Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 397 It's not me who's wrong, it's the world that's wrong.

Itachi composed himself: "What do you want to ask?"

"You killed Uchiha Shisui, didn't you?"

"no."

Itachi frowned, thinking he was about to say something; many of his clansmen had asked him this question before.

Aokiji smiled and said, "Just kidding, don't be angry."

"..."

Aokiji's smile faded: "The one who killed Shisui was actually Danzo, wasn't he?"

Itachi's eyes could no longer maintain their previous composure.

he knows.

He actually found out.

"Hmph..." Aokiji observed Itachi's changing expression for a moment, then deliberately kept him in suspense, a smile playing on his lips: "Aren't you curious how I know?"

Itachi remained silent, which was taken as an admission that Danzo had killed Shisui.

"It's very simple, of course someone told me that personally."

Who is it?

"Uchiha Lower Moon." Aokiji drawled, then said, "Oh, I guess that's not how it's called. Its real name should be Horse Head or Ox Head. It seems to be a spy planted within the Uchiha clan."

A look of astonishment flashed in Itachi's eyes.

I wouldn't be surprised if I exposed myself.

But the Lower Moon shouldn't be able to be exposed, since the Lower Moon is really too inconspicuous.

Aokiji lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Sometimes, an overly perfect disguise is a flaw, you know that?"

"..."

The Sharingan is a great thing; it can be used for interrogation and even for erasing memories.

Aokiji's eyes gleamed with three tomoe, and he smiled broadly: "And I was quite lucky. Just a quick check, and guess what?"

Itachi: "..."

"He's actually a mole for Root."

Itachi: "..."

"Then we'll have to use the Sharingan to interrogate them properly."

"..."

"Then, I discovered something very interesting."

Throughout the entire conversation, Itachi hadn't uttered a single word, his mind in turmoil. Aokiji had interrogated either the bull-headed or horse-headed figure using his Sharingan, so it was likely related to that order...

Seemingly seeing through Itachi's thoughts, Aokiji's expression turned cold: "That's right. Besides Danzo killing Shisui, I also know the orders given to you by the higher-ups the night before the coup."

really……

Itachi slowly closed his eyes, like a prisoner walking into an execution ground, awaiting judgment.

"Uchiha Itachi!?"

Aokiji suddenly questioned loudly.

The smile on his face vanished, replaced by a cold, menacing look, and his three magatama spun rapidly, connecting to form snowflake-shaped pupil patterns.

"What the hell are you... a candle? Did you have brain surgery and move it to your ass?"

Aokiji even swore, which shows just how angry he is right now.

Itachi's tone was as low as a criminal pleading guilty in court with overwhelming evidence: "Father, are you aware of this?"

His father was Aokiji's direct descendant, and Aokiji may have already told him about this, and his father was even present during the interrogation of the horse-headed and bull-headed creatures.

Itachi asked this simply to get a definite answer.

Aokiji coldly retorted, "Now it's my turn to ask you, not the other way around."

Itachi remained silent for a long time, then looked very tired: "This is... for the greater good."

"The bigger picture? What bigger picture?" Aokiji sneered, mocking, "The bigger picture is that you're going to kill your clan, your friends, your lover, your parents, and your own brother who knows nothing about it?"

"I……"

Itachi was speechless, his whole body deflated like a punctured balloon. It took him several seconds to weakly reply, "...I didn't want to kill Sasuke."

Aokiji raised an eyebrow: "No?"

Itachi's face contorted in pain: "The Uchiha have no chance of winning against the village. I made a deal with Danzo. If I do this, the village can keep Sasuke, who knows nothing. Then one day, I will have Sasuke kill me, become the village's hero, and restore the Uchiha's glory."

Aokiji, as if he had heard a funny joke, crossed his arms and burst into laughter: "Hahaha... What an unspeakable secret, Uchiha Itachi, you really move me."

The laughter was particularly grating to the weasel's ears; it was Aokiji mocking him.

"If you want to kill me, then kill me."

Aokiji stopped laughing and sneered sarcastically, "I'm not like some guy with his head on his ass; I would never do something to harm my own people."

Itachi: "..."

"Also, don't give me that righteous cause nonsense. If you really care about the righteous cause, then you should kill your entire clan."

"After all, this is the only way to ensure safety."

"You work in the shadows, don't you understand the principle of eliminating the root of the problem?"

"If you really had the attitude of killing your entire clan, I might have considered you someone important."

"But in reality, you didn't intend to do that; you wanted to keep Sasuke."

"It sounds nice that you're doing this for the Uchiha clan, but it's really just for your own selfish reasons."

Why keep Sasuke instead of other members of the clan?

"The reason of wanting Sasuke to continue the Uchiha bloodline is completely untenable. Being a ninja is a high-risk profession, and sacrifice is often involved in missions. If Sasuke were to lose his life on a mission, wouldn't the Uchiha clan be wiped out?"

Aokiji pointed his finger at Itachi's nose and scolded, "Have you even considered Sasuke's feelings?"

"Having lost everything, what kind of mentality will he have to live on? Even if he finally gets his revenge, it will only be a carefully crafted lie. What's more tragic is that, knowing nothing, he will continue to be a tool of the village, working for the murderer who killed his entire clan. Is this the glory you expect?"

With each sarcastic remark from Erin, a hole opened up in Itachi's heart, and only then did he realize what kind of person he truly was.

Itachi's eyes looked heavy, as if he hadn't slept for days. He couldn't help but close his eyelids, and the air he breathed in felt as heavy as lead: "You're right..."

Having dealt enough damage to Itachi, Aokiji changed the subject, worried that things might really go wrong: "Although I've never met Shisui, based on the information I have, he should have awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan as well."

"How did you know?"

The weasel's eyes widened in astonishment.

Aokiji even knew that Shisui possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan.

The bull-headed and horse-headed figures should only know that Danzo killed Shisui, but they shouldn't know that Shisui possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Aokiji chuckled twice, a profound smile appearing on his lips: "I told you, I am also a holder of the Mangekyou Sharingan, and I know very well what this kind of eye brings to the awakener."

"Once successful, the Mangekyou Sharingan will not only grant eye techniques that reflect the mind, but it will also enhance certain basic stats. And these abilities actually follow certain patterns, did you know that?"

Itachi was surprised: "There's a pattern to it?"

"That's right. The Mangekyou Sharingan can be roughly divided into two types according to its outline: straight lines and curved lines. That is to say, straight lines and curved lines."

"Straight ba enhances perception, causing the body to react further, while curved ba enhances control over chakra flow, with the specific feedback being an improvement in genjutsu."

"While this classification may not be entirely accurate, it is still highly reliable."

Aokiji further explained, "Although I haven't seen your Mangekyou Sharingan, based on the information I have, you two are both very skilled in genjutsu. So let me guess, the patterns on your Mangekyou Sharingan are probably 'Curved Bark,' right?"

Itachi opened his eyes wide and took a deep breath.

What Aokiji said is absolutely correct.

This surprised him greatly; this man's knowledge of the Mangekyou Sharingan was so profound!

Aokiji knew he had guessed correctly just by looking at that surprised expression.

But that's normal, since he showed the whole map, it would be strange if he couldn't guess it.

Aokiji continued, "The two of you are so skilled in genjutsu, reaching a level that many ninjas struggle to achieve even at such a young age. While you are indeed gifted, you rely more on the benefits brought by your eyes."

"A ninja's strength growth has a clear curve. Between the ages of thirteen and seventeen, a ninja's strength will experience an explosive growth. This is because during this period, the human body's functions will rapidly grow and mature. After that, as the growth of physical functions slows down, the growth of strength will also enter a slow period. Unless there are special circumstances, a ninja's peak strength will not exceed his age of seventeen by much."

"In other words, it's clearly abnormal that you two, who are only at the beginning of your journey to the peak, possess such strength. People who don't know the reason might attribute it to your extraordinary talent, which is not wrong, but as an insider, I can guess the general idea with a little speculation."

Aokiji's words provided a good explanation for how he deduced that the two possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Because he knew the answer beforehand, what Aokiji was doing was working backwards to find the answer, which would appear very unfathomable to outsiders.

Itachi looked at Aokiji with a mixture of fear and admiration.

After saying all that, Aokiji's boasting went far beyond that. He continued his analysis: "Based on the information I have, I speculate that Shisui was probably very honest and told Danzo about his Mangekyou Sharingan and even his own abilities. Unexpectedly, this brought about his death. Danzo had murderous intent and, out of distrust and coveting the power of those eyes, ambushed Shisui in an attempt to obtain them, but Shisui still managed to escape by sheer luck."

"However, judging from Danzo's insidious ways, Shisui should already be poisoned. Knowing that his days are numbered, he found you and wants you to kill him personally. In this way, you can successfully awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. With this power, the Uchiha will have a better chance of winning in the battle against the village."

"You were the most suitable person to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, both in terms of talent and the emotions needed at the time. I think that's why you awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Itachi listened the whole time, looking at Aokiji with a monster-like expression.

From childhood to adulthood, everyone around him believed he was a genius, but after listening to Aokiji's analysis, his so-called talent was utterly insignificant in front of Aokiji.

Aside from some imperfections in the details, what Aokiji just said is basically consistent with what he said.

What incredible intelligence and wisdom it takes to investigate the ins and outs of all the issues so clearly in just a few days after returning to the village.

No wonder his father, even after so long and now the clan leader, was still so convinced.

He didn't even hesitate to give up his position as clan leader.

Aokiji concealed his sharpness and said with some sorrow, "Since you possess these Mangekyou Sharingan, you should be able to understand to some extent how I felt when I awakened them."

Itachi pondered for a while, then thought of someone: "It's... Lady Tsunade died in front of you, didn't she?"

Aokiji's crimson eyes were filled with intense killing intent: "That's right... it was Danzo who killed her."

Itachi looked astonished. "How could this be...?"

Aokiji sneered, "Why not? What's incapable of that guy?"

After saying that, he sighed and said, "I will tell you everything next."

The weasel listened quietly.

Aokiji told Itachi about his ordeal.

Itachi was quite surprised after hearing the contents. If the situation was true, he could somewhat understand why Aokiji would bring the Uchiha clan to fight the village to the death when he returned, and even disband the Konoha Police Force.

When someone you cherish is murdered, the pain is the same for everyone.

only……

Aokiji knew what Itachi was thinking: "Are you trying to say that if I hadn't been so vengeful back then, things wouldn't have turned out this way?"

Hearing him say that, Itachi was quite straightforward: "Although you might not be happy to hear this, judging from the results, it seems that's the case."

"wrong?"

Aokiji gave a cold laugh: "The problem isn't me, it's the world."

(End of this chapter)