Three days had passed, and just like Aizen expected, the news spread across Konoha like wildfire.
He also guessed that someone would try to cover it up, and that happened too. A more serious story took over: trouble at the borders. People were saying a war might be coming.
Between a possible clan fight and war news, the village picked the bigger threat to focus on. It was easier to ignore the Uchiha matter, especially since no real fight had taken place. And honestly, most of the higher-ups didn't want to make the Uchiha look good anyway.
When his grandfather asked, Aizen simply said what he had told the class, that he thought the boy was trying to challenge the clan, but he didn't want to fight.
Aizen knew this incident meant more people would be keeping an eye on him from now on. He'd probably get dragged into more messes too.
But he didn't mind.
He just had to keep acting like an angel, kind, polite, harmless. So perfect that one day, people would turn against anyone who opposed him. They'd say things like, "That guy must be the problem," no matter who it was.
His goal was simple, to cultivate a reputation so powerful that, should he ever slaughter fifty newborns, the world wouldn't condemn him. Instead, they would call it mercy. A blessing. "They must've been evil." "He probably saved us from something worse."
Would he really do that?
Probably not?
Still, the point was clear. Even if he did something terrible, they'd still cheer for him.
And that's exactly what he was preparing for.
Walking through Konoha's streets, watching people stress about a possible war, he squinted at the gossiping crowd.
"Alright… who's next on the list?"
Then he stopped. His eye twitched.
Wait.
Wait a damn minute.
"Why am I overthinking this? I'm an Uchiha. You know who's always been our rival? The Senju."
He smacked his forehead dramatically, ignoring the old lady giving him a weird look.
"How can I be so dumb?"
Shaking his head in disbelief, he looked up at the Hokage monument.
"Yes," Aizen grinned to himself, eyes gleaming.
"Time to find that big, fat sheep from the Senju clan."
He rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain.
"Come to papa, plot development."
"Let's see if she's home," Aizen said, walking toward the Senju compound.
When he reached the entrance, the two guards standing there stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
"Wait... what did you just say?" one of them asked, blinking fast like he couldn't believe his ears.
"Did he say Tsunade-sama?" the other whispered, glancing at Aizen, then at his partner, clearly confused.
"Am I under a genjutsu?" the first one mumbled to himself, even pinching his arm just to be sure.
But when he saw his partner looking just as shocked, he figured this was real.
"I'm just here to meet Tsunade-sama. Is she around or not?" Aizen asked casually.
Sure, these guards were young, post-war babies, raised in peacetime, but they'd heard the stories. The bedtime horror tales whispered by grandparents, "Back in my day, if an Uchiha and a Senju met, someone lost a lung. Or a cousin."
So now, here stood a walking, talking Uchiha cub, politely asking to stroll into their den, sorry, clan. Yeah, definitely not normal.
The guards didn't move. One of them finally broke the silence.
"She's there… but don't you know we're Senju?" he said slowly, like Aizen had somehow missed the giant neon sign that said 'Not Uchiha-Friendly'.
The guy even emphasized Senju like it was supposed to scare him off.
Aizen blinked. "And?"
That caught the guy off guard. He opened his mouth, closed it again. "I mean, you're an Uchiha."
"So?" Aizen asked, frowning like he genuinely didn't get the issue. "Is there some kind of rule in the Senju clan that says Uchiha aren't allowed to visit?"
He tilted his head, looking perfectly innocent.
The guard squinted. "Well... no. But—"
"Please, big brother, I won't cause any trouble," Aizen cut him off with the most innocent eyes he could muster, sparkling like stars in a cheap romance drama.
The guard blinked. "What... what is this glow?" he muttered, shielding his eyes like Aizen had activated some kind of jutsu called Puppy-Eyes no Jutsu.
He turned to his partner. "Go inform Senior Tsunade. I... I don't know what's going on, but this kid's dangerous in a different way."
The second guard looked confused. "Huh? What happened?"
"Just look at him."
He turned, glanced at Aizen still flashing his sparkly eyes and calm smile, and sighed.
"Yeah. I'm leaving."
Seeing the guard walk off, Aizen gave the remaining one a small smile.
"Thanks, big brother."
That alone made the man straighten his back like he'd just been promoted.
"I-It's okay..." he said, clearing his throat and trying to act cool.
But then his eyes narrowed like something just clicked.
"Wait a sec... he didn't even ask why you came."
He paused, scratching his head. "No... even I didn't ask why you came."
He stared at Aizen suspiciously.
Noticing the look, Aizen just smiled and said casually,
"I just need a bit of guidance on physical jutsu."
The guard raised an eyebrow, still suspicious.
"And since I don't have the address of Jiraiya-sama or Orochimaru-sama," Aizen added with a shrug, "I thought I'd try my luck with Lady Tsunade."
The guard blinked. "So... you came here just to ask something?"
He still looked like he was trying to process the logic.
After all, if it was really about jutsu, why not just ask someone from the Uchiha clan? Surely they had experts too.
Aizen seemed to catch on to his thoughts and spoke again, this time not directly to the guard, more like he was admiring someone.
"Lady Tsunade is one of the Legendary Sannin, one of the strongest kunoichi alive. Meeting her would be an honour in itself."
He clasped his hands together, starry-eyed like a fanboy.
"And hey, if she decides to give me advice, that's just a bonus."
The guard stared, baffled.
************
Ways of making money in Naruto