Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 455 Tsunade's Whereabouts

"Damn it, we've been walking for so many days and haven't seen a single casino."

Tsunade looked left and right along the wall, but couldn't find any words related to the casino.

Tsunade has kicked her gambling addiction, but because a certain guy has done something too outrageous these past few days, she is upset and desperately needs something to vent.

Tsunade clicked her tongue. There used to be so many casinos, how come she can't find a single one now?

People often say that when you're down on your luck, even drinking water can cause problems, which is probably what this means.

Tsunade exhaled and gently closed her eyes: "And how long are you going to stay with me?"

In the corner, a long shadow stretched out, accompanied by a boy who emerged with black hair and a pair of deep black eyes resting quietly beneath his eyebrows.

It was Itachi Uchiha.

"Did that man send you?"

The different forms of address reflected different attitudes. Although Itachi Uchiha did not understand what had happened between the two, he could deduce something from their tone.

Itachi Uchiha nodded slightly.

Tsunade said angrily, "Why doesn't that man come by himself?"

Uchiha Itachi replied calmly and respectfully, "He's probably busy."

Tsunade's brows furrowed, and she remained silent, her expression conveying anger.

busy?

What could be more important than her?

She's been gone from the village for several days now, and this bastard just doesn't care?

Tsunade snorted coldly, "Go back and tell that guy I don't need his help."

"..."

Uchiha Itachi remained motionless, and Tsunade scolded him angrily, "What are you still standing there for?"

"The Hokage has ordered me to stay by your side at all times and protect you."

"Protect me?"

Tsunade frowned, her gaze slightly narrowed: "Do I need a brat like you to protect me?"

As if declaring his power, he casually swung his hammer, smashing the wall into cracks as dense as spider silk.

A hint of surprise flashed in Itachi Uchiha's eyes. He thought to himself, "What a powerful fist. If I were hit on the spot, I would probably die instantly with my small body."

"Do you still feel that I need your protection?"

Itachi Uchiha shook his head.

"Seriously, even if I'm going to hire someone to protect me, I shouldn't have chosen a kid..."

Tsunade sighed silently, turned around and walked away, but after a few steps she realized that the person behind her was still following her.

Tsunade stopped and turned around, demanding, "Hey, didn't you understand me?"

Itachi Uchiha said matter-of-factly, "This is a mission..."

"You stubborn, taciturn boy, how did Mikoto end up with a son like you..."

No matter how much Tsunade cursed, Itachi Uchiha wouldn't leave and followed her all the way.

Furthermore, since he's Mikoto's son, Tsunade can't really hit him.

"You jerk, you specifically chose this point to annoy me, didn't you?"

Tsunade cursed and swore, wanting to find a casino as soon as possible to vent her anger.

But no matter how ordinary he tried, he couldn't find a single casino, and interestingly, he couldn't even find a brothel.

Are you kidding me? Is running a casino punishable by death?

Tsunade couldn't take it anymore and stopped someone on the street to ask why there wasn't a single casino around.

The person Tsunade was pulling had a gloomy face. Upon hearing this, his already gloomy face turned even more depressed, and his sigh was filled with endless longing: "It used to exist, but it doesn't anymore."

Tsunade was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

A passerby sighed and cursed, "It's all because of that lunatic."

"Neuropathy?"

Tsunade was puzzled. What kind of lunatic was so powerful that he could make people stop even opening casinos?

"You're an outsider, aren't you?"

A passerby glanced at Tsunade and thought to himself, "This woman is really beautiful, especially her...that part is really big."

Being her boyfriend must be exhausting every night.

The passerby thought this from the bottom of his heart.

If I were ten years younger, I would definitely pursue her.

Tsunade nodded.

The passerby continued, "That's no ordinary lunatic. As soon as he took office, he immediately issued a policy banning casinos in the country."

Tsunade gleaned some information from between the lines: "Go on stage? You don't mean Ao... Daimyo, do you?"

A passerby complained, "Yeah, who else could it be?"

Tsunade asked, "Then why don't you just drive it secretly?"

"Running it secretly? You make it sound so easy. This lunatic came up with a plan: anyone who reports a casino can get a cut of the winnings. That's going too far. It's practically driving us to the brink of ruin."

Tsunade chimed in, "Uh, that's true."

With this reporting mechanism in place, no one really dares to run a casino.

She now understood why she couldn't even find a casino.

Tsunade deliberately asked, "Now that you mention it, I seem to recall that this daimyo's succession was illegitimate and his methods were cruel. Aren't you afraid of offending him by speaking ill of him behind his back?"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I'm not the only one who's criticizing him."

I can't even gamble anymore, so what's wrong with me cursing at you a couple of times?

This is the mindset of most people who can't gamble these days. At first, everyone only dared to curse them behind their backs, but later they found that if they were ignored after being cursed too much, they would start cursing openly.

Of course, the premise is that you can't cross that red line, such as opening a casino or something.

Tsunade:……

At this point, the passerby suddenly broke down in tears, wiping away snot and tears: "You don't know, running a casino is considered lucky, the real misfortune is running a brothel."

"Open a brothel?"

"Yeah, running a casino only gets you jail time, but running a brothel is... well..."

After saying that, the passerby made a throat-slitting gesture, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Tsunade said in surprise, "Ao... is the Daimyo really that exaggerated? Isn't this a bit too much?"

"Yes, there were a few guys who didn't believe in the law. Relying on their connections with officials, they completely ignored this decree. As a result, some damned guy reported this news directly to Konoha. When the Daimyo found out, he immediately sent people to tie up the brothel owner and the officials, drag them out of the street like pigs, and slaughter them."

Tsunade:……

"Are you crazy? If you can't gamble or go to brothels, what's the point of life?"

The passerby bent over, his head hanging low to the floor, his voice trembling with sobs, accusing Aokiji of all his crimes.

Just then, an angry shout came from nearby: "Yamamoto, are you tired of living? You're talking bad about the daimyo again."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man named Yamamoto slowly turned his neck like a gear, and his vision came into view of a fat middle-aged woman wearing a white onesie nightgown, with an afro, a cigarette in her mouth, and a roguish air about her.

Upon seeing her, his voice trembled as he asked, "Wife?"

The woman with the afro immediately slapped Yamamoto hard across the face, then grabbed him by the neck with one hand, her temper flaring: "Wife? How many times have I warned you not to speak ill of Yamamoto?"

"I'm sorry..." Yamamoto apologized, looking every bit the henpecked husband.

What a fierce woman... Tsunade has a rather volatile temper, but compared to the woman in front of her, she suddenly seems as gentle as a lamb.

"Young lady, don't listen to this guy's nonsense. Da Ming is the best man in the world."

Unlike Yamamoto, the woman with the afro treated Aokiji with the complete opposite attitude, full of respect.

"The best man in the world?"

Tsunade was immediately confused upon hearing this.

How come she didn't know that Aokiji was so good?

The woman with the afro said, "In the past, whenever men had spare money, they would either gamble or go to prostitutes and indulge in debauchery. No matter how much the women in the family tried to persuade them, it was no use. But after the new daimyo promulgated this policy, this trouble was immediately eliminated."

"Well……"

"That's not all. After the daimyo came to power, he also issued a regulation."

"What rule?"

"Each man can only have one wife. To remarry, he must divorce."

After saying that, the woman with the afro gave Yamamoto a cold glance. This stinky man had originally been determined to take a concubine.

She had already given in out of desperation.

But once this policy is promulgated, all worries will be gone.

It can be said that Aokiji won the support of all women on this point, since no woman would like to share her other half.

But the world was like this at that time. If men really wanted to take concubines, it would be difficult for them and women to stop them.

The woman with the afro looked on with admiration and went on and on about how good the new emperor was, especially mentioning the land tax reform and the policy of requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together.

The two policy drafters were a bit confused and asked for clarification.

The woman with the afro gave a brief introduction: now it's the "land tax reform," which basically means taxes are calculated based on appearance, and officials and gentry pay taxes together. In the past, even high-ranking officials and landlords had to pay taxes, but after this policy was promulgated, everyone has to pay taxes.

After this policy was promulgated, Aokiji suddenly found himself on the opposite side of the wealthy class in the Land of Fire.

People finally become high-ranking officials to enjoy themselves, but you do this, so naturally they're not satisfied.

They all united to petition Aokiji to restore the original policy.

They were even more united than when the daimyo was killed. After all, their interests weren't affected when the daimyo was killed, but Aokiji's actions were like cutting off their livelihood, like killing their parents.

Tsunade thought so too: "The new daimyo's actions will probably face a lot of resistance."

The woman with the afro smiled nonchalantly: "The Great Ming doesn't tolerate these people. They'll all be killed and replaced with new officials."

"He's really ruthless."

"Ruthless? I think it's quite merciful. You have no idea how these people exploited us back then. The daimyo killing them directly is already considered very merciful."

"Well……"

Afterwards, the woman with the afro instilled in Tsunade the various welfare policies that Aokiji had promulgated after taking office. Although they had not been fully implemented yet, these commoners were already experiencing the benefits firsthand.

Seeing how much the other person was praising Aokiji, Tsunade, as his wife, felt a little embarrassed: "He's not actually that good..."

Moreover, he was also lecherous.

Tsunade added a sentence in her mind.

The woman with the afro said, "I've been bragging about this for so long, and you still dare to say my name is bad?" She immediately became displeased and took it out on her husband: "If my name were really a devil, do you think you'd still be alive after all this boasting?"

After this little interlude, under a small tree in dappled shade, Tsunade, sitting on the steps, asked Itachi, "Did Aokiji really go all out to get on stage?"

Uchiha Itachi nodded and said, "The longer we hesitate, the more suffering will occur in the unseen parts of this country. Cutting through the Gordian knot is the most direct and effective method. This is the principle that Uncle Aokiji taught me."

Itachi Uchiha's words made sense. If Aokiji hadn't been ruthless to this extent, the country wouldn't have been able to integrate so quickly as it has now.

"Itachi, what role did you play in killing the higher-ups?"

(End of this chapter)