Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 164 Imprisonment

"call out."

On the roof, Aokiji stomped hard, and with a thud as he stepped on the roof beams, his body was lifted into the air.

Just a little bit more, just a little bit more.

The Aokiji in mid-air is trying hard to find a building; only by finding it can there be room for maneuver in the later stages.

In a short while, a blue shuriken logo came into view, and if you looked closely, you could even see a pattern similar to a billiard card on it.

This building is the Konoha Police Department.

This is the place that Aokiji has been desperately searching for.

Elder Itachi's residence was too far away, and by the time Aokiji arrived there, he had already been intercepted halfway.

Aokiji landed at the entrance of the Konoha Police Department, and suddenly sensed something strange behind him. He turned around and saw a giant net coming towards him.

With only inches between them, there was no time to dodge, and their entire bodies were trapped on the ground by the net.

In an instant, several members of the secret service surrounded them.

"Let me go—!"

Aokiji's loud shouts attracted the attention of the Konoha Police Force, and after a few shots, police officers came out.

"Huh? Aokiji. What are you doing on the ground, and in this state?" The security team members recognized Aokiji and went over to check on him when they saw him lying on the ground in a net.

"Please don't ask any questions about the Dark Division."

The masked members of the Dark Guard spoke coldly, keeping everyone at arm's length.

"What did you say—!?"

One of the security guards remained calm: "Aokiji is a member of our Uchiha clan, so why is it none of our business to manage him?"

The Dark Division can handle what the Police Department can handle, and it can also handle what the Police Department cannot handle; their functions overlap to some extent.

Sometimes, one can't help but wonder if the police department is somewhat superfluous. Recent years of discontent, coupled with the conflict in this matter, led a police officer to step forward to argue.

Another companion stepped in to stop him, advising in a deep voice, "Don't do anything foolish. Calm down. Only the Hokage can mobilize the Anbu. Their intentions, in other words, are also the Hokage's intentions."

"..."

The police officer clicked his tongue in displeasure.

The member of the ANBU wearing the dog-head mask nodded slightly and uttered a cold, mechanical voice: "A wise choice."

Aokiji continued shouting, trying to escalate the situation further, while the ANBU member with the dog-head mask gave his team members two meaningful glances.

The two team members understood and each placed one hand on Aokiji's shoulder to prevent him from moving.

After that, the dog-masked ANBU formed hand seals, and light blue chakra appeared on his hands. He then placed one hand on Aokiji's stomach.

A burning sensation ran through his abdomen, and Aokiji felt weak all over, finding it even harder to mobilize his chakra.

"Sealing Technique..."

Aokiji gritted his teeth and groaned softly, feeling powerless and helpless, like a fish on a chopping board.

He realized that he might have overestimated the higher-ups, or perhaps the ninja's thought process.

If the stability of the village is at stake, these Konoha leaders will not hesitate to sacrifice themselves.

In the original story, the ninjas of Kumogakure kidnapped three-year-old Hinata. The Hyuga clan pursued them, but the Kumogakure ninjas falsely accused them. In order to prevent the conflict between the two countries from escalating, Konoha Village actually agreed to hand over Hinata's father's body.

Who is Hinata's father?

That's the head of the Hyuga clan. Can someone of that level just be befriended like that?

Has Konoha lost their minds?

Although Konoha Village was no longer at its peak at this time, even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse, and the Uchiha clan members were still alive and well.

If a real fight breaks out, they are not afraid of Kumogakure at all.

Although the final result was the sacrifice of Neji's father, it also reflects that sometimes Konoha is capable of doing anything stupid in the name of stability.

In order to give the Daimyo of the Land of Fire an outlet for his pent-up emotions, someone like Aokiji, who had survived, was naturally pushed to the forefront to bear the pressure.

At the same time, it's possible that Aokiji's example is also a way of sending a message to other Konoha ninjas: the missions assigned by the village should be based solely on the mission itself, and even if the enemy is very powerful, they should risk their lives.

"Take him away." The leader of the Dog-Headed Dark Squad said coldly, ordering his subordinates to take Aokiji away.

………………

Uchiha clan territory, the clan head's living quarters.

Middle-aged and elderly people sit facing each other.

The current head of the Uchiha clan cut to the chase: "Elder Itachi, something has happened to Aokiji..."

Elder Itachi said calmly, "I already know the general outline of the matter..."

"So what do you mean?"

"Save him."

The old man's voice conveyed an unwavering attitude.

"The higher-ups probably won't agree. Aokiji's mission failed this time, causing a huge impact. Someone has to take responsibility, and Aokiji, who survived, will undoubtedly bear the main responsibility, no matter what excuse they use."

With all his teammates dead and the mission objective dead, Aokiji, who survived, was undoubtedly the daimyo's outlet for rage.

Elder Itachi raised his eyelids slightly: "So you mean...?"

"For a ninja, the village's orders are absolute. A ninja must risk his life to fight on any mission assigned by the village. Yet this time he ran away, which is simply unacceptable, especially since it involved the death of a daimyo's relative..."

Elder Itachi roared, "Are you going to sacrifice Aokiji?"

"It's a pity, but this is the only way."

"I disagree." Elder Itachi also had his reasons: "I don't think Aokiji did anything wrong. Even if he stays, he will only be sacrificing his life in vain."

"But this time, the employer who died was a very close relative of a prominent family."

Elder Itachi scoffed, "A daimyo's relative is a life, but isn't Aokiji's life also a life?"

"Elder Itachi, you spoil Aokiji too much..."

"He is worth it for me to do this; he is a unique individual."

The Uchiha clan chief sensed the hidden meaning in his words and deliberately probed, "I admit that Aokiji is a genius with a rare bloodline limit, but he doesn't have those eyes after all."

"Who told you that Aokiji doesn't have those eyes?"

Elder Itachi snorted coldly.

It's time for him to reveal some information about Aokiji's Sharingan.

Of course, this only applies to the clan. As for external matters, it's not yet time; it will have to wait until war breaks out before it's secretly revealed to the Konoha leadership.

The goal was to make the higher-ups ostracize Aokiji, thus allowing him to feel the deep malice from Konoha's leadership towards the Sharingan.

Some things, even if he instills in Aokiji a thousand times, are not as effective as letting him experience them firsthand.

"You mean... the Sharingan?"

The Uchiha clan chief's face was filled with astonishment: "How is this possible? I've never seen him use the Sharingan before."

"Not using it is one thing, having it but not using it is another."

The Uchiha clan chief took a breath, realizing what was going on: "Now I finally understand why you take such good care of him."

"Aokiji is the most talented Uchiha child I've ever seen since that man."

That man was naturally referring to Uchiha Madara...

The Uchiha clan head, after a moment's thought, opened his mouth and asked, "Elder Itachi always knew that Aokiji had two Bloodline Limits?"

Elder Itachi shook his head: "No, actually I only found out in the last few years."

The Uchiha clan leader was taken aback.

"You must have heard at least a little about how Aokiji has always refused to be a ninja."

Now that you mention it, the Uchiha clan chief somewhat understands why Aokiji never uses his Sharingan.

"When did you discover that he had two bloodline limits?"

"During my first match with Fugaku, I discovered that he possessed a vast amount of chakra, so I used my Sharingan to control him and asked him directly."

Uchiha clan leader: ...

Elder Itachi smiled helplessly, "I put a lot of effort into guiding him onto the path of a ninja."

"There's something I don't quite understand. Aokiji has two bloodline limits, so why does he usually only use Ice Release and not Sharingan? Looking around, apart from Wood Release, there shouldn't be any bloodline limit in this world that can rival the Sharingan, right?"

Elder Itachi explained, "It was me who told him not to use it."

The Uchiha clan leader looked questioning.

"You haven't forgotten how the Konoha higher-ups have treated our Uchiha clan all these years, have you? I don't need to say more about the disciples who inherited the Second Hokage's will."

The Uchiha clan leader lowered his head slightly, fully aware of the current predicament the Uchiha clan was facing.

Despite being one of the two founders of Konoha, he never touched the upper echelons, allowing the Yuan Fei clan, who came later, to reap the benefits.

The Uchiha clan has always been looking for opportunities to rise to the top, but reality is cruel. At best, the Uchiha clan can only hold onto the Konoha Police Force, a position that is neither too big nor too small, and they languish between the top and bottom.

Elder Itachi said, "Aokiji is a trump card I left for the Uchiha clan. With his talent, he may have the potential to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan in the future."

Upon hearing those eyes, the Uchiha clan leader's breathing became rapid.

As the clan leader, he was one of the few people who knew the secret of awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Even so, he did not possess the Mangekyou Sharingan.

It's not that the emotional stimulation wasn't right, but rather that I simply didn't have the aptitude for it.

In past battles, he had witnessed his comrades die before his eyes and had experienced moments of profound grief, but even so, he still hadn't awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Thus, he was still a very qualified person in the Uchiha clan; otherwise, he would not have been able to become the head of the Uchiha clan.

This shows how high one's aptitude is required to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan; both opportunity and talent are indispensable.

Considering that Aokiji possesses two bloodline limits, with his talent, he might actually be able to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan in the future.

"I understand. For the future of the Uchiha clan, I will protect Aokiji no matter what."

If a conflict were to arise with Konoha someday, Aokiji's power would be indispensable.

In the dimly lit cell, Aokiji lay on the bed, his chakra sealed, looking as frail as an ordinary person.

Looking out through the iron railings at the blue sky and white clouds, you might even catch a glimpse of birds flying by if you're lucky.

This is what Aokiji can do now that he's extremely bored.

(End of this chapter)