Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 163 I Don't Want to Go to Jail!

These were two new terms, and Kakuzu was completely bewildered.

Let's set aside the idea that the lower structure determines the superstructure for now.

What does "sustainable overfishing" mean? He understands the meaning of "overfishing," but what does "sustainable" mean?

He asked this doubt first.

"This issue actually needs to be explained together with what came before." Aokiji smiled and explained the reason to Kakuzu in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and finally added a concluding sentence: "As the saying goes, you have to give up something to gain something."

Upon hearing this, Kakuzu felt as if a new world had opened up for him.

Although it sounded like a very simple principle, it unexpectedly enlightened him.

"Everything should have its limits. It is precisely because these daimyo are insatiable that wars have continued year after year."

Kakuzu gave Aokiji a meaningful look: "I really find it hard to believe that someone your age would say these things."

Aokiji lowered his gaze, his expression calm as a mirror: "In times of war, even the most ignorant child will grow up quickly after experiencing suffering."

As he spoke, he looked up and a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face.

Kakuzu saw sadness in his eyes and thought that perhaps this was the reason for his maturity...

"Do you have any ideas about which country to conquer next?" Kakuzu suggested. "If not, what do you think of the Land of Waterfalls?"

Kakuzu was born in Takigakure Village, and his choice of this country was somewhat influenced by personal grudges.

Aokiji glanced at him, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Why did you choose this country?"

"A personal grudge."

Aokiji remained silent, pretending to be deep in thought.

After spending time together, Kakuzu was so impressed by Aokiji's performance that, out of approval, he asked for the other's opinion: "How was it?"

Aokiji paused for a moment and then said, "To be honest, I don't recommend choosing this country."

Under Kakuzu's questioning gaze, Aokiji explained, "Geographically speaking, the Land of Waterfalls is in a very bad location."

After saying that, he drew several circles on the ground with a twig, marking the five great nations, and then marked the location of the Land of Waterfall. He explained the reason: the Land of Waterfall is surrounded by the four great nations of Fire, Wind, Lightning, and Earth. It is not terrible to become a pawn, but it is terrible to become the chessboard. Once war breaks out, the people of this territory will be the first to suffer, and the local economy will collapse completely.

Moreover, besides that, the military strength of the Land of Waterfall is not weak. The Land of Waterfall has a tailed beast after all. Although its strength is not comparable to that of the major powers, it is still more than enough. It is not so easy to control Kakuzu alone with Aokiji.

The correct idea is to find a country that is far away from the main battlefield and has a weak military strength.

Aokiji shared his thoughts with Kakuzu, and then revealed the answer: "My idea is the Land of Bears."

"Bear country?"

"That's right. This country is located on the right side of the Land of Fire's territory and is close to the coast. Moreover, its military strength doesn't seem to be very impressive. In addition, it is very suitable for maritime trade."

In the original story, Konoha sent a few Konoha genin to kill the Hoshikage right at his doorstep. This shows how weak Hoshikage Village was. Kakuzu's strength alone could easily deliver a devastating blow.

"The Land of Bears, is that...?"

Kakuzu pondered for a moment; "I remember this country has something quite interesting. Apparently, a meteorite fell into that country about a hundred years ago, and the ninjas there used it to establish a village called Hoshikage. They even called themselves Kage, hmph..."

The title of Kage is reserved for the strongest ninja from the five great nations and five great ninja villages.

For a tiny country like the Land of Bears to dare to call itself a Shadow is hardly a matter of confidence; it's more accurate to call it arrogance.

Based on his memory, Aokiji replied, "You mean Starfall, right?"

"Pretty much." Kakuzu didn't seem to care much about the meteorite.

On the contrary, Aokiji was very interested in this.

Through the meteor shower, one can cultivate a secret technique called the Peacock Instant Technique. Its power is so-so, but it allows one to fly. Overall, it's a pretty good secret technique.

However, this alone is not enough to truly interest Aokiji.

More than the fact that he could cultivate this secret technique through the meteorite, what he truly cared about was the origin of this meteorite.

This piece of meteorite fell from the sky. This origin can easily make people think of the aliens from outside the world, the Otsutsuki clan.

When talking about the Otsutsuki clan, one must also mention the Uchiha clan.

Perhaps this meteorite could offer him some help. With this in mind, Aokiji was determined to obtain the meteorite.

Kakuzu followed Aokiji's advice and decided to set his sights on the Land of Bears: "In that case, let's choose the Land of Bears."

Aokiji laughed and said, "Is that so? Then I'll leave the task of gathering information about the Land of Bears to you."

"???" Kakuzu subconsciously thought that Aokiji was with him.

Aokiji explained, "I'm going back to the village. It's been so long since I've been back, the village must have reacted by now."

Kakuzu gave a meaningful snort: "I thought someone like you would just..."

Aokiji interrupted, "Don't let my appearance fool you. I'm a man of principle. As long as the village doesn't do anything to wrong me, I certainly won't wrong the village either."

"In the end, he's still just a kid, still clinging to illusions..."

Aokiji shrugged: "Can I just leave?"

Kakuzu snorted coldly: "You may leave."

"Oh right, I forgot to ask you something. How can I contact you later? Given your status, it won't be easy for me to find you."

Kakuzu glanced at him and gave him a location and a name. This was information about his subordinate; if he wanted to find him, he could do so through this subordinate.

Aokiji nodded neatly and turned to leave.

"etc……"

Kakuzu pointed to the money on the ground.

"Just leave it here. It can't escape anyway. You can't expect to make a quick buck, can you?" Aokiji laughed. "Besides, without my Sharingan, some things will be quite troublesome to handle."

Kakuzu slightly closed his eyelids and coldly snorted, "Get lost."

See you again sometime.

Aokiji waved his hand and disappeared from the spot.

"Hmph, you little brat..."

………………

Upon returning to the village, Aokiji immediately informed Hiruzen Sarutobi about the mission, albeit in a condensed version. He omitted details such as Kakuzu's secret techniques, precisely to prevent Konoha from identifying Kakuzu.

After hearing Aokiji's report, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply.

The murder of the Fire Country Daimyo's relative will inevitably affect Konoha's reputation, and in severe cases, it may even lead to a reduction in the allocation of military funds to Konoha.

If Aokiji had died during the mission, it would have been better; there would have been room for negotiation, and he would at least have earned a reputation for protecting someone at the cost of his life.

The problem is that Aokiji is still alive, which inevitably leads to gossip, such as him being afraid of the enemy and choosing to run away, resulting in the death of the mission target.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's hesitant expression, Aokiji simply cut to the chase: "Hokage-sama, are you wondering why I'm the only one who survived?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, waiting for Aokiji to provide the answer himself.

"I abandoned the mission." Aokiji didn't lie; there was no point in trying to cover it up, and no normal person would believe him.

More importantly, the daimyo don't care how difficult your mission is; they only see mission failures and then deduce the process that is advantageous to them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback; he hadn't expected Aokiji to actually go ahead and do it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, feigning ignorance, "Why did you run away?"

"Because the enemy is very strong, after assessment, it is not an opponent I can defeat, and staying would only increase casualties."

"So, you ran away?"

Aokiji said in a deep voice, "Are you suggesting I stay here to die? I've done my best; that opponent is not someone I can defeat."

Aokiji's overly direct answer left Hiruzen Sarutobi momentarily speechless.

Protecting their comrades and choosing to retreat and cover the rear is the politically correct course in the timber industry; even if they have to pretend, they should at least make it look convincing.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, "Do you even realize the enormity of the trouble you've gotten yourself into this time...?"

Aokiji said confidently, "I don't think I did anything wrong. If I can't win, I can't win. As for ninja beliefs and such, those only exist in novels and comics. In reality, I naturally have to make the right choice based on reason."

"What if Tsunade and the others were in this escort team?"

"That's another matter, of course. If it were for them, I would fight to the death."

"I am just an ordinary person. I cannot be as great as the Hokage and spread love to every single person in the village."

"My love is small and limited; I only care about the people I care about. For them, I can abandon some rationality and even make sacrifices."

"However, if the Hokage asks me to pay the price of my life for the mission objective and for the comrades I've only met a few times, then I can only say I'm sorry, I can't do it, and I don't want to do it."

Aokiji's words sounded cold, but they were actually very rational. Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, "What are you waiting for?"

Aokiji was momentarily stunned when several figures appeared out of nowhere and came into view. These people were wearing the same clothes, with shoulder pads, headbands, and leg wraps. The only difference was that they wore animal masks on their faces.

Aokiji immediately recognized these people as members of the Anbu who had been protecting Hiruzen Sarutobi, upon seeing them wearing animal masks.

"Lord Hokage, what are you doing...?"

"Aokiji, don't blame me, this is for the village."

The daimyo's relative died unexpectedly during a mission, and moreover, he died while Konoha was protecting him. Konoha must give the daimyo of the Land of Fire an explanation.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to sacrifice Aokiji, imprisoning him and sending him to the Daimyo's residence.

He wanted to recruit Aokiji to be the eyes that monitored the Uchiha clan, and he was always very tolerant and generous towards him.

However, this leniency has its limits. There are a few lines that Aokiji is not allowed to cross. Once these lines are crossed, he must enforce the law impartially.

Besides the aforementioned rule that desertion during a mission led to the death of a daimyo's relative, another rule is that Aokiji is not allowed to set a precedent.

If everyone in the village has the same mindset as Aokiji, then the village will be difficult to manage.

The instant Hiruzen Sarutobi gave the order, members of the Anbu rushed in from all directions to encircle and annihilate him.

With lightning speed, Aokiji formed hand seals, his cheeks puffed out, and he spat out a large amount of dust. Upon landing, the dust spread in all directions, instantly enveloping the small Hokage's office in smoke, obscuring visibility.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, known as the master of ninjutsu, recognized the technique instantly upon seeing the first leaf.

Fire Release: Dust Concealment Technique.

This is a relatively advanced Fire Release ninjutsu from the Uchiha clan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals and used some kind of ninjutsu. The swirling smoke vanished instantly, along with Aokiji's figure, indicating that they had obviously run away.

Along the way, Aokiji exerted all his strength and ran wildly, with the Anbu in hot pursuit behind him.

He had no intention of fighting, mainly because he couldn't win anyway.

At this moment, if he didn't want to go to jail or be sent to the daimyo to apologize, he only had one option left: quickly go and ask Elder Itachi for help!

(End of this chapter)