Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 349 Aokiji's Revenge

After dinner, Itachi stayed with Sasuke, Mikoto washed the dishes, while Aokiji and Fugaku held a secret meeting in their room.

"Aokiji, I'll be holding a meeting at the Nanga Shrine sometime soon. It's about..."

"I understand," Aokiji interrupted. "That's good. I'll travel around during this time to get a better understanding of the current situation in the village."

Fugaku understood Aokiji's actions; some things can only be truly understood by seeing them firsthand. "Then, I'll have Itachi accompany you during this time."

"Is this okay?"

"It's okay."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

Aokiji glanced at him: "...Fugaku, you and Itachi actually have some kind of conflict, don't you?"

Fugaku sighed, "As expected of you, you noticed it so quickly."

He asked Itachi to accompany Aokiji, not primarily to understand the current situation in the village, but mainly to let the two spend more time together so that Aokiji could find a way to bring Itachi's ideas back on track.

Aokiji raised his chin and smiled: "Go ahead and tell me, I'm listening..."

Fugaku sighed softly and told the other party about Itachi's situation.

After listening, Aokiji understood the general situation, which was basically the same as the original story: "This is really complicated, it actually involves this matter."

Fugaku looked troubled: "I don't understand when exactly it started, but Itachi and I started to drift apart and gradually deteriorate."

"Tell me about the opportunity that led Itachi to awaken his Sharingan," Aokiji said, intending to learn more about Fugaku's son.

Fugaku looked puzzled. Why did they bring up this question?

Aokiji narrowed his eyes, his gaze becoming meaningful: "You should know what opening your eyes means..."

Fugaku sensed the hidden meaning in his words and pondered for a moment before saying, "...I don't think this is a big deal for Itachi."

Aokiji returned to the previous question: "In short, tell me everything from beginning to end."

Fugaku thought about it carefully for a moment, and then told Aokiji.

As Aokiji had expected, he sighed, "Just as I thought..."

Fugaku looked puzzled.

"I just heard Mikoto say that Itachi learned the Great Fireball Technique with just one glance at the age of four. If that's true, then I can imagine that you must have high hopes for him."

"Is there anything wrong with this?"

"There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but you've forgotten that even a genius is still a child. When one's mind is immature, it's easy to go astray."

"Especially for a genius like him, he is often very arrogant. This is not something he is born with, but rather something that happens during his growth process. He realizes that his abilities far surpass those of his peers, and then gradually develops a work style that only believes he can solve everything perfectly, and then becomes poor at communication."

This was the first time Fugaku had heard these views, and he immediately understood. Things he hadn't understood before suddenly became clear.

Aokiji continued, "If it's an ordinary genius, it's fine, since there are limits after all. They will soon realize that their personal abilities have limits and get back on track."

"But Itachi is different. With his talent, you can imagine that setbacks simply don't exist for him during his growth. Naturally, he becomes more and more arrogant. Of course, your inarticulate personality is definitely a bit of a problem as well."

After hearing all the explanations, Fugaku finally understood the real reason why he had become increasingly estranged from his son. "It seems I was wrong..."

Seeing that Fugaku was listening attentively, Aokiji felt slightly gratified.

If someone else had explained it to Fugaku in this way, the effect wouldn't have been so good, and it wouldn't have even caused a ripple.

This is something only someone like Aokiji, who left a deep impression on Fugaku from a young age, could accomplish.

"I never imagined that things would come to this point and I would still need to trouble you." Fugaku gave a wry smile. "As expected, the position of clan leader should still be inherited by you."

Aokiji hummed in agreement, not objecting.

Fugaku looked surprised.

Aokiji laughed and replied, "You thought I would refuse?"

Fugaku spoke his mind: "Yes."

"I can't always shirk my responsibilities..."

"In that case, I'll take this opportunity, at the Nanga Shrine gathering in a few days, to announce that I'm returning the position of clan head to you. This position was originally meant for you to inherit."

By handing over the clan leadership to Aokiji, Fugaku could live a more relaxed and carefree life, and have more time to spend with his children and Mikoto.

"You can continue to temporarily assume the position of clan leader. In the meantime, I have some personal matters to attend to."

"What's wrong?"

"revenge."

After saying those two words, Aokiji's previously gentle expression instantly turned gloomy.

Fugaku's pupils suddenly dilated.

Aokiji sneered: "What do you think I became like this?"

Fugaku asked in a deep voice, "What exactly happened to you?"

"The higher-ups framed me, wanting me to disappear from this world in order to achieve their own despicable goals."

"W-what...?"

Fugaku had suspected this before, but he was still shocked to hear Aokiji admit it himself.

"So many years have passed, I don't need to tell you what attitude the Konoha higher-ups have towards us." Aokiji's eyes and voice were icy.

"...Okay, tell me the details of the cause and effect."

Aokiji closed his eyes and took a breath: "Alright, I'll tell you everything."

Fugaku listened with a solemn expression.

Aokiji recalled, "This story begins with a kidnapping case."

"Kidnapping?"

"Do you still remember the sensational case from back then, where the son of the Fire Country's daimyo was kidnapped and extorted by ruthless bandits?"

"It seems to be true. It was quite a big deal back then, and the magistrate spent a lot of manpower and resources to bring the criminal to justice."

Fugaku thought for a moment, then asked, puzzled, "But what does this have to do with the accomplice you mentioned?"

Aokiji curled his lip and sneered maliciously, "Hmph... Of course it's related, because... I was the one who planned the kidnapping of the Fire Country's daimyo's son."

Shock!

Fugaku's expression could only be described as shock: "You're not kidding me, are you?"

Aokiji gave a cold laugh and retorted, "Do you think I'm joking?"

Fugaku paused, swallowing hard. "I don't understand. Why are you doing this?"

"Why? Of course, it's for revenge."

"revenge?"

"In order to save my life, I chose to abandon the mission, which resulted in the death of my employer. The daimyo of the Land of Fire wanted to use me to atone for my sins, and the village also planned to hand me over. Fortunately, Elder Itachi overruled the objections and barely managed to save me and give me a lenient sentence. However, I ended up in jail for this and was only released afterward."

After Aokiji's reminder, Fugaku remembered that there was indeed such a thing: "So, you're thinking of revenge?"

"That's right." Aokiji said bluntly, "It's just a mission. Putting aside the fact that the pay is so low, I don't even care about these guys wrapped in corpses. I must be crazy to risk my life for this trash."

"I see, so there's that connection." "Wait a minute..."

Suddenly, as if he had just thought of something, Fugaku's eyes almost popped out of their sockets: "How old were you back then... You were incredibly bold!"

"This has nothing to do with how bold I am. From beginning to end, I don't think I did anything wrong. I'm just seeking justice in my own way."

Fugaku recalled what happened to Aokiji during those six months: "So, all that time, your travels were just an excuse you made up to plan this kidnapping?"

"good."

Fugaku's lips twitched violently: "But what does this have to do with the fact that you disappeared for so long afterward?"

He realized that he might have underestimated the blue pheasant in the past.

Such a vengeful nature is fortunate that Aokiji is on their side; otherwise, as their enemy, they would be living in constant fear.

Aokiji countered, "What do you think the village will think if they find out about this?"

Fugaku's eyes widened, and he remained silent for a moment: "I think the village, considering your personality, will definitely not give in obediently. Furthermore, considering the stability of the village, secretly killing you might be the best explanation to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire."

Aokiji's face was cold, and he growled in a tone as if he wanted to crush something: "I can understand the village doing this for the sake of its reputation, but I don't understand why Tsunade has to be dragged into this."

"Aokiji..."

Fugaku called out the other's name, intending to offer some words of comfort, but the words caught in his throat. Aokiji's current pain was beyond his comprehension as an outsider.

Aokiji forced a sarcastic laugh from his throat: "But I figured it out later. It was because of my identity and my strength that I threatened the higher-ups. Those guys probably wanted me dead for a long time, but they just never had the chance."

"Now that this opportunity is presented to them, the higher-ups will naturally seize this rare chance to kill me, even at the cost of Tsunade's life, because they know my personality well. If they don't use Tsunade as a threat, they simply can't kill me."

Fugaku: ...

"They took advantage of this and ambushed me, but they probably never dreamed that I would survive using secret techniques, and return with resentment and new power to seek revenge."

The blue pheasant's emerald green pupils turned red, revealing snowflake-like patterns, and it grasped at the void with one hand, thus making a vow.

A chilling atmosphere filled the air as Fugaku looked at Aokiji's eyes, which were filled with snowflake-like patterns.

As the clan leader, unlike ordinary clan members, he knew the price of awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Aokiji awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, presumably after witnessing Tsunade's death.

Fugaku had a bad feeling: "So, what are you going to do next...?"

"Didn't you ask me how I'm going to fight for fair treatment for the Uchiha clan?"

"I'm telling you very clearly now." Aokiji raised his chin, his cold eyes filled with intense killing intent as he looked down at his opponent, and said, word by word, "I will kill every single one of the higher-ups and the family members behind them."

(End of this chapter)