Konoha Drunkard

"Sakumo-sama!"

"Sakumo-sama!"

Today is the day Kaden enters the Anbu. Along the way, masked people kept greeting the boss and taking a peek at the future head of the Anbu.

The day after Shanks took Aoki and Huang Tu to the Konoha Grand Hotel for a professional massage, the peace talks proceeded quite smoothly despite being tortured to the point of near-death by the two massage masters. Before Minato could even speak that day, Huang Tu offered to compensate Konoha for all its losses, which shocked Minato. What was wrong with these two? They had been getting weaker and weaker every day since arriving in Konoha, and they were even losing their minds. Originally, he only wanted to offer half compensation, since the majority of the losses were with Sunagakure. But they were so proactive, and it seemed like he couldn't refuse them.

Huang Tu and Qing Muwang had no choice. Thinking of the torture they had endured the night before, they didn't want to experience it again. They were afraid that if they dragged it out any longer, Shanks would find another way to torment them. They couldn't beat him, so they could only silently endure it. All they wanted now was to leave this hellish place as soon as possible. Although their village didn't have as much entertainment as Shanks, at least it didn't have that red-haired devil.

After Kakashi accompanied Minato to the peace talks and buried Rin, Kakashi went to the ANBU base with his father.

"This is the equipment room. Newcomers can pick up their equipment here. If you need to change equipment or ninja tools later, you'll need to exchange them using the merit points earned from missions. That's the sealing team over there. The Uzumaki clan members are researching sealing tools. If you need to use them, you'll also need to exchange them for merit points. The action team is in the outer hall. It's also divided into teams. Your team has already been assigned. After you pick up your equipment, go to the action team and wait. Your captain will come and take you to your team." Hatake Sakumo explained as they walked.

"Mingxiong, I heard that the minister arranged for Kakashi to join your team. Can you handle him?" In the action group, several captains were chatting together, and the topic was always the Crown Prince of the Anbu. A masked man with his white eyes showing asked a tall man next to him.

"Hmph! What's there to worry about? The minister has already said that everyone in the Anbu will be treated equally. The minister was already in charge of the Anbu when he was only 12 years old. What's there to worry about for his son who's only just joined now?" Ming Xiong stubbornly insisted on maintaining his pride. Last time, one of their team members was killed. It just so happened that Kakashi was about to join the Anbu. Their leader didn't intend to give his son any special treatment. Wherever a team was short-handed, his son would go to fill in. Unfortunately, their team had just lost a member. This was the crown prince! If he died, even if the minister didn't object, Shanks would still punish him severely. Moreover, he was Minato's disciple, who was preparing to become Hokage. Just thinking about this connection made Ming Xiong dizzy.

"Hey! To be honest, have you been doing too many bad things lately? How come you've run into such bad luck? Even if Kakashi is a genius, he couldn't possibly be as good as the captain who could kill the Kazekage at the age of nine. Besides, our Anbu is the most dangerous. Anyway, you should keep a close eye on him." The captain of the Hyuga clan reminded him.

When they learned that Kakashi was going to join the Anbu, apart from the captains of the Uzumaki clan's sealing squad, the captains of the action group were all on tenterhooks, fearing that the young master would be assigned to their team. If something happened to the young master, their boss might not say anything, but their boss's best friend might not be so forgiving. Shanks had once fought against Root for the sake of Koharu Utatane's advisory matter, let alone his childhood best friend. They would be lucky to escape unscathed.

343. Do you know what happened to the last guy named Red Dog?

Moreover, everyone in the village knows that Minato is preparing to become Hokage. He is also the only student of the future Fourth Hokage. Even if they don't blame them, they'll still have to deal with him every day.

"I'm not going to say anything more. The Dark Chief just brought him here. I'll go get him first." The face under the Dark Bear mask, which was tough on the outside, turned into a bewildered expression. He really wanted to slap himself. He hadn't been on duty at the bathhouse rooftop since last month. All he did was sneak a peek. The punishment from heaven came so quickly.

"Oh! Dark Bear is really unlucky. It's a good thing Shanks' daughter doesn't like being a ninja, otherwise it would be quite a show if she were in our Anbu too." A masked minor captain next to the Hyuga clansmen watched Dark Bear's retreating figure and silently mourned for him, while also feeling fortunate.

"By the way, White Hawk, I heard that Lord Shanks' daughter was your classmate back then. Why didn't you pursue her?" Another masked extra looked at the Hyuga clan member.

"Back then, several classmates who wanted to date Linlin got beaten up by Lord Shanks quite a few times. I heard that Lord Shanks hits really hard, even making tailed beasts cry. I don't want to get beaten up." The Hyuga clan member shrugged.

Actually, he had that impulse back then too, but before he could act on it, he saw those classmates who had previously pursued Lingling coming to school for days on end with tears streaming down their faces and huge bumps on their heads. Among them were two Uchiha and one Sarutobi. This ultimately made him stop. If he caught up with her, even if he got beaten up, it would be worth it, and maybe he could even break the caged bird curse. But if he failed, he would be laughed at to death for coming to school every day with a huge bump on his head.

"Yeah, right! My former captain was Shanks' student. He said that one punch from Shanks hurt more than being stabbed several times, and his head felt like it was about to explode," the masked extra laughed.

"You mean Senior Jin Dong? It's been a long time since I've seen him since he left the Anbu. How has he been lately?" asked a member of the Hyuga clan named Shirataka.

“When I went to have a drink with the captain last week, I learned that Lord Hima’s health was deteriorating and the captain was very worried!” The masked extra shook his head.

"I heard he was injured by the Third Raikage back then. I never thought that after holding on for so many years, he still couldn't make it." Another masked extra sighed as well.

"When we ninjas get old, the hidden injuries we sustained in our youth will usually come out. Whether we can survive them or not is up to fate." The Hyuga clan member shrugged. This was a common occurrence in their clan. Even if some people survived, their strength would decline rapidly, and they would have to stay in the clan to retire.

......

"Haha! Kakashi, right? I'm your captain, my code name is Dark Bear. You can call me by my code name, or you can call me Little Bear if you want to be more friendly." Dark Bear, wearing a mask, had none of the toughness he showed in front of the other captains, and was incredibly timid in front of the young master.

“............” Kaden stared speechlessly at the burly man in front of him. Are all the captains in the Anbu like this? What the hell is this little bear?

"By the way, everyone in the Dark Division has a code name. Have you thought of one yet?" Mingxiong said, bowing and scraping.

“…Let’s call him Red Dog.” Cardin thought of a red figure who was always touching his hair, and said casually.

"This... let's choose another one. Do you know what happened to the last person named Red Dog?" Dark Bear became even more deflated upon hearing the code name Card had chosen.

"What happened to him?" Kadian asked curiously. He had only said it casually, but there was actually a story behind it.

“Back when Shanks and your father first joined the Anbu, there was a member of the Shimura clan codenamed Red Dog. It’s said that Shanks and the captain beat him to a pulp, and when he was admitted to the hospital, due to the attending physician’s mistake, both of his kidneys were removed. He eventually died in despair,” Dark Bear whispered to Cardholder.

"......"

Kadian looked up at the sky, thinking, "This is too dark! They even care about people's names, and I never expected my own father to be involved in this. It's terrifying!"

"Let's call it Black Snow then. Is that taboo too?" Card said.

“No, I thought you would only take one character like the minister.” Mingxiong shook his head.

"..."

Are all the members of the Anbu (Anbu headquarters) out of their minds? He may be my father, but that doesn't mean we have to copy everything he does...

"There are two more people in our team, and the commander should have already introduced them to you. Generally, our Anbu operates in small teams for missions such as assassinations, infiltration to gather intelligence, and protecting rogue ninja from enemy villages. Some large-scale operations are also conducted jointly, and you'll see when the time comes. Now, let's go find your two teammates." The newbie guidance from Meikuma was much more detailed than that from Hatake Sakumo, after all, he was an experienced veteran and naturally knew where newbies might be unclear.

When Sakumo Hatake joined the Dark Division, it was in its early stages, and nothing was perfected. It was all gradually perfected and formed by Sakumo Hatake over the years.

........

"How is it? My secret-recipe grilled fish is pretty good, isn't it?" Shanks, perched atop Hashirama Senju's head on the Hokage Rock, said to Itachi, picking his teeth.

"Mmm! This is the best food I've ever eaten," Little Weasel God said while eating the grilled fish.

"Haha! Of course, everyone who's tried it says it's delicious," Shanks said with a smug smile.

"No wonder he's a super genius, he could eat so much even as a kid." Shanks exclaimed as he watched Itachi keep gnawing on the grilled fish. Of the ten or so grilled fish, Shanks ate two, and the rest ended up in his stomach.

"Does Lord Shanks think I'm a super genius?" Itachi asked curiously, eating grilled fish.

"Of course, everyone has a sixth sense, and mine is particularly accurate. I told you when you were born that you would be quite powerful in a dozen years." Shanks boasted proudly. As the youngest son of Kishimoto, if you weren't awesome, would Kishimoto have drawn you to death with tears in his eyes? And for your death, your entire Uchiha clan was buried with you.

"But I can't sense it... and Father said Shisui is the real genius..." Little Itachi said.

"Ah, you're pretty much the same as Shisui. This is how elite education works in the Uchiha clan. Don't take your old man's words to heart. Think about it, if you're not a genius, who could master the Fireball Jutsu after seeing it for the first time? I certainly haven't seen it before. Even Kakashi learned it on his own after a long period of self-study." Shanks patted Itachi's little head.

"Lord Shanks, do ninjas always have to fight and kill, like in that war last time?" Itachi asked the question that had been bothering him for a long time.

"Where there are people, there will be war. This is an immutable law. Ninjas are nothing more than a product of war. Unless there are no people left in this world, war will never stop." Shanks patted Hashirama Senju's big head, seemingly speaking to no one in particular.

344. There was once someone who thought similarly to you.

"Why is there war wherever there are people? Can't everyone sit down and talk things out calmly?" Little Itachi was even more confused.

"Haha! There was once someone with a similar idea, and he and a buddy ended the Warring States period. But after he died, an even more brutal war began. Why do you think that is?" Shanks patted the big head under his butt again. Itachi knew who he was talking about without Shanks saying a word.

".......Why?"

Little Itachi thought for a long time, and finally shook his head. Even though he knew more than his peers at his age, he figured that only a great scientist like Orochimaru could understand such profound questions about human nature so thoroughly.

"I don't know either. If you figure it out, let me know." Shanks patted Itachi's head.

"If that's the case, why be a ninja at all? Wouldn't you stop killing people if you weren't a ninja?" Itachi kept asking questions like a million questions. "How should I know? Can you ask something a little more childish? At least I can answer that!" Shanks was also getting a headache from all the questions. How was he supposed to know all this nonsense? He wasn't Jesus; this kind of brain-teasing stuff wasn't his forte.

".........I'm stuffed."

Itachi threw away the fishbone in his hand and looked at Shanks speechlessly. How could he know which questions were childish?

“After we’ve eaten, let’s train. Kakashi was already able to take down dozens of my clones when he was just over three years old. Let’s see how many you can take down.” Shanks raised an eyebrow.

"Bang bang bang!!"

Without a word, Shanks formed 100 hand seals and rushed towards Itachi. However, this move was effective against weaklings like Kakashi, but not against Uchiha clan members like Itachi. Although the Uchiha clan is not known for its stamina and chakra, it depends on who you compare them to. They can't compare to clans like the Uzumaki or Senju, but they are dozens of times more powerful than people like Kakashi and Minato.

A few minutes later, Itachi finished the battle in no time, without using a single ninjutsu, completing the mission entirely with basic attacks. Although he lacked Minato's flashy style, he still managed to outdo Shanks.

Seeing Itachi Shanks take down a hundred clones without batting an eye, and even wanting to take down another five hundred, I'm speechless. It seems his elite training is completely useless.

"Ahem! Not bad for your first time. Double the reward tomorrow. From now on, you're only allowed to use taijutsu, no ninjutsu or shuriken. After creating a thousand ordinary human clones, you'll level up to genin mode with a maximum of five thousand genin clones. After that, it'll be chunin clone mode with ten thousand clones. When you complete the 'Ten Thousand Chunin Kills' feat, you can graduate from my training." Shanks' eyes lit up as he came up with a plan. Even if he was Kishimoto's favorite son, he really didn't believe that someone could have the stamina to kill ten thousand more!

"......Aren't we continuing today? I just finished warming up." Although Itachi's gaze was innocent, Shanks detected a faint whiff of arrogance; this arrogance was so naturally convincing.

"It's getting late, let's continue tomorrow." Shanks vigorously rubbed his hair. No one had ever acted so naturally in front of him before; today, he'd been outmaneuvered.

Shanks led Itachi as they walked down the streets of Konoha.

"Oh! Lord Shanks, is this your young master? Haruko-sama doesn't know him, does she?"

A liquor store owner saw Shanks leading Weasel by as they passed by outside his shop and joked about it.

Because Shanks has been going to the Uchiha clan every day to look for a child lately, the village has started gossiping. It's said that their red-haired lord has an illegitimate child in the Uchiha clan, otherwise why would he go there so frequently every day?

"Haha, yeah! His name is Uzumaki Wuwukai, and he looks just as delicate as me!" Shanks didn't mind the boss's teasing and even joked with him. What the hell is this illegitimate child? Didn't you see the fan-shaped symbol on his back? Teasing him is fine, but daring to tease the head of the Uchiha clan, this boss is truly the number one person in the ninja world.

"......." Little Itachi was speechless, but he found it quite amusing. In the past, when he went to town with his father, the villagers were always afraid of them and would keep their distance when they passed by. This was the first time he had ever been teased.

"Then you'd better watch out, or you might get punished by Haruko-sama by being forced to kneel on a washboard when you get home," the owner of a ninja tool shop next door teased.

"That's why I said you guys are spineless. What kind of man is afraid of his wife? Look at me, I'm the boss both outside and at home. A man should show some backbone." Shanks led Itachi to the entrance of the liquor store, skillfully took out the most expensive bottle from the counter, and started drinking.

"Tch! Try saying that to Haruko-sama if you dare. What's the point of bragging to us?" the liquor store owner said disdainfully.

"Old man Igawa, no offense, but I've been drinking the liquor from your shop since I was six, and now I'm over forty. Why is your liquor getting weaker and weaker? Are you selling fake liquor?" Shanks forcibly changed the subject, trying to avoid the embarrassing topic.

"What nonsense are you talking about! I've been a business for decades. Every time you come here to drink, you always put the Hokage's bill on your tab, why don't you mention that?" The old man selling liquor, named Igawa, was furious. He could insult people, but he couldn't insult his liquor, even if you called him the Red-Haired Shanks of Konoha.

"Didn't you go to the Hokage to ask for money? You have no idea how much money the Hokage makes. I gave you a chance to swindle him, but you didn't." Shanks pouted.

"The Hokage is so busy, how could we bother him with such a small matter? By the way, have you heard about some strange things happening in the village lately?" Old Man Igawa looked very serious, as if it were even more serious than when his brewing recipe was stolen.

"What strange thing is it that makes someone as experienced as you look so serious?" Shanks teased him while drinking. This old man always boasted that he was a veteran of three dynasties, and that almost everyone from the era from Hashirama Senju to the present had died, but he was still going strong.

"Don't you believe me? My daughter's husband's cousin's sister's second uncle is from the Dark Guard. He said that recently, many people have been disappearing from the village every day for several days now." Old Man Igawa said with a serious expression.

"Yes, yes, I heard that too. My cousin's wife's brother is also an ANBU member. He passed by here this morning and told me to close up shop early tonight and not to go to places with few people!" The owner of the ninja tool shop said mysteriously.

"Hey, hey, enough already! The head of the Anbu is my best friend, how come I don't know about this? And have you noticed anyone missing around you?" Shanks looked at the two speechlessly. Their gossip was truly terrifying. If someone in the village went missing, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't be able to hold back at all. He would have sent an urgent message to the Anbu to inform him to go to the Hokage Building long ago.

345. Danzo is a good actor.

"...It seems there really isn't anyone missing! But wasn't this sent by the Anbu? It should be correct." Old Man Igawa and the ninja tool shop owner thought back and realized that no one around them seemed to have gone missing.

"That's it then. No one around here has gone missing. We've only heard about it. What are you panicking about? Even if the sky falls, there are always tall people to hold it up. We don't need you old folks to do it." Shanks looked at the two speechlessly. They really were acting like ordinary people trying to handle the real battles.

This is definitely Danzo's doing again. In Konoha, besides his best friend, the only people who can boss the Anbu around are the four giants of Konoha. The other three aren't that bored, and with the Hokage election coming up soon, the most likely candidate is Danzo, who's in bed. He has to jump out and show off his presence whenever he has a chance.

Danzo is truly a great actor; he brought the character to life so vividly that he deserved the director's paycheck.

The disguises of the Root and the Dark Division are really hard to tell apart if you don't know them well. But he really doesn't understand why Danzo is doing this. Why not just lie in bed and recover from his injuries before coming out and running around? His injuries haven't even healed yet, and he's already jumping around.

........

"Lord Danzo, the message has been sent out, but the Hokage doesn't seem to be making any moves." Inside the base, Yamanaka Hio reported to Danzo, who was lying paralyzed on the bed.

"Cough, cough! The time is not right yet. We'll arrange our manpower after Minato Namikaze takes over. I'll see how Hiruzen Sarutobi manages to protect his disciple then," Danzo said, his face pale.

Minato Namikaze is preparing to succeed to the throne. If things continue like this, the strength of his best friend's faction will only grow stronger, and his dream of becoming Hokage in his lifetime will never be realized. Therefore, he must take action. Among his best friend's faction, the only one he has leverage over is Orochimaru. Although he didn't use the villagers of Konoha for experiments, he can still frame them. He is very skilled at this kind of thing.

The current leaks are merely a prelude to the main event. The real drama unfolds after Minato Namikaze ascends to the throne. He knows Minato too well; Minato is an extremely upright person. If Minato finds out that Orochimaru is using Konoha villagers for experiments, things will get incredibly interesting. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi doesn't kill Orochimaru then, Orochimaru won't be able to stay in Konoha. With Orochimaru gone, his lifelong best friend Jiraiya will definitely leave the village as well. But suddenly, the Hokage faction will be missing two members.

As for Shanks and Sakumo Hatake, their positions in the village are too secure for him to touch. Orochimaru might not have been able to touch him before either, but in recent years he has been conducting experiments and rarely appears in the village, so his popularity has dropped a lot. Even with a newly recruited disciple, he has hardly been seen teaching him.

"Lord Danzo is indeed brilliant. As long as Minato Namikaze takes over, and someone discovers that Orochimaru is using the villagers for experiments, then regardless of whether it's true or not, the village will definitely be missing people. Orochimaru will then have no way to defend himself. The weaker the Hokage faction becomes, the closer Lord Danzo's dream will be to achieving it." At a time like this, how could we forget someone as talented as Hio Yamanaka?