Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 10 Dinner Party

Looking at the shameless guy who had followed them, Tsunade asked with disdain, "What are you doing following me?"

"That's too much! I was here first, okay?" Jiraiya said indignantly. "You latecomer!"

He was referring to becoming friends with Aokiji.

"Are you asking for it?"

Tsunade glared at him fiercely.

Having already been beaten up by Tsunade to the point of being somewhat afraid, Jiraiya timidly hid behind Aokiji.

Aokiji shook his head at Jiraiya's incorrigible behavior. He thought that if Jiraiya had just apologized, Tsunade wouldn't have made a move on him. No wonder Tsunade couldn't win him over in the original story.

"Wait a moment, I'll go make some food."

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were seated in the living room, while he went to the kitchen. He chopped the ingredients, heated the pan, poured in the oil, and performed other tasks with practiced ease. As a foodie and bachelor, he was already quite adept at this kind of task.

After all, no one cares about you, so you have to care for yourself.

While Aokiji was busily cooking, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya stared at each other, suddenly realizing how awkward it was.

Although the three of them are in the same class, they don't usually interact much. The reason they are together now is because of Aokiji.

Fortunately, Aokiji returned shortly afterward, breaking the awkward silence.

When Tsunade saw him return, she asked in surprise, "You've already cooked?"

"It won't be that quick. This dish needs to be simmered over high heat for 15 minutes," Aokiji replied. "I'll take a short break during this time."

Tsunade asked, "Do you usually do things yourself?"

Aokiji shrugged: "Otherwise, I'm all alone, so I'll have to do it myself. Eating out is too expensive."

After his grandmother passed away, she left him a considerable inheritance. Aokiji plans to use this money to start a business after graduation, so he naturally has to live frugally.

The ninja profession is like a criminal organization in a past life; once you get in, it's hard to get out.

If the organization needs you, you must be available whenever they call.

Otherwise, they'll label you as someone who disobeyed orders, and in serious cases, you might even be considered a traitorous ninja.

This is not an exaggeration by Aokiji, but rather that after becoming a ninja, especially a highly skilled one, one will inevitably come into contact with village secrets to some extent during missions.

For the sake of management, Konoha would certainly not allow its village's ninjas to act as they please.

Before the age of 16 or so, Aokiji's strategy is to pretend to be a Japanese person, and then when the age is up, he chooses to go out of the mountain to add fame to his future election for the position of Hokage.

As for why it's sixteen years old, and not before or after...

That's because at this stage, one's physical development is basically complete, and one won't suffer because of age.

Chakra is composed of yang and yin, where yang represents body energy.

Taking the three main characters from the original work as examples, we can refer to them from the three stages of the Book of Approach, the Book of Struggle, and the Book of the Master:

Naruto's chakra: 8/8/10

Sasuke's chakra: 4/6/7

Sakura's Chakra: 2/3/5

Among them, the Book of Lin and the Book of Dou, which are close in time, show a significant increase in chakra. However, after three years of using the Book of Zhe, the progress of chakra becomes relatively slow.

Chakra is like height; training has some influence, but talent plays a larger role.

In conclusion, Aokiji can say that after reaching the age of 16, his physical abilities have basically matured, and unless he uses some kind of cheat code, he won't make much progress after that.

This is why Aokiji planned to leave the mountain at the age of 16, instead of becoming a ninja right after graduation. Being a ninja is a high-risk profession, and going out to roam before you're fully developed is no different from courting death in his eyes.

Although being a ninja early can accumulate experience and upgrade earlier, the prerequisite is to survive.

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and Aokiji placed a steaming bowl of pickled fish on the table in front of the three people.

The three of them examined the dish called Sauerkraut Fish, and its appearance alone was very appetizing.

"Let's eat!"

Jiraiya couldn't wait to pick up a piece of fish, put it in his mouth, and taste it with rice. After chewing it, a happy expression appeared on his face: "Wow, this pickled fish is so delicious!"

Upon hearing this, Tsunade and Orochimaru also picked up a piece of fish and tasted it. Just as Jiraiya had said, it was very delicious, with perfect color, aroma, and flavor.

Soon, the four of them devoured the large fish in a flash, with Tsunade, being a girl, contributing the most effort—she really could eat a lot.

There's a reason why she might evolve from a flat-chested eleven or twelve-year-old into a woman who doesn't point her toes or bow her head within a few years.

Jiraiya patted his belly, let out a satisfied burp, and praised without reservation, "Aokiji, you're a genius! I think you could open a shop with your skills."

Following Jiraiya's words, Aokiji smiled and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. After I graduate, I plan to open my own restaurant."

"Are you kidding me?"

Tsunade put down her chopsticks and stared at the other person in astonishment, finding it difficult to agree with Aokiji's ideals.

Being a ninja is a respected profession, and becoming one is something to be proud of.

Many children in the village want to be that kind of person but don't have the opportunity yet.

The ninja academy has very strict admission requirements, and every year a considerable number of children are rejected with great resentment.

Furthermore, Aokiji comes from the prestigious Uchiha clan of Konoha, with a good birth and outstanding talent. In Tsunade's eyes, it would be a waste of his talent if he didn't become a ninja.

Tsunade, at only five years old, understood such a simple principle; he didn't believe Aokiji wouldn't.

Seemingly seeing through Tsunade's thoughts, Aokiji organized his thoughts and said, "I have no interest in ninjas. If my clan hadn't forced me, I wouldn't have entered this school at all. And to say that opening a shop is my ideal is not actually accurate; this is my ultimate goal."

"Speak," he said, rubbing his fingers together as if counting money.

Tsunade realized what was happening: "Money?"

"That's right, money is the only thing I truly pursue."

"Superficial." Tsunade scoffed without hesitation at her opponent Aokiji's greedy behavior: "A ninja's honor cannot be measured by simple money."

Aokiji realized that Tsunade had been thoroughly brainwashed. He shook his head and asked, "Then tell me, what measures a ninja's honor can be?"

Tsunade retorted, "A ninja's honor is priceless."

"Priceless treasure? That's just utterly worthless~" Aokiji chuckled disdainfully, then looked the other person in the eyes and said in an extremely serious tone, "Do you know what the most tragic thing in this world is?"

Tsunade was taken aback: "What?"

"I made the money, but I lost my wife. Then she took my money and ran off with another man."

"My future goal is to marry two wives and live a life with two women on either side. Although the income of a ninja is good, it is enough to support two wives and live a nice life."

"But I have to be alive to spend it first. You know, being a ninja is a high-risk profession. I might die young one day, and then my wife will use the money she worked so hard to earn to be with another man. If I knew this in the afterlife, I would definitely die with my eyes wide open in disbelief."

At this point, Aokiji suddenly became agitated, raised his index finger, and declared righteously, "To hell with being a ninja! Let whoever wants to be one be one, I'd rather die than be one!"

Tsunade looked at Aokiji with a twitching smile, as if she were seeing him for the first time. She could understand his fear of death, but Aokiji was just too much. He had fantasized about having two wives since he was a child. She was right back then; he was a big pervert.

"You big pervert."

Jiraiya Aokiji anticipated Tsunade's prediction. Since he was seen as a pervert by Tsunade anyway, he decided to lay his cards on the table and play himself, which would also help solidify his image as a slacker.

Moreover, this character design has an advantage: it makes it easier to get close to Tsunade.

Trying to get close to Tsunade intentionally or unintentionally would only make things more suspicious, so it's better to be more open and honest, which would be less likely to arouse suspicion.

Jiraiya surprisingly nodded in agreement, "How can a man marry two wives? That's really wrong."

This made Tsunade feel slightly relieved. Although Jiraiya was usually lecherous, unreliable, and even annoying, he still had some basic principles. It seemed that she had misunderstood him a little in the past.

"A real man should not be satisfied with just having two women on his left and one on his right. He should have at least seven wives, one for each of the seven days of the week."

Jiraiya spoke with an air of grandeur and power.

These words instantly shattered any goodwill Tsunade had felt earlier, and combined with the emotions she had been suppressing, she couldn't help but punch Jiraiya.

Jiraiya covered his face, looking very aggrieved: "It was Aokiji who said it, why did you hit me?"

"Shut up," Tsunade said with a murderous look in her eyes.

Jiraiya wanted to argue a bit more, but Tsunade interrupted him, saying, "Men are all big pigs."

She grumbled and snorted, then stormed out of the house.

Aokiji continued, "Being a ninja is just a way to make money. I think I can make just as much money as being a ninja by going into business in the future. So why should I risk my life?"

Orochimaru leaned closer, chuckling, "Aokiji-kun's thinking is truly interesting..."

Orochimaru had to agree with Aokiji's words. After all, his parents had died because they were ninjas. To put it bluntly, being a ninja was just a profession to make a living. Honor and such were boring to Orochimaru now. What's the point of having that dispensable honor when people are dead?

"Feed".

Suddenly, Tsunade turned around and startled Aokiji. "Why are you back again?"

"I owe you this meal, and I'll pay you back."

Before Aokiji could react, Tsunade turned and left.

It wasn't too late when Tsunade invited Aokiji to her home. She personally cooked a dish to entertain him, for which he had consulted with Mito's grandmother about cooking and preparing delicious food.

"Be grateful to me, this is a dish I made especially for you."

At the table, Tsunade, now dressed in an apron, stood with her hands on her hips, her head held high like a proud little rooster.

Aokiji silently lowered his head, staring at the dark substance on the table that exuded an eerie aura, his lips twitching: "What did I do to make you want to kill me..."

(End of this chapter)