Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 252 The Uchiha Clan Chief Invites You

Among the clansmen who spoke up, the general sentiment was one of disapproval. The man on the steps listened carefully to everyone's opinions: "Since we are of one mind, there's nothing to hesitate about now. Let's separate these two people first."

As soon as he said that, people asked how to separate the two. Forcibly separating them might backfire and provoke Tsunade's rebellious tendencies.

This is indeed something we need to seriously consider. The man rested his fingers on his chin, stroking around for a moment. "According to the information I heard from the Hokage, Aokiji seems to be planning to act together with Tsunade in the future. We can use this as a starting point."

"What should we do?"

"Tsunade possesses the most outstanding medical talent in our clan's history. Someone like her should be protected by someone with even greater strength."

Upon hearing this, the clansmen understood the other party's line of thinking and praised, "I see, that is indeed a good method."

Having confirmed this policy, the Senju clan began searching for a clansman to replace Aokiji.

Uchiha Aokiji had a bad reputation in the village, but it had to be admitted that he was indeed very capable.

He doesn't just have two skills, he has many skills.

Even without the power of the Sharingan, the combination of Ice Release, Boil Release, and Tailed Beast power is a force to be reckoned with on its own.

If Aokiji hadn't lacked the Sharingan, he would probably have been the future head of the Uchiha clan.

Finding someone of the right age within the Senju clan to deal with someone of this caliber alone is no easy task.

Fortunately, their foundation as the number one ninja clan in the ninja world is still intact.

"Ye Hao, Asakura, you two decide who goes first."

As the deep voice sounded, the tribesmen all turned their attention to the two young men present.

After a moment of silence, the young man named Itama slowly stood up. He was handsome and had striking half-black and half-white hair.

Seeing him step forward, the clansmen present nodded in agreement, feeling that the matter was now in their favor.

Ye Hao and Asakura are brothers and the most talented ninjas in the Senju clan besides Tsunade. They are only a few years older than Tsunade. More importantly, they have awakened the Wood Release bloodline limit through experiments and have the power to suppress the tailed beast in Aokiji's body. It can be said that these two are the most suitable candidates for this mission.

"This mission cannot fail."

"Ninjutsu is about quality, not quantity, and the same applies to bloodline limits," Asakura said proudly. "This is a good opportunity to show off my Wood Release and let those Uchiha guys know that Wood Release hasn't disappeared yet."

…………

Meanwhile, Tsunade and Aokiji trained for a long morning.

Seeing that it was getting late, Tsunade suggested, "Let's stop training here and go eat."

With the mindset that haste makes waste, Aokiji accepted the suggestion, put down his training, and went to have dinner with Tsunade.

Walking down the street, Tsunade casually asked, "What do you want to eat?"

Aokiji replied, "I want to eat you."

Tsunade was stunned: "???"

Aokiji added, "The dishes I made..."

Tsunade gave her a playful glare: "Can you just finish what you're saying at once? Otherwise, it's easy for people to misunderstand."

Aokiji chuckled and said, "What misunderstanding?"

Tsunade blushed: "Hmph."

Aokiji asked knowingly, "What's wrong?"

"I'm angry."

"You get angry over a joke?"

"I'll give you a chance to coax me properly, otherwise... hmph, you'll be sleeping on the streets tonight."

"Sigh, you really are asking the impossible."

As the two were flirting, a familiar voice, tinged with teasing, suddenly broke their conversation: "Oh dear, aren't these two silly lovers?"

Tsunade looked in the direction of the voice and saw a white-haired young man. Without saying a word, she retorted, "Oh dear, isn't this Jiraiya, who's always all alone? What brings you here?"

"What do you mean, 'what wind blew me here'?" Jiraiya said, looking utterly dejected. "I've always lived in Konoha, okay?"

"Oh, really?" Tsunade chuckled. "Sorry, I haven't been paying attention to the pebbles on the roadside before."

"I think you're only seeing Aokiji right now," Jiraiya said, but it was actually really sarcastic.

Aokiji interrupted their conversation, saying that if they continued, they probably wouldn't even get to eat: "Jiraiya, we're about to go eat, do you want to come?"

Jiraiya's face immediately fell upon hearing this: "Ha, you mean dinner? With the two of you?"

"Is there anyone else here?" Aokiji asked, looking confused. "Or is there something wrong with how I phrased it?"

"No way, no way! I'd have to be out of my mind to go and be a third wheel for you two, providing electricity and light for your love..."

Recalling the messes the two of them often made, Jiraiya was clearly afraid of them and wished he could stay far away from them.

"Is that so? That's a real shame..."

Aokiji didn't force her and pulled Tsunade to a hot pot restaurant by the roadside. As soon as they sat down, the people around them noticed Tsunade and Aokiji.

"Look, look! It's Tsunade-senpai! Let's go say hello."

"Why are you greeting them? Can't you see they're busy dating? What are you doing over there?"

"Huh? Tsunade-senpai has started dating? Who is that guy?"

"I think his name was something like Uchiha Aokiji."

"Uchiha Aokiji, which monster are you talking about?"

"Shh—! Keep your voice down, it wouldn't be good if Tsunade-senpai heard us."

"No, I don't understand why someone as outstanding as Tsunade-senpai would associate with someone like him."

"I don't know about that. It seems like these two got together suddenly and have already started living together."

"Living together? No way, you must be lying to me, right, right?"

"Why would I lie to you? Quite a few people saw Aokiji go to Tsunade's residence yesterday and didn't come out all night. It's impossible for him to have been there all night playing the military flag."

"No, this can't be real—!"

……

……

These rumors and gossips unknowingly reached Aokiji's ears.

Suddenly, a burst of warmth spread to the back of his hand.

Those are Tsunade's hands.

"Don't take it to heart. They'll gradually understand you, just like I did in the past."

Tsunade comforted softly.

"Don't worry, I'm not that sensitive. It's just a few words. It's not like I'll lose anything." Aokiji picked up the menu on the table: "What do you want to eat? I'll order for you."

Tsunade casually replied, "Just keep an eye out for it. I'm not a picky eater."

Considering Tsunade's appetite, which was comparable to that of a tailed beast, Aokiji ordered a lot of food for her, to the point that the table couldn't hold it all.

Aokiji dipped the pig's brain in the hot pot, then ladled it into Tsunade's bowl: "Try my cooking."

Tsunade took a few bites.

Aokiji asked, "How is it?"

Tsunade commented, "It tastes good."

"That's good." Aokiji smiled and said, "As the saying goes, you are what you eat, so eat more to nourish your brain."

Tsunade sensed something was implied by Aokiji and frowned slightly: "What are you trying to say? You might as well be more explicit."

"There's a saying, 'Big breasts have no...'"

Just as Aokiji was about to utter the last word, he suddenly noticed Tsunade's murderous gaze and immediately swallowed it back.

Tsunade said irritably, "Looks like I was worried about you for nothing."

A hint of cunning flashed in Aokiji's eyes, but his expression was somewhat embarrassed: "I'm not eating anymore, you pig brain, we should eat chicken breast, okay?"

He said those things on purpose so that Tsunade wouldn't worry too much about him.

"I'm not eating. I'm so old, why would I eat?" Tsunade said irritably, throwing a tantrum. "You think I'm not big enough?"

Aokiji: ...

As Aokiji was thinking about how to coax Tsunade, a familiar figure came into view.

He was about twelve or thirteen years old, but looked mature beyond his years.

Aokiji greeted him upon seeing him: "Oh, isn't this Fugaku? Want to have hot pot with me?"

Fugaku shook his head: "No, I came here to tell you something."

Aokiji was taken aback.

"Clan leader, I need to speak with you," Fugaku said, his gaze involuntarily falling on Tsunade.

"It seems what was bound to happen has indeed come." Aokiji paused, then sighed as if he understood something, and slowly stood up.

Seeing him suddenly stand up, Tsunade couldn't help but ask, "Aokiji, are you going to...?"

"Don't worry, I'm just going for some tea..."

Tsunade nodded slightly, lowered her eyes and lowered her eyelashes, seemingly lost in thought.

"Feel sorry……"

Fugaku bowed to Tsunade and said, "Aokiji, lend me yours for a moment, I'll return it to you right away."

The woman in front of him is very likely to become his sister-in-law in the future, so he has to be polite to her.

Tsunade was quite understanding: "You don't need to take it to heart."

Now that Aokiji's family has already taken action, it's certain that her own family will soon follow suit.

Watching Aokiji and Fugaku leave, Tsunade made a fist with her left hand and a palm with her right, and with a "snap," she made a fist gesture.

She should take this opportunity to go back and express her gratitude to her father.

What must be faced will eventually have to be faced.

(End of this chapter)