Mito's Arrival

Biwako and Tsunade were both extremely curious.

Judging by the fish frozen in ice before them and the hand seals he had formed just now, it should have been some kind of ninjutsu. But as far as they knew, none of the Five Basic Natures had a technique capable of freezing objects.

Tsunade impatiently asked, "How did you do that?"

Before Aokiji could speak, Biwako, who knew something of his background, pondered briefly and reached a conclusion. "If I'm not mistaken, this is Ice Release, isn't it...?"

"Yes."

Aokiji admitted it calmly, casting Biwako a discreet glance.

For her to so quickly infer his Kekkei Genkai, Sarutobi Hiruzen must have done quite a bit of homework on her.

Aokiji might as well go along with it and use her as the one to say it.

Since his Ice Release Kekkei Genkai had already been exposed within the clan, there was no need to keep hiding it. Rather than let Sarutobi Hiruzen dig it up, he might as well reveal it first and establish the image of someone with Ice Release who had no ulterior motives.

Tsunade was astonished.

Ice Release was the Kekkei Genkai of the Yuki Clan from Kirigakure. What did that have to do with Aokiji? Wasn't this guy from the Uchiha Clan?

And if she remembered correctly, hadn't Aokiji already awakened the Sharingan?

What the hell was this Ice Release situation? At her age, she had never heard of anyone possessing more than one Kekkei Genkai.

"That can't be right. You're an Uchiha Clan member, so why did you awaken a Kekkei Genkai like Ice Release? If you were going to awaken one, it should've been..." Tsunade hesitated before saying, "the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan."

Tsunade did not expose him, and Aokiji was quite relieved. He explained truthfully, "My deceased mother had the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. I probably inherited her talent. Well, like mother, like son, I suppose."

Tsunade had never heard him mention this before, but she could understand. After all, Aokiji had lost both parents when he was young. It was normal for him to be unwilling to bring up painful memories.

Biwako quietly listened to their conversation without interrupting once, though she was deeply puzzled inside.

The Uchiha Clan had never told her that Aokiji possessed the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

Although the Kekkei Genkai Aokiji had awakened was not the Sharingan, it was still a Kekkei Genkai!

Was the Uchiha Clan really so generous that they would just send someone away as long as it wasn't a Sharingan? Unable to figure it out, she decided it was better to take the initiative. "Since you've already awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, how could your clan bear to let you become a Medical Ninja?"

Aokiji sighed. "Actually, I didn't even want to become a Medical Ninja."

Biwako: ...

Aokiji said in frustration, "I'd performed so poorly at the academy. I thought the clan would give up on me and stop making me become a ninja, but then..."

His earlier disguise would not hold for much longer. Since that was the case, he might as well expose it himself and reinforce his image as someone who did not want to be a ninja.

Even if they learned he had hidden his strength, it would still fit the motive behind the persona he had established.

"But then?"

"But then a sparring match made all my previous efforts go down the drain..."

Aokiji grabbed his hair in frustration with both hands, scratching it into a bird's nest.

Biwako looked speechless. "What sparring match?"

If she remembered correctly, this brat slept through every class. What effort had he put in?

Aokiji said gloomily, "What else could it have been? I went to my clansmen and said I didn't want to be a ninja. Then they arranged for me to spar with a child four years younger than me."

"And then... you won?"

Aokiji looked at Biwako as if she were an idiot. "How could I? I'm not stupid. Of course I chose to lose."

Feeling the disdainful gaze of a child, Biwako felt oddly offended. "But if that's the case, why does your clan still want you to become a ninja?"

Aokiji pursed his lips and said dejectedly, "What other reason could there be? The Sharingan. The Sharingan can observe the flow of Chakra within the human body. They noticed that my Chakra was abnormal and investigated further. After questioning me based on my words and behavior, they discovered that I'd awakened the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai. Damn it, the Sharingan is such an unfair ability."

Biwako understood.

The Sharingan truly was an exceptionally convenient ability.

After awakening a Kekkei Genkai, the Chakra within a person's body would undergo a tremendous leap in growth. This was one of the reasons Kekkei Genkai ninja were so highly valued.

It was only natural that Uchiha Clan ninja would grow suspicious after seeing the enormous amount of Chakra within him through the Sharingan.

It seemed that Aokiji had not been lying.

Still, she had not expected this child to deliberately hide his Ice Release just so he would not have to become a ninja. He really was rebellious.

Aokiji raised his head and sighed toward the sky. "Heavens, why did I have to awaken a Kekkei Genkai? I just want to be an ordinary person. Why is that so hard?"

Biwako's mouth twitched. Listen to that—was that even something a person should say? He actually did not care about a Kekkei Genkai at all. If those frustrated, unsuccessful ninja heard him, they would probably want to kill him.

Aokiji chuckled. "Fortunately, while I was studying, I planned ahead and put a little effort into Medical Ninjutsu. That way, I won't have to go to the battlefield."

"...Even so, your clan probably wouldn't simply allow someone with a Kekkei Genkai to become a Medical Ninja."

"That's true. But after I argued my case, they reluctantly agreed to let me become a Medical Ninja. The condition was that whenever I had free time, I had to return to the clan grounds to train. They said that if I ever did end up on the battlefield and enemies attacked the rear, I would at least have some ability to protect myself. I thought it made sense, so I reluctantly agreed. Sigh, I guess we both took a step back. What a pain."

Biwako had more or less learned the full story beforehand. Given Aokiji's rebellious nature, the Uchiha Clan must have been having quite a headache over him. After all, if Aokiji did not want to train, they could hardly force him to do so with the Sharingan. Furthermore, the Uchiha Clan had no experience training Ice Release, so they had temporarily compromised with Aokiji. Still, they would likely find ways to steer him back onto the proper path in the future.

Tsunade felt sour. Aokiji's talent as a ninja was so great that even she, who had been praised since childhood, felt a little envious. "Sigh, I wonder when I'll be able to inherit grandfather's Wood Release..."

Seeing her dejection, Biwako comforted her. "Don't worry. Didn't Aokiji only awaken his Kekkei Genkai recently as well? Plenty of people only awaken their Kekkei Genkai at twelve or thirteen. You're only ten now. With your talent, I believe you'll soon inherit the First Hokage's Wood Release and become an outstanding Hokage like your grandfather. All you lack is an opportunity."

Kekkei Genkai could be inherited through bloodlines, even skipping generations. Although it was unfortunate that the First Hokage's children had not inherited it, Biwako believed that Tsunade's exceptional talent meant there should be no problem.

"I hope so."

Biwako's consolation sounded especially grating to Tsunade. She really wanted to say that Aokiji had awakened the Sharingan at five, and now he had awakened Ice Release too. He already had two Kekkei Genkai.

By comparison, she had not awakened even one. Comparing oneself to others really was infuriating. She wondered whether Aokiji had saved the world in his past life to be blessed with such talent.

Aokiji had always said that she, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya possessed great ninja talent and were the sort blessed by heaven. But in Aokiji's words, he was the sort heaven chased after to feed.

Not wanting to discourage Tsunade, Aokiji offered a well-intentioned lie. "Yes, Jonin Biwako is right. I believe that one day, you'll successfully awaken Wood Release and become an outstanding Hokage like your grandfather."

If he had the chance, Aokiji truly wanted to install a Wood Release in Tsunade, though the prerequisite was finding a White Zetsu to study.

If things proceeded normally, Tsunade had no hope of awakening Wood Release.

It was not that Tsunade lacked talent. Rather, Aokiji had always wondered whether Wood Release was really a Kekkei Genkai.

Wood Release = Water + Earth

It looked like an ordinary Kekkei Genkai, yet over so many years, why had no one else managed to develop it? Throughout history, there had only been Senju Hashirama.

Wasn't Wood Release basically just wood? It sounded kind of useless.

So how did it have absurd effects like absorbing Chakra and sealing things? Its defensive power could even withstand Susanoo's massive sword. That was simply ridiculous.

Calling it a Kekkei Genkai, Aokiji suspected it was actually a Kekkei Tōta.

Water + Earth + Yang = Wood Release. That was the formula for Wood Release that seemed correct and reasonable.

Just as Aokiji was internally complaining about this, an unexpected woman entered the room. She had distinctive, eye-catching red hair tied into a bun, a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead, and beautiful features.

Biwako hurried forward to welcome her with great respect. "Lady Mito."