Naruto: Aizen's Shadow in Konoha

"Haha, what a joke! A Senju clan member who can't help others without facing a loss? So much for the 'Great Senju clan.' Today has been quite an education," Aizen scoffed.

Before Aizen could retort, Uchiha Fugaku, standing beside him, couldn't contain his irritation. He sneered at Senju Nawaki. 

His support for Aizen stemmed from two factors. Firstly, as the saying goes, 'a friend of a friend is a friend,' so he sided with Aizen. Secondly, Uchiha Fugaku held a personal grudge against the Senju clan.

As everyone knows, the Uchiha and Senju clans harbored a millennia-old feud before Konohagakure's founding. Deep hatred ran between them, with both sides viewing each other with contempt.

Naturally, the bystanders acknowledged Uchiha Fugaku's remarks, nodding their agreement.

"Absolutely! The Sarutobi group is entirely at fault. Teaching him a lesson is justified. Senju Nawaki clearly intended to use his clan influence to suppress others!"

The crowd erupted in agreement.

"That's right, Senju Nawaki is acting like a bully!"

"He's no different from those drama villains who pick on others! Disgusting!"

"Haha, typical behavior from those ninja families!"

"Yeah, I used to admire the Senju clan and Senju Nawaki, but today they've lost my respect. Same goes for the Senju clan in general!"

Most academy students, being civilians, naturally leaned towards Aizen.

Senju Nawaki's earlier statement did come across as domineering and unreasonable, sparking some dissatisfaction among the crowd.

After all, if a member of a ninja family commits a crime, they might only face punishment from their clan. That seems unfair to us ordinary folks.

They could easily find themselves in a similar situation as Aizen.

Amidst the heated discussion, only Minato remained silent, his brow furrowed in concern for Nawaki.

Facing the accusations, Nawaki maintained his composure. He didn't refute anything, but calmly addressed Uchiha Fugaku: "Fugaku, do you think my words were wrong? Let me ask you this: if two ninjas clash within the village, how would the Uchiha clan handle the situation with the Konoha Military Police? Would only the instigator face harsher punishment, or would both be penalized?"

Nawaki locked eyes with Uchiha Fugaku, awaiting his response.

Fugaku's expression faltered. After a moment, his face contorted in frustration.

He was right. Konohagakure's law dictated that both parties involved in a fight within the village would face punishment, with the instigator receiving a harsher sentence.

This mirrored the world Aizen knew. In most cases, if someone acts out of a supposedly "righteous" reason, they still face consequences.

This is mainly because the starting point for the formulation of social rules is to maintain order and stability, not for human morality and ethics!

Rules are only about governing chaos, not right or wrong!

Just like what happened to Aizen, there is nothing wrong with human morality, but if you hit someone, no one gives you the right to punish others, no matter what your reasons are, then you are at fault.

Senju Nawaki grasped the situation perfectly. 

"Just as I expected from someone who'd become Orochimaru's disciple later," Aizen sighed internally. "The resemblance to Naruto is superficial. Their personalities are vastly different." 

From the moment he time-traveled, Aizen anticipated complications. He was mentally prepared for this situation and remained unsurprised.

Namikaze Minato, standing beside him, had also noticed this earlier. They both fell silent. 

"So, how can we resolve this?" Aizen inquired. 

"It's simple. Since you intervened for a friend, I won't escalate this to a clan dispute between the Senju and the Sarutobi. However, on the condition that I fight you once, representing my friend. Win or lose, this settles the matter," Senju Nawaki chuckled.

However, beneath Senju Nawaki's seemingly generous offer lurked a veiled threat. 

If Aizen refused the challenge, Senju Nawaki would elevate the issue to a clan level, with far graver consequences. In essence, it was a threat. 

Initiating combat in a training class requires mutual consent. 

Open fighting between ninjas is strictly forbidden in Konohagakure. 

That's why the Sarutobi group waited for a combat class to intervene for Senju Nawaki. 

As for their previous encounter? It wasn't a fight, more like a one-sided beatdown for Aizen's opponent. 

Senju Nawaki had formulated this challenge precisely because he feared Aizen's potential refusal. 

Despite the earlier unpleasantness, which admittedly originated with his friends' misconduct, Senju Nawaki felt obligated to defend them. 

At the very least, he intended to teach this 'Aizen' a lesson, though not the brutal beatdown he initially envisioned.

Aizen smiled and said,"agreed, your terms are acceptable," Aizen replied with a smirk.

This turn of events fell within Aizen's expectations. 

Firstly, while Aizen prevailed over Sarutobi Funari, their scuffle was a childish brawl between academy students. It wouldn't escalate to the level of clan leaders. 

Secondly, the resolution would occur amongst the younger generation. Notably, Sarutobi Funari only invoked Senju Nawaki for help, not the clan elders. 

Aizen anticipated this trouble from the beginning. 

The proposed solution also aligned with his predictions.

Senju Nawaki was surprised by Aizen's swift and decisive acceptance. 

He anticipated hesitation and resistance, not such a prompt agreement.

Regardless, Senju Nawaki only intended to deliver a humbling lesson, to remind Aizen of his limitations. 

Losing? That wasn't even a remote possibility in Senju Nawaki's mind.