"Great-grandchild?", Aoba almost sprayed his tea all over Onoki's face.
He never would've thought that the topic would shift from "unifying the ninja world" to something like that.
Besides, he and Kurotsuchi were completely innocent, clear in conscience, pure friendship, so how did it suddenly come to marriage?
"Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi and I are just very good friends right now. It's definitely not the kind of relationship you're thinking of," Aoba explained. Even though he was, by nature, a bit of a playboy and didn't care much about reputation, since Kurotsuchi seemed to mind, it was better to clarify.
"Is that so?", Onoki smiled faintly, eyes twinkling, "But the rumor that you took my granddaughter into your harem has been spreading wildly through Iwagakure, everyone knows it."
"It's probably just a bit of gossip. You're the Tsuchikage; if you wanted to control it, hmm?"
Aoba suddenly stopped mid-sentence, staring suspiciously at Onoki.
Now that he thought about it, he'd always found it odd. Why the rumors about him and Kurotsuchi had spread so widely in Iwagakure, even more than in Konoha. It had spread so much that Kurotsuchi was embarrassed to even visit Konoha.
By reason, as Tsuchikage, Onoki could easily suppress such baseless rumors within the village. Yet somehow, the matter had blown up until everyone knew about it.
If there wasn't a "mastermind behind the scenes," Aoba wouldn't believe it.
And looking at it now, that mastermind had just stepped right out in front of him.
If Onoki hadn't been secretly fanning the flames, a rumor involving his own granddaughter would've been quashed in a day.
As for why Onoki would do that, who knew.
"Why are you looking at me like that?", Onoki asked, pretending to be puzzled, then continued, "Rumors don't appear out of nowhere. They must come from something. If you and Kurotsuchi are truly innocent, clear in heart, how could such rumors exist at all?"
"I may be old," he went on, "but if you give me a great-grandson, when he grows up, I'll make him the next Tsuchikage!"
"What do you think?"
He wasn't joking, Onoki truly meant it.
What was Iwagakure lacking the most right now? Talent!
Aoba possessed both the Wood Release bloodline and the blood of the Uzumaki clan, and on top of that, the Flying Thunder God technique. He was, without exaggeration, the greatest genius in the current ninja world, and most importantly, he was sane.
And as for his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, while she lacked Wind nature chakra and couldn't master Dust Release, she still had a kekkei genkai, which meant she had strong innate talent.
Their child would undoubtedly inherit the Uzumaki bloodline, and if that child could also awaken Wood Release, becoming Tsuchikage would be a breeze.
Of course, that assumed Iwagakure got to raise the child.
Just imagining it made Onoki feel deeply satisfied.
With that, all of Iwagakure's internal and external problems could be resolved at once.
Honestly, if Iwagakure had even one gifted child with real talent and a sound mind, Onoki wouldn't still have to be sitting in the Tsuchikage's chair at his age.
"Heh!"
Aoba only smiled and said nothing. He didn't take it seriously.
Even if Onoki wasn't joking, there was no way he'd ever let a child of his and Kurotsuchi's belong to Iwagakure.
The old man probably just wanted to use Kurotsuchi's connection with him as leverage, to hold him back, or at least to have a thread of influence if Aoba's real goal ever was to unify the ninja world.
But truth be told, Aoba wasn't someone who enjoyed fighting and killing. Most of the time, what he really wanted was a warm home, a wife, and children by the hearth.
It was just that, in this ninja world, if he wanted that kind of life, he had to fight and kill first.
Since that was the case, then he would end this world that required endless fighting and killing.
"Tsuchikage, what do you think, would it be better for the ninja world to be unified, or to stay as it is now?"
Onoki, who had been smiling kindly, froze slightly, his expression turning solemn.
He seemed to think deeply before finally shaking his head.
"I've lived in this kind of ninja world since I was a child, over seventy years now. All I can say is, the world may be bad as it is, but I don't know whether unification would really make it better."
Onoki was a man who had grown up through war, he'd survived through three great ninja wars. Each time, countless Iwagakure shinobi had died.
No matter what, he couldn't bring himself to love this world.
"Is that so?", Aoba's expression grew serious too.
"The ninja village system has only existed for about sixty years, yet there have already been three Great Ninja Wars."
"Since the end of the First War, almost every ten years another one has broken out. The rest of the time is merely spent licking wounds and preparing for the next."
"If Konoha hadn't been strong enough, the Sand Village's attack would likely have been the spark for the Fourth Great Ninja War."
"In my view, the ninja world is already at its worst. No matter what comes next, it can't be worse than this."
Onoki listened quietly, then fell into a long silence, "So… you want to become the next Uchiha Madara?"
"No, no, that's different."
Aoba waved his hands, correcting him quickly.
"Uchiha Madara also wanted to unify the ninja world, yes. But he was trapped in the old thinking of what it means to be a ninja."
"What do you mean?"
Onoki didn't understand. He was an old-fashioned ninja himself, ever since he became one, he had only learned how to kill.
Aoba smiled again, "A ninja's power is amazing. But for nearly a thousand years, they've only used it to kill."
"If you ever have time, take Kurotsuchi and come see Konoha. You'll see that the world of ninja isn't only about fighting and killing."
Onoki fell silent once more, then slowly stood up.
He had achieved his purpose here and was ready to leave.
"I'll come take a look when I have the time."
———
Onoki left, he had come calm and left worried.
And the moment he was gone, Kurotsuchi, who had been hiding nearby, immediately rushed out, sat down across from Aoba, and impatiently asked,
"What did my grandpa say to you?"
Aoba looked at her with a faint, teasing smile, "You really want to know?"
"If it's something confidential, it's okay if you can't tell me."
Kurotsuchi wasn't stupid.
Aoba thought for a moment, "It's not really a secret, and it has something to do with you."
"With me?"
Kurotsuchi frowned, curiosity piqued, "What is it then?"
'Why would my grandpa discuss something related to me with Aoba, but not tell me about it?'
Aoba chuckled and said straightforwardly, "Your grandpa said he hopes you and I can give him a great-grandson, so he can make the kid the next Tsuchikage."
"Ah?", Kurotsuchi froze, unable to react for a moment.
By the time she processed what he'd said, her whole face was so red it could bleed.
"You… you jerk! How can you joke about something like that?"
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