your idea, right? I'll put it in the book, and when it sells, you get a cut."
The cute, lively Mrs. Nohara's eyes lit up. She covered her mouth in surprise. "Really? We'll get paid?"
"I'd never lie to you," Rinjin nodded. "I'm planning to sell the book through Shueisha. I'll call it 'Treasure Mom's Childcare Guide.' Price it at two ryō a copy—affordable and practical."
"What about me? How much do I get?"
As a full-time housewife, Mrs. Nohara was especially interested in the idea of earning her own money. Her dark brown eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Rinjin grinned, wiggling his fingers. "Hard to say per book, but if it sells for a year, you'll at least make as much as a Chunin's annual salary."
"Chunin?!" The word sent a ripple through the crowd. More beautiful wives turned their attention his way.
"What about Chunin?"
"How much is that in a year?"
"Does your family run a bookstore, Rinjin-kun?"
"I've given a bunch of tips too—do I get a share?"
A chorus of soft, lively, and charming voices filled the air, making Rinjin's head spin.
Whoa, whoa, whoa...
Ladies, please keep your distance! I have no desire to become the village's public enemy number one!
Originally, wives like Mrs. Might, Mrs. Nohara, Mrs. Katō, and Mrs. Yūhi had been a bit wary of him. Now, with money on the table, everyone was suddenly enthusiastic, eager to share their best childcare secrets.
Rinjin welcomed them all. He clapped his hands—poof!—shadow clones appeared. With notebooks and pens in hand, they all dove into furious note-taking.
As a professional at milking every opportunity, Rinjin thought to himself:
Make money, build relationships with the moms, and raise the kids well. If you're going to do something, you might as well get three benefits out of it.
...
The sun dipped low in the west.
Rinjin left the Sarutobi residence, Terumi Mei in his left arm, Kakashi holding his right hand, chatting and laughing alongside the other wives.
Back home, he noticed little Terumi Mei seemed down. He found it odd.
He set the girl in the tearoom, then led Kakashi outside. Crouching down, he asked quietly,
"Kakashi, what's up with your sister?"
Kakashi didn't answer right away. His sharp little eyes darted around, checking behind him. Then, acting far older than his years, he tugged Rinjin's ear and whispered,
"Uncle, today there was this kid who kept bragging about how his big brother was amazing, killed lots of bad guys from other villages. Then... then Terumi Mei argued with him, saying there are good people in other villages too, and she got bullied."
"How'd they bully her?"
Rinjin's face stayed calm, but his eyes narrowed dangerously.
Kakashi hesitated.
"Just... just called her a bad person, and... pushed her."
"Who?"
"Uh... Sarutobi Asuma."
Rinjin's expression didn't change. He gently patted Kakashi's head.
"Kakashi, you're a boy. Next time something like this happens, you protect your sister, got it?"
Kakashi hung his head in silence.
His father had told him boys shouldn't lie.
Besides, he kind of thought Asuma was right.
If it weren't for those outsiders, his dad wouldn't have left, and he wouldn't be living at Uncle Rinjin's house.
Watching the silent boy, Rinjin smiled and ruffled his hair.
"Go play."
As Kakashi walked inside, the smile faded from Rinjin's face.
He didn't care about so-called world peace, but lately, he'd been acting a bit too easygoing. So easygoing that even the village kids didn't take him seriously.
No, no, no!
That won't do!
Education starts with the young!
If these kids don't know how terrifying I can be, how can I expect them to fear me when they're older?
Looks like Konoha's basic education needs a little... adjustment.
What evil intentions could Rinjin possibly have?
He just wanted everyone in Konoha—from ninety-nine-year-olds down to toddlers—to understand one thing:
Don't mess with people you shouldn't mess with.
With that, Rinjin clapped his hands and summoned a shadow clone, barking out orders:
"Tell Rii to open the route from the Land of Wind through Hōrō Outpost to Wakkanai Bridge in the Land of Fire.
Tell the bounty exchange to lift the embargo on Konoha's classified intel—let those merchants dealing in Konoha secrets get to work.
And tell 芽子 to cut pig iron prices in half—unlimited supply to the outside."
Seriously, if you won't discipline your own kids, I'll do it for you.
He didn't care if people called him petty or accused him of picking on children. He didn't care.
Ever since Nawaki died and Tsunade cried herself numb, he'd been planning to shake up Konoha. Now that little Terumi Mei had been bullied, there was no time like the present.
Just hours after those three orders went out, the entire shinobi world began to tremble.
In every village, undercurrents surged.
Pig iron—its price unchanged for six or seven years, never rising even during war—suddenly dropped by half.
Outside that mysterious pig iron shop in the Land of Hot Water, cart after cart of pig iron rolled out.
With this fresh fuel pouring into the war, the flames would only burn hotter.
And this... was just the first wave.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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