- Judging by the way the head of the clan sighs at the mere mention of this clan genius," Sarutobi sighed, draining his cup in one gulp, "your assumption may well be true, but you're wrong about the apprentice, I'll tell you that.
- Pfft, when Jiraiya took Namikaze as his personal apprentice, there was a lot of fuss about that too," Kintaro dismissed him with a fist on his head, watching the bar lazily, "and in the end it turned out that he'd already lost the second match to a girl younger and weaker than himself.
- That's what most of the others think," Rin leaned toward him and lowered his voice, "but it's not that simple - Hiruzen-sama heard about it and immediately ordered to find out everything about the little girl, obviously not believing that the second heir of Nara would do something just out of the goodness of his heart.
- So?" the second jonin wondered against his will, "is this another orphanage that the Nara clever people have already accepted into the clan?
- No way! My cousin's wife took care of the case, and then she told me in confidence that Anko Mitarashi was a hereditary kunoichi, not an orphanage.
- Mitarashi? I've heard that name before," Meido muttered thoughtfully, his memory a little hazy from the alcohol.
- There was a hereditary kunoichi about six or seven years ago, Akiko Mitarashi, who graduated early with honors from the academy and was already a chunin at twelve.
- That's right, she was given a jonin vest before she was eighteen, she was so talented, the clan boys were still after her," the brightened jonin cracked his fist on his palm, "but then she disappeared somewhere, either on a mission, or something else happened.
- She got married and got pregnant right away," Rin snorted, "to Shiori Rho, have you heard?
- Not only heard, but we worked together," Rin said, "He was a strong man, but it's a pity he met with a gang of nukenins. Let's remember him.
- We will," the two shinobi drained their newly filled bowls.
- So, what's up? - Kintaro hurried his friend.
- So, he married Mitarashi, and everything would have been fine, but during pregnancy the young mother had complications, which were not treated in time, putting an end to the career of kunoichi, - sighed Sarutobi, - as a result, when Ba-chan grew up, Akiko was slowly dying, and then, as if on a white horse, our Nara turns up, treats her and takes her daughter as a personal student.
- So what? There are hundreds of such stories, except for the happy ending, - the skeptical interlocutor waved his hands, - and talented parents do not always have the same children.
- But in this case, the girl inherited her parents' talents to the fullest extent, and considering what kind of candy Ryo Nara made out of talentless children," Rin shook his head enviously, "can you imagine what he could make out of such material? I wouldn't mind having a student like that, either.
- Let's say that in ten or twelve years the Nara will have another strong shinobi," he shrugged indifferently, "we'll have to live until then. How many geniuses of our generation have we seen, both clan and clanless, and how many of them are still alive?
There was a bitterness in the words of the clan shinobi, which hid the experience of personal loss.
- You can count them on the fingers of one hand," Sarutobi agreed, "but it's better to have these geniuses and lose them than not to have them at all - talented children determine the future strength of the clan.
- Let's drink that our clans also give birth to geniuses, - proposed a toast jonin Meido.
- And that they always live to the peak of their power," the second shinobi nodded in agreement, "to the detriment of their enemies.
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