Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 348 Accepting Sasuke as a Disciple

"I feel like I've heard this name somewhere before."

Sasuke muttered something, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, I know, it's Uchiha Aokiji that woman mentioned last time..."

He harbored hostility towards Mizuki, referring to her as "that woman."

"Sasuke..."

Fugaku was somewhat displeased with his son's yelling and began to discipline him.

Sasuke shrank back, not daring to look his father in the eye, and apologized again in a low voice.

Fugaku said with a stern face, "You don't need to apologize to me. You should apologize to your Uncle Aokiji."

"I understand, Father..."

Sasuke responded and was about to call him "uncle" when he froze when his gaze met that of the white-haired, blue-eyed boy again.

Aokiji... Uncle?

How did this guy in front of him, who might not even be as old as his older brother, become his uncle?

Sasuke's worldview was somewhat shaken.

"What's wrong?" Fugaku said seriously, "Aokiji's real age is actually a few years older than mine..."

Sasuke was completely bewildered; to him, his father's words seemed to be nothing more than a serious lie.

A few years older? How could that be!

He looked at Itachi with a bewildered expression, hoping to get a clear answer.

Seeing the look in his younger brother's eyes, Itachi knew exactly what he was thinking. He nodded and continued, "Do you remember the person I mentioned to you not long ago? The person standing in front of you now is that person."

Sasuke's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open: "You're kidding, right?"

Aokiji gave a hearty laugh: "It seems like you know me quite well."

Sasuke suddenly realized, "Oh, I see, you're using the Transformation Jutsu right now, aren't you?"

Aokiji smiled and said, "I'm sorry, you guessed wrong."

Sasuke:  …

Fugaku scolded, "Sasuke, don't make me repeat myself too many times."

Sasuke, forced to submit to his father's authority, said helplessly, "Uncle Aokiji..."

Aokiji patted Sasuke's head: "Good boy, let's go eat, I'm really hungry."

Sasuke remained completely bewildered throughout the entire meal, his small eyes occasionally glancing at Aokiji as he secretly observed him.

He crept closer to Itachi, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered, "Brother, this guy has a really good relationship with Father and Mother. It's the first time I've ever seen Father smile."

"After all, it's been many years since we last met."

Itachi looked at the three people laughing and talking happily, and sighed.

He thought that if Shisui were to be resurrected in front of him one day, he would probably be just as happy.

Aokiji waved his hand and laughed, "That's all in the past. Let's talk about the present."

These words reminded Fugaku that if it weren't for the fact that his youngest son was present, making it difficult to elaborate, he would have liked to discuss the current situation with Aokiji.

Aokiji rested his chin on the back of his clasped hands and glanced sideways at him: "Speaking of which, your eldest son is really impressive."

Itachi was taken aback. How did the conversation turn to him?

Aokiji looked at Itachi and sincerely praised him, "When I was his age, I wasn't as good as him."

This is not flattery; at this age, Aokiji is no match for Itachi in a real fight.

Fugaku does not deny this.

His son is a true genius.

Sometimes, Fugaku would even forget that it was his son and become jealous of Itachi's talent.

Given the current fraught state of their relationship, Fugaku declined to comment.

Mikoto, however, had no such concerns and proudly said, "Itachi learned the Great Fireball Technique from Fugaku when he was only four years old, after just one glance at it."

Aokiji looked surprised: "That's really impressive."

"It's nothing serious."

Itachi said modestly.

Compared to being born with two bloodline limits, his talent is nothing at all.

Everyone was talking about how amazing the older brother was, and Sasuke, as the younger brother, felt neglected and angrily buried his head in his food.

Praising Itachi was just a prelude to what would follow. Following up on this topic, Aokiji continued, "Since Itachi is so amazing, his younger brother Sasuke must also be very talented."

Sasuke was startled and stopped eating.

Before he could even speak, his father, Fugaku, launched into a tirade of ridicule: "He's nowhere near as good as Itachi."

Sasuke lowered his head, his palms slightly bent, and his eyes revealed a hint of sadness.

In his father's eyes, no matter how hard he tried, he could never compare to his older brother.

However, the truly tragic truth is indeed so.

"Fugaku, you jumped to conclusions too quickly."

Aokiji rested his chin on the back of his hand, looking at the self-conscious Sasuke with interest: "I think Sasuke's talent might not be inferior to Itachi's."

Sasuke raised his head and looked at Aokiji.

Fugaku shook his head: "You overestimate Sasuke."

He kept criticizing his son, but it wasn't that he didn't love him.

He was just educating his son in his own way.

Sasuke is very talented, he certainly knows that, but anyone would feel ashamed in front of Itachi.

Of course, Aokiji is a special case and is not included.

He hoped to constantly provoke Sasuke through comparison, thereby making him stronger.

Aokiji denied it, saying, "I wasn't comforting Sasuke..."

Fugaku asked, "What's the reason?"

"It's just my intuition..."

Aokiji's reasoning was completely untenable, and not only did Fugaku not take it seriously, but Sasuke did as well.

He was just trying to comfort me after all...

He silently lowered his head.

Itachi hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped himself.

His talent is now putting pressure on and causing Sasuke pain.

"Sasuke..."

Hearing Aokiji call his name, Sasuke looked up, a puzzled expression on his face: "What's wrong, Uncle Aokiji...?"

"Are you interested in becoming my apprentice?"

Everyone present looked on in surprise upon hearing this.

"Is this okay?"

Fugaku paused for a moment, then asked.

Aokiji explained, "In the past, I originally wanted to take Mikoto as my disciple, but I had an accident, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to take her as my disciple now."

"That's a real shame." Mikoto thought that since she was already a mother of two, it was indeed inappropriate for her to become Aokiji's apprentice again.

Fugaku suddenly realized: "So you're planning to take Sasuke as your disciple to make up for your regret?"

Aokiji took a sip of tea to moisten his throat: "More or less, of course, there's also the reason why I felt Sasuke was a very special kid from the very first glance."

Sasuke is the reincarnation of Indra, and Aokiji plans to use his status as Sasuke's master to thoroughly study Sasuke's physical condition.

Aokiji's next statement was too mystical for most people to understand, but one thing was certain: Aokiji did indeed have the idea of ​​taking on a disciple.

Mikoto clasped her hands together, pressed the back of one hand against her cheek, and smiled brightly: "That's great, Sasuke... you have to work hard for Mom's share too."

"Work hard."

Fugaku cast an expectant glance at Sasuke.

Aokiji's strength and experience are widely recognized within the clan, so it would be perfect for him to take Sasuke as his disciple.

Seeing how highly his mother and father praised Aokiji, Sasuke nodded earnestly, "I will definitely work hard."

Seeing the three of them immersed in a joyful atmosphere, Itachi opened his mouth, his face showing worry. Aokiji possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan, and entrusting his younger brother to someone like that was truly a dilemma.

Forced by the current situation, he could only offer his congratulations, "That's great, where's Sasuke...?"

Sasuke hummed in agreement twice, secretly vowing to train diligently under Aokiji's guidance and not to disappoint his father, mother, and brother.

(End of this chapter)