Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 24 Aokiji's Guidelines for Making Friends

After Tsunade flattered Aokiji until he felt comfortable, he reluctantly relented, revealing a fatherly smile: "Speak, what is it, Tsuyoshi..."

Xiao Gang...

Tsunade's eyes twitched slightly as she suppressed the urge to punch someone that was welling up inside her. She forced a smile and patted the other person's chest: "I must have hurt you just now."

Aokiji, being a bit too forward, said cheekily, "A little bit. Why don't you rub my chest for me?"

Tsunade, having reached her limit, blurted out, "Don't push your luck. You want me to rub your breasts? Dream on! You'd be the one giving them to me, uh..."

"Uh... okay."

The pheasant climbed up the pole, and then it was knocked down.

"You deserve to die twice, you pervert."

Tsunade's cheeks were burning hot, almost steaming. What on earth had she been babbling about without thinking? She wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

This time, Aokiji's chest really hurt, as if a huge rock had just been smashed against it. He stopped joking and said, "What exactly do you want to tell me?"

Tsunade's face was still flushed, and she casually flicked her nails: "It's really nothing serious. How about I sign a contract with one of your summoning beasts?"

Aokiji's eyes widened, his expression one of disbelief, as if to say, "How dare you say such a thing? Huh? What are you talking about? This fox spirit is my most important companion!"

"Owner……"

The fox spirit saw all of this, never expecting that her master viewed her this way.

As expected, the owner still loves me.

Although he always seemed to dislike her, he never deprived her of food, drink, or entertainment. She secretly vowed to serve her master well in the future.

Tsunade pressed her lower lip tightly; she knew it was a bit unreasonable to say that, but…

"You have to pay."

The fox spirit was bewildered.

Tsunade was bewildered.

"What? You don't mean you want to get a summoning beast from me for free without paying anything?"

Aokiji waved his hand, flicking his index finger, and sternly pointed it at the other person, angrily rebuking: "Damn it, I never thought you were this kind of person. I misjudged you, Tsunade."

Although she was completely bewildered by the scolding, Tsunade quickly snapped out of her daze and her expression immediately turned joyful: "How much?"

She is quite bourgeois, receiving a lot of red envelopes every year, which she keeps with her mother. She says she's afraid of "gambling" and spending it recklessly, so she only gives herself to herself when she has a reasonable need. And now is the time for her to have a reasonable need.

Without hesitation, Aokiji replied, "Ten million taels."

Tsunade's smile froze instantly: "Why don't you just go and steal it?"

He knew what ten million taels meant; it was enough for him and his grandfather to go to the casino, go all in for a long time, and watch the dealer deal cards online for just as long.

Aokiji mimicked the penguin, his expression changing: "You have no money, and you still have the nerve to bring this up?"

"Tacky."

Tsunade attempted to morally condemn Aokiji, hoping to instill guilt and achieve her own goals. However, Aokiji wasn't buying it: "Oh right, I just like vulgar things. Especially money, it's a wonderful thing."

When persuasion failed, Tsunade decided to use force, brandishing her shuriken in a flash: "Would you like to test the sharpness of my shuriken?"

Aokiji understands Tsunade. Although she has a fiery temper, she still knows her limits. For example, the time she was holding the shuriken was mostly to scare him and make him back down.

Aokiji's judgment is based on facts. In his time with Tsunade, Aokiji has almost never seen her use a shuriken. If a problem can be solved with her fists, she will solve it with her fists. If one punch isn't enough, she'll throw another.

According to her own words, she seems to prefer the visceral thrill of hand-to-hand combat, and it's unclear who she inherited this penchant for melee combat from.

Aokiji found Tsunade's unruly demeanor amusing, so he started joking around with her. In a flash, he also drew his shuriken, his neck stiff, his aura no less imposing: "My shuriken is just as sharp."

For a moment, they were locked in a fierce battle, seemingly about to really come to blows. Jiraiya, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up to dissuade them: "You two, are you really going to fight?"

These words gave Tsunade a good way out. She sheathed her sword and said calmly, "Don't make a fuss. It's not like you're serious."

Aokiji added, "Jiraiya, you really don't understand Tsunade at all. When have you ever seen Tsunade use a shuriken? You graduated and were even in her team."

Having said that, he formed a hand seal, dispelled the summoning spell, and turned into a wisp of white smoke. The purpose of showing off his pet could now be considered complete.

Tsunade looked reluctant, but she could only give up in disappointment.

If Aokiji won't give it to her, she can't take it.

Jiraiya suddenly realized, "That's true."

I can hardly recall ever seeing Tsunade using a shuriken; the shuriken she carried was more of a decoration.

"You seem to know Tsunade quite well," he remarked.

Aokiji sighed helplessly: "Don't you even know who I am? I cook for her all the time, I'm her cook, oh no, I mean, her chef. I know exactly whether she likes sweet or spicy food."

Tsunade:……

In fact, not only Tsunade, but Aokiji also often cooked for Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were both orphans, and since no one in their families cooked for them, they often came to Aokiji's house to freeload meals.

Of course, this isn't free; the three of them have to pay for their meals or bring their own ingredients.

While cooking is certainly a hobby, Aokiji is not generous enough to let these three eat and drink for free.

Aokiji laughed and said, "Well, never mind, it's too quiet at home anyway. Sometimes I prefer to have a few more people at home, it's more lively that way. I'm quite happy that Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru often come to my house and do me the honor."

Tsunade was a little embarrassed by Aokiji's sudden formality, which sounded like a confession. For a moment, she stammered, "W-what is it? It sounds really awkward to hear you say something like that all of a sudden. If you don't like someone, why don't you make more friends?"

After spending time with him, Tsunade found that Aokiji was actually quite easy to get along with, but she didn't know why he didn't seem to have many friends. All things considered, including the three of them, there didn't seem to be many.

"Because I'm afraid of dying."

"fear death?"

Tsunade was very puzzled. What did inviting classmates to her home have to do with being afraid of death?

Aokiji continued, "To be precise, I'm afraid that if my classmate dies, I'll be sad."

Hearing this, Tsunade was even more confused: "You, you only say half a sentence at a time, can't you just finish the sentence at once?"

How else can I appear sophisticated if I don't say it this way...?

Aokiji sighed: "Unless something unexpected happens, all the students in our class will become ninjas after graduation."

"What's the problem?"

"This is a huge problem. Being a ninja is a high-risk profession. It's not surprising that someone died in that remote corner and no one even came to collect their body."

"Humans are creatures that seek advantage and avoid harm. Since I know this premise, I will try my best not to develop too many feelings for my classmates. That way, even if I unfortunately receive news of their deaths one day, I will not be sad, because those people are just passers-by in my long life. I will still eat and drink as usual and sleep until dawn."

Orochimaru's pupils trembled slightly upon hearing this; Aokiji's words almost expressed his own thoughts.

He deeply understands this; that's exactly what he thought and did back then.

Orochimaru is a man of few words, and strangers keep him at arm's length. But he wasn't born that way; he simply didn't want to experience the pain of loss again.

As expected, only Aokiji could reach the depths of Orochimaru's soul.

Orochimaru sighed inwardly.

Tsunade didn't understand: "But if, as you say, gaining means losing, then why do you still want to be friends with me, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru?"

Aokiji sighed, "Because I'm human..."

(End of this chapter)