I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 669 The mistakes made by those at the top can easily become the mistakes of those at the bottom.

"Lord Tsuchikage, you've come to the hospital too? Has your back injury flared up again?"

Inside the Iwagakure Hospital, a chubby Jonin from Iwagakure saw Onoki and asked him with some concern.

Upon hearing this, Onoki shook his head and said with a smile, "My son went on a mission and asked me to come to the hospital to check on his wife's pregnancy. What about you? Are you wounded from the previous war?"

Upon hearing this, the Iwagakure Jonin quickly shook his head and said, "No, I've fully recovered. I just brought my son here today for a medical check-up, and then we'll be registering his birth."

"I should have gone much earlier, but the fighting hadn't stopped, and I hadn't been able to get back to the village, so I was delayed."

"I see."

Onoki nodded, intending to exchange a few pleasantries and leave, but just then the door next to him opened, and a doctor came out, followed by a woman leading a similarly chubby little boy.

Upon seeing the boy, Onoki stroked his beard, initially assuming that this Jonin was using the pretext of registering a household registration to take the opportunity to conduct a paternity test, a new technology from the Land of Fire.

After all, if a child is not registered for a period of time after birth, a paternity test is required to register them later. This is fine during peacetime, but during wartime...

Couples are often separated for months or even more than a year. Some couples are separated by battlefields in different places, while others are left behind in the village.

The latter, in particular, often worry about whether their partner will return, and with no one by their side, they often do absurd things. Such incidents are common after major battles.

Actually, things are better now. Before the ninja village system was established, similar things happened even more often, and there were even many cases of three generations living together, each different from the other.

However, these chubby Jonin father and son from Iwagakure are clearly biological father and son; no one would believe they were someone else.

"Lord Tsuchikage, this is my son."

The Iwagakure Jonin also introduced the child, and Onoki, upon hearing this, smiled and nodded, patting the head of the little boy who was even shorter than himself, and casually asked, "What's this child's name?"

"I haven't come up with a name yet."

"You're too careless. Even if you're wholeheartedly devoted to the village, you should still think more about your family. How about this: since you're so devoted, your child will surely inherit your ninja way. How about naming him Akatsuchi?"

Upon hearing Onoki's words, the Iwagakure Jonin was overjoyed and quickly nodded, saying, "Alright! Let's call it Akatsuchi!"

"This child catches my eye. After the Huang Tu family's child is born, let them both become my students."

Onoki said with a smile, "Anyway, it will be a few more years before these children can finish their ninja training. By then, my son will probably be almost ready to be trained by me."

Even if he can't single-handedly take on the entire village and become the next Tsuchikage, he can still share a lot of the work, giving him more free time.

He originally planned to personally teach his grandchildren from a young age, since Huang Tu was raised freely back then, causing him to miss out on very precious time for cultivation and learning.

This time, he doesn't plan to let them grow freely anymore; instead, he intends to train them carefully. Since that's the case, it wouldn't be bad to take on another one, or even find another to form a ninja squad.

The chubby Iwagakure Jonin expressed his gratitude repeatedly, and the doctor, who had also been smiling and congratulating him, seemed to remember something and said, "Lord Tsuchikage."

Onoki looked at him with suspicion. The doctor hesitated for a moment before saying, "If you're interested in taking on apprentices, could I recommend one for you?"

Onoki frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed. The doctor's words were presumptuous, but the current situation put Onoki in a difficult position, making it troublesome to refuse.

His first reaction was that the doctor wanted to recommend his child to be his student, which Onoki did not want to accept.

While the descendants of Jonin may not necessarily have the talent to become Jonin, and the descendants of commoners may not necessarily be unable to become powerful ninjas, it is highly likely that the descendants of powerful ninjas have a relatively high minimum level of talent.

With careful nurturing, even if they cannot compare to their parents, they can still become the backbone of the village. This is what Onoki expected of Akado.

I don't expect Akatsuchi to become powerful in the future. I just want him to become a useful ninja for the village. It wouldn't be a loss if he could even be my grandson's/granddaughter's childhood playmate.

But if it's the child of a common doctor

The doctor noticed the fleeting displeasure on Onoki's face and quickly said, "Lord Tsuchikage, my son has already gone to the Daimyo's residence to study medicine. I would like to recommend a descendant of a Jonin from the village."

I don't know the ninja's name, but his neighbor said when he brought his wife to the hospital that the ninja died in a battle a year ago.

His wife also experienced a difficult childbirth and passed away shortly after the baby's birth. The child is now staying at our hospital, where we doctors and nurses are caring for him, as the orphanage is no longer able to accept him.

"What a sin! I was completely unaware of such a thing."

Onoki's face showed a look of sorrow and compassion. The battle a year ago was the battle in which 10,000 ninjas from the village besieged the Third Raikage. Although the Raikage could not possibly perish with 10,000 ninjas, he still killed some of them.

Those people were all heroic spirits of the village. Now that his descendants are in such a terrible state, it would be understandable if he didn't know.

Now that he's in the know, if he doesn't step in to resolve the issue, and if this gets out, his reputation as the Tsuchikage will be severely damaged.

"Take me there to have a look."

Onoki urged them on, and the doctor quickly led the way. Akado and his family followed quickly and soon arrived at a rest room. Some doctors were taking a nap during their lunch break, while others were sleeping there after working 36-hour shifts.

A few sober doctors and nurses were playing with a blond little boy.

"Deidara, come here, this toy is for you."

The little boy, surrounded by others, stared at the clay bird and crawled towards it on all fours. The doctor quickly tossed the clay bird to the nurse opposite him and said:

"Crawling won't count; you have to stand up and walk to get it. Go get it."

As he spoke, he reached out and gently picked up Deidara, trying to get him upright. However, two seconds after the doctor let go, Deidara lost his balance and was about to fall. The doctor quickly reached out and scooped Deidara up.

After holding it in his arms, he took the clay bird from his colleague and handed it to Deidara to cheer him up, who was on the verge of tears.

"Cough cough~"

The doctor who brought Onoki coughed, drawing everyone's attention, before introducing him to Onoki: "Tsuchikage-sama, this is the boy I told you about, named Deidara."

Onoki nodded and said, "I'll play with Deidara."

Upon hearing this, all the doctors and nurses stood up sensibly, and even those who were resting were woken up and left the break room.

Inside the lounge, Deidara, holding a clay bird, tilted his head and looked at Onoki, the oldest and shortest adult he had ever seen.

Onoki approached, sat down cross-legged, and waved his finger in front of Deidara's eyes. Deidara's attention was quickly drawn to him, and Onoki quickly took the clay bird from Deidara's hand with his other hand.

Deidara snapped out of his daze when his toy was snatched away, tears welling up in his eyes. He was about to cry when Onoki quickly said, "Don't cry, don't cry. Grandpa just wanted this bird to fly."

As he spoke, he formed a hand seal and infused a wisp of chakra into the clay bird. The chakra made of clay actually moved, flapped its wings twice, and then suddenly increased its speed and took flight.

"Feifei."

Deidara mumbled something, and Onoki smiled, looking like a precocious child. He asked, "Want to see fireworks?"

Deidara didn't understand his words, or rather, he didn't hear them at all; his attention was entirely focused on the Nendoroid bird. Onoki wasn't annoyed, but instead softly uttered, "Explode!"

"Bang!"

The clay bird exploded, but with little force; it didn't even blow the papers off the table. Instead, the clay bird turned into specks of dust that drifted down.

"Ha! Ha~ Haha~"

Deidara clapped his hands, glancing at Onoki as if asking him to do it again. Onoki smiled and nodded. This kid was more to his liking than Akatsuchi. He felt an instant connection with him at first glance.

Ignoring the risk of straining his back, Onoki reached over and grabbed a clay cat from the table. Using the same trick again, the finger-sized cat miraculously began to walk on the ground.

The clay cat walked up to Deidara's knee and rubbed its head against him. Deidara picked up the clay cat and said, "Boom~".

As he spoke, he suddenly opened his arms wide, and the clay cat was thrown into the air. Ohnoki understood and formed a hand seal.

"Bang!"

"Haha~ Hahaha~"

Deidara smiled and continued clapping. Then, as if remembering something, he turned over to stand up. His body, which had been unsteady just moments before, seemed to be infused with some kind of strength. He stood up straight, staggered towards the table, and reached out to grab the clay toys.

Onoki was puzzled at this point. Deidara seemed to be more interested in the final explosion than in bringing the clay animal toys to "life".

"He might be a promising talent for the demolition team."

Just then, a dark figure silently entered the lounge and landed without a sound. Onoki said, "Kiba, you've come at the perfect time!"

"I'll trouble you to take care of this child from now on. Once he's a bit older, I'll test his talent further."

"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage."

The ANBU member accepted the order and then said, "By the way, Tsuchikage-sama, the communications team just reported that Konoha has established a diplomatic mission."

"Are you going to Kumogakure?"

Before Ōnoki could finish listening, he asked a question. The ANBU paused for a moment before replying, "No, they're going to the Land of Water, and how many of them are there?"

"The Land of Water? Could it be that they're planning to make a trip there and lobby on behalf of our Iwagakure village?"

"No, Lord Tsuchikage, please hear me out first."

Although the ANBU member knew his attitude was somewhat disrespectful, he still spoke up. Onoki stopped, frowned, and said, "Bunga, we sent you into the ANBU to temper your character, so why are you still so impatient?"

"Lord Tsuchikage, this matter is very strange, and I believe it is also very important. Please hear me out."

"Okay, go ahead and say it."

Onoki stared at Bunya for a moment before nodding. Bunya breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "The diplomatic mission sent by Konoha to the Land of Water has a total of three thousand people!"

Upon hearing this, Onoki flew into a rage, saying, "Why didn't you say something so important sooner?! Quick! Come with me to my office!"

After saying that, Onoki braced himself on his knees and tried to stand up.

"Click~"

"Ah!!! My back!!!"

(End of this chapter)