Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 413 Obito with Double Kamui

"I just took a walk around, was there anything wrong?"

Upon hearing Aokiji's question, Itachi suddenly realized that Aokiji had brought him here not on a whim, but for a specific purpose. After pondering for a while, he shook his head, indicating that he didn't feel anything.

Aokiji prompted, "How do you think these courtesans make their money?"

Despite his young age, Itachi was quite mature. He realized something and his expression darkened: "The body."

Aokiji continued, "Do you think this kind of thing should be encouraged?"

Itachi firmly denied it: "No."

Aokiji laughed and said, "If even a child like you thinks this kind of thing is immoral, then why do places like this exist openly and even operate so brazenly in the most prosperous city of the Land of Fire? It's clearly immoral, but adults are used to it. Apart from here, this kind of sex industry is very popular in other places."

Itachi's expression froze; he had never seriously considered such a thing.

"It's a terrifying thing when we become accustomed to this kind of thing," Aokiji sighed. "It's like we ninjas are born as tools, to kill. Have you ever thought about who gave us this definition?"

Through this conversation, Itachi understood that Aokiji was trying to teach him some lessons.

Aokiji interjects with a side note: "Itachi, I have something to tell you."

The weasel pricked up its ears and listened intently.

"In our time, in order to support the war, the lords tightened their belts, eating only one meal a day. This practice was followed by their subordinates, and all the savings were used for military expenses. I think you should know about this history."

Itachi nodded.

Aokiji asked, "What do you think of this?"

Itachi's expression froze for a moment.

Aokiji laughed and said, "Don't take my opinion into account; let's just state the objective facts."

Itachi thought for a moment and then honestly said, "Objectively speaking, the Daimyo did an impeccable job in this matter."

"What you see is just what others have shown you." Aokiji smiled. "Let me tell you the truth."

"The real story?"

Aokiji scoffed, "The so-called 'only eating one meal' is true; the daimyo does indeed eat one meal. However, what most people don't know is that the daimyo's one meal is equivalent to four meals."

Upon hearing this, Itachi immediately felt deceived, and his face darkened.

Aokiji continued, "If that were the case, it would be one thing. What's truly despicable is that some naive girls believed this nonsense and even went so far as to sell their bodies, becoming prostitutes in brothels to earn money for the country's military expenses. In the end, when these prostitutes grew old and lost their beauty, the country kicked these poor women aside. Not only did they deny the matter, they even wished these prostitutes would die, as if this could cover up this ugly history."

After hearing the above, Itachi clenched his fists, his emotions running high, his body trembling violently, and he gritted his teeth, cursing, "Bastard."

Itachi is usually a person who doesn't show his emotions, but when he heard about the ugly behavior of the Land of Fire, he couldn't help but swear, which shows how indignant he was at that moment.

"To put it bluntly, do those in power not know the harm caused by these arcades and casinos? No, of course they do. The reason they tolerate these things to exist until now is simply to use them to amass wealth and satisfy their own desires. As for the lives of ordinary people, they don't care at all."

Aokiji sneered, "Once I unify the entire Land of Fire, my first priority will be to rectify the corrupt practices in this society."

Itachi looked on with awe: "Uncle Aokiji is truly a great man."

Aokiji admonished, "Itachi, remember this: the most despicable thing in this world is to use a noble name to do something that involves underhanded dealings."

Under Aokiji's earnest guidance, Itachi said seriously, "I'll remember that, Uncle Aokiji."

"Alright, I'll test you and see how well you've learned." Aokiji adopted a teacher's demeanor: "I won't talk about anything too far-fetched, I'll just talk about the Will of Fire that you're most familiar with."

"The Will of Fire?"

"Um."

Itachi thought for a moment and summarized its core message in two words: "Dedication".

Aokiji nodded: "Yeah, more or less."

"Uncle Aokiji, what you really mean is that the Konoha higher-ups are using this as a pretext to fool their subordinates, right?"

Aokiji smiled and said, "You've become quite smarter since you've been around me for so long. That's right. The core of the Will of Fire is dedication, but that's just the initial concept."

"The initial concept?"

"Concepts are subjective; weapons can kill or protect, it all depends on how you use them," Aokiji remarked. "While some of the First Hokage's actions seem naive to me, there's no denying he was a true great man, and I admire him greatly. He probably never imagined that after his death, his values ​​would be completely distorted."

"A substitution?"

"I've said it before, the original concept of the Will of Fire was dedication, but it was slightly distorted by Hiruzen Sarutobi's generation, and became a tool for maintaining the ruling class."

"If you pay attention, you'll find that it's not just Konoha that talks about this kind of thing; other villages also talk about this set of values. For example, Sunagakure's Will of Wind—where sand flies, the wind also flows endlessly; or Kirigakure's Will of Water—where mist pervades, the water also flows inexhaustibly. What changes is the content, but what remains unchanged is the core. It's still full of slogans of benevolence and righteousness, so that the people below are willing to sacrifice everything for the village."

"Of course, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with dedicating oneself to the village, but ultimately, the village is just a concept; it's the people who actually carry it out."

After hearing this, Itachi was greatly shocked: "As expected of Uncle Aokiji, after hearing what you said, some things have suddenly become clear to me."

"Don't say it too soon. Let me give you an example to test you," Aokiji said with a smile. "You've probably heard about Sakumo's death, right?"

Itachi recalled for a moment and said with some emotion, "During the mission, White Fang abandoned the mission for the sake of his comrades, causing great losses to the village. Unable to bear the condemnation of his comrades, he ultimately committed suicide."

"Yes, that's roughly the gist of the matter."

Itachi asked in surprise, "Uncle Aokiji, do you mean there's more to this suicide story than meets the eye?"

"Of course, otherwise why would I give this example?" Aokiji stood up. "The answer is in what I said earlier."

Itachi lowered his head and eyes, rubbing his lips with his fingers, and murmured, "What we see is merely what others make us see..."

"I'm going to the restroom. Think about it slowly, and tell me when you come back." Aokiji went to the restroom and turned to the side. When he returned, Itachi still hadn't figured it out. He looked apologetic, feeling very stupid: "I'm sorry, Uncle Aokiji..."

"It's okay. If you can't figure it out, it doesn't mean you're stupid. It's just a manifestation of your kindness. You think too highly of the village, and there are some things you subconsciously dare not or even want to think about in that direction."

Itachi let out a soft breath.

"You should not have the heart to harm others, but you must have the heart to guard against others. You may not need to use it, but you cannot be ignorant of it."

"Why did Uncle Aokiji tell me so much?"

"You are like the First Hokage, with a spirit of sacrifice. Unlike people like Hiruzen Sarutobi, you have the true Will of Fire. It's just that you are too young and too easily manipulated. As your elder, I have a duty to guide you."

Aokiji sighed and said, "And if something unfortunate happens to me that day, then you and Sasuke, one a scholar and the other a warrior, will be my backup plan to protect the Uchiha."

"Uncle Aokiji..."

Itachi's expression changed. Although Aokiji always sneered at outsiders, he was truly exceptional when it came to his own people.

He himself had been contemplating killing his entire clan, and upon comparing the two, he immediately felt ashamed and embarrassed.

Next, Aokiji analyzed Sakumo's cause of death for Itachi. In short, Sakumo's reputation was too great, and the higher-ups did not want to see him become the next Hokage. So they deliberately spread rumors to ruin Sakumo's reputation and make him no longer a possibility of taking the position. However, they went too far and Sakumo chose to commit suicide.

Aokiji sighed and concluded, "I know Sakumo. Unlike Hiruzen Sarutobi, he is a man of true faith. He realized that the slogans of the higher-ups were nothing but nihilism. His faith collapsed, and he ultimately chose death, rather than using such a ridiculous reason as 'unworthy of blame.'"

After hearing this, Itachi angrily said, "A bunch of despicable scoundrels."

"Besides the reasons mentioned above, the most important reason why the higher-ups wanted to ruin White Fang's reputation was that he violated the 'Will of Fire.'"

Itachi didn't understand the meaning of those words: "Defying the 'Will of Fire'?"

"To be precise, it violated the 'Will of Fire' of the ruling class represented by Hiruzen Sarutobi. White Fang's prestige has greatly increased. If everyone follows his example and prioritizes their comrades over missions, do you think anyone will still risk their lives for a mission? In other words, this shakes the very foundation of the ruling values. It would be strange if the higher-ups didn't want to smear White Fang."

Itachi always thought he knew enough about the darkness of this village, but he was too naive. The darkness of the village was far greater than he had imagined.

"Uncle Aokiji, you are truly a wise man. You can even analyze something like this."

Aokiji comforted her, "It's not that I'm smart, it's that you're too naive. If you think about things from the perspective of human nature and self-interest, you'll understand."

Itachi nodded.

"Alright, let's go back to Konoha. For the greater good, let's create a new era together."

"Yes."

A few days later, Aokiji returned to the village. When Fugaku saw him return, his furrowed brows relaxed slightly this time.

Aokiji sensed something was wrong: "What's wrong? Did something happen while I was gone?"

"Kakashi's Sharingan has been gouged out."

Aokiji thought he had misheard: "What?"

Fugaku said in a deep voice, "The murderer possesses the Sharingan, and the village suspects that we were the ones who did it."

Aokiji calmly replied, "Alright, I understand."

Without a doubt, it was Obito who did this to escalate the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village, watching from the sidelines as they fought, and incidentally, he could also increase his strength. There was no reason for him not to do it.

The dual divine power is an ability that allows for both offense and defense, making it nearly invincible. In a sense, it also serves as a counter to his own wide-ranging eye technique.

He originally planned to gouge out Kakashi's eyes after he came back, but he didn't expect Obito to beat him to it.

But never mind, this is still within Aokiji's control.

He had already devised a plan to deal with Obito's dual Kamui abilities.

It's true that Kamui is immune to all physical attacks, but he is not immune to mental attacks.

In a battle between experts, victory or defeat can be decided by the slightest margin. He holds the card of Itachi in his hand. If he can control it for even half a second after a month, he is confident that he can gouge out Obito's Hollow eye directly. Without immunity to physical attacks, Obito is no match for him in a head-on confrontation.

Besides Tsukuyomi, he also holds an absolute trump card specifically designed to target Obito, a trump card that Obito absolutely cannot withstand.

(End of this chapter)