Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 181 Underground Romance

After the battle, Aokiji took several deep breaths. He couldn't exert his full strength, and winning was still somewhat difficult.

After being informed of his victory by the referee, Aokiji formed hand seals and released himself from the ninjutsu.

With a crack, the ice pillar shattered, and Uchiha Tsuchihan collapsed to the ground. Aokiji stepped forward, extended his right hand, and prepared to pull him up.

"No need, I can stand up by myself."

Uchiha Tsuchien waved his hand in refusal, placed his hands on his knees, and slowly stood up.

Aokiji said with a slightly admiring tone, "But your Sharingan is really amazing. I almost lost."

This isn't Aokiji being modest; his opponent was indeed quite skilled, and his victory over him without using his Sharingan was somewhat lucky.

"You have to accept the consequences of your bet. If you lose, you lose. There's nothing wrong with admitting it."

Uchiha Tsuchihan readily admitted his defeat.

Losing isn't scary; what's scary is refusing to admit it.

His Sharingan was not defeated by Aokiji's Ice Release, but by Aokiji himself.

He had fought against ice-style ninjas before, but he had never seen a ninja like Aokiji who used ice-style ninjas to such an extent.

I'll definitely beat you next time.

Uchiha Tsuchihan was full of fighting spirit.

Aokiji, undaunted by the challenge, declared: "It doesn't matter, I'll beat you again."

Uchiha Tsuchihan's eyes turned red, and his unmoving eyes seemed to see right through Aokiji.

Feeling embarrassed by being stared at like that, Aokiji asked, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Uchiha Tsuchihan looked away and shook his head: "It's nothing, just a feeling that time really can change a person."

In my memory, Aokiji wasn't like this at all; now, he's gradually becoming more reliable.

At the same time, I felt a little sorry for Aokiji; his talent shouldn't have been wasted on something as trivial as Ice Release. If he had the Sharingan, perhaps the position of clan leader would have been his from then on.

As the two were talking, Fugaku ran over, his dark eyes filled with curiosity as he looked up at Aokiji: "Aokiji, what was that ninjutsu you were using just now?"

Aokiji, with a shameless grin, attributed the development of the Rasengan to himself: "Oh, you mean that? That's an A-rank ninjutsu I recently developed, called the Rasengan. Looks pretty good, right?"

Fugaku is still just an eight-year-old child, so Aokiji could easily guess what he was thinking: "Fugaku, do you want me to teach you?"

"Really?" Fugaku was so excited he almost jumped up.

"Of course, call me 'Brother Aokiji' a few times, and let me hear it..."

Fugaku recalled being tricked by Aokiji in the past: "Hmph, you're probably trying to trick me again. I'm not going to call you that."

Aokiji spread his hands; he genuinely wanted to teach him this time, but no one believed him.

During the conversation, Aokiji noticed that Elder Itachi was walking with a cane.

"Elder Itachi, my performance just now was pretty good, wasn't it? I didn't slack off while I was traveling."

Elder Itachi said calmly, "It's alright."

Aokiji's face fell, and he gave a wry smile: "Seriously? This is acceptable? Elder Itachi, aren't you being a bit too strict?"

"As a ninja, it's never too much to be strict with yourself."

"Elder Itachi is really strict..." Aokiji said helplessly, "Well then, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

Where are you going?

Of course, it's for a date...

It's best to keep these thoughts to yourself; saying them aloud could cause unnecessary trouble.

Like a student who had just been scolded by the teacher, Aokiji put on an expression of having listened attentively: "Of course I should go train! Didn't you say we can't be lax and slack off?"

Elder Itachi nodded in approval.

"Then I'll be going now..."

Watching Aokiji's figure gradually disappear, Elder Itachi pondered in his heart that the time was ripe, and it was time for him to go to Iwagakure and make a move on the Five-Tails.

If everything goes smoothly, the identity of Itachi can be discarded.

........................

A corner of Konoha, a forest.

Here, towering trees grow in abundance, their tall branches and leaves blocking out the sun. In addition, a group of poisonous insects and ferocious beasts also inhabit this place. If an ordinary person rashly enters, he or she may die without even knowing how.

For this reason, the forest is surrounded by barbed wire to prevent people from entering recklessly and to prevent wild animals from escaping and causing accidental injury to villagers.

To warn some villagers against venturing into the forest out of boredom, this forest has a chilling name.

—The Forest of Death.

Anyone with a modicum of sense would likely not go in if they saw those big words written on the outside.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this place a place rarely visited by people.

However, precisely because of this, it became an excellent date spot for Aokiji and Tsunade.

This place might be dangerous for ordinary people, but for ninjas of Aokiji and Tsunade's caliber, it's just a backyard garden where the two of them go on dates.

The sun hangs high in the sky, and sunlight filters through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground that sway in the wind.

Under the big tree, Tsunade paced back and forth, looking somewhat anxious.

As if to express her feelings, she untied the thin red ribbon tied around her head, shook her head slightly, and let her golden hair cascade down her shoulders, shimmering in the sunlight.

A giant Orochimaru coiled around a tree noticed Tsunade's presence, silently approached, and when she wasn't paying attention, it suddenly opened its jaws and pounced.

At this moment, Tsunade was furious, feeling like she had been stood up. This giant snake was also courting death, so she punched it in the head.

"boom".

The giant snake rolled its eyes back, lost consciousness, and fell directly from the tree, crashing heavily to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Tsunade, who had been stood up, closed her eyes, then exhaled to calm herself down.

Just then, a flippant voice came from behind: "Oh dear, you're really impatient."

Tsunade opened her eyes upon hearing this, her expression initially relaxed, but the next second her face immediately turned from joy to anger, her brows furrowing and eyes widening: "Do you know you're late?"

Aokiji immediately replied, "Sorry, I really have something to do at the clan and can't get away."

"Even if you flatter and fawn, it won't work."

Seeing his positive attitude in admitting his mistake, Tsunade's anger subsided considerably, but a woman still needs to maintain her dignity and save face.

Aokiji moved closer to her, putting his arm around her shoulder. "Oh, don't be angry. I was just busy, you see, I finished and came right over to keep you company, didn't I?"

Then she noticed a delicately colored flower tucked into her golden hair. Aokiji had seen it when he ventured deep into the Forest of Death.

The flower emitted a delicate fragrance, a very ordinary scent, but in Aokiji's eyes at that moment, it was more fragrant than any other flower in the world.

"Please remove your paws, thank you. I don't know you."

Tsunade's expression was indifferent, and although she said that, her body was very honest, and she did not resist.

"I'm really angry..."

Tsunade's voice, tinged with resentment, drifted from her pouting lips: "Brothers are like limbs, women are like clothes. How dare I be this 'clothes'? Maybe someone will just throw it in the trash, don't you think?"

"You're being too petty..." Aokiji gave Tsunade face, feigning a meek and submissive demeanor: "Oh dear, you can't say that. Think about it, how much does a pig's trotter cost normally? How much does a piece of clothing cost? Isn't the difference in value obvious?"

"You're really good at rambling on and on."

Tsunade was amused and burst out laughing.

However, she quickly put on a sour face, as if to tell the other person, "I still haven't heard from you, so please continue to comfort me..."

Aokiji understood and took out an exquisite gift box from the pocket at his waist.

"At least you have a conscience." Tsunade glanced at Aokiji, a pleased smile playing on her lips. "What's inside?"

Aokiji chuckled softly, "You'll know once you open it up and take a look inside."

Tsunade smiled gently, opened the gift box, and found a blue gem shaped like a love star.

Tsunade covered her mouth in surprise: "So beautiful."

"This is called the Ocean Star, and it represents my love for you as deep as the ocean."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade no longer held back and gave Aokiji a big hug, indicating her forgiveness: "I received the gift, I forgive you."

"As long as you like it, that's fine."

"but……"

Moved, Tsunade realized a problem: could Aokiji afford this?

Aokiji pressed, "But what?"

"Can you afford this?"

"Of course I can't afford it."

"Uh...where did you get this from?"

"I found it."

Tsunade: ? ? ?

"Haha... Just kidding. To be precise, I found it by accident in a cave during my travels. I almost lost my life because of it."

"Are you hurt?" Tsunade asked with concern. "Are you alright? Quickly take off your clothes so I can see, just in case there are any lasting effects."

Aokiji was taken aback: "You believe that?"

"Believe it, why wouldn't you? Is there any better reason than this?"

Tsunade chuckled softly: "It couldn't be that you killed and robbed them, could it?"

Aokiji was ashamed.

In a sense, Tsunade was basically right...

This gem was found when he first committed a crime with Kakuzu and emptied the lord's house. However, at that time, the gem had not been polished. Aokiji took it because he thought it was beautiful and found a top craftsman to polish it, which is why Tsunade sees it now.

"Are you alright?" Tsunade was more concerned about Aokiji's injuries than the gem.

"It's okay, I'm all better now."

"That's good. If you feel any pain anywhere, please don't bear it and remember to tell me..."

Tsunade, like a worried parent, kept giving instructions, but perhaps still worried, she changed her mind at the last minute: "Never mind, you're so forgetful, I'll check it myself."

Aokiji isn't injured.

This is awkward.

"Hurry up and take off your clothes. I need to give you a full checkup."

Aokiji covered her chest with both hands: "This is not right. Men and women should not touch each other. You have seen my body naked. How am I supposed to get married in the future?"

Tsunade was utterly speechless at Aokiji's attitude: "Can you be serious for once?"

"All right."

"Should you take your clothes off, or should I?"

"You should take it off. I prefer to be more passive."

"You're so lazy~~"

"hey-hey……"

"Aokiji..."

"Um?"

"Didn't you feel like our conversation just now was a bit strange?"

"?"

P.S.: I should be able to write another chapter tonight, I think...

(End of this chapter)