Training the Protagonist's Father

The next day.

From then on, Aokiji had to return to a normal routine. Forcing himself to adjust so suddenly, he ended up with insomnia.

By the time he woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

Being late was a certainty, but Aokiji did not care. It was not his first time being late anyway. After breakfast, he leisurely headed to school.

Pushing open the door, Aokiji was already prepared to be lectured, only to find the teacher staring at him with a baffled expression.

"Aokiji, why did you come to school?"

Aokiji did not understand. "I came to study."

"Someone from your clan came early this morning and completed your graduation procedures. Didn't they tell you?"

Aokiji: ...

Did they have to move this fast?

Having suddenly graduated just like that, Aokiji felt somewhat lost.

Under normal circumstances, after graduating, he would have gone out fooling around with two companions and an Instructor Jonin.

But in his current situation, he had dropped out halfway through. It did not seem like he would have an Instructor Jonin either, so he might as well return to the clan grounds and see how the clan intended to arrange things for him.

Back where he came from. Upon reaching the clan grounds, Aokiji found Elder Itachi and asked what he should do next.

"Let me make this clear first. I only agreed to train because you promised I could become a Medical Ninja. That's why I reluctantly came here."

Faced with such insolence, Elder Itachi merely leaned on his cane without speaking. However, the middle-aged man beside him could not help but say, "Aokiji, you really don't know what's good for you. Plenty of people would beg for an opportunity like this."

This middle-aged man had a square face with a grim, horse-like look. His eyebrows were thick and harsh, and he appeared to be around thirty. His gaze was fierce, and he looked like the sort of person who was extremely difficult to reason with. His name was Uchiha Aka, a hardliner of the Uchiha Clan.

He was proficient in Fire Release ninjutsu. Because he liked shaping his Fire Release into dogs and would cling to anyone he targeted like a dog refusing to let go, he had earned the nickname Red Dog.

Aokiji pressed his palms together and bowed repeatedly. "Thank you so much for thinking so highly of me."

Uchiha Aka opened his scarlet eyes, glaring fiercely.

Aokiji immediately changed his attitude, lowering his head and bending at the waist as he hurriedly apologized. "Big brother, I was wrong."

"Hmph."

Just as Uchiha Aka was about to feel pleased that his intimidation had worked, he heard someone mutter under his breath, "A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him. One day, I'll smash that dog head of yours," and instantly wanted to beat the brat up.

Fortunately, Elder Itachi stopped them in time. "Enough. Stop arguing. When strength is disproportionate, one should not contend head-on but gather momentum. I think Aokiji has a point, but you can keep such words in your heart. There is no need to say them aloud."

Aokiji repeatedly said yes, deeply realizing his mistake and sincerely reflecting on it.

Uchiha Aka: ...

Elder Itachi said in a deep voice, "The medical department has already been informed. You can report there this afternoon. But before that, I would like to see your true strength. Is that a problem?"

Aokiji shrugged. "What do you want me to do?"

Elder Itachi turned his face slightly and gestured with his chin toward a six-year-old child. "Fight Fugaku again."

Fugaku frowned.

Though only six years old, he was far more mature than ordinary children. That was thanks to his father having sent him to the battlefield at the age of four to experience the cruelty of war.

When he learned that Aokiji had gone easy on him last time, he felt insulted and was rather unhappy.

"What a pain."

Seeing Fugaku's face practically screaming displeasure, Aokiji scratched his head. He really could not get motivated to fight a kid five years younger than himself.

The two stood opposite each other and made the Confrontation Seal.

Before they officially began, Fugaku suddenly said, "I hope you will fight me seriously this time. Don't go easy on me again."

"You're mistaken. I didn't go easy on you when we fought last time." Aokiji sighed. "I... Released the Sea."

Release Sea?

The term was unfamiliar to Fugaku, but he was a smart child. With a little consideration of the context, he quickly understood its meaning. His little face tightened, and his eyes widened as he glared fixedly at Aokiji. Never in his life had he suffered such humiliation.

At that moment, Aokiji suddenly craned his neck to look around, as though he had spotted something, muttering, "Strange, what's that?"

Following his gaze, Fugaku instinctively turned his head. He found nothing, and while he was full of suspicion, a dark shadow suddenly lunged at him.

Fugaku: ??? He was stunned.

He actually deceived him and launched a sneak attack on a child who was only six years old.

Before he even had time to gasp, let alone react, Aokiji opened with the One-Inch Punch of Heaven and sent Fugaku flying with one blow.

While Fugaku was still flying through the air, Aokiji had already turned around confidently, as though he had not just knocked away a person but sunk a three-pointer.

"Tsk, tsk. Kids really are kids. So easy to fool."

Uchiha Aka's brow twitched. It was true that ninja battles were not bound by formalities, but this was the first time he had seen someone start by tricking the opponent. He could not help saying, "You little brat are really despicable."

Like an autumn breeze passing by his ears, Aokiji scratched his ear and casually blew on his pinky. "What do you mean, despicable? You make me sound like some villain. I hate fighting the most, okay?"

Uchiha Aka retorted, "How is this hating fighting?"

"Why doesn't it count? If I end the fight sooner, doesn't that mean I hate fighting? Only lunatics like fighting all day long without stopping."

Aokiji explained with perfect logic.

Uchiha Aka suspected that Aokiji was taking a jab at him, because he was exactly the sort of person who loved fighting. But he had no proof. He wanted to argue, yet remembered his own age. Why bother squabbling with a child? So he let it go. What depressed him was that Aokiji's twisted logic actually sounded quite reasonable.

Elder Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze profound.

"Cough, cough..."

As they talked, a violent coughing sound came from behind Aokiji. He turned around in surprise and found Fugaku gritting his back teeth as he shakily stood back up.

Afraid that a single punch might leave lasting damage, Aokiji had held back just now. That was why Fugaku could stand again. Still, as expected of the father of the protagonist, his vitality was as tenacious as a cockroach's.

"Damn it..."

Fugaku's eyes were filled with resentment as he looked at Aokiji. "You're so despicable."

"Fugaku, you don't need to listen to him—"

Uchiha Aka wanted to say something, but Elder Itachi raised a hand and signaled with his eyes for him not to interrupt, allowing the two to continue talking.

"Whatever. If insulting me makes you feel better, then go ahead and curse me a few times. It's not like I'll lose a piece of flesh."

Aokiji's shameless attitude was like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

Young Fugaku shouted, "What do you people like you even think ninja honor is?"

Aokiji fell silent for a moment before asking, "How much does honor cost per pound?"

"You..." Fugaku had apparently never heard such an answer before and was left speechless.

A trace of mockery hung from Aokiji's crooked smile. "Honor, honor... stop trying to fool me with that stuff. I like practical things, such as... well, money."

"How shallow. Things like money are only meant to be sufficient."

Fugaku was clearly a child who had grown accustomed to a comfortable life since childhood, which was why he could say something so privileged. No wonder he was so naive.

It seemed he needed some proper education, lest Konoha's higher-ups fool him into becoming a cripple one day.

Aokiji silently pulled two banknotes from his pocket and deliberately waved them before Fugaku. "I have two bills in my hand right now. Can you tell me which one is noble and which one is shallow?"

Fugaku was speechless.

Aokiji smirked. "Can't say it, can you?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm saying is, can you stop always thinking like a ninja? It's because naive children like you keep appearing that everyone gets poorer and poorer, until in the end they can only risk their lives to earn that little bit of blood money."

Aokiji wanted to find a stool, sit down slowly, drink a cup of tea, cross his legs, and make a proper show of it. But with no chair around, he could only sit down on the ground, cross his legs, rest his chin on the backs of his clasped hands, and say calmly, "Do you know why ninjas are always fighting each other and eventually die violent deaths?"

"Why?"

Aokiji answered, "Because they're poor. Otherwise, who would be full enough to take on such difficult, high-risk missions?"

At this point, he paused, looking strange. "Honestly, when I was in school, I kept wondering why we ninjas, who are so powerful, had to work as mercenaries for others just to earn that little bit of money. I heard that businessmen can make loads and loads of money while lying down, but ninjas like us can't make money lying down. Even making money while standing can cost us our lives, and we still earn less. So why don't we ninjas just do business ourselves? The end goal is money anyway."

Aokiji had actually wanted to use the Daimyo as an example. That was the real sort who lay around making money all day, raking it in hand over fist without even needing capital. But saying that might have been too sensitive, so he did not dare bring it up.

Fugaku was still young and did not feel much about it, but Uchiha Aka, and even Uchiha Madara, who secretly controlled Elder Itachi from behind the scenes, were deeply affected.

That was right. Wasn't the essence of being a ninja simply to make money? Otherwise, who would be crazy enough to work as a mercenary for others? Was it fun?

Being a ninja was so risky that you never knew when you might die.

And it was easy to make enemies, killing and being killed.

"What nonsense."

Fugaku did not want to pay attention to any of that. Right now, all he remembered was how Aokiji had deceived and ambushed him.

"Truly, you can't discuss ice with a summer insect." Aokiji sighed. "I only want to make lots of money so that no one will kill each other over food, clothing, and shelter, and lose their lives because of it. If you think there's something wrong with that too, then I have nothing more to say."

Fugaku: ...

He might not have understood what came before, but when it came to the lives of family members, he could not pretend he had not understood.

His mother had died in war...

Aokiji stood up, patted his backside, and continued, "All right, enough of that. Back to the point. I'm not interested in fighting. If a fight has to happen, I'll use the simplest and most efficient method to end it. Even if that method looks despicable and shameless in your eyes, you can curse me or hit me... Oh, right. You can't beat me."

Fugaku: ...

"I won't care. As people grow up, their environments, families, and personal circumstances shape their own unique values, and they steadfastly walk down that path. Ninjas call it the Ninja Way. I suppose I count as a ninja now. 'A bad life is better than a good death'—that is my Ninja Way. My deceased father, mother, and grandmother brought me into this world, so they must have wanted me to live well. Since that is the case, I absolutely cannot let them down. I must live well.

"Then, along the way, I will inevitably use some methods that others consider beneath contempt and label as despicable or filthy.

"But I'm telling you, those things are merely restraints invented by certain people who are too full of themselves and have ulterior motives. Because if you do not bind yourself with all these rules and regulations, how can they run wild within them? Honor? How utterly laughable. In my eyes, it is nothing more than shackles those people created to restrain others."

"I understand that you are still bothered by my sneak attack just now, but have you never considered your own problem?"

"My own?"

Although Fugaku was more mature than most, that was only relative. What could a six-year-old child possibly know about such principles? He had been stunned by Aokiji's string of grand arguments. How had Aokiji sneak-attacking him somehow become his own fault?

In fact, not only Fugaku, but even Uchiha Aka and Uchiha Madara behind Elder Itachi were shocked by Aokiji's words. They looked at him as though he were a monster.

Could a child who was only ten years old truly say such things? Especially Uchiha Aka, that brute, who asked himself honestly whether he could even express some of those ideas so fluently.

Aokiji declared loudly, "That's right. If you must blame someone, blame yourself for not being strong enough. True powerhouses never fear sneak attacks or challenges."

"If you insist on lecturing me about ninja honor."

At this point, he paused and crossed his arms. "Foolish Fugaku, if you want me to acknowledge your words, then work hard. Grit your teeth, risk your life, and become stronger. Then, one day, when you possess the same... strength as me and can defeat me head-on, come talk to me about your grand theories."

Fugaku was silent for a moment. "Can I take that as encouragement?"

Aokiji nodded. "More or less. I'm not interested in being a ninja. I only want to make money and live a life where I can never spend it all. You seem pretty talented, and the position of Uchiha Clan head will surely be yours in the future. When the time comes, my company might need people. See if you can send some Uchiha Clan members to work for me—oh, no, to be guards. Give me a thirty percent discount on the price—oh, no, twenty percent will do."

After saying that, Aokiji blinked brightly.

Uchiha Fugaku: ...

Elder Itachi (Uchiha Madara): ...

Uchiha Aka: ...

This Uchiha was clearly strong and intelligent, but there seemed to be something wrong with his head.