Dual Kekkei Genkai

Dual Kekkei Genkai

For that, he had even given up the entire forest. The sacrifice was far too great.

After all, if that day really came, given Tsunade's personality, she probably would not beat him to death for doing that—but she might beat him into a cripple and leave him bedridden for the rest of his life.

At that thought, Aokiji wore a pained expression.

But there was no helping it. This was all for the clan...

Having figured that out, all he needed to do next was prescribe the right remedy.

But there was a problem: how was he supposed to get close to Tsunade?

Though they were classmates now, getting close to Tsunade would be easy enough.

But who knew whether there were ninja secretly protecting her? If they saw him being too intimate with Tsunade, they might report that he had ulterior motives, perhaps even claim that the Uchiha Clan had sent him to use a honey trap.

Once the higher-ups learned of it, they might find an opportunity to quietly get rid of him someday.

Aokiji was not being alarmist or overly nervous.

Just think about what happened to Tsunade's younger brother and boyfriend.

Both died in a short period of time. Was that not far too much of a coincidence?

Both of them had wanted to become Hokage, to change the village. With Tsunade's influence behind them, they had stood a very good chance of becoming Hokage.

Following the logic of human nature, who benefited the most from doing that?

Answer: the Third Hokage and his family.

Setting the Third Hokage's character aside for the moment, there was no telling what the family members behind him, those who profited from the Third Hokage's reputation, might do.

Aokiji still remembered that joke about Yuan Fei 3000 quite clearly. (Parentheses.)

A marriage alliance between the Senju and Uchiha Clan was the last thing those interest groups behind the higher-ups wanted to see.

Either the Senju or the Uchiha Clan alone was already monstrously powerful. If the two clans joined together, who knew what kind of monster they would produce? It would practically leave no way for the other clans to survive.

Only a corridor separated Aokiji and Tsunade. Because of that, when Aokiji looked at Tsunade, she quickly noticed.

Seeing the sorrowful expression on Aokiji's face as he stared at her, Tsunade asked in confusion, "Is there something on my face?"

"Nothing. Tsunade, you're amazing!"

Aokiji placed a hand over his great big conscience.

He had decided that, until he possessed Kage-level strength, he should not pursue Tsunade too actively. Maintaining a normal friendship would be enough.

Besides, constrained by the mindset of his previous life, he truly did not dare touch an underage girl.

"That sounded so fake..."

"I just think that someone like you, Tsunade, who harbors such grand ambitions, is truly admirable."

Tsunade thought for a moment. "I remember you're from the Uchiha Clan..."

"Aokiji," he answered.

"You seem very different from the usual Uchiha Clan members."

The Senju and Uchiha Clan had a deep history together. Having heard about them since childhood, Tsunade had a fairly clear impression of the Uchiha Clan.

Arrogant and unsociable—those were most people's impressions.

But Aokiji's unambitious, layabout attitude toward life vastly exceeded her preconceptions.

"Is it because I'm handsome in a different way?"

Aokiji flashed a mouthful of bright white teeth.

"When it comes to being full of yourself, you really are different."

"I'm a pacifist. What I hate most is fighting. Living peacefully and motionlessly like a plant is my way of life."

The tallest tree in the forest would be the first to be broken by the wind.

Aokiji understood that principle well enough.

Once someone became too outstanding, they would seem out of place among those around them. Even if they were humble and low-key, others would still think they had ulterior motives.

Combined with the Uchiha Clan's political identity, which naturally attracted hostility, it would be difficult for him not to become a target. Before he had grown strong enough, Aokiji needed to play it safe.

As far as first impressions went, Tsunade could not say she thought well of Aokiji. She clicked her tongue and got straight to the point. "I think you're just lazy."

"Huh? I didn't expect you to see through my disguise when I'd hidden it so well."

Aokiji was utterly shameless, wearing the expression of someone who believed that as long as he was lazy enough, no one could accuse him of being lazy.

First impressions were certainly important. Aokiji understood that.

But because of his Uchiha Clan political identity, he could not approach Tsunade that way. He could only choose another method.

As the saying went: fighting for something was fighting for it, and not fighting for it was also fighting for it.

Likewise: pursuing her was pursuing her, and not pursuing her was also pursuing her.

After that, the two of them barely spoke. Aokiji had something important to do: sleep. There was no other reason. He was simply too tired.

Happy times always passed in an instant. Soon, school was over. As soon as the words "Class dismissed" rang out, the students who had long been eager to go home streamed out, rushing through the gates. The classroom that had just been bustling with people instantly became empty.

The teacher glanced at someone sleeping soundly and shook his head. If a young man did not work hard, he would only regret it when he was old.

He did not particularly like the Uchiha Clan, but as long as Aokiji did not disturb others during class, he would turn a blind eye. If Aokiji refused to pay attention in class and wasted his time, the loss was his alone.

Not long after the students left, Aokiji slowly woke up. Seeing that he was the only one left in the classroom, he realized that he had overslept. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and left the classroom.

By the time he walked out of the academy, the sky had turned crimson. Aokiji walked alone down the road, a solitary figure.

Two men passed by him. One of them paused, then turned to look at Aokiji's departing back with a thoughtful expression. "Isn't that Aokiji from your clan? I haven't seen him in a long time. How has he been lately?"

The other man shook his head.

Uchiha Aokiji possessed the potential for the Dual Kekkei Genkai of Ice Release and the Sharingan. The clan had held great expectations for him since childhood, but an accident had turned everything to dust.

Aokiji had lost his parents at birth and was raised by his grandmother. Due to a shortage of manpower on the front lines, his already-retired grandmother had been summoned back into service and sent to the battlefield, where she unfortunately died in an accident.

When Aokiji learned the news, he broke down on the spot and fell seriously ill. After waking up, he shut himself inside his home. When he finally emerged, he had become despondent, numbing himself every day with food and idleness.

To prevent such a promising seedling from continuing to wallow in self-destruction, the Uchiha Clan decided to send him to the Ninja Academy, hoping that friendship with children his own age would ease the pain in his heart and help him pull himself together.

After returning home, Aokiji silently closed the door, bent down, and gently pulled back the rug. Beneath it was a thin layer of white powder. If anyone stepped on the rug, a footprint would be left in the powder below.

After checking carefully, Aokiji sighed in relief. It seemed no one had entered his room. He carefully laid the rug back in place, then went to the window and inspected the thick layer of dust for signs that someone had stepped there.

Ninja did not like using the front door, so the window was also a key place to inspect. To check more thoroughly and avoid missing any trace, Aokiji closed his left eye and pressed one hand against the right side of his face. Chakra began gathering in his eye, and a faint crimson glow seeped through the gaps between his fingers.

The Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan.

Aokiji had awakened these eyes after being stimulated by the news of his grandmother's death. He had not reported this power to the clan, deliberately keeping it hidden.

He had opened his Sharingan at the age of five. That should make him a little genius, right?

The Konoha higher-ups seemed to have something like Sharingan phobia. Exposing this ability would only bring him unnecessary trouble.

After confirming that no one had secretly entered his home, Aokiji rolled up his sleeves and began training.

He had been so sleepy in the morning not only to maintain his persona, but because he really was exhausted.

His schedule differed from that of ordinary people. He slept during the day and trained at night.

There was only so much he could learn at the Ninja Academy, so Aokiji slept whenever he could during the day.

Whenever training tired him out, he stopped to rest and read the Training Notes left behind by his deceased grandmother. Once his strength recovered, he continued training, repeating the cycle over and over.

The next day, dawn broke...

After grinding through the entire night, Aokiji was panting heavily, his back drenched in sweat. He muttered to himself, "I'm really tired. I'll train a little longer, then take a shower and head to school..."

He overlapped his upright thumbs, with his left thumb on top, forming the Ram Seal. As he closed his eyes and focused, faint Chakra seeped from the surface of his body.

All of a sudden, Aokiji felt a strange sensation coil around his chest. It was cool and refreshing, incredibly comfortable. Following that sensation, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at the ice block spread across his palm, unable to suppress the excitement flooding his gaze.