Konoha Drunkard

"Do you know that old lady, Chiyo?" Shanks asked.

"Of course, she was the most beautiful woman in the ninja world after Mito back then. But when I trained her, she was just a little girl in her teens," Hashirama Senju recalled.

"Tch, they've all turned into old ladies now. My aunt is still the most beautiful woman in the ninja world." Shanks sensed a killing intent and immediately changed his tune.

It's worth noting that both of them have the title of the most beautiful woman in the ninja world, so the desire to compare themselves to each other has existed since ancient times.

"Hehehe! My Shanks has good taste. He doesn't want others to have their cake and eat it too." Mito gave Hashirama Senju a resentful look.

"Cough cough cough! Tsunade, help Grandpa to rest, Grandpa's chest feels tight!..." Hashirama Senju pretended to help Tsunade escape.

18. Do you really think I can believe your exaggerated claims? (Requesting flowers/favorites)

During this period, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not take Shanks and Sakumo Hatake on any difficult missions. He only completed a C-rank mission every day, such as killing bandits and fighting mountain bandits. He also did not encounter any ninjas like last time.

Both of them had become somewhat numb from killing. Shanks somewhat understood Orochimaru's idea of ​​using human bodies to research forbidden techniques in order to prolong his life, since watching people die at his hands made him realize how fragile life was. However, Shanks would never research such perverse ninjutsu and turn himself into something neither male nor female, especially the thought of turning himself into a bunch of snakes made him feel disgusted.

During this period, Shanks has been sending clones to train every day, but his strength hasn't improved much. His body has reached the limit for his age, and his Armament Haki hasn't grown much. The same goes for his ninjutsu; only his left hand's hand seals are faster than before, and he's almost at the Chunin level. However, ever since he was overly focused during the attack in Sunagakure and accidentally unleashed a wisp of sword energy, Shanks has been spending time meditating every night, besides training his Observation Haki, to understand his own swordsmanship.

"In the world of One Piece, the mark of a swordsman is reaching the point where one can unleash sword energy. After becoming a swordsman, one must comprehend their own swordsmanship. Upon reaching a certain depth of understanding, one becomes a Great Swordsman. There are no specific marks for becoming a Great Swordsman; one only knows when they reach that level."

Shanks' original sword also broke due to the sword energy. If it weren't for Shanks' Armament Haki surrounding it, the sword energy probably wouldn't have been able to cut through it.

"Looks like I'll have to get a good sword from the Land of Iron. Hatake Sakumo has a family heirloom chakra dagger." Shanks plans to have Sarutobi Hiruzen take on a mission to the Land of Iron tomorrow.

"Do you have any requirements for your sword? Your swordsmanship is so amazing?" Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't seem to mind Shanks's requirements. He was just a little curious about what kind of swordsmanship Shanks possessed that could break a sword.

"It's not swordsmanship, I call it the Way of the Sword. You know my special talent, I can sense energy that others can't. My Way of the Sword is the same. The sword energy I create when I slash with a sword is this special energy that lingers around the sword before I slash. However, ordinary swords simply cannot withstand this kind of sword energy."

"I see. Is it like the Thunder God Sword of the Second Hokage?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked.

"That's not how it works. As long as it's a famous samurai sword, it should be fine. I don't really know now, but I'll find out when we get to the Land of Iron." Shanks shrugged.

“Alright, we’ll go to the Land of Iron tomorrow. I know someone there who should know something, but you should know that the samurai era has declined, and famous swords are even rarer now,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said nonchalantly.

"I know that even if I can't find a famous sword, I should be able to find a decent one." Shanks was just going to try his luck.

........

The next day, the three accepted a mission to purchase ninja tools from the Land of Iron and set off for the Land of Iron. Upon entering the Land of Iron, they encountered mostly samurai carrying swords; ninjas were relatively rare. The Land of Iron was founded by samurai families who had survived from the samurai era and was a neutral country.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took Shanks and Sakumo Hatake to the Shogun's mansion. Hiruzen Sarutobi was looking for Mifune, the son of the current Shogun of the Land of Iron and the most famous samurai in the Land of Iron.

"Hiruzen, what brings you to the Land of Iron? I heard your borders have been in chaos lately." Mifune, dressed in standard samurai attire, carrying a sword in each hand and wearing wooden clogs, was about the same age as Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Ah, we're just passing through on a mission, and my teammate wants to buy a famous sword, so I came to ask you for help to see where I can buy one," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile.

"Oh? A team member? I thought you were a student." Mifune looked at the two kids. One had white hair and carried a short sword on his back, while the other had red hair and three scars on his right eye, which gave him a somewhat imposing look.

"Ah, my name is Uzumaki Shanks. I need a famous sword, thank you for your help." Since he needed a favor and the other party wasn't from Konoha, Shanks was quite polite. He wasn't foolish enough to go around showing off without real strength. Having someone in the village protecting him allowed him to put on a show.

"Oh, you mean the Uzumaki clan? You also practice swordsmanship?" Mifune asked, somewhat surprised. The Uzumaki clan is famous throughout the ninja world for its overwhelming chakra reserves and unparalleled sealing techniques. To see a child from the Uzumaki clan practicing swordsmanship today was truly intriguing.

“Yes, I awakened some special talents in my family, which allowed me to develop a unique swordsmanship. It requires an exceptionally hard sword to wield,” Shanks explained.

“A particularly hard sword? It seems that the Famous Sword Pavilion has an ancient sword that is exceptionally hard, even harder than the Kurosawa sword I have. However, it cannot channel chakra, so it's of little use to you ninjas,” Mifune said after a moment’s thought.

"I don't need to guide my chakra; my swordsmanship has nothing to do with chakra. Can you take me to see it?" Shanks quickly asked.

"Okay, please follow me." Mifune led the three of them to the Famous Sword Pavilion.

"Lord Mifune, is there any weapon you wish to purchase?" The owner of the Famous Sword Pavilion immediately went out to greet Mifune and his party upon their arrival.

"Ah, didn't I see you had a very tough, famous sword for sale a while ago? I'll bring some people to take a look. This is Hiruzen Sarutobi, an elite Jonin from Konoha and a student of the Second Hokage. This is the heir of the Hatake clan, and this is a member of the Uzumaki clan and the nephew of the First Hokage." Mifune introduced them to the shopkeeper in great detail, implying that all three had impressive backgrounds and that he could ask for a higher price, but not too much.

The shopkeeper was a shrewd man and naturally understood what Mifune meant. "Oh, so you've come to see the withered tree. Please come in, gentlemen." The shopkeeper invited the four of them to the second floor. There weren't many swords on the second floor, only about ten. Sensing the faint chill emanating from those swords, they knew they were no ordinary items.

The shopkeeper took down the topmost sword and presented it to the four of them with a serious expression. "The sword is named 'Withered Wood.' It was forged by the master swordsmith Murai Okayama during the Warring States period from a piece of special metal he obtained by chance. The sword is five feet seven inches long and two inches wide. It is incredibly hard. It belonged to the Akatsuki clan during the Warring States period. Later, the Akatsuki clan was destroyed by the Kaguya clan, but this sword also shone brightly in that great war. After that, the sword disappeared. Later, I bought this sword from a merchant in the Land of Snow by chance."

"You're a businessman after all, hyping things up first, whether it's real or not. Boss, you've made this sword sound so high-class, I've thought about it and decided against it, I definitely can't afford it!" Shanks said, feigning helplessness. "Damn, you've made such a lousy, decent sword sound amazing, what about the other one, which should be touted as the Muramasa cursed sword..."

Shanks pretended to want to buy it but was afraid he didn't have enough money, sighed, and prepared to leave.

"Young master, don't be in such a hurry. The price is negotiable. Because all the previous owners of this knife died for no apparent reason, it's also known as the 'Ominous Knife,' so... I'll sell it to you for two hundred thousand taels." The shopkeeper realized he had gone a bit overboard and quickly added the knife. But as soon as he finished speaking, he wanted to slap himself.

"You dare sell me the ominous sword for 200,000? Don't you know my uncle's name is Hashirama Senju?!" Shanks couldn't take it anymore. "As expected, you've been hyping it up as the cursed sword Muramasa again. Do you really think I'm stupid?!"

"Ten thousand taels, or I won't sell it to you," Shanks said.

"This... 100,000 taels is really too little, how about 180,000?" the shopkeeper persisted.

After a two-hour haggling battle, Shanks finally bought the sword for 150,000 taels.

On the way back to the village, Hatake Sakumo exclaimed, "Shanks, yours is truly amazing. You managed to buy such a powerful sword for such a low price."

Shanks looked at Sakumo Hatake like he was an idiot. "You just listened to that guy's nonsense. If this sword was that powerful, it wouldn't be unsellable now. And what the hell is the Akifuu clan? I've never even heard of them. That means they exist, but they were just a small clan during the Warring States period. How could they possibly have such a powerful sword? Didn't you see how he eventually turned it into the cursed sword Muramasa...?"

"Haha! Shanks is right. Merchants are all cunning. Sakumo, you're still too honest," Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed.

“However, I think this sword is quite good, probably one of the famous swords. It might just have been lost for a while, so it might not be that well-known,” Hiruzen Sarutobi added.

"Maybe, but this sword will become very famous in the future, because it will be in the hands of me, the super invincible swordsman Shanks, who can go anywhere and eat fish, shrimp, and crabs alive." Shanks said smugly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi: "I really want to beat him to a pulp."

Sakumo Hatake (same as above).

19. Jiraiya, Sakumo is truly your older brother! "Please give me flowers!" "Please add this to your favorites!"

There was no Konoha Village, just a small grove of trees.

"One-Sword Style. Just hacking and slashing randomly!"

Shanks unleashed a sword strike, sending a four- or five-meter-long sword aura hurtling towards a two-meter-thick tree.

"Crack!"

The tree snapped in two.

Looking at the withered wood in his hand, still so dark, and the blade still so bright, Shanks felt that the 150,000 taels had been well spent.

"That slash is comparable to a typical B-rank ninjutsu, not bad. But judging from your expression, it must have taken a lot of stamina, right?"

"Sarutobi Hiruzen said."

"Fortunately, my body is strong enough that I can fight three hundred rounds without any problem," Shanks said, indicating that a man cannot admit that he is incapable.

Hiruzen's squad didn't take on any missions today, mainly because Shanks wanted to test the power of the withered tree; it seems to be working quite well.

Sakumo Hatake was eager to try.

"Sakumo, let's have a man's romance!" Shanks was also brimming with fighting spirit.

Without saying a word, Hatake Sakumo drew his short sword and charged forward.

"Ding ding ding"

With a clanging sound, the two figures moved faster and faster until they were almost invisible.

"Dragon Slayer Flash"

Sakumo Hatake delivered a swift and deadly thrust using the Hatake sword technique.

Shanks sensed the direction of the attack using his Observation Haki, but the speed was too fast to dodge, so he could only raise his sword to take the hit.

Armament Haki wrapped around the dead tree, making it even blacker.

"One-Sword Style: Twenty-Four Guanyin Seated on a Lotus"

Two sword energies formed the character "事" (shi) on the side of the flag, and Mu Shuo Mao slashed down.

"boom!"

Sakumo Hatake, struck by the sword energy, was reduced to a rotten log.

Earth Release: Decapitation Technique of the Heart

When Shanks' leg was grabbed, Shanks covered his left hand with Armament Haki.

"Super Strength. Give Me Back My Beauty Fist"

He slammed his fist into the ground.

"boom!"

Several deep ravines split open in the ground.

A figure rushed over from the smoke.

"White Fang Pursuit"

A flash of white light,

"Ding"

......

Two hours later,

"Ha, huff, ha, ha, how about that, Sakumo? I told you, a man must last! 109 to 106," Shanks said breathlessly.

"..." Hatake Sakumo lay on the ground, too weak to even speak.

Sakumo Hatake didn't want to say anything either. Hatake's swordsmanship was like encountering Shanks' nemesis; his attack routes were completely detected. Even if he couldn't dodge, Shanks could withstand the attacks with Armament Haki. Coupled with Shanks' abnormal physique, he couldn't compete in a prolonged battle.

“Sakumo, you don’t need to worry about it. Your family’s attack style is countered by ninjas like Shanks. In the entire ninja world, only Shanks and the Lightning Ninja of Kumogakure use this style. With your current strength, you could kill an elite Jonin by surprise.”

Hiruzen Sarutobi offered words of comfort.

Sakumo Hatake nodded; he knew this too, so he wasn't disappointed. Their family's fighting style was primarily based on speed and aggression. The Hatake clan wasn't known for their large chakra reserves or physical strength; they were often able to kill Jonin even as Chunin because of their unpredictable, fast, and powerful attacks. In short, they were assassins.

Shanks is the type of melee mage with high defense, high health, and high mana.

Assassins are helpless against those with high defense and high health, but such types are rare in the entire ninja world. Only Shanks, the Second Raikage, and the future Third Raikage, who is hailed as the strongest Raikage in the future, have trained to withstand attacks from someone like Sakumo Hatake at his peak. Even if the Fourth Raikage grows stronger in the future, he still wouldn't be able to withstand White Fang at his peak.

"By the way, I heard Brother Jing is getting married next month? Is his wife Sister Xiaochun? Hehe."

After resting for a while, the three of them sat on the grass and chatted.

"Haha! Xiaochun will be embarrassed to hear you say that. Be careful, or you might make things difficult for your little girlfriend one day. Kagami is getting married at the beginning of next month, and the officiant is our teacher. His wife is also from the Uchiha clan, and they've been childhood friends since they were young, right?" Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed. Of all his childhood friends, Kagami was the first to get married, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was happy for him.

"I thought it was with Xiaochun, but all my efforts to set them up have been wasted..." Shanks muttered bitterly.

"Why are you doing these pointless things?" Sakumo Hatake was also curious about Shanks's mind.