Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 377 Yes, I did it. So what?

Konoha, in front of the open gate.

Having entered middle age, Jiraiya, with a greasy face, stood at the door.

He was dressed casually in a gray fitted shirt, a red coat, and wooden clogs.

Not long ago, I received a message from the village that the village is going to hold its annual year-end meeting, at which time all the Jonin-level ninjas from various branches will return to the village to report on their work.

These are all old news, and I've always wanted to avoid these kinds of things and just go about my business as usual.

However, the letter specifically mentioned one person, so much so that he had to return to the village to hold this meeting.

The gatekeeper saw him, recognized him, and was initially taken aback, then became excited and respectfully called out, "Lord Jiraiya..."

Feeling the admiring gazes of his juniors, Jiraiya couldn't help but sigh at how fast time flies. Before he knew it, he had gone from a young lad to a middle-aged man over fifty.

I wonder what that guy looks like now. I guess he's an old man like me now.

Jiraiya sighed, entered the village, and walked towards the conference room building. Along the way, he looked at the beautiful young women in the village and subconsciously compared them with the young women outside, thinking that the girls in his own village were much prettier.

As I walked and pondered, I unknowingly entered a large conference room.

Quite a few people have already arrived, most of them wearing matching green vests, but there are also a few men and women wearing their own clothes.

As soon as Jiraiya entered the room, he quickly attracted everyone's attention, becoming the most eye-catching person in the conference room. Seeing the rarely returned Jiraiya, everyone called him by name and addressed him with the respectful title of "Master".

At that moment, a masked young man walked towards him and greeted him.

He had a head of white hair, and his headband was hanging askew on his forehead, covering half of his face and revealing a sleepy, dead fish eye.

"Kakashi..."

Jiraiya smiled when he saw the newcomer: "Long time no see."

He has a close relationship with Kakashi. Minato, the Fourth Hokage, is his student, and Kakashi is a student of the Fourth Hokage. In a sense, he is Kakashi's ancestor.

"How rare it is, Jiraiya-sama, to actually appear here this time."

Kakashi stood with his hands in his pockets, speaking casually as if he were just chatting.

It was no secret that Jiraiya was often away from the village.

"We should go back to the village occasionally, otherwise the old man will start complaining." Jiraiya said casually, without any airs of superiority.

"I think it's because of that person."

His lie was immediately exposed, and Jiraiya, unable to maintain his composure, gave an embarrassed smile: "You really don't give me any face at all..."

"After all, it's easy to guess."

"So...where is that person?"

Jiraiya scanned the conference room but didn't see any of his old friends: "I still haven't seen them. They can't be making fun of me, can they?"

Just as Kakashi was about to respond, a commotion arose nearby.

Looking in that direction, a young man with plain hair and blue eyes walked gracefully towards them. Behind him, three middle-aged men followed him like lackeys. If you didn't know better, you would think that the young master of a family was out for a stroll.

Jiraiya also noticed the boy with white hair and blue eyes, and wondered who this brat was, since he looked so arrogant.

And if he remembers correctly, the people behind him...

Those were Uchiha Hachimoku and Uchiha Inahime; both of them were top-tier fighters within the Uchiha clan.

Moreover, the solemn-faced man among them was Uchiha Fugaku, who was even more remarkable as he was the head of the Uchiha clan. Who exactly was this young man to have such a figure by his side?

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, vaguely feeling that the white-haired boy looked very familiar, but unfortunately he couldn't remember where he was looking.

Kakashi chuckled, "Heh heh, here we are, aren't we?"

Jiraiya, who was confused, paused for a moment upon hearing this. The figure in his eyes slowly overlapped with the figure from the past, forming a familiar, youthful face.

Upon witnessing this scene, Jiraiya wiped his eyes with his sleeve, looked at Aokiji with an incredulous expression.

Transformation technique?

No, I don't feel that way about him.

Besides, there was no reason for him to be like this.

Damn it.

How come this guy seems to get younger as he gets older?

What exactly is going on?

While Jiraiya was observing Aokiji, Aokiji also noticed Jiraiya. Upon seeing him, Aokiji paused for a moment, then smiled and looked at him.

"Long time no see, Jiraiya..."

Jiraiya's eyes widened: "It really is you..."

Qingzhi nodded, admitting it.

"How did you become like this? And where have you been all these years?"

Upon hearing Jiraiya raise this question, the people around him cast curious glances or consciously pricked up their ears.

Fugaku glanced at Aokiji, who replied in an ambiguous tone, "That's a long story."

Jiraiya realized this might not be a topic for public discussion, so he dropped the subject.

Those around who were interested in the topic could only give up in disappointment.

Aokiji looked at the increased wrinkles around Jiraiya's eyes and said, "But you've aged quite a bit."

Jiraiya looked at his friend, who was as tall as his waist, and had a lot to say.

It's so unfair! Why am I getting older as I get older, while this guy in front of me is getting younger and younger?

Under everyone's gaze, the two stood and chatted for a while. As more and more people arrived, they realized that the meeting would start soon, so they stopped chatting and found a seat.

After that, four elderly men entered the room. When everyone saw them, they stopped talking and fell silent, watching them walk slowly up the steps and sit down one by one at a rectangular table.

Sitting in the chair, Aokiji clasped his hands together, resting his chin on the back of his hands, his emerald pupils turning blood red as he focused his gaze.

As if being stared at by some cold-blooded animal, Danzo, sitting in his seat, keenly sensed it and suddenly noticed a pair of sinister eyes below him.

This guy...

Danzo was not afraid and retaliated with his gaze.

He wouldn't show any fear in front of the Uchiha.

Unexpectedly, this young Aokiji disregarded martial ethics and upgraded his Sharingan, with the three tomoe connecting together and converging into a blood-red snowflake.

Even without using its power, the sheer pressure emanating from the powerful Mangekyou Sharingan was enough to make Danzo uncomfortable. He dared not look directly at it, turned his face away, and was defeated.

"snort."

Aokiji's lips curled up, and the blood red in his eyes faded, turning into emerald-green pearly eyes.

The exchange of glances between the two was brief, and no one present noticed the smoke that had just lingered. However, one person did notice it: Jiraiya, who was sitting next to him.

It wasn't an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan, but rather a more complex and never-before-seen pattern.

This is... the Mangekyou Sharingan!?

"Aokiji, you..."

Jiraiya's eyes were wide open, and his mouth was slightly agape.

Aokiji tilted his head, smiling with a puzzled look in his eyes.

"No, it's nothing."

Jiraiya gave a vague answer, his expression turning serious.

He couldn't have been mistaken; Aokiji's chilling gaze just now definitely indicated he wanted to kill someone.

After the meeting ends, it looks like I'll have to have a good talk with this long-lost friend.

After that, the meeting officially began. The elders on the stage started to speak, mostly about future development, just like in the past, and then the people in the audience offered suggestions in real time.

Then, the elderly person on the stage listened, considered whether to adopt the suggestion, and gave a reply.

In addition, representatives from various ethnic groups will also raise demands that are beneficial to their own ethnic groups at this meeting.

For example, the typical Uchiha clan, they were very enthusiastic in previous years, but unfortunately, they were rejected for various reasons.

It's pitiful to see the Uchiha clan in this situation, but they won't speak up for them.

One reason is that the Uchiha clan doesn't get along well with the village. Another reason is that the village's resources are limited; if the Uchiha clan gets a larger share, the villagers get less.

Naturally, they simply turned a blind eye.

However, the Uchiha clan was unusually quiet this year, not uttering a single word, as if they were just spectators, which inevitably attracted the attention of everyone present, especially those from the major clans.

Is it because you know it's pointless to bring it up, so you've simply given up this time?

That's what the representatives of the powerful families were thinking.

At this moment, a ninja stood up and expressed his opinion, stating that the village's future development strategy should focus on continuing the past practice of recuperation and development, minimizing friction, and maintaining good relations with other countries.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, seizing the opportunity, asked everyone present for their opinions.

Everyone present expressed no objection to this matter.

After all, what normal person would be so bored as to want to start a war?

But this is actually very difficult. Many times, it's not that they want to cause trouble, but rather that external forces covet the territory of the Land of Fire. As a village with close ties to the Land of Fire, they have no choice but to fight back and defend their homeland.

Having reached a consensus, Hiruzen Sarutobi set the tone for the matter: "For the sake of the village's peace, I hope everyone here will work together to maintain this hard-won peace and refrain from acting on your own initiative to avoid unnecessary conflicts that could lead to war."

This statement received a unanimous response from those present: "Yes."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, seemingly intending to move on from the matter, when another voice sounded beside him.

"etc……"

Everyone paused for a moment, their gazes focusing on Danzo standing next to Hiruzen Sarutobi, their faces showing confusion.

Danzo said what his superiors couldn't say: "Hiruzen, have you forgotten something?"

Hiruzen remained silent, waiting for Danzo to speak on his own initiative.

Danzo cursed under his breath.

Hiruzen always manages to absolve himself of all responsibility, leaving the blame entirely on him. Suppressing his dissatisfaction, he said, "Recently, I received some information..."

"Danzo..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi is putting on a show for everyone, seemingly trying to stop something.

Danzo ignored Hiruzen Sarutobi's obstruction, his face darkening, and said bluntly, "Someone went out without permission and caused a great disturbance in Kusagakure, resulting in a lot of trouble for them. Now they have sent people over, demanding an explanation from us."

Upon hearing that someone in the village had done such a thing, the people below showed expressions of surprise and began to whisper among themselves, speculating about who could have done it.

Fugaku squinted; the inevitable had finally arrived.

He glanced at the man and saw that he had his arms crossed and his calm face showed no emotion, clearly not caring about the matter at all.

Everyone turned their gazes toward him, their eyes filled with curiosity and eager anticipation for an answer. Danzo remained silent, but his gaze fell silently on one person. Following his gaze, everyone saw a white-haired boy with a calm expression.

It was him...!

Among the many pairs of eyes, there was confusion, but even more surprise.

Aokiji closed his eyes, exhaled, loosened his arms from his chest, lowered his head, and casually swept the dust off the table with his hand. Although there was no dust on the table, it was very clean.

"Yes, I did it. So what?"

Aokiji raised his face, tilted his neck, and put on a confused expression.

"What's wrong?"

Before Danzo could speak, Mitokado Homura, who was sitting next to him, couldn't sit still any longer and loudly questioned, "Don't you know that this will provoke a war between the two countries?"

"It doesn't matter, I'll take action."

Mitokado Yan: "???"

(End of this chapter)