Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 166 It doesn't matter, he will take action.

Konoha, Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was processing official documents, heard a knock at the door. He looked up, said "Come in," and a moment later, a middle-aged man with a shuriken tattoo on his arm walked in.

He is the patriarch of the Uchiha clan and the captain of the Konoha Guard.

His presence here is most likely for that matter again.

After a long silence, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly spoke, "It's about Aokiji, isn't it..."

The Uchiha clan chief nodded in agreement.

Hiruzen Sarutobi expressed his concern: "How is the search for the criminal progressing?"

The Uchiha clan chief held his breath and replied, "After our clan's diligent search, we have finally found a clue, and the culprit has been apprehended."

"Found it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was briefly surprised. Out of curiosity, he wanted to ask how it was found, but then, as if remembering something, he skipped the question and asked another: "That's good. What was the motive?"

The Uchiha clan chief narrowed his eyes, understanding dawning on him: "That lord's youngest son hired assassins to kill his father and brother in order to seize power. Later, when he tried to kill them to cover his tracks and prevent future trouble, he was unexpectedly killed by the assassins."

He made up this reason, and since he's dead, there's no way to prove it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to remember something: "Speaking of which, the timeline seems to match up with the recent fire at that lord's castle."

The Uchiha clan chief echoed his words, saying, "That's right, the fire was set by the murderer."

"I see. I was wondering why a fire would start out of nowhere. So that's the logic behind it."

"About Aokiji..."

The Uchiha clan chief pressed for details, expecting Hiruzen Sarutobi to promise to find the murderer and get Aokiji out of prison, something that had been agreed upon from the beginning.

Hiruzen Sarutobi kept his promise and said, "Don't worry, I'll negotiate with the daimyo about Aokiji's matter and rescue him from Hozuki Castle."

"Please..."

Seeing his sincerity, even his somewhat humble tone, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and said, "I think if Aokiji knew how much you've done for him, he would be moved to tears after his release from prison."

The Uchiha clan head said earnestly, "This is what I, as the clan head, should do."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. Although it was a pity, after this incident, he was afraid that Aokiji would never be able to be recruited by him again.

With that thought in mind, he stood up and prepared to leave the Hokage's office.

The Uchiha clan chief asked, "Hokage-sama, what are you doing...?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed, "Didn't you say you were going to rescue Aokiji from prison? Then what are you waiting for?"

The Uchiha clan chief's face lit up with joy, and he silently followed behind him. The two arrived at the interrogation room, and the strange Hiruzen Sarutobi only glanced at it before immediately deciding to set off, without even intending to ask any questions.

"Lord Hokage, don't you need to interrogate him personally?"

The Uchiha clan chief voiced his doubts.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled kindly: "Since you've already questioned me with your Sharingan, why should I interrogate you? It's redundant, but the main thing is that it will delay our plans to rescue Aokiji."

The Uchiha clan leader lowered his eyelids, lost in thought.

This statement, on the surface, praises the Sharingan, but in reality, it's a subtle dig at the matter. The Sharingan possesses many abilities, including the ability to make people confess, as well as the ability to manipulate others, making lying a given.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was well aware of this ability, but he simply refused to say so.

Both sides tacitly understood each other.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's underlying message was, "I don't know if you've arrested a real criminal or a fake one, but I've outwardly believed you. If problems arise in the future, it won't be my problem. At most, I'll be left with a bad reputation for being gullible. But the Uchiha clan will be in serious trouble. Deceiving the Hokage is a grave crime."

In this way, Hiruzen Sarutobi firmly grasped the Uchiha clan's weakness, and they would likely not dare to cause trouble in the future.

This is also one of the reasons why Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't ask how the criminal was caught.

The Uchiha clan leader's approach was simple and straightforward: once Aokiji has fully grown up, what difference does it make if he deceives us?

In the face of absolute power, all of these are utterly useless.

At this point, both of them had their own ulterior motives.

Halfway down the road, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to remember something and said, "Oh right, I rejected the proposal regarding the Konoha Police Force's budget last time."

The Uchiha clan leader was taken aback.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, "As you know, the funds allocated by the daimyo are limited, and the village has expenses in various aspects, so I hope you can understand."

The Uchiha clan chief suppressed his anger and forced a helpless smile: "I understand, I will appease the clansmen..."

The man in front of him is taking Aokiji's business in exchange for the Uchiha clan's compromise.

To outsiders, the Uchiha clan's role as the Konoha Police Force seems glamorous, but only they themselves know the hardships they endure.

Doing odd jobs every day is secondary; the main problem is that the guard's salary is too low.

It's important to know that in response to the village's "trust," the Uchiha clan always sends out their elite members to serve as a security force.

These elite ninjas are mostly ninjas with three-tomoe Sharingan. If they go on missions, their income will be far more than that.

"Then I'll have to trouble you..."

"Um."

From a distance where Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't see, the Uchiha clan leader, his expression one of resentment, clenched his fist and pierced his palm.

After arriving in the city where the daimyo lived, the weather was a bit late.

Daimyo are usually very "busy" people, so you have to make an appointment in advance to meet them. The appointment is then arranged by someone close to the daimyo.

The next day, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived early, afraid of being late. The agreed time was around 10:00 AM. He was punctual, but the other party stood him up. It wasn't until Inui had waited for more than half an hour that the other party finally arrived late, carrying a little girl.

The other party didn't seem to care much and sat on the sofa.

Hiruzen Sarutobi ignored the arrogant and rude attitude, displaying the composure of a Hokage as he sized up the man in front of him.

He was around twenty years old, with a handsome face, blue hair, and the twisted hair on his forehead reminded him of seaweed.

He was holding a little girl who looked quite young, about eleven or twelve years old, dressed in fancy clothes that didn't suit her age.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked puzzled. He remembered that he had made an appointment with the daimyo of the Land of Fire, and he didn't understand why it was a young man.

The blue-haired youth guessed Hiruzen Sarutobi's confusion and introduced himself: "My name is Shinji, and I am the son of the daimyo of the Land of Fire."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head slightly, his face showing realization.

He had met the daimyo's son, but since the daimyo had many wives and naturally many children, it was normal that he hadn't met some of them.

"Why isn't that one there...?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

Shinji replied, "My father has recently expressed his intention to step down, so he plans to have me take over the country. I am currently transferring power from his hands little by little."

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood, but was still somewhat confused: "I remember your father was quite young..."

"Give young people more opportunities," those were my father's exact words.

"Your father is truly magnanimous," Hiruzen Sarutobi complimented. "He is truly admirable."

"well enough."

That's true, but Shinji knew that his father found being a daimyo boring, having to deal with a bunch of trivial matters all day, so he abdicated so that Shinji could live a carefree life.

"But if you ask me, Prince Shinji is no ordinary man either, having shouldered the mission of developing the Land of Fire at such a young age."

Flattery will get you everywhere. Young Shinji heard plenty of flattery, but he still enjoyed it and looked arrogant.

Seeing that the groundwork had been laid, Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to get to the point when Shinji suddenly said, "By the way, it's rare for the Hokage to come all this way, so let me show you my collection."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the Uchiha guard beside him without revealing his expression, his face showing helplessness. He had no choice but to agree; when asking someone for a favor, one must have the proper attitude.

Seeing that Hiruzen Sarutobi had become more sensible, Shinji showed a happy expression and led Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others to an empty horse farm.

Shinji had a lifelong love of riding, which gave him a sense of conquest.

During the day, he liked to ride his beloved horse around the streets, grab any young girls he saw, put them on his horse, and take them back to the palace.

As for the evening, it's a completely different riding experience.

Therefore, he needed his horse to run very fast; otherwise, he would be unable to catch prey.

Therefore, he spent a lot of money to build stables, and every year he would spend money to buy the year's champion racehorses, breed them, and produce excellent offspring for his own enjoyment.

As the superior horses grew larger, ordinary horses could no longer satisfy him, so he handed the horses over to his men for experimentation.

Although countless fine horses were sacrificed in the process, these sacrifices were worthwhile because he accidentally created the world's only unicorn.

Its skin color, stamina, strength, and speed far exceed those of ordinary horses, making it an indisputable priceless treasure.

He only owns one horse of this caliber.

Shinji doted on this horse, naming it Hermes. Every day, a dedicated person would take meticulous care of it. If the unicorn was unwell that day, he would take his anger out on the person who was taking care of it, sealing them alive in cement until they died.

Looking at the uniquely shaped unicorn, Hiruzen Sarutobi sincerely agreed, feeling that the horse was worthy of being a summoning beast.

Shinji was pleased to hear this. He liked to see others looking at his possessions with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"Speaking of which, it seems that the Hokage has something to discuss with me."

Shinji seemed to have finally remembered that Hiruzen Sarutobi had something to ask him, but in reality, he had always known and was just putting on airs.

This is a tactic used to manipulate the other party.

Having gotten a chance to speak, Hiruzen Sarutobi explained his purpose: he wanted the daimyo's authorization to free Aokiji.

Upon hearing this, Shinji's previously smiling face immediately turned cold, and his attitude became arrogant: "Don't get me wrong, we've already shown the greatest leniency by not immediately executing that brat. Don't even think about releasing him."

One of Hiruzen Sarutobi's Uchiha clan guards couldn't help but speak up, "But we've already found the murderer..."

"Isn't this just common sense?" Shinji scoffed, his face full of anger as if he were throwing a tantrum. "What do you think we're doing this for? Paying you such a large sum of money every year, and you can't even do a decent job as a mere guard? You even have the audacity to live like this. It's disgusting. If this were a samurai in the past, let alone running away during a mission, they would be so ashamed that they would commit seppuku if their master lost a single hair during a mission."

Not content with that, Shinji also made a specific threat: "Perhaps I should consider the budget allocated to Konoha next year."

This was the first time the Uchiha clan guards had been insulted so harshly that they dared not utter a sound.

Shinji frowned, his face showing great displeasure: "Speaking of which, who exactly are you? How dare you interrupt my conversation with your Hokage? You have no manners."

"His name is Uchiha Enka, and he is my bodyguard. He was just worried about his comrades, so please don't take offense, Your Highness."

Hiruzen Sarutobi may have been speaking up for Enka Uchiha, but in reality, he was pushing him headlong into a fire pit.

Shinji seemed to understand something, narrowed his eyes, and said "Oh," drawing out his eyes: "I see. No wonder you were so protective of that kid, so he's from the same clan. Your clan's ninjas have always had some unruly ones, no wonder there's a brat like this this time."

Aokiji's influence on things this time is too great, if there is a first time, there is no guarantee that there will be a second or third time.

Even disregarding the fact that he was related to the lord, for his own safety, the daimyo would never let Aokiji go. If he said he would imprison him for life, he would imprison him for life and would never compromise.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed helplessly, glanced at the Uchiha guards, and looked resigned. His eyes seemed to say that it wasn't that he didn't want to get Aokiji out, but that the daimyo was simply unwilling to budge.

Upon returning to Konoha, Uchiha Enka relayed the entire story of the Daimyo's forceful response to the clan head and Elder Itachi.

"I know, you may leave now."

Upon learning that Aokiji could not be released, the Uchiha clan head dismissed his subordinates, frantic with worry: "What should we do, Elder Itachi? The Daimyo refuses to release him."

Elder Itachi narrowed his eyes, his expression calm.

It doesn't matter, he'll take care of it.

Aokiji has suffered enough in prison; it's time to release him.

(End of this chapter)