Naruto: Starting with Tsunade

Chapter 73 Kusanagi Sword

Aokiji said weakly, "It's nothing. Didn't you just say that the people who betray you are often the closest to you?"

Elder Itachi cursed, "Fool, what good would it do me to betray you, or even the Uchiha clan?"

Whether Tsunade and her two companions will betray Aokiji's mastermind, Madara Uchiha, is unknown, but he will secretly reveal Aokiji's Sharingan to the Konoha leadership at some opportune moment.

At that time, the Konoha leadership will definitely become suspicious of Aokiji, and he will be emotionally affected as a result.

Aokiji sighed, "I think basic trust between people is still necessary."

"Optimism is a deadly poison." Elder Itachi lowered his voice, his tone tinged with darkness: "The Uchiha clan now is like people walking a tightrope over a bottomless abyss. If they are not careful, they will fall to the bottom and be smashed to pieces."

"Whether you want to entrust your life and fortune to others or keep it firmly in your own hands, I think you should be able to figure that out with your personality."

"Is becoming Hokage the only path?"

Aokiji's sigh carried a hint of helplessness.

"The way to solve a problem is to find its root cause." Elder Itachi's eyes, though his face was old and frail, gleamed with the light of a raptor. "Since the higher-ups in Konoha are prejudiced against us, then we Uchiha will take their place, and naturally all the problems targeting the Uchiha will be solved."

"Even so, it doesn't necessarily have to be me," Aokiji said reluctantly. "I think Fugaku seems quite interested in becoming Hokage, and his talent is pretty good too."

"Fugaku is indeed a good prospect, but he's still a bit lacking compared to you."

With no other choice, Aokiji sighed in agreement and tearfully agreed to become Hokage.

"There's really no other way~ So what should I do next? Should I be a good ninja and try to make a good impression on everyone?"

Seeing Aokiji's reasonable attitude, Elder Itachi smiled with relief: "There's no need. You can continue to do as you please."

Aokiji: ? ? ?

"If you work hard to be a good ninja now, how can I send you to investigate Madara's affairs? To become a ninja of the Hokage level, it's not about what you accumulate in ordinary times, but about the outstanding contributions you make in major events. I predict that there will definitely be wars in the future. When that happens, you should work hard during the war and accumulate prestige, which will be much more effective than carrying out a few insignificant missions in ordinary times."

Upon hearing that it was war, Aokiji sighed, his eyes filled with melancholy: "War again..."

Elder Itachi narrowed his meaningful eyes, his scarlet pupils flashing with an eerie light: "Aokiji, do you want to eliminate war forever?"

"Eliminating war forever? Of course I want that!"

As if remembering something, Aokiji's high spirits immediately deflated: "But this is something that even Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha couldn't accomplish together. Although I consider myself exceptionally talented, there are always mountains beyond mountains and people beyond people. I'm still far behind those two great men."

Elder Itachi smiled and said, "Some dreams may seem unattainable, but they are not impossible to achieve, as long as you are strong enough."

Aokiji murmured, "As long as I'm strong enough?"

Elder Itachi said with certainty, "That's right. Strength is the most powerful language in the world. As long as you are strong enough, there is nothing you can't do."

Aokiji asked, "What do I need to do?"

"First, you must become Hokage; second, you must possess the power of the Bloodline Limit; and..." Elder Itachi revealed a meaningful smile: "...the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan. By combining these two powers, you will have the potential to change everything."

"The Mangekyou Sharingan?" Aokiji snapped back to reality, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Wait, didn't you just say there's a risk of blindness with this eye? I don't want to go blind!"

Elder Itachi closed his eyes and shook his head: "I don't intend to let you awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Aokiji was completely confused: "If I don't awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, how am I supposed to obtain its power?"

"Awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan comes at a great cost. If possible, I don't want you to awaken these eyes, or even other members of the clan. So my thought is..." Elder Itachi opened his eyes and uttered a name: "Uchiha Madara..."

"Uchiha Madara? Could it be...?"

Aokiji understood. Elder Itachi intended for him to find Madara Uchiha's corpse and then install his eyes on him.

The problem is, he's alive and well now, so what kind of corpse would he have to gouge out his eyes from?

Elder Itachi nodded slightly and, as Aokiji had expected, said, "Yes, I plan to transplant Madara Uchiha's eyes into your body."

"Finding Madara Uchiha's body isn't that easy," Aokiji said with a wry smile. "Besides, I don't want to use someone else's eyes; my own are always better."

Elder Itachi gave a meaningful smile: "No rush, find it first."

"Then I guess I might never find it..." Aokiji continued, "If I obtain these two powers as you envision, what should I do next to eliminate all the conflicts in this world?"

Elder Itachi replied, "You must unify the entire ninja world."

Unify the ninja world?

Aokiji was taken aback; "That's impressive."

Elder Itachi explained: "Back then, Hashirama made many efforts for world peace, one of which was to hand over the Tailed Beasts he had painstakingly collected to others, hoping to use the power of the Tailed Beasts to restrain the countries. But as you have seen, with the death of Hashirama Senju, these countries immediately became restless and even turned to using the power of the Tailed Beasts to launch wars."

"In the past, Hashirama, who was known as the God of Shinobi, attempted to influence people with love and hoped that they could understand each other. For this reason, he and Madara founded Konoha, this paradise on earth."

"But with his death, the flames of war immediately spread to Konoha Village."

The word "ninja" is composed of two characters, one above the other. The heart represents love, and the sword represents power. Power must be above love. As you have seen, with Hashirama's death and the absence of a powerful military threat, the world immediately descended into chaos. Therefore, only absolute power can be the essential foundation for maintaining peace.

"For thousands of years, the world has been fragmented, with various countries vying for power. People have different nations, different civilizations, and different traditions. That's why the world is constantly at war, and these wars have lasted for thousands of years without ever stopping. If you want the world to be peaceful forever, you must remove all obstacles and eliminate national boundaries so that everyone can live together harmoniously. That is the true paradise of the world."

At this point, Elder Itachi raised his arm and clenched his fist, his scarlet eyes radiating a strong, ominous madness.

Aokiji looked worried: "But wouldn't this cause a lot of unnecessary casualties?"

Elder Itachi said in a deep voice, "A swift and decisive approach is the fastest and most effective method compared to the endless wars to come. The establishment of Konoha Village was achieved only after many sacrifices, bringing about a brief period of peace. If Hashirama Senju had understood this principle and directly unified the entire ninja world with Madara Uchiha, there wouldn't have been so many wars later on, and your father, mother, grandmother, and others wouldn't have had to sacrifice themselves, would they?"

Seemingly moved by what he was said, Aokiji clenched his fists and his eyes blazed.

Seeing that his hint had worked, Elder Itachi intensified his attack, pointing at Aokiji and speaking in a clear, forceful voice, relentlessly manipulating him: "Think about it carefully. If you can accomplish this feat that even the founders of Konoha couldn't achieve, then you, Uchiha Aokiji, will be the savior of this world!"

Aokiji took a breath, and for some reason, he saw the potential of a major boss in Elder Itachi.

He wondered if it was because he had lived through the Warring States period and experienced brutal wars that he had such a morbid obsession with peace.

Aokiji didn't think much of it; in a way, his goal was the same as Elder Itachi's.

It wasn't that he had any lofty ideals; he simply felt that if he had power, what a joke it was that a mere famous person like him dared to stand on his head and shit on him. He'd be lucky if he didn't scatter his ashes.

It's decided, I'll wait until he becomes Hokage.

His first action was to collect protection money from the daimyo. This protection money wasn't about the daimyo paying protection money in exchange for my protection; it was about you paying protection money and I not robbing you.

Anyway, Daimyo isn't exactly a saint, so Aokiji had no qualms about taking him.

Aokiji let out a breath: "In short, my current task is to try my best to find Madara Uchiha's body."

Elder Itachi nodded.

"Finding the Uchiha's body is an extremely difficult task. You see, I'm a rare dual-bloodline limit ninja. It wouldn't be good if I died on the way during the mission. So, could you sponsor me one or two powerful ninja tools for self-defense?" Aokiji chuckled and winked.

That reason is quite reasonable. Elder Itachi didn't refuse after hearing it, and slightly raised his eyelids: "Tell me, what kind of items do you want that can support your clan as much as possible?"

In his earlier years, Madara Uchiha had collected quite a few powerful ninja tools, but after he awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, these tools became largely useless. If Aokiji wanted them, he could take one or two from his collection and give them to him.

"If that's how you put it, then I won't hold back..." Aokiji tentatively asked, "Do you have the Kusanagi Sword?"

(End of this chapter)