Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 212 The Third Hokage Knows About Pampered Dogs

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. Since the matter was serious, he didn't beat around the bush and directly inquired about the tailed beast's condition. This displeased Tsunade, who frowned deeply and even her address of "Sarutobi-sensei" was tinged with personal emotion.

Hiruzen Sarutobi assumed this was out of concern for his comrades and hadn't taken it seriously enough. Just as he was about to explain, Aokiji spoke first, taking the blame: "Tsunade, don't say that. The Hokage has his own difficulties. Because of me, the village..."

Aokiji paused, a dejected expression slowly creeping onto his face. This time, however, he wasn't truly dejected; rather, he was trying to gain favor with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite pleased to see that Aokiji was so sensible, and offered words of comfort:

"It's not your fault. I heard the details on the way here. Since things have already come to this, there's no going back. The most important thing now is to prevent this from happening again."

Aokiji nodded: "I understand."

"So..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately dragged out his words, giving Aokiji enough time to take the initiative.

Aokiji did not disappoint him. He raised his face and said frankly, "The Four Symbols Sealing Technique, personally performed by Lady Mito, is very strong. The creature inside me, named Five-Tails, seems very docile."

"Honest?" Tsunade was taken aback.

Aokiji explained, "When I was unconscious, I saw the monster inside me. It was locked in a cage and could do nothing but yell and scream."

Tsunade felt a pang of sadness. Because of her grandmother, she knew about the treatment of Jinchuriki. Apart from her grandmother's special case, it was said that most Jinchuriki in other villages lived miserable lives. Aokiji's earlier speculation was not without merit.

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment before slowly speaking, "Although it may be inappropriate to say this, you will probably be unable to move around freely for some time from now on."

"I imagine that Lady Mito must have done your research on this beforehand, so I won't go into any further details."

Aokiji frowned slightly. Becoming a Jinchūriki meant facing restrictions on personal freedom like this was to be expected. His expression darkened. "I understand, but how long exactly?"

He felt that he would have to live under surveillance for at least several years, only allowed to move within a certain range, and unable to go anywhere else, which was truly the worst possible situation.

Sarutobi understood his meaning and gave an uncertain reply: "I don't know the specifics either. At the very least, we'll have to wait until you learn to control the tailed beast inside you, and then we'll see how things go."

Tsunade looked worried: "Sarutobi-sensei, what do you mean? Does this mean Aokiji will have to live under the village's surveillance from now on?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said helplessly, "I had no choice. It's all for the sake of the village. If the tailed beast inside Aokiji goes out of control again, the village will face such a crisis once more. I'm sure you don't want to see that happen either."

The tailed beasts are so large that even a slight movement can cause significant damage to the village. Even if they react quickly, the village will still suffer some damage.

Tsunade felt terrible but had no choice but to accept it.

Aokiji lowered his head meekly and said, "I will follow the village's arrangements in everything."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded: "You should rest well. We'll process your discharge procedures here in a while. I won't bother you any longer. I'm sorry I can't stay with you any longer. After what happened, there are still many things in the village that I need to take care of."

Aokiji smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi left, Orochimaru, who had been mostly silent, suddenly spoke up, lowering his voice: "Aokiji, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

Aokiji hummed in agreement: "What did you say?"

Orochimaru, with his keen insight, analyzed, "Theoretically, from the moment you became a Jinchūriki, you should have been under the village's surveillance. So your intimate actions with Tsunade just now have probably already been discovered. It was only a matter of time before Sarutobi-sensei found out about the two of you."

Aokiji's slightly upturned lips gradually disappeared, and finally he sighed.

Now we can only take it one step at a time.

Tsunade gently comforted her, "It's alright, Sarutobi-sensei is a good person, he won't stop us."

"I hope so..."

Entrusting something so uncertain to someone else is something Aokiji really doesn't want to see.

Ultimately, it's because he's too weak and lacks power. If he had power, everything would be different.

Thinking of this, Aokiji subconsciously touched the seal on his stomach.

Five tails...

Aokiji murmured to himself.

Perhaps becoming the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki isn't such a bad thing after all.

Given enough time, Aokiji is confident he can tame the Five-Tails.

While he might not reach the level of a perfect Jinchūriki like the Eight-Tails or Nine-Tails, Aokiji was still confident in utilizing a portion of the Five-Tails' power.

Once he controls this part, he will possess three bloodline limits, plus the massive chakra of the tailed beasts, making up for his "relative" lack of chakra. In a few years, there will be very few people in the world who can defeat him head-on.

………………

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was busy at work, seemed to sense something and raised his head slightly. He saw a man who had appeared in front of him at some point, kneeling on one knee, wearing an Anbu mask.

"Sorry to bother you."

"It's alright."

Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized the ANBU ninja by the markings on his face, then looked puzzled. "I remember you were supposed to be monitoring that child to prevent him from going berserk. Why are you suddenly here? It can't be because the tailed beast inside Aokiji has gone berserk again, can it?"

The sealing technique personally performed by Lady Mito could not be broken so easily. It might be possible if it were the Nine-Tails, but the Five-Tails obviously does not have that power.

As the Hokage, he knew more or less about the power rankings among the Tailed Beasts.

Nine-Tails is undoubtedly number one; otherwise, the First Hokage wouldn't have specifically kept it in Konoha. As for Five-Tails, it's just average among the nine tailed beasts.

The ANBU ninja pondered for a moment: "From what I've heard, it seems that Lady Tsunade is secretly dating that Uchiha Aokiji."

fall in love?

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a beat slow to react, but his eyes widened in shock: "What did you say?!"

The ANBU ninja glanced furtively at Hiruzen Sarutobi; he had anticipated this reaction.

After all, one of these two is from the Senju clan, and the other is from the Uchiha clan.

I've heard that these two families have been fighting for over a thousand years, and there's never been a pair like this before. This is unprecedented, so it's normal for the Hokage to have this reaction.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and calmed himself down: "Tell me everything clearly, without missing a single word."

The ANBU ninja tried hard to recall their conversation, and then conveyed his carefully prepared words to the other party.

After hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to give specific orders: "I understand the situation. Don't tell anyone about this."

"clear."

Hiruzen Sarutobi added, "Furthermore, from now on, you will be fully responsible for monitoring the Five-Tails Jinchuriki."

"Yes."

"That's enough, you can go back to your post now."

After the ANBU ninja left, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained in his seat and began smoking, his gaze drifting into the distance through the rising smoke.

The thought of the relationship between the two people gave him a terrible headache.

One of them is a member of the Uchiha clan, and also the Jinchuriki of the Five-Tails.

The other is a member of the Senju clan and the granddaughter of the First Hokage.

That's really unusual.

Are you trying to break up this loving couple?

But what's the reason?

Neither Aokiji nor Tsunade are the type to passively accept their fate; in fact, this could backfire.

He stood up, walked to the window, and through the glass, he could see the village of Konoha being rebuilt.

He stared at the scene for a while, lost in thought. As the war continued to expand and even spread to the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi tried hard to think about how to protect the village.

The power of the Tailed Beasts naturally comes to mind. This power is of great significance, and the village's higher-ups basically consider loyalty as the primary factor when choosing a Jinchūriki.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had very mixed feelings about Aokiji becoming a Jinchūriki.

Aokiji is a member of the Uchiha clan. In other words, this power is, to some extent, the power of the Uchiha clan, something that neither Hiruzen Sarutobi nor the Konoha leadership wanted to see.

When this happened, his companion Danzo even considered extracting the tailed beast from his body and placing it in those with impeccable moral character to cultivate.

While this idea may be somewhat extreme, it is indeed a good method that can save a lot of trouble.

Now things are even more complicated. I never expected that my disciple would be in a relationship with Aokiji.

If he fails, he will not only have to face the Uchiha clan, but also the hatred of the disciples he has trained.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his chin, seriously considering how to deal with Aokiji.

After a long silence, he sighed reluctantly, "Let's leave it at that for now."

The primary requirement for choosing a Jinchūriki is absolute loyalty to the village leadership. Therefore, Jinchūriki are often chosen from among the relatives of high-ranking village officials.

Considering the relationship between Aokiji and Tsunade, they could, in a sense, be considered relatives of high-ranking officials. After all, given Tsunade's talent and background, it's almost certain that she'll rise to a higher position someday.

Importantly, Aokiji doesn't have the Sharingan, which is a plus. Moreover, if a conflict arises, Aokiji will still consider his relationship with Tsunade, preventing him from completely siding with the other side.

Even so, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still worried about Aokiji.

After all, the matter of Elder Itachi was a ticking time bomb. If not handled properly, it could still lead to Aokiji turning to the Uchiha clan.

With that in mind, Hiruzen Sarutobi made a bold decision. Rather than being passive, he would take this opportunity to take the initiative and go directly to Aokiji to tell him the truth. Even if he failed, he wouldn't have to wait until things got to the point of no return.

More importantly, he could also subdue Aokiji and make him his eyes to monitor the Uchiha clan.

(End of this chapter)