Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 445 Uchiha Poking Forehead X Kimimaro

Konoha, Hokage Building.

In the office, Qing Zhi stretched his back, it was time to get off work.

Unfortunately, a bird flew back through the window with a letter tied to its leg, indicating that intelligence had been delivered.

Aokiji untied the letter that was bound to him. It contained some coded messages, and it took him a little time to decipher them.

Dissatisfied with the oppression of Kirigakure, the Shikotsumyaku clan of Kirigakure launched a surprise attack on the village, which naturally ended in failure, with the remaining Shikotsumyaku clan going into hiding.

"What a hassle, I've only been back for a few days."

Hearing this, Izumi realized that her Hokage seemed to be leaving the village again, and couldn't help but ask.

She had never seen a village leader like this before; he was always so restless.

Aokiji nodded slightly, gave a few instructions, and set off for the medical department, where he called Tsunade to go home with him.

During dinner, Aokiji mentioned that he might have to go out. Tsunade, sitting across from him, slowly put down her chopsticks, frowned, and asked, "You've only been back for a few days, why are you going out again? Can't you spend more time with me?"

"Um, something's come up."

"What could be so important that the Hokage has to personally intervene?" Tsunade asked reluctantly.

"no way."

Aokiji said helplessly that he needed to hurry to Kirigakure to rescue that kid.

If it weren't for Tsunade, we would already be on our way, and we wouldn't even be eating this meal.

Tsunade suddenly said, "...Why did you kill the daimyo back then, and even strangers...?"

Aokiji was taken aback, wondering if Tsunade had noticed something. He smiled and explained, "Didn't I say? I did it to avenge the Third Hokage."

"Is that really the case? If so, then there was no need to go to such lengths, even seizing the throne directly."

Aokiji's actions can be seen as a direct denial of everything that Tsunade revered her grandfather for.

"Those with the ability should be given the position, and the other option is to eliminate any potential threats at the root."

"..."

Seeing that Tsunade was still somewhat skeptical, Aokiji continued to reveal some inside information, such as the time he kidnapped the daimyo's son.

Upon hearing this news, Tsunade exclaimed in shock, "You...!"

"There's no way I can reconcile with the daimyo, so I might as well go all the way."

Moreover…

"Besides?"

Aokiji recounted the meeting and how he directly killed the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to threaten him: "It is precisely because I act so ruthlessly that other countries have reservations, and the village has been able to maintain its current peace to this day."

"..."

"If you don't want me to be like this, I can change in the future..."

Now that things have come to this, Tsunade could say nothing more. Although Aokiji was extreme in his actions, it was undeniable that he was indeed protecting the village in his own way: "Tell me honestly what you're going to do next. Don't hide from me like you did last time."

"All right……"

This time, Aokiji no longer concealed anything: "I received information that due to the Blood Mist policy, the bloodline limit families in Kirigakure are being ostracized by the village, and some dissatisfied families have even broken with the village and launched a coup."

Given Aokiji's bad reputation, Tsunade naturally assumed that Aokiji wanted to take advantage of the chaos to attack Kirigakure.

Aokiji quickly waved his hand: "You misunderstood me. I just wanted to take this opportunity to discover some talented people."

"?"

With Kirigakure's actions, the village's bloodline limit ninjas had no chance of survival. Aokiji's plan was to directly recruit these people. He told Tsunade about this idea: "If you don't believe me, you can come with me."

"never mind……"

"?"

Tsunade looked into Aokiji's eyes: "I believe you."

The more Tsunade acted this way, the more ashamed Aokiji felt. Even now, he was still hiding the truth about the Third Hokage from Tsunade.

"Speaking of which, do you know why Jiraiya hasn't returned to the village yet?" Tsunade was curious to see how Jiraiya would react when he saw her.

"I don't know. It seems they were fooled by the toads of Mount Myōboku and are now searching for the chosen one," Aokiji said vaguely, trying to evade the question.

"Is that so..." Tsunade looked disappointed, and asked expectantly, "How long are you going to be gone this time?"

"We'll see..."

Aokiji valued Kimimaro highly and was determined to bring him back and have him treated by Tsunade.

"Oh well……"

"Then I'm leaving..."

After watching Aokiji leave, Tsunade was left alone in the vast room, guarding her solitary room.

"Take a shower and clear your head..."

Tsunade muttered to herself, took a shower, returned to her room, lay on the bed for a while but couldn't fall asleep, then got off the bed and crawled into the quilt on the floor.

The two were in the same room, but they didn't usually sleep in the same bed. Tsunade slept on the bed, while Aokiji slept on a makeshift bed on the floor.

Due to Aokiji's unique physical condition, the two have not yet consummated their marriage.

When you're lonely at night, it's easy for your mind to wander. In addition, Tsunade is also at this age, so she muttered to herself, "I heard Mikoto say that the first time is very painful, but it feels very good afterwards. Will it be like that with Aokiji... Oh God, what am I saying?"

The next day, Tsunade woke up, quickly washed up, changed her clothes, and went out to "go to work." She greeted the villagers she passed by. She was getting more and more used to this kind of life.

As I was walking, I saw a familiar figure from behind, with short black hair.

Tsunade quickly walked up, patted the person on the shoulder, and greeted them, "Yo, good morning, Shizune-neechan."

Early in the morning, Shizune was startled: "Ah, Lady Tsunade..."

"whee……"

"Lady Tsunade, please don't call me 'older sister'..."

Shizune was just an ordinary ninja, while Tsunade not only held a high position but was also her superior. She felt very uncomfortable being addressed like that.

"What does it matter? You're older than me."

When she traveled through time, Tsunade called Shizune that way, and she doesn't feel uncomfortable calling her that now.

"But……"

"It's okay, I don't mind, why would you mind?"

"Oh well."

Tsunade is very easygoing, and Shizune feels no pressure at all when she's with her. She really likes her boss.

Shizune looked around, surprised, and asked, "What's wrong, Hokage-sama? Didn't you go out with him?"

Tsunade said irritably, "That jerk, he's out partying."

"???"

Tsunade changed the subject: "Never mind, let's not talk about him."

Shizune didn't ask any more questions; the Hokage's movements were not something a commoner ninja like her should concern herself with.

During lunch break, Tsunade took Shizune and Izumi out for lunch. In the time she was away, many new things had appeared in the village, which Tsunade found very interesting.

The hot pot restaurant is very busy, so the food takes a while to arrive. To help customers pass the time, the restaurant is equipped with TVs for entertainment.

Tsunade, having nothing better to do, glanced at it a few more times.

On television, a host is interviewing a masked guest.

This program covers a wide range of topics, including entertainment and politics. Because of its boldness and fearlessness in offending the public, it has attracted widespread attention. In order to protect the guests, they are often interviewed while wearing masks.

At that moment, the host happened to ask about the Land of Flames. Perhaps for the sake of ratings, the host took a risky approach and asked a provocative question: Was Asuma really the one who killed the Third Hokage of Konoha?

The masked guest half-jokingly said, "Speaking of this, I've heard quite a few rumors about it lately."

"Oh~" the host drawled, asking curiously, "What rumor?"

The masked guest remained tight-lipped: "It seems to be that person..."

"That person?"

"After all, he's the direct beneficiary, isn't he?"

The host feigned ignorance: "May I ask who this person you're talking about is?"

The masked guest half-jokingly said, "Haha, please spare me. If I reveal this name, I'll be in big trouble."

"Haha..." the host changed the subject: "Then let's move on to the next question."

This matter has spread far and wide; those who know, know, so there's no need to elaborate. Those who don't know will seek out those who do.

Tsunade frowned, pointed at the television, and asked, "Do you know who these two guys are talking about?"

Quanmei cursed inwardly, thinking, "This stupid TV program is just rubbing salt in the wound."

She wasn't directly involved in the massacre of her clan that night, but Izumi, who had attended several Uchiha meetings, could still deduce it to some extent.

"I don't know..."

A fleeting look of panic crossed Izumi's face, which Tsunade keenly noticed. She stared intently into Izumi's eyes: "No, you know..."

Izumi vehemently denied it: "Lady Tsunade, I really don't know..."

Tsunade stood up abruptly. Even if Izumi hadn't said anything, he had already guessed what was going on.

Izumi asked anxiously, "Lady Tsunade, where are you going?"

Tsunade didn't respond and ran straight towards the door. Izumi followed closely behind, trying to stop her, but was stopped first by a waiter who greeted her with a smile: "This guest, you haven't paid yet."

Izumi:……

After Tsunade arrived at the Konoha Police Force and Aokiji became Hokage, the Konoha Police Force, which had been disbanded, was restored.

"Lady Tsunade..."

The members of the security team were quite surprised to see Tsunade arrive.

Tsunade asked, "Where's Fugaku?"

"The captain is in the office."

Tsunade went straight into the office. Fugaku was slightly surprised to see Tsunade arrive. What wind brought her here?

Tsunade closed the door, her voice low and direct: "Fugaku, tell me honestly, how did the Third Hokage die?"

Fugaku's heart sank. Why would Tsunade ask this out of the blue?

"this……"

"It must have been Aokiji who dried it."

"..."

The incident happened so suddenly that Fugaku didn't know how to start the conversation.

Tsunade said coldly, "Alright, you don't need to explain anymore. I already know the answer you want from your expression."

What was bound to happen finally happened. Fugaku took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and nodded as if to acknowledge the matter.

Why go to such lengths?

Tsunade thought that Aokiji had already done something ruthless enough by killing the daimyo, but she didn't expect that he would not only kill the daimyo, but also kill her mentor.

Fugaku sighed, "Let's wait until he gets back to talk about this. I think he'll give you an answer..."

"..."

◎

The Land of Water, the Hidden Mist Village.

Aokiji briefly met with his subordinates to get a general idea of ​​the situation: the Shikotsumyaku clan had gone mad and launched a direct attack on Kirigakure, resulting in the annihilation of their entire clan.

"Lord Aokiji..."

"It's nothing..."

Aokiji didn't want to explain further.

The Land of Water is neither large nor small, and finding a child in such a country is by no means easy.

But this did not stump Aokiji. He quickly formed hand seals and pressed one hand against his right eye with a sword gesture.

Ice Release: Thousand-Mile Eyes of Ice.

This is a ninjutsu that creates ice crystals and uses the refraction of light to locate people. It can be twice as effective in snowy environments, but even so, it consumes a lot of chakra.

The land of water is shrouded in mist year-round, and while the environment is not as good as the snowy land, it is still passable.

Given Kimimaro's personality, he would inevitably wander alone and become homeless, a situation rarely seen in this country, which greatly reduced the scope of Aokiji's search.

◎

Under a large tree, shrouded in mist.

The white-haired boy sat on the ground, knees bent and together, arms wrapped around his knees, leaning against a big tree, like an abandoned kitten.

The boy's name was Kimimaro, and he came from the Shikotsu clan.

His entire clan had perished in that battle; he was the only survivor.

He didn't feel any different from before, because he had always been the same person, only feeling utterly lost and empty about life, as his emerald green eyes seemed to say.

"What did I do wrong that God is punishing me like this..."

Kimimaro muttered to himself, his voice somber.

"Click, click..."

The rustling footsteps echoed as they drew nearer, indicating that someone was approaching. Kimimaro noticed this, raised his face, and stared intently in their direction.

A figure slowly emerged, thin and dressed in black, with the same white hair and blue eyes as him, and a cold and stern face.

"People from Kirigakure?"

Kimimaro instinctively thought they were pursuers and raised his bone spike.

"no."

Aokiji smiled slightly and closed his eyes.

The boy in front of me had white hair, a delicate face, wore wrinkled clothes, and had red eyeshadow under his bright green eyes, with two striking red dots between his eyebrows.

It's him, as expected—Kimimaro.

"Feel sorry."

Kimimaro put down the bone blade in his hand, quite politely.

Aokiji's gaze fell on the bone blade, and he smiled slightly: "The Corpse Bone Pulse... it seems there are still some that have slipped through the net."

Kimimaro's expression hardened. He raised his bone blade again and charged forward without saying a word. His speed was incredibly fast, even faster than some Chunin.

Seeing the slight movement, Aokiji dodged the sliding slash while still having the energy to counterattack, turning around and delivering a kick.

Kimimaro flew out.

Very competitive.

This person is more powerful than any opponent he has ever encountered before.

It didn't even have time to create a bone-like membrane under the skin for defense.

He got up from the ground, still wanting to fight back.

The next second, the pair of eyes opposite him, which were the same turquoise color as his own, turned blood red, surrounded by three tomoe, exuding a chilling aura.

Under those gazes, he couldn't muster the slightest resistance. He loosened his grip, and the bone blade slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

With the disparity in strength between the two sides, Kimimaro, who had no reason to live, chose to simply give up resistance.

"What a pitiful child, losing interest in life at such a young age."

Aokiji smiled with pity: "Do you know that there are two most important days in a person's life? The day you are born and the day you find out why you were born."

Kimimaro stared blankly at Aokiji.

"Live on, huh? Maybe you'll find something interesting, just like I found you, and you met me."

Aokiji slowly walked up to Kimimaro, knelt down on one knee, met Kimimaro's gaze, revealed a gentle smile, and said in a magnetic voice: "Come and be my son."

Having said that, he raised his index and ring fingers together and gently poked Kimimaro's forehead.

The Uchiha clan's ancestral method of pricking the forehead.

Kimimaro's cheeks flushed slightly, a strange emotion rippled in his swaying eyes, and a pure smile appeared on his lips.

It seemed that suddenly, a ray of sunlight shone down from the cracks in the clouds. It was bright and warm, reflecting the man's smile, and even illuminating his own cold heart.

He thought that at that moment, he must have been bewitched by the man in front of him.

P.S.: Two-in-one

(End of this chapter)