Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 451 Give Me Back the Five-Tails

Just then, the door was pushed open, and Fugaku stepped through the threshold, urgently reporting that Tsunade had injured a guard and left the village.

"I know……"

On the way back, Fugaku had already heard about the demolition of Aokiji's house. Recalling the last incident, he sighed in a low, muffled voice, "Sigh, she found out after all..."

Quanmei, observing the situation, knew that now was not the time for her to be there, so she took the initiative to find an excuse to pour tea and leave the office.

"It's okay..."

Aokiji stared at the hand that was rubbing its fingers together. "I deliberately sent someone to spread the news so she would know about this."

A look of astonishment flashed in Fugaku's eyes: "Why would you do that?"

"This kind of thing can only be hidden from those who are unwise about the truth. Rather than being used as a target in the future, I'd rather take the initiative."

Fugaku, not understanding, asked, "Then what are you going to do?"

"I want to take back the Five-Tails."

"The Five-Tails?" Fugaku remembered that the Five-Tails was still in the hands of Iwagakure.

"I will use this opportunity and the pretext of false accusation to launch an attack on the Land of Earth."

"But they won't just admit it."

Fugaku's words weren't without merit, but Aokiji didn't take them to heart. He clenched his fist and said, "You won't admit it? If I say you did it, then you did it, whether you didn't or not. If I say I didn't do it, then I didn't do it, whether I did or not, it's all for nothing."

Fugaku was taken aback by what he heard. What a domineering declaration! "To be able to say such a thing, you truly live up to your reputation."

Aokiji said domineeringly, "In this way, I can gain at least four benefits."

Fugaku asked in surprise, "Four benefits?"

"First, I can obtain the Five-Tails through war reparations, strengthening the village's power. Second, through this battle, I want Konoha to establish absolute dominance internationally. Third, I can wash away the stain on my record. Fourth, and most importantly, I want to abdicate in favor of Tsunade."

"Abdicate in favor of Tsunade?"

I understood the first part about Fugaku quite well, but I didn't quite understand the last one.

Aokiji laughed and said, "By giving up my position to Tsunade, I can prove that I have no ulterior motives, can't I?"

"That's true. If Tsunade were to take over, the clan wouldn't agree. They approve of you, not Tsunade, even if she's your wife."

Aokiji paused, then sighed, "The immense power and strength are gradually making me lose my way. I'm like a wild horse now, and if no one pulls me back at the right time, something bad will happen one day."

"And this person is Tsunade?"

"That's right."

"I'm clearing all the obstacles now so that when she takes office, she won't have to bear a bad reputation."

Fugaku nodded.

Domestically, Aokiji's policies have threatened the interests of too many vested interests, and his reputation is quite bad.

For example, the bans on gambling and pornography, and even the prohibition of polygamy, have angered the wealthy.

In response, they hired a group of people to take to the streets in protest. Aokiji didn't tolerate this and took a swift and decisive approach, arresting and sentencing those who needed to be arrested, and even confiscating their property.

"Alright, enough chit-chat, I have some errands to run."

"So fast?"

"Yeah, time waits for no one."

"Where are you going next?" Fugaku asked, wanting to know where he was headed.

Without hesitation, Aokiji replied, "The Daimyo Prefecture of the Land of Earth."

Fugaku was taken aback. Given Aokiji's history, this was like catching a toad and squeezing it until it peed: "You're not going to cause trouble for the daimyo again, are you?"

Aokiji laughed, "Otherwise, what can you expect? They're easy to bully, but they also have a lot of influence, don't they?"

"Well……"

Fugaku gave a wry smile, wondering when becoming a daimyo had become so easy to bully.

In Aokiji's eyes, Daimyo was just an ATM; he'd use it whenever he felt like it.

◎

Land of Earth, Daimyo Prefecture.

"boom."

A colossal object descended from the sky. As the smoke dissipated, a blue giant was revealed, upon which stood a white-haired youth. The daimyo of the Land of Earth, upon seeing this, recognized him and, reflexively, assumed the worst, trembling with fear.

Could this madman be here to kill him?

The infamous Aokiji smiled kindly: "Don't be nervous, I just want you to do me a small favor."

……

After winning people over with virtue, Aokiji's request was granted smoothly, which pleased him greatly. He then unleashed the power of his soul fire with effortless grace, leaving only the terrified daimyo of the Land of Earth behind.

After a period of time.

Land of Earth, Conference Room.

At a table, Aokiji and Onoki sat facing each other, each serving as the other's bodyguard.

Upon meeting, Onoki's eyes were bloodshot, veins bulged in his temples, and he was furious to the extreme.

That bastard Aokiji went to the daimyo of the Land of Earth to complain.

Rumors spread in Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village) falsely accused him of murdering the Third Hokage and plotting to seize power, severely damaging his reputation.

In order to seek justice, Aokiji demanded that Iwagakure apologize.

If they don't comply, then war will break out. Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Aokiji would be the first to sacrifice the daimyo of the Land of Earth to the heavens once the two sides went to war. But considering his resume, this bastard would definitely do such a thing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered to go to the daimyo of the Land of Earth to put pressure on him first.

Upon learning of this, the daimyo of the Land of Earth was greatly alarmed and immediately sent someone that very night to inform Onoki that he must handle the matter properly.

Then, no sooner had the messenger left than Aokiji arrived, leading to the current situation.

An apology was already ridiculous enough, but Aokiji shamelessly offered to take the Five-Tails as a condition.

Onoki immediately recognized this as blatant robbery: "Uchiha Aokiji, don't go too far!"

Aokiji raised his voice: "I went too far? You're the one who went too far, you old man! You actually spread rumors about me, falsely accusing me of plotting to seize power and assassinating the Third Hokage."

Ohnoki was furious.

He had indeed thought about this, but after the Daimyo of the Land of Earth informed him, he immediately stopped, and the plan fell through. However, he never expected that Aokiji would come to him on his own and use this as a threat.

Onoki was not easily intimidated. He scoffed and said sarcastically, "If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext."

Aokiji narrowed his eyes, his expression full of threat: "You might as well make your point clearer."

Others might be afraid of Aokiji, but Onoki says he's not afraid at all: "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"Are you implying that I deliberately sent people to spread rumors that I killed the Third Hokage and usurped power?"

Onoki climbed up the pole, sneering, "Who knows?"

Upon hearing this, Aokiji immediately flew into a rage, slamming his fist on the table with a loud thud: "I advise you to be smart and hand over the Five-Tails."

Onoki remained steadfast: "Impossible, don't even think about it. The Five-Tails is the village's property."

"Old man, you really have the nerve to say that."

"What did you say, you brat?"

"What? Did I say something wrong? The Five-Tails was originally given to you by the First Hokage, and I was the perfect Five-Tails Jinchuriki in the past. Even if you asked the Five-Tails for its opinion, I think it would be more willing to come with me."

Although Aokiji made up a random excuse, everything he said made sense, which made Onoki very uncomfortable: "Say whatever you want, the Five-Tails will never be returned to you."

"Stubbornness will only lead to self-destruction."

Aokiji was subtly conveying a threatening message.

Aokiji was too arrogant, and the guards behind Onoki couldn't stand it anymore. They jumped up and retorted, "Uchiha Aokiji, are you out of your mind? This is Iwagakure. Our village could drown you with our spittle."

Aokiji retorted, "I think you're the one who's lost your mind. With my strength, do you think your village would remain intact if I went to war with you? And in the process, how many innocent lives would be lost?"

"You brat! You're really despicable."

Onoki gritted his teeth, feeling utterly betrayed by this brat who had used the village's safety as leverage to seize his lifeline.

"What does it matter if it's despicable or noble? As long as the goal is achieved, I don't care what it's about."

Aokiji's disdain and hostile attitude were designed to cultivate a cold and treacherous persona.

In this way, countries will not use their own people as leverage, because it will be useless.

Aokiji, after all, is the ruler of a great nation, yet he resorts to such unscrupulous means. Another guard behind Onoki couldn't stand it any longer and directly shouted, "Uchiha Aokiji, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have some strength!"

Aokiji defeated magic with magic: "Sorry, having power means you can do whatever you want."

"you……"

The two sides remained deadlocked, neither willing to back down, as this could drag on indefinitely. Aokiji, employing a strategy of retreat, suggested: "How about this, let's each take a step back."

Iwagakure looked at Aokiji with surprise, as he wasn't the type to back down easily.

Seeing that the other party had misunderstood, Aokiji explained, "Don't misunderstand, I want both the apology and the Five-Tails, that won't change."

"Then why did you even mention taking a step back?"

Aokiji raised his chin at Onoki, taunting, "Tsuchikage, let's fight."

Onoki frowned.

Aokiji clenched his fist: "I won. Iwagakure apologizes for my reputation and returns the Five-Tails to me."

Onoki raised his eyelids and said in a deep voice, "And what if you lost?"

"Loss?" Aokiji glanced at him arrogantly. "That's not an option in my dictionary."

"You really are arrogant," Onoki scoffed. "Just like that guy."

"Well, since it's a choice, I'll give you the options. If I lose, you can make whatever conditions you want."

"Hmph, you dare to ask for whatever conditions we propose? If I asked for your entire Flame Kingdom, would you give it to me?"

"Can."

The other party agreed rather readily, and Onoki's first reaction was that they were lying to him.

Aokiji replied without hesitation, "The weak have no right to make demands."

Aokiji seemed to be speaking to himself, but he was actually speaking to the Iwagakure members on the other side.

Onoki was extremely annoyed. This brat in front of him was even more arrogant and domineering than Madara Uchiha was back then. He practically had the word "arrogant" written all over his face.

Aokiji scoffed, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance. If you think you're too old and might hurt your back, I'm a person who respects the elderly and cares for the young, so I'll allow you to bring in outside help. But looking at your age, still being the Tsuchikage, I'm afraid there's no one left in the village, hahaha..."

"Stop using reverse psychology."

"Then do you dare?"

"What's there to be afraid of?"

Aokiji practically dragged Onoki along with him, but he had no choice. If he didn't do it this way, given Onoki's personality, he would never let it go today.

Moreover, if he doesn't accept the challenge, it would mean he's afraid of Aokiji, and Iwagakure would never be able to hold its head high again.

"You just said we could bring in outside help, right?"

Aokiji was taken aback: "Huh?"

"Since you've become so despicable, there's no need for me to be polite with you."

"Fine, I'll make you admit defeat today."

(End of this chapter)