Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 205 Mission

Upon returning to the village, Aokiji immediately sensed the difference from usual; the villagers all wore heavy, somber expressions.

"The shadow of war hangs over everyone's head."

Feeling inspired, Aokiji crossed the street and unexpectedly encountered a young boy named Fugaku.

He saw Aokiji return and went up to him, saying, "Aokiji, you're back."

Aokiji said helplessly, "With things having developed to this point, how could I possibly still be in the mood for travel?"

Fugaku looked on with envy: "With your skills, you'd definitely be highly valued on the battlefield. I want to go to the battlefield, but none of the clan leaders want to send me."

Aokiji flicked Fugaku's forehead with his finger: "What's there to envy? I'd rather not go to the battlefield."

As they walked and talked, Aokiji arrived at the Konoha Police Station and met with the head of the Uchiha clan.

The Uchiha clan leader looked pleased to see Aokiji return: "You're back."

Aokiji inquired about the cause of the war.

After a brief conversation, Aokiji roughly understood the situation: the widening economic gap between countries was causing unequal resource allocation.

This reason is basically the same as the reason in the original work that he knows, so why did it break out so early?

Aokiji, unaware of the truth, sighed.

On the other side, the Uchiha clan leader was also helpless. Itachi had sacrificed himself to prevent the war from breaking out too soon, but things didn't go as planned, and the war broke out in another way.

"Come back and get some rest. I think it won't be long before the village assigns tasks to address your issue."

Aokiji went home and slept soundly to recharge. The next day, he was notified to go to the Hokage's office to receive a mission from the village.

Upon arriving at the Hokage's office, Aokiji saw Hiruzen Sarutobi, who, as always, was smoking a pipe.

"Oh, you're back."

Looking at that harmless smile, Aokiji smiled wryly: "If I hadn't come back, I think the village would have sent someone to look for me. In these extraordinary times, I won't cause trouble for the village."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was pleased with his words and praised him, saying, "You've grown."

"Who will I be working with on this mission next, Orochimaru and the others?"

If possible, Aokiji would like to team up with them, since they know each other well and it would be more convenient. However, things didn't go as planned, as Orochimaru and his group already had their own teams.

"Excuse me for being nosy, but may I ask who their team leader is?"

Aokiji wondered who else in Konoha could be the captain for these three.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stated directly, "It is me."

Aokiji was momentarily stunned by these words.

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled sheepishly on his wrinkled face: "Speaking of which, since becoming Hokage, I haven't fulfilled my duties as a teacher for a long time."

His disciples are still too young. On the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes, and accidents can happen at any time. He is not at ease entrusting them to others to take care of before they have truly grown up.

"It was an unexpected yet perfectly logical answer."

Unable to team up with Orochimaru and the others, Aokiji lamented, "So, who should I team up with next?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed and said, "The leader is someone from your clan, Uchiha Akane. He is a ninja recommended by your clan."

Aokiji was fairly satisfied with what he heard. This person was an old acquaintance, not some nobody, and his strength was guaranteed: "That's good then. What's my next task?"

"Meet at the main gate of Konoha later, and Akane will explain it to you."

Aokiji gave a nonchalant "oh," and then said, "So, is there anything else? If not, I'll head over there."

Aren't you curious about the other two?

"Anyway, I've already said it, and I probably won't know them anyway. We can get to know them when the time comes."

Aside from Tsunade and the others, Aokiji didn't pay much attention to information about the other people in the village.

Instead of wasting time, you should improve your own abilities.

However, things did not go as Aokiji had imagined. At the gate of Konoha Village, besides his old acquaintance Uchiha Akane, there were two other team members, one of whom Aokiji recognized.

She was a girl two years older than Aokiji, named Sayuri. She was from the same clan as him, but she didn't have the Sharingan and was skilled in medical ninjutsu.

Seeing her reminded Aokiji of Tsunade; he wondered what she was doing with her now…

Aokiji sighed inwardly, shook his head, and decided to focus on the present, not dwelling on those thoughts. He then asked, "So, Akashi-sensei, what's our next task?"

"..."

Aokiji called him, but there was no response, so he added, "What's wrong?"

Aokiji's words pulled Uchiha Akara back to reality, and he apologized, "Sorry, I was a little distracted just now."

Distracted?

A look of confusion appeared on Aokiji's face. In his memory, Uchiha Akane shouldn't be the kind of person who would get distracted.

He was curious, but the other party didn't seem inclined to explain, so he didn't ask.

Uchiha Akane solemnly declared, "The enemy forces ahead are launching a fierce attack to break through the borders of the Land of Fire. To stop their offensive, our mission is to disrupt their supply lines."

"To achieve great things with little money, is that it...?"

Aokiji, finding the plan feasible, pondered for a moment: "Besides us, there should be others involved in this mission, right?"

"Of course, just to be on the safe side, there will also be necessary support from the undercover units."

Hearing this, Aokiji felt a little more at ease, since those who could enter the Anbu were basically all experts.

Uchiha Akatsuki watched Aokiji deep in thought without revealing his expression.

Because of the Uchiha clan leader's revelation, he now knows more about the secret of Aokiji's dual bloodline limits. He thought to himself, no wonder Elder Itachi valued Aokiji so much when he was still alive; there was such a reason behind it.

He was recommended by the Uchiha clan leader to be Aokiji's team leader Jonin. In addition to his official duties, his main task was to protect Aokiji's life. In order to prevent any accidents, the clan specially arranged a rare medical ninja, namely Sayuri.

As for the other one, it's more of an optional extra.

"During the mission, you must follow my instructions and refrain from acting on your own."

The three responded, "Understood."

Perhaps because he was worried about someone, Uchiha Akira added a final sentence: "Especially you, Aokiji. This mission is different from the past."

Aokiji: ...

After understanding the mission, everyone rushed towards the target location without stopping. They traveled in silence, and after an unknown amount of time, they could clearly feel the sky darkening.

Stop.

Uchiha Akane let out a deep sound, and the others stopped in their tracks, turning their gazes toward him, awaiting further instructions.

Uchiha Akara nodded in satisfaction. The overall strength of a team depends on many factors, among which obedience to orders is a very important one.

"Let's rest for a bit and get ourselves ready. If we go any further, we'll be in enemy territory. We could encounter ambushes at any time there, and then we won't even have time to rest."

(End of this chapter)