Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 375 Deception

The Nine-Tails noticed Aokiji's eyes; the whites of his eyes were cracked and bleeding.

This powerful eye force, along with an even more ominous chakra than its own, reminded it of Uchiha Madara who had controlled it back then.

"...Just who are you?!"

"It seems you've already forgotten about me."

The air was filled with the tone of an old friend.

Kurama narrowed its eyes, pondered seriously, and scrutinized Aokiji, but still found no information.

Aokiji glanced at the tall, imposing cage and teased it: "...But you're really pitiful. So many years have passed, and you're still imprisoned in a cage. This time, you're even inside a little brat."

These words deeply hurt Kurama's fragile and sensitive heart.

"roar--!"

A furious roar, the scent of a wild beast carried by a gale swept over us.

His bangs were blown back by the wind, and Aokiji calmly told the other person his name:

"...Uchiha Aokiji."

Upon hearing this name, Kurama's intense emotions subsided.

Aokiji calmly stated his information: "This is my name. I was once the Jinchūriki of the Five-Tails."

"No, impossible..."

Nine-Tailed Fox's red vertical pupils widened, revealing a look of astonishment.

Within the body of a Jinchūriki, there are some things it knows to some extent.

It sighed at this.

Seeing the bewildered expression on Kurama's face, Aokiji seemed to read her mind: "You're looking so surprised because you think you'll never see me again, Kurama."

"...You should be dead."

Aokiji spread his hands and said casually, "But I'm alive and well right now..."

The Nine-Tails' slightly closed eyes reflected Aokiji's Sharingan, which exuded an evil aura.

At this moment, those bewitching eyes were filled with laughter as they gazed at the Nine-Tailed Fox's gaze.

This, however, made Kurama (the Nine-Tails) even more wary.

Although I don't know what happened to this guy, his eye power is so strong now that I could probably control it easily.

Aokiji shrugged, relaxed and composed: "Don't be nervous, I don't have any bad intentions, I'm just saying hello to an old friend I haven't seen in a long time."

Nine-Tailed Fox snorted and said sarcastically, "I don't remember when I became your friend."

Having been met with indifference, Aokiji shrugged and said dismissively, "Well, never mind..."

The news of contacting Jinchūriki should reach the higher-ups soon.

Hmph, let them live in fear for a while.

As for the Nine-Tails' chakra, he wasn't that interested.

He has a perfect replacement.

He remembered that the Fourth Hokage still had the Yin-attribute chakra of the Nine-Tails inside him. Once he found Orochimaru, if possible, he would resurrect the Fourth Hokage using the Impure World Reincarnation technique and then extract the Nine-Tails chakra from his body.

"Since I've already said hello, I won't disturb your sleep any longer. Let's keep in touch when you have time."

After saying this, Aokiji disappeared from Naruto's mental space without any hesitation, leaving Kurama (the Nine-Tails) completely puzzled.

They just left like that?

What exactly is this guy's purpose...?

Back in the real world, Aokiji gave Naruto a look, dispelling the genjutsu that had been placed on him and erasing his memories of that aspect.

Naruto's eyelids drooped and he fainted.

Aokiji waited a few seconds, then pretended to shake Naruto and call his name.

"Naruto, Naruto..."

Naruto vaguely heard someone calling his name while he was asleep. He frowned slightly, slowly opened his eyelids, and woke up to see a white-haired, blue-eyed boy: "Where am I...?"

"You suddenly fainted just now..."

Naruto's innocent face showed utter bewilderment: "I passed out?"

Aokiji gave an affirmative reply: "Yes."

"How did I suddenly faint?"

Naruto stood up, covered his forehead with his hand, and tried hard to recall, but his memory of that area was completely blank.

"I don't know," Aokiji said persuasively. "Could it be that you ate something unclean recently?"

"Something unclean?"

"Yes, for example, if you buy too much milk at once and can't finish it, it will expire."

Upon hearing this, Naruto realized that it was indeed possible.

The villagers disliked him and sometimes refused to sell him anything, so whenever Naruto had the chance, he would buy things by the basketful, which resulted in the food sometimes expiring without him even realizing it.

Naruto felt it was too wasteful to throw it away, and getting another one would be troublesome and require him to be mindful of others' opinions.

Sometimes, he would eat expired food directly, and since he had never had any problems with it, he didn't pay any attention to it.

Aokiji asked softly, "Are you alright? Should I take you to the hospital?"

"It's alright."

Naruto felt that if he went to the hospital, the medical staff would definitely give him strange looks.

"Where do you live? Let me take you home first. I need to tell your family first."

This was the first time in his life that Naruto had met someone who didn't discriminate against him and even cared about him, and he was deeply moved: "I..."

"What's wrong?"

Naruto's expression darkened: "I have no family..."

Aokiji suddenly realized, "Sorry..."

Naruto shook his head, indicating that it wasn't important to him: "I'm used to it."

Aokiji patted Naruto's head and comforted him, "You're very strong."

Feeling a warm sensation on his head, Naruto mustered his courage and asked, "Big brother, aren't you afraid of me?"

Why should I be afraid of you?

Naruto's eyes flickered, he hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and said, "Everyone says I'm a demon fox."

"A fox spirit?"

Naruto told Aokiji about himself, casting an anxious glance at him.

Aokiji asked, "Do you have any evidence?"

Naruto was slightly taken aback.

"Since there isn't one, what's the point of saying anything more?"

"But that's what everyone says..."

"Everyone? That 'everyone'? They're just people who parrot others and follow the crowd." Aokiji said, "Naruto, you are you, not some demon fox. All you have to do is be yourself."

Under Aokiji's earnest and persuasive teachings, Naruto, who was naive and eager for recognition, was instantly moved to tears.

"Big brother, why are you so good to me?"

Aokiji looked at the swing and sighed, "I saw you sitting all alone on the swing just now, and it reminded me of someone."

"one person?"

"Me in the past."

"Big brother, could it be that you...?"

"Yes, I'm an orphan too."

Naruto covered his mouth, a sense of belonging he had never felt before welling up inside him.

Seeing that things were ripe for action, Aokiji brought up the idea again: "Naruto, would you like to come to my house for dinner tonight?"

This time, Naruto didn't refuse. Instead, he wiped away his tears, nodded in agreement, and hummed in agreement.

"But before that, I'll take you to school first. Skipping school isn't a good habit, you know."

After saying this, Aokiji deliberately looked up at the sky and gave a provocative smile.

Just now, he vaguely felt a gaze watching him.

It wasn't the secret agents listening; it was something else.

With a little speculation, he guessed that it must be the technique of using a telescope.

Right now, that guy is probably in some room, using this ninjutsu to observe everything happening here.

I wonder what the expression on that face I noticed was like; it must have been quite something.

hum...

Aokiji smiled, thinking to himself with a sense of pleasure.

◎

in the room.

On the table sits a crystal ball.

Through the image inside the crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply, his face solemn.

After a while, the door opened and a man with bandages wrapped around his head walked in.

"It's Danzo."

"We've received the latest intelligence: that guy is making contact with a Jinchūriki."

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the crystal ball: "Not only that, he even smiled at me."

Danzo was taken aback. Following Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze, he saw the crystal ball on the table and understood what was going on. With Aokiji's strength, it was impossible for him not to notice this ninjutsu.

"This is a provocation."

"Calm down. Whoever makes the first move will lose."

"This guy is getting more and more lawless now, relying on his strength."

"Yes, I also heard that this guy brought back a mother and daughter from the Uzumaki clan from the Land of Grass, and he's planning to arrange for them to live in Konoha."

Danzo was surprised to hear that they were from the Uzumaki clan.

"Yes, this is what the people sent from the Land of Grass told me. It seems that while they were away, they set their sights on a secret technique of the Hidden Grass Village. After causing a ruckus in the village, they took the technique and left without a care, also taking the mother and daughter with them."

"A secret technique?" Aokiji closed his eyelids, his eyes serious. "What secret technique?"

"They didn't say it explicitly; Kusagakure told us to ask Aokiji ourselves." Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled the indignant expression on the face of the ninja sent by Kusagakure and continued, "They seemed to want an explanation from Konoha."

Danzo scoffed, "A mere little village dares to question Konoha."

After saying that, he had an idea: "However, we can make a big deal out of it again. The annual meeting will be held soon, and representatives from all the major clan associations will be in attendance. We can use this opportunity to attack him."

Hiruzen Sarutobi clasped his hands together, resting them on his chin, pondering the feasibility of the plan.

(End of this chapter)