What a Misunderstanding

Tsunade jumped down from Mito, concern written across her face. "What's wrong, Grandma Mito? You look awful. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Mito gave Tsunade a meaningful look. "I just hope you won't regret it someday."

Tsunade tilted her little head, looking puzzled.

Not wanting to dwell on such a painful topic, Mito changed the subject. "You've started school recently, haven't you? Tell me how it's going."

"The Ninja Academy? There's not much to say."

Tsunade crossed her hands behind her head, looking thoroughly uninterested. "Grandma Mito, can I apply to graduate early?"

The Ninja Academy's graduation test was nothing more than the Three Basic Jutsu. She had mastered those long ago.

As the First Hokage's granddaughter, she had been born with exceptional physical talent. Since childhood, she had received Tobirama, the Second Hokage's, personal instruction and constant guidance. There was very little the Ninja Academy could teach her.

Mito shook her head. "Don't say that. The school is full of children your age, isn't it? You should have plenty in common. Some of them might become your companions in the future."

The children of great clans did not enter school primarily to learn ninjutsu. Their main tasks were to make a political statement and build connections.

Companions?

Tsunade lowered her hands and began seriously considering it.

After graduating from the academy, ninja would form three-man squads led by a ninja instructor.

Tsunade already knew that much at her age.

"Is there anyone at school you're looking forward to?"

"There's a guy named Orochimaru who seems pretty good. He's fair and clean-looking, calm, talented, and seems like a very reliable person. Grandma Mito, talk to my Second Grandpa. When I graduate, have him put Orochimaru on my team."

"That won't do. As village leaders, we have to set an example. How can we abuse our authority? There are people specifically assigned to consider ninja graduation placements from every angle."

Tsunade grabbed Mito's hand and swayed it back and forth, acting coy. "What's the harm? Just this once."

Mito straightened up, her expression stern. "Not even once. Why don't you ask your Second Grandpa and see whether he agrees?"

"Then... forget it. I'd better not bother him..." Her Second Grandpa always had a stern face and looked so fierce, completely unlike her kind and approachable First Grandpa. To be honest, Tsunade was a little afraid of him.

Mito smiled and continued, "I heard there's an Uchiha child in your class?"

As the First Hokage's wife, Mito paid close attention to the Uchiha Clan, which had deep ties to the Senju Clan. This generation's Uchiha child was especially different from those before him.

Both of his parents possessed different Kekkei Genkai.

If this child inherited both Kekkei Genkai, his future would be limitless.

Mito had lived from the Warring States Period until now. She could count the ninja with Dual Kekkei Genkai on one hand, but without exception, every one of them had been a ninja who shook the world.

The nations had once tried to artificially mass-produce ninja with Dual Kekkei Genkai, only to discover that it was completely unrealistic.

Ninja with a single Kekkei Genkai were rare, certainly, but mass-producing them was not impossible.

By spreading the seed widely, cultivating more land, and relying on sheer numbers, one could quickly expand from a single person into an enormous clan with enough effort.

But Dual Kekkei Genkai could not be achieved that way. The fundamental reason was that there simply was not enough quality land available for cultivation and sowing.

Who among those with a Kekkei Genkai was not proud and arrogant? How could they possibly accept their other half putting a green hat on them?

Furthermore, perhaps because the two bloodlines conflicted when passed down to the next generation, the children often had all sorts of problems. If one could be born healthy, grow up, and inherit even one parent's Kekkei Genkai, it was already a blessing from the ancestors.

Dual Kekkei Genkai were the kind of thing one could only encounter by chance.

Mito did not expect Aokiji to possess Dual Kekkei Genkai. She only hoped he might inherit his mother's Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, then have children and establish a lineage. After several generations of development, Konoha might gain a clan of its own with the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

"Yes, there's a guy called Uchiha Aokiji."

Tsunade's teeth-gritting attitude made Mito think her precious granddaughter really disliked Aokiji. "From the sound of it, you seem to hate him."

Tsunade shook her head. "I wouldn't say I hate him. I just can't stand the sight of him. He has such great talent, but he never tries to improve. He sleeps all day."

"Maybe he has some hidden hardship?"

Mito knew about Aokiji's circumstances.

People believed that the Senju Clan saw love, rather than ninjutsu, as power, while the Uchiha Clan saw ninjutsu as power. In truth, that was wrong.

No one loved more deeply than the Uchiha Clan. They sealed that love away in ordinary times, but once they understood what love was, the emotions they had restrained all along would burst free, even granting them a power that surpassed the Senju Clan's love.

Yet that love came with a certain risk.

Because they knew love, when that love was lost, it would be replaced by an even stronger hatred. Special Chakra would surge forth from the brain, affecting the optic nerves and changing the eyes. That was how the Sharingan came to be.

So after the grandmother who had depended on him since childhood passed away, it made sense that young Aokiji's personality had changed drastically and that he used sleep to numb himself.

At the mention of hidden hardship, Tsunade nearly laughed herself to death.

What hardship could Aokiji possibly have?

She twitched her lips. "I don't know whether Aokiji has any hidden hardship, but I do know that besides sleeping in class all day, he secretly looks at all kinds of weird things at night."

Mito froze. "Weird things?"

Tsunade found it difficult to say. "Well... that..."

"What is 'that'?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth, her face turning red. "Dirty books..."

Mito: ...

Tsunade clenched her little fist and swore, "I actually lost to a guy like that in the last Shuriken test. It's a disgrace to the Senju Clan. Next time, I'll definitely beat him."

Mito's mind had gone blank.

What was going on??? She could understand using sleep to numb himself.

But was it really okay for a five-year-old child to be looking at this stuff?

This was no longer numbing himself. This was outright depravity. If his grandmother's spirit in heaven saw her grandson fall this far, who knew what she would think.

After visiting his "grandmother" at the Monument of Heroes, Aokiji kept thinking about one thing on his way home.

Had his grandmother really died in battle? Or had she been set up by her own people?

The false Will of Fire: bonds of friendship, unity and love, where the leaves dance, the fire burns on without end, all for peace.

The true Will of Fire: kill your comrades, carry on the tradition of killing your teacher, brainwashing pyramid schemes, wipe out your own clan. The big boss who creates peace, talk-no-jutsu.

Although the original work was a shonen manga, if Aokiji truly dealt with it as though it were just a shonen manga, he probably would not even know when someone sold him out in the future.

One should not harbor the intent to harm others, but one must always guard against them.

Until he grew stronger, Aokiji had to use his laziness to disguise himself.

As he walked, a familiar voice came from ahead. "You're so slow."

Aokiji lifted his eyelids and looked at the white-haired boy before him. "Why did you ask me to come here?"

"Nothing much. I just came to apologize."

Jiraiya wore a broad grin as he handed over a black plastic bag. "Didn't that incident last time get you misunderstood? So I came specially to apologize."

"What is this?"

Aokiji took the package and found it rather heavy.

"Good stuff." Jiraiya rubbed his hands together.

Aokiji gave him a deliberate look, then took out what was inside. The moment he saw it, his face darkened, and he nearly cursed out loud.

"Hehe, not bad, right?"

Without another word, Aokiji shoved the hot potato back into Jiraiya's hands.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing? Haven't you gotten me into enough trouble with this thing?"

"Come on, if you don't take it, I'll feel guilty."

"Get lost."

And so, one desperately tried to refuse while the other desperately tried to force it on him. During the struggle, the contents of the bag scattered all over the ground.

Aokiji's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly crouched down to pick up the scattered books. If anyone saw them, he would never be able to clear his name.

As he picked them up, he suddenly saw a pair of tender, fair legs. He froze, then slowly raised his gaze and found a delicate girl before his eyes.

It was Tsunade.

She slowly bent down and picked up one of the books. On its cover was a scantily clad, seductive woman. After flipping through it briefly, a flush instantly spread to the tips of her ears.

Aokiji hurriedly explained, "This isn't mine."

Tsunade's response was that he could explain all he wanted, but it would not stop her from giving him a punch and labeling him a "pervert."

Aokiji, sporting a black eye, stared resentfully at the bastard standing nearby with his hands clasped behind his head, whistling.