Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 333 Uchiha Itachi (Part 1)

Konoha 58th year.

In a secluded corner of Konoha Village.

Cliff top.

Few people knew about this place, so when he heard a voice behind him, the thin boy knew without guessing who it was, especially since it was something they had arranged long ago.

"Still water..."

He called out the name of the person who came, his voice tinged with joy. He turned around, but when he saw the person's condition, he was completely satisfied.

"I'm sorry, Itachi..."

Shisui, who was a few years older than him, had a bloodstain on his right cheek that ran down to his chin. Judging from the bloodline that had not yet dried and bent, this incident must have happened not too long ago.

Itachi stood aside, silently waiting for his friend to continue.

Soon, Shisui spoke, his eyes clouded with deep gloom: "I'm sorry, Itachi, I failed..."

When Shisui mentioned the failure, Itachi naturally thought of the meeting at the Naka Shrine before this, where Shisui promised to take the first step towards peace between the Uchiha clan and the village.

But more than that, Itachi was worried about Shisui, whom he respected as his elder brother: "What happened to your right eye?"

Shisui did not answer immediately, but silently looked at the other side of the cliff, his eyes seeming to have lost their light and become dim.

Itachi had never seen Shisui with such an expression before. Shisui, who always wore a confident smile, was now showing such a dejected look.

He could no longer suppress his anxiety: "Who did this?"

Under persistent questioning from his friend, Shisui solemnly revealed the truth: "Danzo."

Itachi's breathing became labored, and an image of a man with bandages wrapped around his head and gloomy eyes appeared in his mind.

Just then, blood suddenly spilled from the mouth of Shisui in front of him.

Itachi, worried, quickly stepped forward.

Shisui wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, raised his hand to indicate that there was no need to worry, but what he said was despairing: "I was poisoned by Danzo, and there's no saving me."

Upon learning that his friend's life was about to end, Itachi's heart sank, and he murmured, "How could this happen..."

Not long ago, the two were enjoying the idea of ​​integrating the Uchiha clan into the village. Little did they know that they would have to witness the death of their best friend. Fate had truly played a cruel joke on them.

"Just as I was about to use Kotoamatsukami to stop the coup, Danzo found me, ambushed me when I was off guard, and stole my right eye."

As Shisui recounted the events leading up to this, his voice grew even weaker: "He didn't trust me, he didn't trust me as a member of the Uchiha clan..."

After saying that, he looked into the distance: "Although I have always been unwilling to believe it, the rumors in the clan may be true. That person may have died at the hands of the higher-ups."

That person?

A name involuntarily surfaced in Itachi's mind.

Uchiha Aokiji...

He first heard this name when he was only 4 years old, and his younger brother was still in his mother's womb.

His father took him to the battlefield to experience its cruelty. A few days later, during a training session, he had some questions about the way to hold the kunai and wanted to ask his father for guidance immediately.

He went into his father's room and heard excited voices coming from inside the sliding door.

"Why is the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze?! I refuse to accept this!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another voice rang out: "Keep your voice down, Yashiro."

The calm voice came from his father; even at home, he maintained the cautious demeanor befitting a ninja.

"But I just can't accept it. Why, when choosing the Fourth Hokage, besides Minato Namikaze, there were several other ninjas like Orochimaru and Dan Kato, but Fugaku was the only one not selected?"

Hearing the voice and hearing his father call the man's name, young Itachi pictured the man's face in his mind: squinting eyes, white hair, a few years older than his father, but indeed his father's subordinate.

After this person finished speaking, someone else voiced a different opinion, distinct from the previous two: "Yashiro is right, I can't agree with that either."

The father's voice called out the person's name: "Rice Fire..."

The man was probably standing up for what was right, so the father didn't say anything, he just called him by name.

Itachi tried hard to recall the information about the name.

This man had sharp eyes and long, glossy black hair. Like Yashiro, he was a trusted subordinate of his father.

"I admit that Minato Namikaze is very strong, but becoming Hokage requires more than just strength; it also requires seniority."

"On the battlefield, the mere mention of the name 'Fierce Eyes' is enough to strike fear into the hearts of ninjas from all nations. In terms of strength, Captain Fugaku might not be weaker than Minato Namikaze, and in terms of seniority, when Captain Fugaku was active on the battlefield, Minato was probably still playing in the mud..."

Dao Huo spoke in a very displeased tone, becoming increasingly agitated as he spoke.

The Eighth Hokage chimed in, "If Orochimaru had been chosen as the Fourth Hokage, I would have nothing to say, but the higher-ups still chose Minato Namikaze."

"Not all of our Konoha ninjas are dead, so why should a 24-year-old become Hokage?"

Inahisa continued, "Yashiro is right. I think this is a despicable conspiracy by the higher-ups."

Fugaku interrupted, "Stop talking..."

Having harbored resentment for a long time, Inahisa was full of bitterness. Even though Fugaku told her not to say it, she still persisted: "No, I have to say it. Anyone who has been on the battlefield knows Captain Fugaku's active performance on the battlefield. However, the ordinary people in the village don't know much about Captain Fugaku. Obviously, the higher-ups are turning a blind eye to your performance and not making it public, just so that you will lose your advantage in the future election for Hokage."

"As you saw, when it came to running for Hokage, he didn't even get nominated as Captain Fugaku. He's not even pretending anymore."

After Inahime finished speaking, Yashiro also chimed in: "If preventing Captain Fugaku from becoming Hokage was just one of the higher-ups' conspiracies, then preventing Orochimaru from becoming Hokage is their second. After all, everyone knows that Lord Orochimaru and Lord Aokiji were close friends in the past. If he becomes Hokage, under his leadership, our Uchiha clan will not be without hope of moving closer to the center of power."

"But what was the result? Even Lord Orochimaru was not selected. The Konoha higher-ups are forcing our Uchiha clan down a dead end."

Inahime slammed her fist on the floor, venting her frustration: "If Lord Aokiji were still alive back then, the Uchiha clan would never be in this state now..."

The two continued arguing until Fugaku's voice rose several decibels and he said, "Enough!" which finally shut them up.

Fugaku closed his eyes. Upon hearing the name "Aokiji," memories flooded his mind. He glanced at his son, who was eavesdropping at the gate, and said calmly, "Itachi, what do you want?"

Itachi, who was eavesdropping outside the door, was startled; it seemed he had been overheard.

Sure enough, he was still too naive...

Now that we've been discovered, there's nothing we can do.

He entered the room, using the excuse of wanting to learn about shuriken techniques as a shield to explain himself.

With his usual serious expression, Fugaku said, "I'm busy right now, let's talk about it later."

Itachi understood, bowed respectfully to express his apology, and left the room.

Yashiro and Inahime glanced at Itachi as he left the room, their eyes narrowing slightly.

Captain Fugaku's child had been eavesdropping the whole time, and the two of them hadn't even noticed.

It is true that the two of them were negligent because they were venting their emotions against Fugaku and the entire Uchiha clan for being unfairly treated, but they should not have failed to notice that a child as young as 4 years old was eavesdropping.

Fugaku said in a deep voice, "Next time, let's discuss this at the Naka Shrine."

As his two subordinates said, perhaps he should no longer adopt a mild approach.

The village's higher-ups have been constantly suppressing the Uchiha clan, leading to them suffering increasingly unfair treatment.

He could personally endure all of this, but he could not bear to see his children, or even his future grandchildren, suffer unfair treatment.

Just as Aokiji once told him: each generation does its own thing.

The injustices of the Uchiha clan must be thoroughly resolved in their generation.

Fugaku's eyes transformed into tomoe shapes, flashing red light, as he secretly made a vow.

…………

Withdrawing from his father's room, Itachi came to his mother Mikoto.

When Mikoto saw Itachi return, she clearly guessed what had happened, and said gently, "If you want to ask me about shuriken, I can do that too."

Itachi raised his head and looked at his mother, who was heavily pregnant and looked frail.

In fact, his mother was a highly skilled Jonin.

Jonin are extremely rare talents, even in a strong country like Konoha, let alone a woman. With her mother's level of expertise, she is more than capable of teaching him shurikenjutsu.

However, Itachi is more interested in other things than learning shuriken, such as a certain person's name.

He asked, "Mom, who is Aokiji?"

(End of this chapter)