Konoha Drunkard

When Hiruzen Sarutobi came to his senses, the name was already written on it. Was this fate? After thinking about it for a long time, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to believe in fate and just consider it fulfilling his son's small wish.

"Alright, that concludes the class assignments. Your assigned teachers will be back to take you away shortly!" Kame Saburo finished reading the names and then made his exit.

As I reached the door, I couldn't help but turn back for one last look at the students I'd spent six years with, etching each name deep into my memory. I didn't know how many would survive, nor how many would perish in future battles.

255. Jiraiya, who can't be praised

Not long after Kame Saburo left, the Jonin leading the group took their students away one after another.

Just as the ninja academy was dividing into classes, a fierce conflict broke out on the border of the Land of Fire. The main enemy was the Sand Ninja, who seemed to have no regard for their lives. The Konoha Anbu had just finished clearing out one wave and hadn't even had time to recover their health and mana to buy equipment when the next wave of enemy troops arrived on the battlefield. In the end, the number of ninjas participating in the battle kept increasing, and eventually even the Anbu vice-captain, Mitarashi Shishou, led a team there.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely baffled by the Sand Ninja's actions. Had the Sand Ninja lost their minds? At first, they were just sending small groups of ninjas into the Land of Fire, sneaking around and doing who-knows-what. But since it was still an illegal intrusion, it wasn't wrong for the Anbu to kill them after they were discovered. But because of that incident, the Sand Ninja started sending people to their deaths one after another.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was truly stunned by Salai's actions, completely baffled by the situation. Then, tonight, Shishou sent back intelligence that the Kazekage of Sunagakure had gone missing! He was utterly dumbfounded upon seeing the intelligence! What was going on? Salai was hailed as the strongest Kazekage of all time, and while there might be some exaggeration, he was still undeniably powerful. How could he just disappear without a trace? This gave him a whiff of conspiracy, so he immediately convened a meeting of the village's high-ranking officials.

Shanks slumped listlessly on the conference room table. He had been drinking with his best buddy until after 11 p.m. and didn't go to sleep until midnight. He had only slept for two hours when the Anbu knocked on his door.

Jiraiya was equally listless. This guy was definitely studying his masterpiece again tonight. A year ago, he published another novel, which sold even worse than Shanks' "The Art of Speaking" back then. He was so defeated by Shanks that he vomited blood. He stopped going to see Tsunade for medical advice and vowed to create a book that could defeat Shanks' masterpiece before he came out of seclusion.

"This time, Sunagakure inexplicably sent a large number of Sand Ninja to infiltrate our Land of Fire. The intelligence sent back by Zixiao says that their Kazekage has gone missing. They've come to find the Kazekage. What do you all think?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, looking at the group of ninjas of the Red Stick rank and above.

"Hmph! It's probably just another trick played by the Sand Village ninjas. They're still up to no good. It's been almost ten years since World War II, and they're starting to come out again. These kinds of tricks can only fool others!" After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, Danzo couldn't help but jump out and show off his intelligence.

Over the years, I've been told by Toastmasters Yamazaki Japanese guys that I'm practically immortal, that I'm getting younger and younger. Especially seeing my best buddy getting older day by day, even though I haven't had a facelift or scar removal surgery yet, I look in the mirror every day and compare myself to my best buddy, which makes me more and more confident... I'm sure I'll live longer than him.

Most people agreed with Danzo this time because Sunagakure had been the village that clashed with Konoha the most on the border in recent years. After so many years of truce, the Land of Earth was able to recover quickly because of the presence of the Golden Sands, so it was normal for them to jump out and challenge the position of the eldest brother.

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Shanks was wide awake. As expected, Sarutobi had made his move. Given Shanks's past training of Sarutobi in sneak attacks, it would have been incredibly easy for Sarutobi to secretly eliminate the unsuspecting Seraph.

"I think it's better to investigate thoroughly. It's impossible for a village to be targeted without a reason. Could there be some kind of conspiracy involved?" Koharu Tsurugi said with a grim expression.

Sleep is a woman's worst enemy, especially for a woman over fifty. She was woken up at three in the morning while dreaming of meeting her mirror. No wonder she looked terrible. And then this happened again.

"...Judging from the way the Sand Ninja went into the Land of Fire, I think it's very likely that the Kazekage is missing! The key question is who captured or killed the Kazekage. He is known as the strongest Kazekage in history, and he is indeed very strong. There are not many strong people in the ninja world who can capture or kill him without anyone noticing!" said the Grand Strategist, Big Sky Cannon.

As soon as the big cannon finished speaking, everyone involuntarily looked at Shanks and Hatake Sakumo. They couldn't help it; looking at the entire ninja world, there were two people in their own ninja who could kill the strongest Kazekage in history without anyone noticing. Hiruzen Sarutobi was immediately ruled out. Hiruzen Sarutobi was a great mage type, and the huge chakra fluctuations he generated in battle could not be hidden from sensory ninjas. Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Hokage, would not be able to take action. His two top lieutenants were the most likely candidates.

One is someone who can make a tailed beast cry, so defeating Sal is a sure thing for them; the other is a specialized agile assassin who can take down Sal without any problem if Sal is off guard.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't look at me like that. Everyone in the ninja world knows that when I, Shanks, am going to take someone down, I'll issue a challenge beforehand and do it openly and honestly. Besides, do you think I'm that bored? Why would I bother taking down that bastard Salai for no reason? He even gave me billions of gold dust last time! To be honest, it's not just me and Sakumo who can take down Salai. I can count on my fingers and toes the number of people in the entire ninja world who could secretly kill him!" Shanks was annoyed by the looks in the eyes of the people around him. Why do they always doubt him whenever something big happens? Is his character really that fickle?

"Oh? Captain, tell me, who else in the ninja world has a reason to kill him!" Hearing that Shanks was about to brag again, she closely cooperated with him, hoping that he would also brag about himself.

"Ahem! Minato, take out paper and pen to take notes. This is your first time attending a high-level meeting, so you should learn a lot!" Shanks said to Minato, who was standing next to Jiraiya.

"Yes!" Minato took out a pen and paper from his ninja tool bag and obediently prepared to take notes, looking like a good student.

"boom!"

"Hurry up and say it! I want to go back to sleep!" Tsunade gave him a hard punch on the head, clearly annoyed. He was already annoyed that he wasn't sleeping at night, and now he was still nagging on and on.

"Ahem! Let's start with Konoha. Besides me and Sakumo, the only ones who killed Share when he was completely unprepared were Orochimaru and Minato. His snake venom can even take down the Raikage, so taking down Share shouldn't be a problem for him. The second one is Minato. A full-agility assassin like Minato shouldn't have any problem secretly taking down a great mage like Share!" Shanks said, looking at the people around him.

"Is it just Orochimaru and Minato? Is there no one else?" Jiraiya winked at Shanks, as if to say, "You should praise me too. You've praised my disciple, so why shouldn't I, as his teacher, praise him? I've been so cooperative with you."

"Hmm... Jiraiya, it's not that I don't want to praise you, but you're clearly not good enough!" Shanks saw Jiraiya winking at him and knew exactly what he meant. But given Jiraiya's mindless, flammable opening and subsequent half-baked Sage Mode, by the time he finally managed to activate it, Salai would be long gone!

256. The Second Best Unlucky Guy, Salle

Shanks' words resulted in Jiraiya receiving a bunch of Tenseigan.

Everyone stared speechlessly at Jiraiya, then at Minato, who was diligently taking notes beside him. They simply couldn't understand how this bastard had managed to raise Minato so well. How could the difference between the two be so vast? No wonder he hadn't been able to win Tsunade's heart for so many years.

Especially Hiruzen Sarutobi glared at his unruly and disappointing disciple, thinking, "What are you doing? Now is the time to talk about important matters, not to let you cause trouble."

"Ahem! Let's not even talk about Sunagakure; Aunt Chiyo wouldn't poison her own village's Kage. In Iwagakure, only Onoki Red-Nosed is capable of secretly killing Sari, but a Kage can't leave the village and can't hide it from others. It's similar in Kumogakure; the Raikage's son is quite outstanding, but he's too far away and can't be kept in the dark by the spies from other villages. Kirigakure is similar; the Third Mizukage is a Jinchuriki, and his chakra fluctuations during battle are impossible to hide. Hanzo of the Salamander is also a possibility; like Orochimaru, his poison is incredibly potent. That leaves only those rogue ninja and hidden powerhouses." Shanks demonstrated a process of elimination, and out of respect for their master-disciple relationship, he didn't reveal Sasori's identity.

"A rogue ninja? I know the hidden powerhouse. It must be our advisor Danzo's brother. But who in the ninja world right now can kill Sarek?" Orochimaru said, glancing sideways at Danzo.

"Ah! Danzo's brother is indeed very strong and has very strange abilities. It would be easy to kill Sari if he didn't know his abilities. And there's a very famous figure in the rogue ninja world. I encountered him when I was leading Orochimaru on a mission back then. Do you remember him?" Shanks looked at Orochimaru.

"You mean..." Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly stood up and looked at Shanks.

"That's right, it's the guy who claimed to have assassinated the First Hokage and fought him for three hundred rounds!" Shanks and Hiruzen Sarutobi exchanged glances.

"Impossible! He's still alive after all these years!" Jiraiya couldn't sit still any longer. He had a deep impression of that person, after all, it was the first time he had witnessed a battle between Kage-level beings, and he would never forget it.

Not only Jiraiya, but Tsunade and Orochimaru also looked at Shanks with serious expressions. The people around them were also affected by their expressions. They never expected that the God of Shinobi who had tried to assassinate them was still alive!

As for the "three hundred rounds of battle" thing, just take it as a joke! If anyone other than Madara could fight the First Hokage for three hundred rounds, the Warring States period wouldn't have ended so easily.

"Of course he's not dead. He has the forbidden techniques of Takigakure, so he can live for another one or two hundred years without any problem, unless someone kills him," Shanks said. He was planning to drag Kakuzu into this matter, since he had so many debts to pay off! They'd already hyped him up as someone who fought the First Hokage for three hundred rounds, so that was fair enough.

"The captain knows him very well!" Orochimaru looked at Shanks with a gleam in his eyes. Hearing that he could live for so many years, he couldn't sit still anymore.

"I've met him a few times, so I know him fairly well. He's a pretty good guy. Maybe he failed to assassinate the First Hokage back then and was abandoned by the people of Takigakure, so he changed his life pursuits and became very fond of money. If given a good opportunity, it's not impossible for him to kill Salai." Shanks gave Orochimaru a look, implying that they would discuss his question separately later.

Orochimaru received the signal and slowly sat down, but his mind was no longer on the meeting.

"So who do you think is most likely to kill the Kazekage?" Hiruzen Sarutobi sat down again and said with a serious expression. Based on Shanks' analysis, he guessed that it was most likely Danzo's brother or Kakuzu.

"Judging from the interest rate, it's clearly impossible for Hanzo of the Salamander to do it, and it's a pipe dream to poison Salamander silently. It's probably a rogue ninja or some hidden powerhouse who will make the move. If it's that rogue ninja, I'm not worried, at least I know his goal is money. But if it's the mysterious person who makes the move, then there's a problem," said the Grand Strategist, Big Sky Cannon, seriously.

"...Lord Hokage, what should we do about the border? Should we tell the Sand Village ninja our analysis?" Sakumo Hatake asked.

"...What do you think, Shika?" Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment before looking at Konoha's brain.

"It's pointless to talk about it now. I think the higher-ups in Sunagakure have already guessed that it couldn't have been us, but the fact that they still sent people over shows that they want us to take the blame. Besides, we don't have any evidence to prove that Salai was killed by someone else." Smart people think quickly and immediately figured out Sunagakure's plan.

Big Cannon was right. After receiving news of Sal's disappearance, the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure immediately sent people to search for him while holding a meeting. However, they did not inform Grandma Chiyo about this, because her beloved grandson, their super genius, had also disappeared recently, and Grandma Chiyo was already annoyed. They dared not disturb her at this time, otherwise they would not know when they would be killed at home.

After searching for some time, they were certain that the Kazekage was basically dead. As for who killed him, they couldn't figure it out. Some said it was Konoha, because many people there were capable of doing it: Shanks, Sakumo Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Legendary Sannin—any of these could have ambushed and killed Sarada. Others said it was Iwa ninja, because Onoki's Dust Release could have instantly obliterated Sarada when he was completely unprepared.

There were all sorts of reasons, but in the end, a high-ranking official with a clear superior position decided to pin the blame on Konoha. After all, Konoha had plenty of resources. Since they didn't know the culprit, it would be good to get some benefits from Konoha. The village had been recuperating for almost ten years, and they were starting to get a little arrogant.

Meanwhile, the little scorpion who had successfully ambushed Shari was taking out Shari's corpse from a house in a small country and making his own masterpiece.

Looking at the corpse of Sha Lie in front of him, Little Scorpion's eyes filled with contempt. He never expected that this so-called strongest Kazekage in history would be so weak, taken down by a few of his poison needles. He had prepared many backup methods to ambush Sha Lie, but he didn't need to use any of them. They were both Kage-level powerhouses, but the difference was too great. Back then, he used all sorts of tricks to ambush Shanks, but that bastard was completely unharmed and it was him who suffered the most in the end. But this Sha Lie was a complete pushover.

The main reason Scorpion was able to successfully ambush Salai was because Salai was completely unprepared. Scorpion was a genius from their village and the grandson of the First Kazekage and Grandma Chiyo. Salai hadn't expected Scorpion to attack him. Not only had he not expected it, but even though Salai had disappeared around the same time, the people of Sunagakure wouldn't have considered it. His grandparents and parents had sacrificed so much for the village; traditionally, he was a candidate for the next Kazekage. Thus, Salai was successfully chosen as the unluckiest person of the year!

257. Fate is truly inexplicable.

"Lord Madara has encountered a very serious matter!" A white object shouted at Lord Madara from an underground entertainment center somewhere in the ninja world.

"What big news? That red-haired brat is dead?" The biggest thing for Madara right now is that the red-haired brat died before he could be resurrected. It's such a pity. Every time Madara thinks about being tricked by that red-haired brat, he gets furious. Even Hashirama Senju wouldn't dare to play tricks on him like that.

Now, in Madara's heart, Shanks has risen to second place, second only to Hashirama Senju with his long, straight black hair.

"Uh... Lord Madara, that red-haired brat is still alive and well! The big news I'm talking about is that your rival's grandson killed your own Kazekage!" the white object said recklessly.

"...White Zetsu! Do you want to die?!" Madara was stunned for a moment when he heard his rival's words, but he quickly remembered the words that the red-haired brat had said to him back then, and he became even angrier. Otherwise, if he still had any power, he would have killed White Zetsu right now.

"Lord Madara, now is our chance! The ninja world has been peaceful for almost ten years. It's time to throw it into chaos and make more people despair!" Black Zetsu hurriedly tempted him from the side. Now, Madara, who was already low on health, would lose health if he got angry. Madara must not die before the plan succeeds.

"How's the situation with the Uchiha? Haven't they found a suitable one yet?" Madara asked White Zetsu.

"There is an interesting little brat, full of love, but his talent is somewhat lacking," White Zetsu said to Madara, recalling Obito's words.

"As long as he is full of love, it doesn't matter whether the Uchiha clan has good or bad talent. As long as he has great love in his heart, when that love is shattered, it will turn into great hatred. That's what I need. Keep an eye on him for me." Lord Madara was very satisfied with White Zetsu's answer this time. After waiting for so many years, he finally found one.

"Lord Madara, I think that Uchiha Kagami's grandson is quite good. Why not choose him? His talent is much higher than Obito's!" White Zetsu asked in confusion.

"Heh! Uchiha Kagami's grandson is too rational, which will cause many unexpected problems in our plans. I don't want any unexpected problems! Isn't that useless Kazekage dead? Go and add fuel to the fire, and make the ninja world completely chaotic." Madara's eyes shone with a crazed light.

..........

The ninja world is already in chaos without Madara even needing to intervene.

The Kazekage of Sunagakure disappeared without a trace. Sunagakure suspected that Konoha had sent someone to do it, so they demanded that Konoha hand over the murderer. Anyway, the murderer was either Shanks or Sakumo Hatake from Konoha. This news quickly spread throughout the ninja world.

Hiruzen Sarutobi knew he was going to be the scapegoat this time, but he was still incredibly frustrated. His best friend had always taken the blame for him before, and he'd never experienced what it was like to be the one to take the fall. Now that he finally understood, his gaze towards his friend softened. He realized how painful it was to be the scapegoat; it was truly unfair that Danzo had carried the burden for him for so many years...

However, even though they were being blamed, a statement still had to be issued. So, shortly after the news broke in the ninja world, Konoha declared that the Kazekage's disappearance had nothing to do with Konoha and demanded that Sunagakure withdraw its ninjas who had invaded the Land of Fire, or else they would be killed without mercy.

However, with Grandma Chiyo in charge and a few high-ranking officials in charge, the Sand Village put aside the Kazekage election and focused on taking action against Konoha. They didn't care about such trivial matters and sent ninjas over to Konoha as if they were crazy.

After Chiyo's grandmother finished grieving over her beloved grandson running away from home, she heard that the Kazekage had also disappeared and that now, with so many high-ranking officials not even choosing a Kazekage, they were directly sending people to fight Konoha. She was so angry that she trembled and really wanted to use those high-ranking officials as puppets.

"bump!"

Grandma Chiyo stormed into the Kazekage's office with Uncle Kaizo and a group of ninjas, just like Shanks had done. At that moment, the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure were still discussing how to get Konoha to acknowledge them so they could get benefits from Konoha. When they saw Grandma Chiyo storming into the office with Uncle Kaizo and a group of ninjas, the office instantly fell silent. They looked at Grandma Chiyo with trepidation, not wanting to be used as puppets.

"Are you gentlemen discussing who to choose as Kazekage or how to attack Konoha?" Grandma Chiyo asked calmly, glancing at the old men who were a little younger than her.

"Advisor Chiyo, the disappearance or murder of the Kazekage is clearly related to Konoha. If we're talking about who in the ninja world is most likely to do this, it's definitely Konoha's Shanks. Their relationship has been strained for a long time!" A high-ranking official said angrily to Grandma Chiyo. Although he was also afraid, he was willing to risk everything for the sake of the family's resources.

"Yes, Advisor Chiyo, who in the ninja world, besides Konoha, has the ability to do such a thing? It must have been Konoha who did it!" A group of high-ranking officials chimed in.

"...Sigh! We'll talk about that later. The most important thing now is to choose a Kazekage. Among the next generation, only Rasa is capable of being the Kazekage. Who agrees and who disagrees with making him the Kazekage?" Grandma Chiyo stared intently at them, her hand already in her ninja tool pouch. If these people had any objections, she would immediately summon the Ten Ninja to fight them.

Since things have already gotten to this point, and so many people in the village have died, it's impossible to turn back now. Grandma Chiyo just needs to make Rasa the Kazekage as soon as possible to keep them in check. Originally, she hoped that her beloved grandson would become the Kazekage, but now that everyone has disappeared, she can only let another candidate, Rasa, take the position.

"...Rasa is the Third Hokage's disciple, I have no objection." The higher-ranking official immediately took sides upon seeing Chiyo's actions. Although he didn't want to choose a Kazekage so quickly to restrain their power, Chiyo had already spoken, and if he didn't express his opinion, the Ten Ninja would probably come out.

"I agree!"

"agree!"

Since the leader had agreed, the underlings dared not disobey.

"Rasa, since everyone here thinks highly of you, from today onwards you will be the Kazekage of Sunagakure. From now on, Sunagakure will depend on you!" Granny Chiyo said to Rasa beside her.

"Yes! I will not let Lady Chiyo and all the other lords down!" Rasa did not expect happiness to come so suddenly. His teacher had always told him to assist Sasori in making the village stronger, and he had accepted the role. However, first, their super genius Sasori disappeared, and then his teacher disappeared. While he was still grieving, Grandma Chiyo suddenly made him the Kazekage. For him, fate was really inexplicable.

"The ceremony for Rasa's ascension to the Kazekage position is tomorrow or next month. In the meantime, recall all the people we've sent out. After the ceremony, let's prepare for war! Sigh!" Grandma Chiyo is an old hand; she sees things very clearly. The moment they make a move, a world war will erupt!

258. Villages prepare for war

A month later, Rasa, a disciple of the Third Kazekage, succeeded to the position of Fourth Kazekage. Sunagakure had already begun preparations for war, and other villages were also actively preparing. After ten years of recuperation, most villages had largely recovered, especially Iwagakure. During World War II, due to Shanks' actions, their losses were the least, making them the strongest village in Kirigakure, given the village's relative inactivity.

"Father, do you think Konoha was behind the Third Kazekage's actions?" Iwato asked Onoki, who had a red nose, in the Tsuchikage's office.

"Hmph! Whether it's true or not is irrelevant now, Konoha is already destined to take the blame!" Onoki tapped his red nose and fingers on the table in deep thought.

"Is the Tsuchikage worried about the terrifying aura of Konoha's Red-Haired Shanks?" Nozomi Aoki asked, watching Onoki Akira tap his nose on the table.

"Yeah! Even Jonin would turn into cowards under that kind of aura. If he came to our battlefield, no matter how many of us there are, I'd be useless." Onoki said with a headache. Every time he thought of Shanks, he couldn't help but think of what Shanks had done in the village back then. If it were anyone else, he would have declared war long ago with his hot temper. But every time he thought of that aura, he felt helpless. It was just like BOFF.

"Lord Tsuchikage doesn't really need to worry. If that Shanks really comes to this battlefield, as long as someone lures him away so his aura won't affect him, that's fine. Besides, I've found that as long as one's willpower is strong enough, the degree to which he affects them is much smaller. Perhaps we can use this preparation period to let the village's ninjas train their willpower." Aoki Nozomi stroked his chin, recalling the scene when Shanks released his aura in the village back then. He had even specifically asked others about their feelings at the time.