Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 496 Pre-War Meeting

Jiraiya watched as young Konohamaru played with the waves crashing against the shore, and sighed with emotion.

There was a time when I was just as carefree as him.

"The more you know, the more painful it becomes..." Jiraiya murmured in a voice only he could hear.

Seeing that Jiraiya wasn't playing with him, Konohamaru, oblivious to everything, ran over and grabbed Jiraiya's hand: "Jiraiya-sensei, what are you daydreaming about? Didn't you promise to play with me today?"

"Haha, sorry, sorry..."

Jiraiya's perfunctory attitude caused Konohamaru to pout, turn his head away, and pretend to be angry: "You have no sincerity at all, I'm ignoring you."

After all, he was in the wrong first, and Jiraiya was at a loss: "Then tell me what I need to do to get your forgiveness?"

"Unless..." Konohamaru's eyes bulged, and he drew out the word, cleverly saying, "You teach me ninjutsu."

Jiraiya was in a dilemma; he didn't really want Konohamaru to learn ninjutsu.

It's not that I'm hiding anything, but Konohamaru has learned ninjutsu, and when he grows up, he might hear some news and develop a desire for revenge.

Putting aside other factors, this enemy is one that Konohamaru could never defeat, even if he devoted his entire life to fighting.

Once that guy realizes you have this intention, he definitely won't show any mercy, and even if you plead for mercy, it won't be of any use.

Jiraiya coaxed, "Why do you have to learn ninjutsu? Isn't it good to be an ordinary person?"

"What's the point of being an ordinary person? I want to become a ninja like you."

Having been with Jiraiya for three years, Konohamaru had heard from others on the road how remarkable his master was.

Jiraiya remained silent.

Konohamaru, though young, wasn't stupid. He looked at him suspiciously and said, "Could it be that Jiraiya-sensei is hiding something from me?"

If he kept making excuses, Konohamaru would probably start to get suspicious... Jiraiya forced a smile and said, "How could that be? I'm just worried that you'd get hurt easily as a ninja."

"No way." Konohamaru's resolve was firm.

Jiraiya said helplessly, "Fine..."

"Yay..."

"But let me make it clear beforehand, being a ninja is very tough. If you give up halfway, don't blame me for not teaching you."

Jiraiya thought to himself that he must set the strictest training for Konohamaru so that he would give up and Konohamaru would have no reason to complain.

His expectation of Konohamaru was simply for him to be an ordinary person, get married, have children, and live a quiet and honest life.

"I will definitely not give up," Konohamaru said confidently, patting his chest as he made his promise.

Jiraiya pointed to the stream in front of him: "Why don't you run back and forth along this stream first?"

The stream is about a kilometer long, which is quite difficult for someone of Konohamaru's age who hasn't received any training.

Konohamaru was not intimidated by the difficulties before him: "Alright."

Jiraiya added, "Ten times..."

"???"

Konohamaru's eyes widened in astonishment. "Jiraiya, Sensei, are you kidding me?"

Jiraiya put away his usual playful smile and said seriously, "No, this is what it means to be a ninja. If you can't even endure this little bit of hardship, then I advise you to give up on this ninja as soon as possible. Being a ninja is not a game; a slight mistake can cost you your life."

Konohamaru, young and fearless, gritted his teeth and said, "Let's run! Who's afraid of who? Humph..."

After saying that, Konohamaru took off running towards the stream with his short legs.

Watching Konohamaru run further and further away, Jiraiya shook his head, plotting in his mind how to make Konohamaru back down.

At that moment, he paused, his gaze sweeping over his shoulder and glancing back.

There was a white-haired young man in sight. Because they were familiar with each other, the other party did not deliberately hide his presence.

"You've come..."

Having been informed beforehand, Jiraiya knew the purpose of the other party's visit and was not surprised.

Yes, I'm here.

Aokiji's gaze swept past Jiraiya's back, his eyes narrowing. "You've started teaching him ninjutsu?"

Jiraiya shook his head and explained, "I just wanted to discourage him."

Aokiji shrugged, not taking it to heart: "Whatever, teach me if you want."

"..."

Aokiji changed the subject: "What's your opinion on my request from last time?"

Aokiji sought out Jiraiya to recruit him into his side.

"I have no reason to refuse, do I?"

Jiraiya sighed: "However, I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"If Konohamaru really does something excessive in the future, I hope you can let him off the hook for my sake."

"no."

Aokiji resolutely refused: "A person only has one life. I cannot gamble with the lives of my people."

If Konohamaru knew the truth when he grew up, who knows if he would turn on his own defenseless clansmen first.

Jiraiya remained silent, for he had no way to refute it.

Seeing Jiraiya's dejected appearance, Aokiji knew he had achieved his goal.

First, give the other person despair, then give them hope—this is a common persuasive tactic.

"But I could have avoided all of this."

Jiraiya was taken aback: "What?"

"I will use my Sharingan to erase all his memories, and then arrange for him to live as a rich man's son, where he will never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of his life."

"Does that include me?"

"Of course, if we're going to do it, we should do it thoroughly."

Aokiji's voice left no room for doubt: "Hesitation is like a tangled mess, impossible to unravel."

Jiraiya slowly closed his eyes, and after careful consideration, reluctantly accepted the proposal.

Aokiji extended his hand, offering a sincere invitation: "Come back to me, and let's be like we used to be."

After several years of reflection, and with the Land of Flame prospering, Jiraiya had more or less accepted the idea, though a sense of unease remained. He politely declined the suggestion, saying, "Never mind, I'm used to being a wandering hermit..."

Aokiji didn't force the issue, knowing that haste makes waste: "I'll wait..."

……

……

On the other side, a pre-war meeting.

The five Kage gathered around a table to discuss how to deal with Uchiha Madara.

However, although it was called a discussion, there wasn't really anything to discuss.

It all boils down to cutting down that ancient divine tree.

Of course, this is on the premise that you can defeat the guardian of the sacred tree.

Aokiji, serving as Tsunade, the Hokage's attendant, looked around at everyone present.

Konoha and Kirigakure did not suffer much damage.

The villages of Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure fared much worse; their Kage-level enemies were almost entirely wiped out by Madara Uchiha.

One reason they were obstructing Uchiha Madara from capturing the Tailed Beast was that Aokiji had secretly instructed them to do so.

The current film industry has reached the next generation.

Raikage, Darui, the former right-hand man of the Fourth Raikage.

Tsuchikage: Han, one of the original five Jinchuriki, escaped death because the Tailed Beasts were taken by Aokiji.

The first two were young and strong, but Sunagakure was in a bad situation. They couldn't find anyone to fill the position, so they had to let the elderly Ebizo take over.

"I'm sure I've made myself clear in my letter by calling you all here today."

Tsunade, as the host, began to speak.

The other figures nodded in agreement.

"Has Konoha found out how that guy works?"

Han, who had already assumed the role of Tsuchikage, automatically ignored everyone else present.

He was someone who had faced Madara Uchiha's immense power directly.

He barely held on for a second before being instantly killed by Madara Uchiha.

If it weren't for the fact that the tailed beast inside him had already been taken away by Aokiji, he would probably have suffered the same fate as his friend Rōshi.

In a way, he should thank Aokiji for taking the tailed beast out of his body, thus saving him from this calamity.

Since they were allies, Tsunade didn't hold back and gave everyone a general explanation of Limbo: Border Jail's skill mechanics.

Those present understood the implied meaning: "In other words, your Konoha has already obtained the Rinnegan, or power of equal or equal level?"

After saying that, his eyes involuntarily turned to Aokiji. Only he could have eyes like that.

Aokiji's eyes revealed a golden Mangekyou Sharingan: "That's one way to understand it..."

Kaleidoscope Sharingan?

No, there is a difference in color.

This was the first time anyone present had ever seen a Mangekyou Sharingan of this color.

The people present were secretly pleased, but their expressions quickly darkened.

Konoha's fighting force has suffered almost no losses, and with Aokiji's strength further enhanced, if they can truly win this battle, Konoha's desire to unify the world will truly be a matter of whether they want to or not.

Fortunately, Aokiji lost his ambition after his lover was resurrected.

Based on his past record, those present secretly hoped for the best.

At this point, Aokiji felt it necessary to dampen their spirits:

"However, even if I possessed this power, it would still be difficult to defeat Madara Uchiha. Putting aside Madara's invincible strength, don't forget that he also has many powerful subordinates by his side, so..."

Han replied, "So?"

"I want you to give us the corpses of the strongmen in the village so we can perform the Impure World Reincarnation."

(End of this chapter)