Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 346 Reunion of Old Friends

Fugaku coughed twice: "So many years have passed, and you still haven't changed."

"Who knows?"

Hearing this ambiguous tone, Fugaku stared at Aokiji.

For some reason, he always felt that there was a subtle distance between him and Aokiji, as if there was an invisible thick barrier between them.

Is it because... we haven't seen each other for too many years?

Fugaku's mind wandered in that direction.

Mikoto, standing beside him, hesitated slightly before calling out, "Aokiji...brother..."

To be honest, it feels a bit strange to call someone who looks much younger than me, like Aokiji.

"Who are you……?"

Aokiji glanced at her; she was a young-looking woman dressed as a housewife.

Fugaku introduced her, "This is Mikoto, uh, my current wife..."

Itachi looked at his parents, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Father, Mother..."

Aokiji suddenly realized, looked Mikoto up and down, and said with a smile, "You've really grown into a beauty."

Mikoto, who is already a mother of two, felt very comfortable when she heard this: "Aokiji-nii, I feel embarrassed when you say that."

Aokiji looked at Fugaku: "I remember there was quite a big age gap between you two. I didn't expect that you, who are usually so serious, are actually a lolicon at heart."

Fugaku coughed violently, revealing a very rare state of embarrassment.

"Brother Aokiji, please stop teasing Fugaku..."

Just as Aokiji was talking to the couple, other voices chimed in: "Aokiji, it's been a long time!"

Aokiji cast a glance at him.

"I'm Yatsushiro!" the man said excitedly, pointing to himself.

Aokiji stated frankly, "I don't remember..."

Uh... that's awkward.

The previously excited Yashiro suddenly became depressed; it was so embarrassing.

Aokiji gave a hearty laugh: "Haha, just kidding..."

Yashiro's lips twitched. "After all these years, you haven't changed much. You're still always joking around like this."

wrong……

Itachi, standing to the side, immediately denied these words in his mind.

The current Aokiji is far more complex than he appears on the surface.

It looks glamorous on the outside, but it's actually rotten and unbearable on the inside.

The warm smile on his face was nothing but a mask of false kindness.

If you want to know why Itachi is so sure, the Mangekyou Sharingan that Aokiji just showed is the best proof.

"You guys have really changed a lot." Aokiji chuckled twice, rubbing his chin with his hand. "You've all gotten so old... especially you, Yashiro, your hair has turned white."

Yashiro looked at Aokiji, who had the same white hair as him but looked like a child, and said with a frustrated expression, "Do you think everyone is like you?"

Although I don't understand why Aokiji looks like this now, I'm pretty sure it's not a transformation technique.

After confirming that the person in front of them was indeed the legendary man from the past, the clansmen gathered around him began to whisper among themselves, saying things like, "What, he is Uchiha Aokiji..." The voices rose and fell, especially those clansmen who had only heard of Aokiji but had never seen him in person, who all cast very curious glances at him.

Fugaku glanced around, then looked back at Aokiji, suppressing his confusion: "It's getting late. Aokiji, why don't you stay here for the night?"

After saying that, he glanced at his son beside him and said, "Is it alright if I give up my room for Aokiji tonight?"

"I'm sorry..." Aokiji smiled at Itachi, whose nest had been taken over, "I'll make it up to you later."

"Don't mind it." Itachi nodded slightly and continued, "I just happen to want to sleep with Sasuke tonight."

Fugaku was instructing Aokiji on where to go that night, while Hachishiro and Inahime were dispersing the clan members back to their homes and doing what they needed to do.

At that moment, a member of the clan asked, "Lord Fugaku, what about tomorrow...?"

It's finally here...

Itachi looked at his father.

Now that Aokiji has returned, the original plans will need to be revised to some extent.

Fugaku hesitated for a moment: "The original plan is cancelled..."

They had originally planned to launch a coup tomorrow, but now the plan has been canceled. This is meaningless to everyone; in fact, they are happy to see things develop in this way.

The powerful return of a strongman like Aokiji will undoubtedly greatly enhance the Uchiha clan's fighting strength, and the coup d'état definitely needs to be reconsidered.

Original plan?

Aokiji squinted, casting a slightly puzzled look at him.

Fugaku's expression turned serious: "I'll explain everything to you properly when we get home."

Aokiji nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

Everyone understood the unspoken message and left.

Itachi breathed a sigh of relief; that was good.

He looked around, thinking that they should understand by now.

The members of Root are definitely watching this place secretly right now.

"Itachi, let's go..."

"Yes……"

Itachi withdrew his gaze and followed.

…………

Some distance away, in a large tree, the Root members who were secretly observing felt something was wrong and put down their binoculars.

"How is the situation?"

"My companion asked."

Because that area is inhabited by Uchiha clan members, if we rashly go there, we are very likely to be discovered.

"This is bad. That man is back. We must tell Lord Danzo about this."

After that, several members of Root returned to Danzo's side as quickly as possible.

Danzo, who was waiting for the results, saw his subordinate return early and a look of surprise flashed across his face.

He remained calm and waited quietly for his subordinates to report on the progress of the matter.

The Root members didn't answer immediately, but instead exchanged glances. It was foreseeable that Danzo would be in a bad mood upon learning of this.

Danzo frowned: "What happened?"

The urging had an effect; the next second, a deep voice came from his subordinate: "Lord Danzo, Aokiji is back..."

"Who?"

Upon hearing this name, which should belong to the dead, Danzo looked bewildered.

But that's normal, since this person has been dead in his heart for decades.

Therefore, when he heard the name "Aokiji", he didn't subconsciously think of it in that way, resulting in it sounding quite unfamiliar.

After a long silence, the Root member solemnly uttered his full name: "...Uchiha...Aokiji..."

"W-what...?"

Danzo's pupils dilated suddenly, and his expression was beyond even being described as disbelief.

"That's impossible!"

…………

Ninja Academy.

Looking at the bullseye dozens of meters away, Sasuke took a breath, aimed at the bullseye, and threw all the shuriken in his hand in one go.

With a few clanging sounds, all ten shuriken hit the bullseye, except for one that was slightly off-center.

Sasuke wasn't very happy because his results weren't ideal.

Of course, this result is unsatisfactory only in relation to him.

No, this kind of achievement is far from my brother's level, let alone earning my father's praise.

Just as he was feeling frustrated and disappointed with his grades, a chorus of cheering voices rose and fell behind him:

"Oh dear."

"Sasuke-kun."

"Wow, Sasuke is so cool."

Sasuke inherited his mother's beauty and had outstanding grades, making him very popular at school, especially among the girls, who all admired him.

Sasuke didn't think much of it, he just found it noisy.

"Sasuke is as amazing as ever..." The Root member, disguised as a school teacher, praised him while recording his grades.

"It's still a long way off..."

Sasuke aimed to emulate his older brother Itachi, so achieving this result was only natural for him.

During their conversation, a voice came from beside them: "Sasuke, don't be so smug, I will definitely defeat you."

Sasuke knew who it was without even turning around, and too lazy to look back, he simply walked away.

"Hey, wait a minute..."

Ignored, the blond-haired boy was about to yell and chase after Sasuke when he was suddenly blocked by a group of girls who scolded him, "Naruto, don't bother Sasuke, okay?"

They then surrounded Naruto.

Sasuke looked up at the twilight sky and thought to himself, "School's really getting out of here late today."

The Uchiha clan's territory is far from the village, and naturally also far from the ninja academy. By the time they get home, it will probably be evening.

Will my brother be home when I get back?

No, he probably isn't home.

My brother always has so many things to do.

Lately, Sasuke has gotten used to the days when his brother is rarely home.

Next time we meet, I'm going to give my brother a huge surprise.

There's a saying, something like, "A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days' absence."

Just as Sasuke was making a silent vow, a soft, gentle voice interrupted his thoughts:

"Um, that..."

Sasuke looked up and saw a girl with pink hair and a headband in front of her.

"What is it..." Sasuke looked up and asked. He remembered that the girl's name was Sakura.

Sakura held her right wrist behind her back with her right hand, her face flushed, fidgeting as if she wanted to say something.

Just then, a blonde girl ran over and pointed at the pink-haired girl: "Damn it, Sakura, you actually tried to seduce Sasuke while I wasn't looking..."

Sakura suddenly seemed like a different person, retorting, "Huh? What did you say? I was just chatting casually with Sasuke-kun."

"Still trying to argue."

"I wasn't making excuses, you wild boar."

"Broad forehead".

"Inoboar."

The two girls pushed each other, wrestling, their glares seeming to spark.

Seeing this, Sasuke closed his eyes, finding this jealous behavior quite boring.

Even if he was the one who got eaten.

(End of this chapter)