Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 398 Danzo is just a scapegoat

Itachi didn't know how to answer.

The problem isn't with me, it's with the world.

Is this something a normal person would say?

"In this world, a daimyo is nothing but a parasite that buries itself in a vegetarian shroud. I have no intention of risking my life for such trash."

Aokiji's face was as cold as frost, and his furious voice was filled with intense killing intent: "If I really did something wrong, it's that I thought too highly of Danzo. He actually went so far as to use Tsunade as a pawn in order to kill me."

Now that things have come to this, Itachi understands that the conflict between Aokiji and Danzo is fundamentally unresolved. He knows that with Aokiji's personality, he would definitely kill Danzo before he would be satisfied. The only difference is the method he chooses to kill him.

As if to confirm further, he asked, "What are you planning to do next?"

"What are you doing?"

Aokiji curled his lip and gave a sinister sneer: "What do you think I'm going to do?"

"..."

Before he could respond, Aokiji gave a clear answer: "What else can I do? Of course, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Since the higher-ups plan to kill all my clansmen, it's normal for me to do whatever I want."

Itachi frowned slightly. From Aokiji's words, it seemed he intended to wipe out even the higher-ups and the entire clan behind them. Such behavior was a bit too extreme.

"If we're going to seek revenge, we should only target Danzo's side, right? The order comes from Danzo..."

"Uchiha Itachi..."

Aokiji called his name, forcefully interrupting the traitor from continuing to speak on behalf of the higher-ups.

Itachi was interrupted and did not continue speaking.

Aokiji was genuinely annoyed: "Honestly, if you didn't have the Sharingan, I would seriously suspect that Fugaku switched the babies at the hospital. Why is he always siding with that old man?"

"..."

Aokiji raised his hands, speechless, and said, "Okay, I won't talk about anything else for now. You don't actually think that Hiruzen Sarutobi knows nothing and is as pure as a white lotus flower, do you?"

Itachi naturally wouldn't think that way, but the education she received from childhood made it hard for her to believe, and she might even be subconsciously unwilling to believe it. Some things can only be truly understood after experiencing them firsthand.

Aokiji sighed: "Seeing how naive you are, I think I know that Fugaku has never given you any political education."

"However, it's also possible that Fugaku himself doesn't know, so naturally he can't provide guidance in certain areas."

Itachi: ...

"Alright... since you're Fugaku's son, I, as an elder, will shoulder my responsibilities to prevent you from being sold out and still feeling self-righteous. To be honest, I don't really want to talk about this kind of thing, after all, persuading people is a very difficult thing."

Aokiji covered his head and said helplessly, "But there's nothing I can do about it. Fugaku and Mikoto are like my younger brother and sister. In a sense, you're my nephew. As long as things don't really turn out badly, I can only turn a blind eye. You should thank your parents who gave you life."

Having said that, Aokiji sat cross-legged on the ground, his hand supporting his chin, adopting a teacher's tone: "So, how should I proceed with this? To be honest, Hiruzen Sarutobi has a lot of messy things going on, and I really don't know what to choose. I could talk about it from tonight until tomorrow morning without repeating myself."

Aokiji's words, tinged with mockery and sarcasm, completely overturned Itachi's perception of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat unclean.

But he didn't expect that Hiruzen was such a problematic person in Aokiji's eyes, so much so that he couldn't choose him because of his many problems.

Aokiji rubbed his chin and said to himself, "Oh, then let's start with the beginning."

Itachi listened attentively, eager to hear what kind of person Hiruzen Sarutobi was in Aokiji's eyes.

Aokiji glanced at Itachi: "I remember you should have attended the Ninja Academy for a year, right?"

Itachi nodded.

"Do you remember the information about the Third Hokage from the ninja textbooks?"

Itachi had a very good memory; even after so long, he still remembered it quite clearly. Following the textbook, he introduced it methodically: "The Third Hokage was the strongest of all the Hokage, revered as the 'Professor of Ninja'..."

After listening quietly to Hiruzen Sarutobi's introduction, Aokiji asked a question: "I have a question, could you answer it for me?"

Itachi looked puzzled: "What's the problem?"

"The First Hokage is hailed as the God of Shinobi, but who is stronger, the ninja professor or this one?"

Itachi was taken aback and realized he couldn't answer.

He hadn't really thought about this question seriously.

The First Hokage's strength is universally acknowledged as the undisputed number one. Because of his existence, other villages kept their heads down and dared not cause trouble during his time. Only after his death did other villages start to stir and even wage war.

In contrast, during Hiruzen Sarutobi's era, there were one war after another, and it didn't seem like it would be related to the strongest Hokage at all.

Aokiji smiled and said, "You can't answer that, can you?"

Itachi: ...

"It's simple, Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't the strongest Hokage at all," Aokiji mocked. "That old man's claim of being the strongest Hokage was purely self-proclaimed."

"Self-proclaimed?"

"Do you think that old man wouldn't have reviewed something as important as the ninja manual when it was being compiled? That's why I say that he named it himself. At least it was approved by him."

Click.

Itachi's image of Hiruzen Sarutobi has been somewhat shattered.

Aokiji continued, "Alright, let me ask you again, what was his purpose in doing this?"

Itachi couldn't possibly be out of vanity that he couldn't answer.

"It's simple, because of vanity..."

Itachi: "..."

"Of course, this reason is only secondary; there are more important reasons."

"Other reasons?"

"Well, putting aside what I just mentioned, it's also about consolidating our control over the village."

"The consolidation of the village?"

"It's very simple. You'll understand if you think about it for a little while. No matter when, admiring the strong is one of the most natural human traits. Using this can effectively save on the cost of governance, especially after ranking, which makes it particularly intuitive."

Hearing him say that, Itachi understood a little: "Especially for children who are inexperienced in the ways of the world, when they hear that the Third Hokage is the strongest Hokage in history, they will feel a sense of admiration after comparison, and may even feel that living under the rule of the strongest Hokage in history is something to be proud of, right?"

"Huh? You seem to understand things quite well," Aokiji teased. "Looks like you're not really brainless, you're just inexperienced and easily fooled."

Itachi: ...

Aokiji scoffed, "The title of 'Strongest Hokage' can only fool those inexperienced in the village. As for rival villages, they don't take that title seriously at all. Otherwise, they wouldn't have launched a war against Konoha, would they?"

"If the First Hokage, the strongest Hokage, were still alive, would these rival villages still dare to act recklessly and launch some so-called Shinobi World War?"

Itachi didn't really want to admit it, but Aokiji's explanation was reasonable and well-founded.

Aokiji said, "If you want to refute me, you can find any reason to do so."

"No need." Itachi still has that much judgment.

Aokiji continued, "That's only one reason. Now, let me tell you the second reason."

The weasel pricked up its ears and listened intently.

"Why do you think Naruto, as the son of the Fourth Hokage, would suffer such unfair treatment? Strictly speaking, Naruto is a hero."

This issue was something Horse Head had discussed with Itachi before, seemingly to attract hatred and stabilize morale.

So he told Aokiji these exact words.

Aokiji nodded: "That's really just superficial stuff."

"surface?"

"Well, before I formally answer that question, let me ask you one first."

"I would like to hear the details."

"If a child grows up lonely and miserable, and the people around him even hate him, and then there is someone who takes good care of him, defies everyone's opinions, and this person is also very important, how do you think the child will view this person?"

Orochimaru is the one who took this approach to the extreme; his theories have misled countless people.

Upon hearing this, Itachi thought of someone: "I think this child would be completely obedient to this person."

Aokiji laughed and said, "Then I don't need to say anything more about Naruto, do I?"

Itachi exhaled.

"Intrigues are nothing special," Aokiji sighed. "The truly powerful ones are open schemes, uh..."

At this point, Aokiji glanced at Fugaku's simple-minded son and asked, "Do you understand the term 'open conspiracy'?"

"I understand." Itachi's face darkened. He vaguely felt that he seemed to be an idiot in Aokiji's eyes.

Aokiji, fearing he wouldn't understand, continued, "A so-called 'overt strategy' is when you know perfectly well that someone is doing something for their own benefit, but you have no reason to refute them. Hiruzen Sarutobi is an expert in this."

Itachi remained silent, lost in thought.

Aokiji continued, determined to completely reverse Itachi's stance today: "I've already told you two things since then, so let me tell you the third one."

Itachi nodded and continued listening.

Aokiji asked, "What's your opinion of Danzo?"

"Danzo?"

Aokiji continued, "I don't know what you're thinking, but in my eyes, this guy is actually a scapegoat."

"Take the blame?"

Qing Pheasant was so cunning, Itachi was immediately confused.

He had considered Danzo's image in Aokiji's mind, but he never imagined he would be a scapegoat.

(End of this chapter)