At the Nara clan compound in the Ino–Shika–Chō district, Shikaku Nara was a little stunned.
No, wait.
The Uchiha were throwing in with the Third Hokage, and the Hyuga were throwing in with that old bastard Danzo?
Th-This…
What kind of arrangement was that supposed to be?
How was he the one who couldn't make sense of it?
"What's there not to understand? The Uchiha can't exactly work the same desk as the Hyuga, can they?"
Chōza Akimichi didn't see what was so complicated about it.
But Inoichi Yamanaka could taste something off in the air.
This cup of water was being balanced perfectly…
Not a drop spilled.
"Shikaku, do you think we should also—"
"Not a good idea."
Shikaku shook his head and shot it down.
What are we joining the circus for?
Sure, we're the Hokage's "wives," but over there? There are two Hokage sitting in the same room.
A woman doesn't serve two husbands. That's the rule.
Besides, whichever of those two old men wins is the real Hokage.
And us—what are we supposed to be, "two-seven-three"?
"Whoever wins, we follow."
Anyway, didn't those two old men say Ino–Shika–Chō weren't qualified to sit at the table and eat?
Then fine.
We'll drag it out.
We'll do our normal work.
But if you want extra, then you pay extra.
At the very least, Shikaku wasn't optimistic about this generation's Hokage anymore.
He was thinking about the next one.
As for this generation, he had exactly one attitude:
Go through the motions.
A couple of perfunctory pats with the hand, and that's it.
You really want to squeeze out "satisfaction" from the Hokage's wives?
If the money isn't right, then the service gets cut corners.
"Then…"
Inoichi flicked his eyes meaningfully.
What about Danzo?
He'd even pulled his precious daughter back out.
He wasn't going to do that for nothing, right?
"Don't rush. Look at this first."
When it came to that, Shikaku's face broke into a rare, energized grin.
He quickly pulled a fresh contract from his robe.
"We can't do anything about the cut from the tobacco business, but…"
But the selling, transport, protection, and export routes around tobacco?
Those were all fat jobs…
At that, Chōza and Inoichi's eyes lit up.
They rubbed their hands together, practically gluing their gaze to the paper.
More money?
Kangetsu-san… what a solid guy.
That damn generosity.
Why couldn't Kangetsu-san have a little more blood on his hands?
If his strength rose a bit more, how great would that be?
If he became Hokage, Ino–Shika–Chō would be the first to wave banners and cheer!
"Ahem!"
Shikaku shot a glare at Inoichi, who was about to start dancing in place.
Steady.
Is that something you can say out loud?
You have to understand: the man isn't grown yet—but once he is, things change.
What?
He's kind-hearted, so he won't change?
That's meaningless.
When the time comes, even if he doesn't want to change, plenty of people will help him change.
Putting a Hokage cloak on him—how hard is that?
A Hokage willing to share profit is basically everyone's dream Hokage!
"Fair point!"
Inoichi gave a big thumbs-up.
He was already considering whether he should quietly commission a Hokage cloak in advance—
just waiting for the day his "future son-in-law" took the throne.
What?
Since when was that man the Yamanaka family's future son-in-law?
Come on.
If the Hyuga could use Hinata as bait, why couldn't Ino–Shika–Chō use Ino to hook a golden turtle son-in-law?
It was easy enough.
Important men collecting multiple wives wasn't exactly rare.
It would just mean… his daughter might have to put up with a little.
Inoichi sighed to himself.
For Ino–Shika–Chō, even if he adored his daughter, he'd have to make sacrifices.
Huh?
Put up with it?
Sacrifice?
Ino, hugging her big brother, burst into bright, bell-like laughter.
These days, the moment Ino got home, she couldn't sit still.
Before long she'd wave her little hand.
"Dad! I'm going to play with Big Brother!"
"Dad! I'm not coming home for dinner tonight!"
"Dad! I'm not coming back for the next two days either!"
Ino was completely, hopelessly smitten.
Mostly because Big Brother was super handsome—and ridiculously fun.
He could tell stories, invent games, and he knew all kinds of things.
She felt like she could sit on Big Brother's lap all day long.
Kangetsu hesitated.
He really wasn't into "little girls" like that.
And yet, for some reason…
the number of girls around him kept increasing.
And every single one of them was so good at being considerate.
What could he do?
He'd just take care of them.
And after taking care of them for long enough, a few sweet, lively troublemakers started getting clingy.
Hinata, especially—
that soft, syrupy voice of hers always made it hard to resist.
Because Tenten, Hinata, and Ino were always coming over to Kangetsu's place to hang out, Kangetsu's home had basically become their secret base.
What a mess…
And then—inevitably—the adults went and made an even bigger mess.
Mikoto puffed her cheeks, clearly annoyed, and looked at her husband with a sidelong glare.
"Why didn't you say that before we started?"
Komachi immediately jumped out to accuse the man of having no shame at all.
In broad daylight, no less—
Haruno hurriedly grabbed Komachi's arm.
"Don't go!"
"That's hell up ahead!"
"If you jump in, you'll be next!"
Sae Chabashira nodded weakly.
"Yeah…"
"I'm the next one."
She looked like she'd already been thoroughly worn down.
Yukine turned her head away, pretending she couldn't see anything.
With Haruno—that rebellious daughter—around, there was no way she was volunteering to be "next."
Who knew what new "idea" that daughter was planning to push onto her?
She still had pride, thank you.
Hearing that, Haruno instantly flared up.
"Oh, now you care?"
"I'm the main wife here!"
"You think you can play outside my line of sight and keep it secret from the watchdogs in the back courtyard?"
"I don't approve!"
With that, she hauled Yukine over with sheer force, shoved Mikoto out of the way, and made her own point… very loudly.
Komachi touched her cheek, then froze.
"…What even is this?"
It was sticky, and it clung in a way that made her face heat up instantly.
"Shameless!"
"This is way too much!"
"The three girls are still playing in the backyard!"
"What if they see something they shouldn't?!"
Kangetsu blinked.
She had a point.
They were still young. Their minds didn't need any extra "education" right now.
Komachi pouted as she wiped her face clean.
"What about me, then?"
"Am I the only one who's allowed to get my innocence 'polluted'?"
"That kind of double standard is awful."
"Double standard?"
Kangetsu pulled Komachi into his arms, sounding genuinely surprised.
"No."
"I treat you all the same."
(End of Chapter)
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