Fishing

I'd hidden it so well. How did you know?

Seeing him at a loss for words, Tsunade thought to herself that it was just as she had expected. She gritted her teeth viciously. "You bastard, you actually dared to insult me."

Tsunade clenched her fists, itching to immediately fight Aokiji.

Aokiji broke out in a cold sweat. What kind of tiger wolf words were those? "We can talk this out. Don't do anything rash."

Tsunade, consumed by anger, ignored all attempts at persuasion and came at him with a hard punch.

She had not truly lost her mind as she appeared to have. She merely wanted to force out Aokiji's real strength.

Aokiji had a feeling that if he deliberately let himself get hit like he had at school, he would be done for. Not daring to underestimate her, he ducked low, grabbed both her arms, turned his back to her, and threw her over his shoulder.

A lake lay behind them, so the result was obvious. With a splash, Tsunade landed in the lake and became a drenched mess.

Tsunade climbed out of the lake, soaked from head to toe, droplets dripping from the tips of her hair. With her hair hanging loose, she looked like Sadako, the female ghost who had just crawled out of a well.

"Aokiji."

This time, Tsunade was genuinely furious. Her Lion's Roar nearly deafened Aokiji.

"W-Well, I can understand how you feel right now, but please pay attention to your appearance..."

Aokiji pointed at Tsunade's soaked clothes. Since the weather was quite hot, she was naturally dressed rather lightly, so, well... something seemed to be showing through...

Tsunade lowered her head, and her face instantly reddened to the ears like a steamed blue crab.

"Ahhh—!"

A piercing scream rang out, startling the birds in the treetops into flight toward the blue sky.

Smack! Smack!

Two crisp slaps later, two burning red marks appeared on Aokiji's face.

Women did not reason when they got angry, and child Tsunade was no exception. "What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and make a fire to dry my clothes."

As Aokiji made fire by friction, he grumbled under his breath, "Women really are unreasonable creatures. You were the one who provoked me first."

"Where's your Fire Release?"

Seeing Aokiji fiddling around for so long without accomplishing anything, Tsunade grew impatient.

Aokiji snapped, "I don't know any."

"You don't? Aren't you from the Uchiha Clan?"

Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief. Wasn't the Uchiha Clan a ninja clan famous for Fire Release and the Sharingan? Aokiji wore an incredulous expression. "Who told you every Uchiha had to know Fire Release?"

Still, she had reminded him of something. He could spare some time to learn ninjutsu. His grandmother's Training Notes seemed to contain detailed records of several Fire Release techniques.

For example, Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu and the like.

Before Aokiji awakened Ice Release, he had actually possessed Fire Nature Chakra. Back when his grandmother was still alive, she had tested him with Chakra paper.

Since he possessed Fire Nature Chakra, learning Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu should not be too difficult.

Uchiha Weasel had learned it after just one look, while Sasuke had nearly spent an entire afternoon on it. He would be modest and take a few days.

"You're really pathetic." Tsunade looked at him with contempt.

Aokiji took a deep breath and suppressed the urge in every cell of his body to beat her up. Just then, he noticed his fishing rod slowly moving. Without time to think, he lunged forward and grabbed it.

Judging by the force coming through the rod, Aokiji had a feeling that the fish on the hook had to be huge. The problem was, wasn't this fish a little too strong?

Aokiji and the fishing rod were gradually being dragged into the water. This was not a man fishing at all. The fish was fishing for a man.

"Tsunade, what are you standing around for? Get over here and help!"

Aokiji roared.

He had gone fishless for who knew how long. He absolutely could not go fishless again today.

Tsunade froze for a moment before rushing over. By then, half of Aokiji's head was already underwater. Only his nostrils and mouth remained above the surface, and the water was about to swallow his entire head. Fortunately, Tsunade grabbed both his legs in time and pulled backward.

"Pull harder!"

"You don't have to tell me. I'm already doing it!"

After an intense tug-of-war, the two of them finally hauled an enormous fish of unknown species onto shore.

Both were panting heavily. They glanced at each other and saw that, thanks to the fishing, both had become a sorry sight, covered in dirt from head to toe.

"Look at you. You're filthy like a little tabby cat."

"You're no better. What right do you have to say that about me?"

After teasing each other, Aokiji said solemnly, "Thanks for earlier."

Tsunade waved her hand. "You're welcome."

Tsunade and Aokiji had never held any deep grudge against each other. After working together just now, their relationship had unknowingly eased considerably.

"Let's head back and take a bath first. We're way too dirty."

"Okay."

Both of them were covered in mud now. Without a bath, they would feel terribly uncomfortable.

Aokiji slung his catch over his back and walked alongside Tsunade.

On the way back, Tsunade brought up the old subject again. "Why did you hold back during practical class?"

"Too much trouble."

"Trouble?"

Aokiji said with great foresight, "Let me make this clear first. If I tell you, you're not allowed to hit me."

Tsunade frowned but agreed. "Fine. Tell me. I won't hit you."

"It's simple. With your personality, if I beat you, you'd definitely think of every possible way to beat me next time."

"Don't flatter yourself. You're talking as if you could definitely beat me. Let's have another match."

Tsunade scoffed. Still, she could not deny that he had been exactly right. For example, when her Shuriken test score had been lower than Aokiji's last time, all she could think about was how to beat him.

"See? There you go again." Aokiji said helplessly.

They chatted as they walked, and before they knew it, they had reached a fork in the road.

The places where the Senju and Uchiha Clan lived lay in completely opposite directions.

"Well then, this is it. I'm heading home first."

After a simple farewell, the two went their separate ways. Aokiji entered the Uchiha Clan Compound. As he passed a vendor, the man smiled at him. "Yo, Aokiji. You didn't go fishless today?"

"Haha, I bounced back after hitting rock bottom."

"Can you finish such a big fish by yourself? Want to sell it to me?"

"No, I'm using this fish to entertain a guest."

"A guest?"

"Yeah. Enough talking. I'm covered in mud and feel awful. I'm going to take a bath first."

Not far away, through the curtains, two men watched Aokiji chatting with the vendor.

"Elder Itachi, is it really alright to let Aokiji continue like this?"

The middle-aged man who spoke had a solemn face, with two deep lines running from his nose to the corners of his mouth.

This middle-aged man was Uchiha Raiha, an Elite Jonin of the Uchiha Clan.

Across the table from him sat an elderly man with white hair and beard. His face was full of wrinkles, and though he was of advanced age, his eyes still gleamed sharply.

Uchiha Itachi.

He was a ninja who had survived since the Warring States Period, the Uchiha Clan's most respected elder. He loved his clan more deeply than anyone. Though he had retired long ago, he still cared deeply about nurturing the younger generation.

When Aokiji had first met this elder, he had desperately wanted to mock his name. But when he remembered that Fugaku had named his younger son after someone else's father, he understood.

It was somewhat like the naming custom from across the ocean in a previous life. Giving someone that person's name meant hoping they would emulate them.

Elder Itachi spoke calmly. "Observe him for a few more years. If he still hasn't awakened the Sharingan, then prepare to give up. Didn't the boy say he doesn't want to become a ninja? Fine. We'll grant his wish then and let him live out his life peacefully. When I reach the underworld, I'll be able to give Blue Bird an answer."

"Elder Itachi, what are you talking about? You're still in great health."

"Though my body has not yet perished, my soul has already completely failed to keep up with this era. Back then, Madara joined forces with Senju Hashirama to create Konoha and end the Warring States Period."

Elder Itachi shook his head and sighed regretfully. "At the time, I thought the world would finally welcome true peace. I never expected things to end up like this..."

Uchiha Raiha said in a low voice, "I never imagined Lord Madara would meet his end in that way."

Elder Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly. "Do you think Madara is really dead?"

Uchiha Raiha said in shock, "Could it be that Lord Madara isn't dead? How is that possible? Tobirama and Hashirama personally confirmed Lord Madara's body, and weren't you there at the time?"

"Indeed, I thought Madara was dead as well. But not long after that, something very strange happened that changed my mind. You know that Madara's body vanished into thin air and turned out to be a Shadow Clone, don't you?"

"Wasn't that because the body was stolen?"

Madara's body was an unparalleled treasure to anyone, especially those incomparable eyes, which made countless people envious. If Hashirama had not insisted that his old friend should not be disturbed even in death, the Uchiha Clan would have reclaimed the body long ago.

"You believe that? I suspect Madara may have used Izanagi."

"That forbidden technique? Impossible. If it were that technique, someone as capable as Hashirama could not possibly have failed to notice."

"The Mangekyō Sharingan can set a time delay within the eye itself. Perhaps Madara calculated that his body would not be disposed of, then activated the Izanagi hidden in his eye to alter the fact of his death and deceive everyone."

"That's truly incredible..."

Uchiha Raiha drew in a sharp breath. "Then what exactly is Lord Madara's goal? Hashirama is already dead. There should be no one in this world who can stop him now, right?"

"I don't know. Ever since Madara left Konoha and later suddenly attacked it, he must have harbored some unspeakable purpose, given his personality. After all, he possessed Dojutsu Power that surpassed every clansman's and could see things we could not. But precisely because of that, he was sometimes too arbitrary and domineering. After experiencing the beauty of peace, how could the clansmen willingly follow him away and return to the unstable days of the past?"

Elder Itachi shook his head and continued, "Perhaps Setsuna realized this, which was why he wanted to incite the Uchiha Clan into rebellion and unrest, hoping Madara would appear so they could coordinate from within and without to seize Konoha's political power. In the end, he never expected that brat Tobirama to react so quickly, while Madara never appeared from beginning to end."

Hearing this, Uchiha Raiha let out a deep sigh. "This world really is far from peaceful. I feel that the burden of becoming clan head will be a long and heavy one."

"Of course, that is only my personal speculation. It is also possible that Madara's body really was stolen." Elder Itachi glanced at him. "I heard you recently became a grandfather, is that right?"

Uchiha Raiha said ashamedly, "Yes. I'm already thirty-six and only have one grandson. I've really fallen behind."

Ninjas lived with their lives on the line every day. During the Warring States Period, children had to go to war at four or five years old, and the death rate was extremely high. To maintain their population, clans adopted a strategy of marrying early and having many children. Every year, the clan arranged matchmaking, and a couple could be paired up in a single day. They would then work day and night to produce offspring.

So for someone Uchiha Raiha's age to have only one grandson was truly lacking. But the era was different from the past after all. Wars were no longer as frequent, and everyone had gained a little more time to date properly. Naturally, having children had been delayed.

"What is his name?" Elder Itachi asked.

"Fugaku," Uchiha Raiha answered.

"A fine name. When he is a little older, hand him over to me for guidance. While I can still dance, let me have one last dance. Though I usually can't stand that brat Hashirama, he did say one thing that was quite right. Wherever leaves dance, fire burns on without end."