Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 355 The Godfather of the Uchiha Clan

Sasuke's face had turned deathly pale: "Aokiji-sensei, are you kidding me? Please stop joking around, this isn't funny at all."

Sighing at his disciple's foolishness, Aokiji's eyes were filled with pity: "Foolish disciple~ I'm not joking."

The once kind and understanding teacher had become unrecognizable, a wicked smile plastered on his face. Sasuke looked at Aokiji as if he were a stranger, his voice trembling: "Why, why did you have to go this far?"

"To help you successfully awaken the Sharingan..."

"W-what—!"

"Hmph..." After a chilling laugh, Aokiji spoke up: "Sasuke, let me explain to you what the Sharingan is. The Sharingan also has another name: the eye that reflects the mind."

"Reflecting the eyes of the soul!?"

"To awaken the Sharingan, one must experience intense emotional stimulation. This causes a surge of special chakra in the brain, which acts on the optic nerve, causing changes in the eyes. This is what we call the eyes that reflect the soul. And pain is often the best stimulus. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Upon hearing the reason for awakening the Sharingan, Sasuke's expression was beyond shock.

He understood; he understood everything.

No wonder that whenever asked about how to awaken the Sharingan, the two brothers were tight-lipped and unwilling to reveal the answer.

"Sasuke, I know you can't bring yourself to do it, so I'll take on the role of the villain."

Aokiji tightened his grip on Kuroko's throat. "Open your eyes and take a good look. This will be the nourishment for you to awaken your Sharingan."

The black cat's throat was being squeezed, and the pain was felt by Sasuke. The thought of his former companion being brutally killed right before his eyes brought tears to Sasuke's eyes, and he cried out, "No, stop..."

If activating the Sharingan requires sacrificing Kuroko, then it's better to not have these eyes at all.

Sometimes regret is a price that can never be paid.

After saying this, Aokiji's gaze turned cold: "What's with those tears? Can your tears protect the Uchiha clan?"

Sasuke's eyes were swollen from crying: "Aokiji-sensei, please, please let Kuroko go! I don't want to awaken my Sharingan anymore..."

"You really disappoint me... You should know, if you had awakened the Sharingan earlier, you might have been able to save many people in the future. Wouldn't that be better than that dog?"

"But... I..."

Aokiji closed his eyes and exhaled: "Fine, don't blame me for not giving you a chance."

Before Sasuke could even feel happy, Aokiji's next words plunged him into despair.

"If you can break through my clone in three minutes, I'll release Little Blackie..."

Aokiji formed a hand seal and summoned a shadow clone that stood beside him.

"How is this possible!?"

Although Sasuke had never fought Aokiji, he knew that he could never be Aokiji's match.

And what was that just now? It seemed to be a hand seal made with one hand. This skill was far beyond Sasuke's comprehension.

The enormous difference in strength made Sasuke feel suffocated.

"I've given you the opportunity; now it's up to you to seize it."

Aokiji said casually.

Using such methods against a child seems inhumane and even cold-blooded to outsiders.

Sasuke screamed hysterically, "This isn't fair—!"

"fair?"

As if he had heard something incredibly funny, Aokiji couldn't help but chuckle: "Sasuke, put away that childish idea. This world is full of injustices, and what you're seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg."

"In the future, you will encounter all sorts of enemies. If you can't even handle this realistically, then I advise you to give up your plan to become a ninja as soon as possible. Otherwise, if you die one day, your parents and brother will be heartbroken and cry."

Sasuke glared fiercely at Aokiji with his swollen eyes from crying.

Ignoring the gaze, Aokiji activated his Sharingan and coldly glanced at him: "Listen, let me tell you that when you face injustice, the first thing you should do is not complain or argue, but work hard silently and strive to reach my level of strength as soon as possible."

"Believe me, when you reach my level of skill, you'll come to love this unfairness. You'll feel that it's all perfectly natural, and that's what fairness is all about."

"Alright, I've told you so much, let's begin now."

After spouting a bunch of grand principles, Aokiji didn't care whether Sasuke was ready or not. He immediately signaled his shadow clone to attack, and with a casual move, he easily sent the young Sasuke flying.

Sasuke struggled to his feet; the immense difference in strength filled him with utter despair.

He knew perfectly well that Aokiji wasn't serious at all; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to stay awake, let alone stand.

"What's wrong? Is that all you've got?"

Aokiji said nonchalantly, "From the time I knocked you down to the time you stood up, more than ten seconds have passed. If you don't try harder, I'll kill Kuroko."

"hateful……"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and charged towards Aokiji without hesitation. However, in the face of such a huge difference in strength, willpower was the least valuable thing.

Each time he stood up, all he received in return was Aokiji's relentless mockery.

Before we knew it, three minutes had passed.

Aokiji looked at the battered Sasuke and raised an eyebrow: "Not bad, it's amazing you've managed to hold on this long, even still standing. But unfortunately, I gave you a chance, but you're useless. Three minutes have already passed..."

Sasuke shouted, "No! I can still..."

Seemingly losing interest in the gamble, Aokiji shook his head. This battle was destined from the start; Sasuke had no chance of winning.

In front of Sasuke, he squeezed hard, and with a series of whimpering cries of pain, Kuroko fell completely silent.

Dead, dead...

With his last bit of illusion shattered, Sasuke's mind went blank.

"If there's anything to blame, blame it on your own incompetence..."

Aokiji casually tossed the little black cat into the air, where it traced an arc.

The scene that entered his eyes was clearly fast, but Sasuke felt that the surroundings were incredibly slow, as if time had stopped. Memories of his past with Kuroko flashed through his mind like a slideshow until he came back to his senses, his eyes burning with pain.

However, he couldn't care less about that now. Even though he was struggling to stand, he somehow managed to draw nutrition from somewhere to support his legs.

"No, stop!"

With a hysterical roar, Sasuke recklessly leaped towards the direction where Kuroko had been thrown, and then, with a splash, plunged into the rushing river.

Aokiji slowly closed his eyes and murmured, "The plan is simpler than I expected..."

……

……

"Cough cough..."

A violent cough jolted Sasuke awake, his head throbbing painfully.

He covered his head and slowly got up. He remembered that he seemed to be...

Just then, a light, teasing voice came from beside him: "Congratulations, Sasuke, you've successfully awakened the Sharingan."

"The Sharingan, me?"

Sasuke had finally awakened the Sharingan he had been dreaming of. Before he could even rejoice, he suddenly remembered something, and tears streamed down his face as he burst into tears.

"Remember all of this well..."

Sasuke helplessly pounded the ground, tears streaming down his face.

Sorry, Blackie...

I'm so useless, if it weren't for me...

"Woof woof woof..."

Sasuke: ? ? ?

He thought he was hallucinating.

"Woof woof woof..."

It's not a hallucination!!

Sasuke looked up, and a blurry figure appeared in his tear-filled vision.

Sasuke, ignoring the dirt on his hands, quickly wiped his eyes and saw a yellow figure wagging its tail at him. It was Kuroko, whom he had raised since he was a cub.

Little Blackie didn't die...

Reunited after a life-or-death ordeal, Sasuke hugged Kuroko tightly and cried again, but this time it was tears of joy.

He looked at his mentor with tears in his eyes, only to find that the man was no longer there.

Suddenly, he understood his teacher's good intentions.

Aokiji-sensei is such a good person.

Sasuke secretly vowed that when he grew up, he would repay Aokiji-sensei no matter what...

……

……

Seemingly sensing something, Aokiji, who had walked to the road, glanced around and smiled, then opened his mouth and asked, "How long do you plan to stay with me?"

The sound spread through the air, and soon a figure emerged from behind the tree—it was Fugaku.

"When did you find me?" he asked.

"Ever since I was beating your son, you couldn't help but reveal your presence several times."

Fugaku lowered his eyes slightly: "I owe you a favor again..."

Aokiji said calmly, "Don't mind it, Sasuke is my disciple after all."

Fugaku: ...

Aokiji laughed and said, "I told you, Sasuke, you're very talented, aren't you?"

Fugaku nodded.

Although Aokiji was deliberately provoking Sasuke, Sasuke's ability to awaken the Sharingan at such a young age speaks volumes about his talent.

"You should stop comparing Sasuke and Itachi. I know you mean well, but everyone has their own path to walk and no one is a substitute for anyone else."

"I will seriously consider it..."

Fugaku felt that Aokiji cared more about his son than he did, and he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed to be a father.

Suddenly, a bold idea struck him: "Aokiji, I have a favor to ask."

Aokiji didn't think much of it and raised his chin: "Hmm, you mean watch?"

"Can you be my son's godfather?"

A godfather is a child's guardian and protector. This role is usually filled by a respected local figure or a close friend, either when the child is an infant or has reached a certain age.

In terms of both reputation and relationships, Aokiji is very suitable for the role.

"what?"

"You don't want to?"

"No, why are you asking this out of the blue?"

"This is probably what every parent hopes for: to receive better help in their growth process. In educating children, you seem to be wiser than I am as a father."

While Fugaku said one thing, he actually hoped that this method would help Aokiji alleviate the pain of losing Tsunade.

The dead cannot be brought back to life; I hope he can start a new life.

So, being Sasuke's godfather...? Aokiji thought about it and found it quite interesting, so he readily agreed: "I have no problem with that, but I should discuss it with Mikoto first."

"I think Mikoto would be very happy to have you as the child's godfather..."

"Alright then..."

Aokiji looked up at the sky, quite emotional. In just a few days, his relationship with Sasuke had really changed a lot.

The reason he cared so much about Sasuke was partly because Sasuke was Fugaku's son.

On the other hand, Sasuke has enormous potential and is one of the few people who can be of help even at the Otsutsuki level.

Now that he's the child's godfather, perhaps he should spend more time and effort on Sasuke.

(End of this chapter)