Konoha Drunkard

"Haha! Your Excellency is indeed a chivalrous hero, full of heroic spirit! Then I will thank you on behalf of Tsunade. However, for Tsunade's sake, we can't let her gamble too much. Let's put that money in my name from now on. I, as her elder, will keep it for her." Shanks suddenly realized that this daimyo wasn't completely useless after all. At least he was foolish enough to only have money, and a lot of it at that.

Some ANBU members looked at their Shanks-sama and were instantly awestruck. He was too strong. With just a few words, he earned 5 billion every year. If they had 5 billion, why would they be ninjas? They could just live comfortably as rich people in the village.

It's important to know that an S-rank mission starts at 100 million and has no upper limit, although most only reach 100 to 200 million. However, very few people complete S-rank missions alone; they all team up. Moreover, the danger level is incredibly high. Therefore, most people in the ninja world don't have many S-rank missions in their lifetime. Even Minato, with his crazy mission-packed lifestyle over several years, couldn't accumulate 5 billion. Yet, this Daimyo was completely fooled by Shanks's few words.

After tricking the Daimyo out of 5 billion, Shanks ate heartily all day long, had energy to go upstairs, and would occasionally raise his glass to toast the Daimyo, acting like a true social butterfly of Konoha.

.......

"Look at him, all plump and fair-skinned, I never expected him to be such a passionate person. He really went all out!" Shanks, supported by Kaspersky, exclaimed, his face reeking of alcohol, on the way back.

"........"

Kadian, supporting him, stared blankly at him with dead fish eyes. He had never seen anyone with such a thick skin before. He really didn't know how his father could have become his best friend.

"Kakashi, look at how the Daimyo is handling things. Your Hatake clan is a powerful family too. You should learn from them. When you and that girl with colored contacts get married, just remember to give me, your matchmaker, a big red envelope. If it weren't for me back then, you might be the heir to a powerful family in the human world. Your old man got on the bus first and didn't even know the license plate." Shanks raised an eyebrow at Kakashi.

"........"

Kadian rolled his eyes, too lazy to talk to this drunkard. Didn't he see that a group of ANBU members around him had their ears perked up? He never expected that their iron-fisted and ruthless boss would have such a dark history.

"Alright, Kakashi, help Shanks back to rest. Everyone else, dismissed." After entering the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted Shanks's revelations. After all, Shanks was his right-hand man, and revealing too much would damage his image.

"I'm done. I'm going to the Hokage Rock to see how my little disciple fared today." Shanks swaggered toward the Hokage Rock.

"What? When did he take on disciples? How come I didn't know?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his two friends and Card Master.

The surrounding Anbu were also astonished. Lord Shanks had taken on a disciple! No way! They knew that Lord Shanks never took on disciples. Even the Hokage candidate, Minato Namikaze, was turned away. They never expected that he would actually take on a disciple now. Whose child was so lucky?

"...It should be Fugaku Uchiha's son. I heard before that Shanks really likes that kid, and lately he's been going to play with him all the time," Koharu Utatane guessed after thinking for a while.

"You may disband."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was still in a daze, finished speaking, he returned to the Hokage's office with his two companions. Shanks taking on a disciple was no small matter, especially since the child was the heir of the Uchiha clan, which made the problem much more serious. The relationship between the Uchiha and the village was not good at the moment. The descendants of those three old guys were now firmly in control of the Uchiha clan head's line, and Koharu had died on the battlefield in the Land of Water. There was no one in the Uchiha clan who had formed an alliance with Fugaku Uchiha. So now the relationship between the Uchiha and the village had returned to square one, or even worse.

Now that the Uchiha clan's heir has become Shanks' disciple, the three elders might be more restrained because of Shanks.

However, this also fueled their ambitions, and they'll probably cause even more trouble. The Danzo problem hasn't been solved yet, and now the Uchiha problem has arisen. Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his head in exasperation.

"How is that child's talent? How does it compare to Shisui?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Koharu Utatane.

"Shisui told me about him. He's very talented. Although he's still young, his way of thinking is quite mature. He learned the Uchiha Great Fireball Technique after just one glance," Koharu Utatane said calmly.

"Heh, it's truly unexpected that the Uchiha generation has produced two great geniuses. Shisui awakened his Sharingan at the age of 7, while this Uchiha Itachi only reached 4 years old and already possesses such talent. It's really..."

Xiaochun shook his head, not knowing what to say. If it were just Shisui, he was quite at ease after being brainwashed by both him and Xiaochun. After all, he was his former best friend's grandson and had been raised by his friends, so there was absolutely no problem with his ideological education.

But now there's another super genius like Shisui, and most importantly, a successor. This is completely different. He can't trust anyone who isn't one of his own. Madara was one of the founders of Konoha, but he still turned against Konoha. The main problem is that Shanks has always been unreliable. He doesn't know what kind of person he's raised.

349. On the front page again.

"Hey! Not bad, you can still practice taijutsu after defeating five hundred. Looks like your dad's teachings have been pretty good! But you don't need to practice here. You can go back and rest after defeating five hundred. Tomorrow is the thousandth, so prepare well tonight." The clone had already been defeated by Itachi when Shanks was using his tricks on the Daimyo, so when Shanks arrived at the Hokage Rock, he saw Itachi practicing the Uchiha's flashy shuriken techniques.

"Lord Shanks, you promised to teach me taijutsu, so why are you just having me fight against clones? What's the point?" Itachi stopped and asked curiously.

"Of course it'll be useful! What are ninjas for? To chop down their own kind, right? I don't teach any ninjutsu theory here; I just teach you how to chop down your own kind. If you face five hundred ordinary clones, you can practice your shuriken afterwards. What if you face a thousand? Ten thousand? Not to mention the genin and chunin level clones. Can you still imagine that then? Strength is earned through fighting, not training." Shanks was so convinced of his own words that he was just killing time with Itachi. Kishimoto, the great artist, had drawn him so tragically; at least give him a happy childhood.

Little Itachi nodded in agreement. Sure enough, the teaching methods of strong people are different. His father taught him the basics every day and then let him practice on his own. Only someone with such great talent could develop such amazing skills on his own.

The second male lead also trained alone in the future, but he still ended up being a loser after graduating from school. Otherwise, if he had a cheat code, he wouldn't even be able to activate the Kaleidoscope, let alone save the world.

"Alright, you should go back and rest too. From now on, go to the Hokage Rock at nine o'clock every morning. Tomorrow you'll have a thousand clones. The number will double after each successful run." Shanks said before swaying away.

........

"Itachi, what did Lord Shanks teach you today?" Little Itachi had just returned home and was getting ready when his father was already sitting in the living room waiting for him.

"...Lord Shanks made me fight against clones. Today there are five hundred ordinary clones, tomorrow it will increase to one thousand, and after ten thousand ordinary clones there will be genin and chunin." Itachi didn't hide anything from his father.

"...Is this all Lord Shanks taught you? He didn't teach you swordsmanship or anything like that?" The second male lead's father was speechless. He had thought that since Shanks liked his son so much, he should teach him some special skills, such as his most famous swordsmanship and special physical techniques. Although special physical techniques required special talent to learn, swordsmanship should be no problem, right? He had experienced the power of that swordsmanship firsthand. Back on the battlefield in the Land of Water, the opening sword and the closing sword were so powerful that even summoning a giant wouldn't be able to withstand it.

"No, Lord Shanks said that I'm not suited for intense training right now." Little Itachi shook his head.

"...Did he say he would take you as his disciple?" The second male lead's father asked after a moment of silence.

"He didn't say, Father, why do you insist that Lord Shanks take me as your disciple?" Itachi looked at his father in confusion.

"Although Lord Shanks doesn't have much power in the village, his status is higher than White Fang's. Even the Hokage consults him on some matters. Although our Uchiha clan is known as the most powerful clan in the ninja world, our conflicts with the village have been growing over the years. If he takes you as his disciple, his reputation will greatly reduce our conflicts with the village." The second male lead's father sighed. Ever since his suspected younger brother, Jasmine, died, the pressure on him within the clan has increased significantly, especially after some previously neutral clan members began to slowly align themselves with the three elders. He simply couldn't control many of the Uchiha clan's actions.

As the distance between his family and the village grew ever wider, he was anxious but helpless. The only solution was to kill those three guys, but that was impossible. So he could only hope that his son could be taken in by Shanks as a disciple to relieve some of the pressure on him. It would be even better if Jasper grew up in the future. For now, he could only withstand the pressure and support Jasper as the fourth elder once he grew up.

"But it seems Lord Shanks doesn't want to take on any disciples. Even Lord Minato didn't accept any..." Itachi was a little insecure. Minato was about to become Hokage; his Flying Thunder God Technique and Rasengan had the entire ninja world trembling with awe. Minato had already proven himself to be a super genius. Itachi was still so young, and his Uchiha talent was mainly focused on his eyes. He couldn't guarantee that awakening his Sharingan wouldn't be as miraculous as he thought...

"That's not important. The important thing is that you get along very well with Lord Shanks. As long as you try harder, there should still be hope!"

The second male lead's father looked at his son with a hint of apology. He was making a four-year-old child bear the pressure from the family, but he really couldn't take it anymore. Now the whole village knew that Minato Namikaze was the designated Hokage, and the three elders were still dreaming that the Uchiha could become Hokage and were asking him to run for the position. Wasn't that a complete misunderstanding?

..........

The next day, while the second male lead's father was still instructing Itachi on how to win Shanks' heart, the news that Shanks had taken the Uchiha clan's genius Itachi as his disciple had already spread throughout Konoha.

"No way? Isn't Lord Shanks supposed to be quite unfriendly to the Uchiha clan?" Extra A.

"It's true. I heard Shanks told the Hokage this yesterday after he got drunk, and there were many Anbu members present at the time!" (Extra B)

"Did you hear that right? Lord Shanks never takes on disciples." (Extra C)

"You don't understand, do you? When the Uchiha clan leader took his son to the battlefield, Lord Shanks really liked that child. It's not surprising that he wanted to take him as a disciple." - Veteran extra D.

"You think... this Uchiha Itachi might be Shanks' illegitimate son? Otherwise, given Shanks' stubborn nature, how could he just take him in like that?" said the gossipy extra F.

"You know what, it's actually quite possible. He probably didn't want Haruko-sama to find out, so he took her in as a disciple. That way, it would be natural for father and son to meet again in the future." - Extra E, who loves to fantasize.

“That makes sense! Lord Shanks likes to drink, and sometimes anything can happen when he’s drunk.” Extra A raised an eyebrow.

On the main street of Konoha, groups of ninjas were discussing the matter, mainly because both sides were figures of interest, making it impossible for them not to become famous.

On one side is a powerful figure who never accepts disciples, enjoys immense popularity in the ninja world, and is a legendary tough guy.

On one side is a highly popular idol family in the ninja world, one of the founding families of Konoha, and known throughout the ninja world for their overpowered protagonists, representing the idol faction in the ninja world.

These two individuals and their families, each capable of making headlines on their own, have finally created a major news story together today.

Following the ceasefire in the ninja world, this is the biggest news this year. The topic has spread far and wide, and in the end, it has been rumored that Uchiha Itachi was the product of Shanks' drunkenness.

350. The father has no brains, and the son's IQ is also offline.

"Chief! Something terrible has happened!"

Just as the second male lead's father saw the little Itachi off at the door, a henchman rushed in.

"Calm down, you still need to practice your self-control."

The second male lead's father elegantly poured a cup of tea for his younger brother, and then took a small sip himself. To be fair, the Uchiha family's upbringing is impeccable; the second male lead's father is still quite composed and respectable.

"Huff, huff! Chieftain, this morning the village was suddenly buzzing with the news that Lord Shanks had taken Itachi as his disciple. I heard that Lord Shanks himself said it yesterday, and now the whole village is buzzing about it." The underling gulped down a cup of expensive tea and said breathlessly.

"puff!"

"What?! Who spread this rumor?"

The second male lead's father sprayed the tea in his mouth onto his younger brother's face. To hell with being arrogant! At that moment, he really wanted to hug his younger brother and kiss him on the head.

"I heard... I heard it came from the Anbu. Yesterday afternoon, Lord Shanks got drunk with the Daimyo, and they talked about it downstairs at the Hokage Building. Many Anbu members heard it." The underling wiped the tea off his face and took a breath before speaking.

"...Okay, you can go now."

After calming down, the second male lead's father adopted a composed demeanor and spoke calmly to his younger brother.

"Yes!"

The younger brother looked at the clan leader with admiration. The clan leader was indeed amazing. He only lost his composure for a few seconds after receiving such big news.

.......

"Clan leader, I heard that Shanks of Konoha has taken Itachi as his disciple. That means your chances of running for Hokage are much higher!" No sooner had the younger brother left than the current second-in-command came running over excitedly. Judging from his floral shorts still sticking out, he had obviously just gotten up and rushed over.

"Second brother is right, clan leader. As long as this Konoha Shanks supports you, and with the Uchiha's achievements in the Land of Water, your chances of winning are greater than Minato Namikaze's!" The current eldest and third brothers also came over, and they were already fantasizing about their Uchiha ruling Konoha.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Minato Namikaze's position as Hokage is already set, and no one can change it. Besides, Lord Shanks has never paid attention to village politics, so his taking Itachi as his disciple has nothing to do with this. Let's think of something else later." The second male lead's father had a terrible headache listening to his eldest and second sons' words. If these three bastards openly argued with him, at least he could use his Mangekyou Sharingan to give them a glimpse. But every time these three spoke to him, they were so respectful, even using the word "you" in a respectful way. He had no excuse to force them, so every time he talked to them, he felt dizzy.

"But clan leader, we can wait, but the clansmen can't. This village was built by the Senju and our clans, and decades have passed. The Senju have already produced two Hokage, but the Third Hokage is Hiruzen Sarutobi. What are we Uchiha? We might as well just leave Konoha. Anyway, it doesn't matter where we Uchiha go!" The current third brother's temper flared up. His father was angered to death by Danzo, and that was an irreconcilable hatred! If he hadn't been stopped, he would have already led his men to rebel against him.

"Hmph! Third Elder, don't say such things again. Be careful, walls have ears." The second male lead's father glared at his third son with a dark expression. The father was brainless, so why was the son following suit? Had he forgotten that his father was taught a lesson by Shanks for speaking without thinking?

Rebel? How far can you rebel? Konoha is strong and well-equipped; they have a winning hand right now, just waiting for you to run into them!

If Minato Namikaze were to steal your crystal at night, you wouldn't be able to afford it, let alone leave Konoha! Do you even think you can leave?!

"Clan leader, the third brother was just acting rashly, but he was doing it for the good of the clan! It's been over forty years already. In a few more years, I'm afraid our Uchiha's achievements will be forgotten, and it will be extremely difficult to compete for Hokage then..." The current leader immediately explained for the third brother after seeing the clan leader's change of expression and the domineering aura emanating from him.

"I didn't expect that the clan leader would have such a strong aura after going to the battlefield. It seems that the clan leader's strength is not simple!" The second brother took a deep look at the second male lead's father from behind. At this moment, the second male lead's father gave him the feeling of facing the red-haired man from Konoha.

"Third Elder, please don't say such things again. Be careful, or the news might get back to the village. If there's nothing else, you can go back now." The second male lead's father coldly dismissed them.

"Then we'll head back now."

The eldest brother, leading the way, bowed slightly to the second male lead's father and then walked out with the second and third brothers.

"Big brother! Are we just going to put up with this? The clan leader has been brainwashed by the village and doesn't care about the interests of the Uchiha at all!" The third brother, with his fiery temper, spoke up after the three of them came out.

"Sigh! Before he passed away, Father told us that we must persuade the clan leader to come back. Let's take it slow. We might have a chance after Young Master Itachi grows up!" The eldest brother sighed and said.

Although the three Uchiha elders had various shortcomings, their loyalty to the clan was unquestionable. Before their death, their father hoped that they could persuade the clan leader to prioritize the clan's interests instead of ousting the lineage of the second male lead's father. After all, they had chosen the clan leader's lineage after Madara's defection, and they didn't want their judgment to be flawed in the end.

"Big brother, have you noticed that the clan leader seems to have changed a bit? I could feel the pressure emanating from him just now," the second brother said to the eldest.

"Could it be that the clan leader has awakened the Kaleidoscope Sharingan? I felt it just now too." While the eldest brother was still deep in thought, the third brother guessed. He hadn't really noticed it at the time, but now that he thought about it, what the second brother said seemed to be true. The aura that the second male lead's father exuded just now was not fake. Although it wasn't as abnormal as the Konoha Shanks, he could still feel the pressure in his heart.

"If it's true, then we should persuade the clan leader even more. If the clan leader awakens the Mangekyou Sharingan, our Uchiha will be completely different." The eldest brother also thought of this possibility when he recalled it. In their hearts, the Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan was the strongest. Just look at Madara, the grandmaster of the Konoha rogue ninja. Apart from Hashirama Senju, who in the entire ninja world could be said to be evenly matched with Madara?

Madara once single-handedly challenged the entire ninja world with his Mangekyou Sharingan. If they also had a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, they wouldn't need to continue taking on the villagers now. They are the proud Uchiha clan!

With a pair of kaleidoscopes, they can go anywhere in the ninja world. At worst, they can go to a small country and build a ninja village. They will still be the number one powerful family in the ninja world.

If the second male lead's father knew about these three, he would definitely give each of them an Amaterasu. Without seeing Shanks' swordsmanship, one would never know that swordsmanship could be so amazing.

351. He dug his own grave.

"Young Master Itachi! Let's go out!"

"Young Master Itachi is even cuter today!"