Konoha Drunkard

363. A great director whose talent was wasted on being a ninja

"...Notify Orochimaru to prepare for the operation tonight, and leave some evidence to convince others." Hearing Shanks' analysis, Hiruzen Sarutobi realized his best friend might be using the villagers to subtly provoke Orochimaru. Hiruzen couldn't wait any longer. Was his friend trying to ruin his reputation? He had been Hokage for so many years, and there had never been a case of villagers disappearing. If his friend was just making empty threats, fine, but this guy actually intended to take action? He couldn't let him get involved.

"Don't worry, your disciple is smarter than you. When Danzo was first reported, he already knew something was going to happen and had prepared for it long ago. When it comes to brains, I guess only my son-in-law can rival him." Shanks pouted.

"Tell Shuo Mao to come and get me."

Hiruzen Sarutobi then spoke to the Anbu at the window, saying that this kind of thing definitely needed to be made known to everyone to make it easier for others to believe, so Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to mobilize all the Anbu, the more people who knew, the better.

......

"Lord Hokage."

Not long after, Sakumo arrived at the Hokage's office. He saw his best friend wink at him and knew that something big was probably going to happen.

"Summon all Anbu. Tonight, we will raid Orochimaru's research lab. After the operation, we will not deliberately release information about Orochimaru using villagers for research. We will also make it seem like we are keeping the news under wraps." Hiruzen Sarutobi had nothing to hide from his loyal follower of decades, and this was probably the most discreet person in Konoha.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Considering the operation and the wink his best friend gave him, he roughly knew what was going on. However, as a pure ninja, he never pried into things his boss didn't want him to know.

"Sigh! I wonder how many people will get hurt after tonight," Shanks sighed as he watched his best friend leave.

If Orochi is declared a traitor, the ones most deeply hurt will likely be Tsunade and Jiraiya. Despite Tsunade's seemingly carefree nature, Orochi has been her most reliable teammate throughout her life, always there to fix her problems. Jiraiya and Orochi have had a love-hate relationship for so many years, both being commoner orphans who have relied on each other. This time, they're likely to suffer serious injuries.

"Sometimes sacrifices are unavoidable for the sake of peace in the ninja world. But I'm quite curious whether you came up with this plan all by yourself?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Shanks suspiciously. Although this bastard's mind was always full of wild ideas, such a meticulous plan was clearly not in line with his character.

"You're questioning my screenwriting abilities? Let me tell you, I'm a great director whose talent was wasted on ninjas." Shanks was furious when he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's doubtful look. He had watched Infernal Affairs countless times decades ago, and he could recite the plot even if it was reversed.

"I was just a little surprised. It seems my daughter has matured quite a bit since getting married." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Shanks with satisfaction. This kid has become cunning and scheming; he's finally grown up!

"I'm going to have a drink with my in-laws. If I don't get drunk tonight, even Greenskin Kai probably won't believe that the great scientist has defected." Shanks ignored him and disappeared from the office, heading towards the Nara clan.

If Orochimaru could escape the village unscathed even with both Konoha's two most powerful figures present, not only would Obito, now evolved into a world destroyer, not believe it, but even the former Obito the sheep wouldn't believe it.

Konoha is now known as a forbidden land for rogue ninja. Countless rogue ninja have died under the blade of Konoha's White Fang over the past few decades. Moreover, Konoha is currently at its peak, with three generations of ninja holding the double-flower red staff. Is it really that easy for Konoha to defect?

The fact that Orochimaru managed to escape the village while being pursued by Hiruzen Sarutobi and Sakumo Hatake (the White Fang of Konoha) already surprised many people.

If Orochimaru could escape even if all the strongmen of Konoha were mobilized, that would be a bit of an exaggeration. Moreover, is Minato Namikaze's "Yellow Flash" fake? Below the Flying Thunder God Technique, anyone who isn't fully agile with a dozen or so speed gems would have to step aside.

"Hey in-law, you're really something else. I was the last one to fall asleep last night, but you're the last one to get up today," Shanks complained, looking at the sleepy-eyed giant rocket.

"...I'm getting old, my body can't take it anymore. Do you think everyone wants to be like you?" Big Cannon, still a little drunk and with a headache, looked at his in-law sitting in front of him. If Minato hadn't taken the blame for you last night, you would have passed out before me. You bastard, your tone is more arrogant than your drinking capacity.

“That’s perfect. I brought some of the Uchiha’s treasured sake with me today. I heard it’s good for your health. That old Uchiha guy is said to have been able to live for so many years by drinking this kind of sake.” Shanks took out a sealing scroll and took out two cases of the Uchiha’s treasured sake from it.

"This...maybe I shouldn't drink it. I'm still hungover from last night, and it's so early in the morning." Big-bodied Skyrocket was tempted by the bottle, but he was indeed getting old and his body couldn't handle it.

In the Naruto world, fifty years old is considered old. And if someone suffered too many injuries in their youth, once they're over fifty, these hidden injuries can flare up within a year or two, causing them to collapse. Don't be fooled by Hiruzen Sarutobi's ability to hold his own against Orochimaru and the two Hokage summoned by Orochimaru even in his sixties; that's because he didn't suffer many injuries in his youth. And... Shanks is ridiculous. A sixty-something-year-old man could actually go toe-to-toe with two Senju brothers plus Orochimaru... Tobirama Senju alone would have made Hiruzen Sarutobi back down. Even if Hashirama Senju wasn't using even a tenth of his strength, how could the seventy- or eighty-year-old Hiruzen Sarutobi possibly win? Didn't you see that Hiruzen Sarutobi was summoned to be a mere bystander during the Fourth Shinobi World War? In a battlefield filled with so many Tailed Beast Balls flying everywhere and tree branches stuck in the ground, Hiruzen Sarutobi's composite ninjutsu was really useless. He was only so-so at killing White Zetsu clones and at stirring up emotions, but at that time, there were two top players in the art of verbal sparring, Hashirama Senju and Savior, so Hiruzen Sarutobi was just a bystander for the whole time.

"Has your courage retired along with you? It's one thing to be afraid of your wife, but now you're even afraid of drinking." Shanks pouted as he looked at Big Rocket's cowardly appearance.

"...You didn't really come here for drinks today, did you? Is something big happening in the village again?" Big Cannon lazily looked at Shanks. Although Shanks also liked to drink with him, he never pestered him like this. Apart from something happening in the village that he needed to avoid, he really couldn't think of anything else.

"It's nothing serious. Orochimaru broke some rules in pursuit of his dream, and the Hokage is preparing to take him down. You know how difficult it is for me to be the middleman." Shanks pursed his lips, that was all he could say. Whether Nara could guess correctly depended on how developed his brain cells were.

364. It's all because their acting is too good.

"I'm retired. You don't need to tell me this. Otherwise, I would have been enjoying my retirement." Big Gun said with an air of disdain. Although he couldn't analyze much information at the moment, he could guess from Shanks' attitude that there must be something going on.

"Isn't this just in case? You know how dangerous the ninja world is. If one day Gabeng and I end up reporting to the former two leaders, at least your words as the former head of Konoha will still carry weight." Shanks opened a bottle of wine and toasted himself.

Shanks stayed at the giant rocket launcher's place until evening; he planned to stay at his in-laws' house all night.

"Lord Hokage, what happened?" By evening, the Anbu had already gathered on the platform of the Hokage Building. Minato, the future Hokage, needed to know about this, as it would make things more confusing.

"The Anbu has discovered that the disappearances of villagers recently are related to Orochimaru's unauthorized use of villagers to research forbidden techniques. Leave this matter to me." Hiruzen Sarutobi's old face, sometimes sad and sometimes serious, kept changing in front of Minato.

It's all because the veteran actors' performances were so superb; Minato was even drawn in by Hiruzen Sarutobi's masterful acting. He never imagined that his teacher's best friend, Orochimaru, would do something like this—using villagers to research forbidden techniques. In his memory, Orochimaru did indeed like researching strange things, but this time it was so outrageous—using villagers for research! For someone who had aspired to become Hokage and protect the village since childhood, this was absolutely intolerable, so...

"Hokage-sama, putting aside my status as a Hokage candidate, as a member of the village, I cannot tolerate this happening. Please let me go with you. I will not let him get away with this, even if he was once a hero of the village." Minato looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a serious expression, wishing he could rush up and kill Orochimaru right now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi almost wanted to slap himself. He had originally intended to use his acting skills to fool Minato, but this time he had backfired. Minato had been drawn in by his acting. If Minato, who could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, had gone too, Orochimaru wouldn't have been able to escape. If it were just him and Sakumo chasing after him, Orochimaru would probably be in trouble. So he had already discussed with Sakumo that Sakumo would seal off Orochimaru's research lab while he led the chase. But now Minato had been drawn in by him. Hiruzen Sarutobi had no choice but to look to Touma for help. His acting was too good, so he couldn't be blamed.

"Lord Hokage, let Minato go too. There are too many Anbu members, and I can't handle it all." As expected of the longtime leader, Hatake Sakumo immediately came up with a solution after receiving a look from his leader. Wouldn't it be fine to have Minato help seal off the laboratory? At worst, he and Sarutobi Hiruzen would go after Orochimaru. As long as their acting was convincing, there shouldn't be any problems.

"Alright, let's set off immediately!" Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded at Minato's serious expression, took off his Hokage robe, revealing a gray bodysuit, a samurai helmet on his head, and carrying the club that had grown larger and longer. He led the Anbu towards Orochimaru's laboratory.

"Lord Orochimaru, the Hokage has arrived with his men and is preparing to come here, but the plan seems to have changed. It seems that Lord Minato has also come along." At this moment, in Orochimaru's laboratory, Kabuto Yakushi pushed up his glasses and said to Orochimaru.

"Ah, that's not surprising. Given Minato's character, it's impossible for him not to come if he knew." Orochimaru seemed to have expected this. Although it was a bit troublesome, he was quite confident in his art of escape. If he couldn't escape the village after the two were holding back, he might as well commit seppuku. What kind of legendary Sannin would he be?

"Kabuto, you should go back to the ancestral home first. Danzo still needs you!" Orochimaru instructed Kabuto. He needed to cooperate with Danzo, so Kabuto would be staying with Danzo for a while.

"Understood, Lord Orochimaru."

As a devoted fan of Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi always obeys his every word.

After Kabuto left, Orochimaru took a deep look at the village before entering the laboratory. He pretended to be engrossed in his experiments as if nothing had happened. Although he felt bad for his two friends, Tsunade and Jiraiya, he had no choice but to take this step for the sake of love, peace, and his own dreams.

"Lord Hokage, Orochimaru is in the laboratory." Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the laboratory entrance with his men, and the ANBU who were waiting outside reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"...Follow me and charge in!"

After pretending to delay for a short while, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with a look of reluctance, led his team inside.

"boom!"

The door to Orochimaru's laboratory was smashed open by a tremendous force. Hiruzen Sarutobi rushed in and saw dozens of children being put into machines, their fates unknown.

"Orochimaru! Do you know what you're doing? These are living, breathing beings! What are you doing this for?!" When it's time to put on an act, Hiruzen Sarutobi never hesitates. Look at his disappointment mixed with sorrow, and his sorrow mixed with a look of utter frustration. Minato was completely captivated by Hiruzen Sarutobi's acting skills. He clenched his fists tightly, staring fiercely at Orochimaru, looking like he wanted to devour him.

"Hehe, teacher, don't you already know? No matter how strong a person is, they can't escape the passage of time. Look at how old you've become. Look at Sakumo, and then look at the captain." Snake Uncle's effeminate face, coupled with that wicked smile, was practically a natural performance.

"Hmph! Is this your reason for using the lives of the villagers to satisfy your desires? How despicable!" While Hiruzen Sarutobi was still thinking of his lines, Minato had already stolen the spotlight.

"Hehe, Minato, you're still young, while I've seen far too many deaths. Human life is truly fragile!" Orochimaru laughed as he looked at the young Minato.

"Enough! Minato, take your men and seal this place off. Orochimaru, just surrender!" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared angrily at Orochimaru.

"Hehe, it really has been many years since I sparred with my teacher. But this is not the place to fight." After saying that, Snake disappeared underground.

"Leave this matter of Minato to this old man. I will deal with this wicked disciple myself!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said to Minato with tears in his eyes.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Minato looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression. Although he really wanted to give chase, he ultimately listened to Hiruzen's advice and decided it was better to let Hiruzen handle the matter himself.

After leaving Sakumo Hatake and Minato behind, Hiruzen Sarutobi led a group of Anbu in pursuit, determined to capture Orochimaru.

365. Even Sakumo Hatake almost believed it.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group of Anbu caught up with Orochimaru, they fought fiercely. The Anbu could only watch from the sidelines during this level of battle.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi looks old, he is only middle-aged and his strength is still very solid. Orochimaru's talent is all in escaping. The snake formation he occasionally releases is blasted to smithereens by Hiruzen Sarutobi's composite ninjutsu. In the end, Orochimaru escapes again with just a glance from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Sarutobi, if you let him go now, you'll regret it later." After seeing Sarutobi Hiruzen hold back, Enma, confused about the situation, launched a barrage of attacks at Sarutobi Hiruzen. He had fought with great enthusiasm earlier, feeling as if he had returned to his former glory after not playing with his old partner for a long time.

"......"

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Orochimaru's departing figure, ignoring the demon's tirade. Everyone was just acting, so why was he taking it so seriously? He had hit his precious disciple several times, but thankfully, his disciple was born in the Year of the Snake, so the injuries shouldn't be too serious.

Seeing that Orochimaru had already left the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't lead the Anbu to chase after him. However, a straightforward little figure didn't give up. Just as Orochimaru slipped away, Kakashi had already chased after him. Orochimaru was already injured, but Kakashi was still somewhat confident in dealing with the injured Orochimaru. Even if he couldn't catch him, he could at least stall him for a while.

"Old man, why did Orochimaru defect? ​​Why didn't you bring him back?" Hiruzen Sarutobi had just seen off his precious disciple when another precious disciple rushed over and launched into a tirade against him.

"Jiraiya, Orochimaru has gone mad! Didn't you see the people in the lab?" Hiruzen Sarutobi cursed Shanks inwardly. This bastard came up with the plan, and he was the one taking the blame. Being Hokage was damn tiring, but thankfully he only got to be Hokage for a few more days.

"I don't believe it! I'm going to go and bring Orochimaru back!" Jiraiya angrily chased after Orochimaru.

"Hey!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as he watched Jiraiya's retreating figure.

.........

"Hehe, I didn't expect it to be our super genius Kakashi." At this moment, Kakashi had caught up with the injured Orochimaru. Orochimaru looked at Kakashi blocking his way and chuckled softly.

If it were his father, given his current injured state, Orochimaru would have no choice but to surrender. However, they had already made an agreement. Kakashi's younger brother was currently dealing with Minato, so he couldn't come. It was Kakashi, who was completely unaware of the situation and inherited a family full of straightforward men, who was why he was so persistent in chasing after them. Although they were both geniuses, it wasn't that Orochimaru looked down on Kakashi; perhaps Kakashi would become somewhat of a threat in a decade or so, but for now...

Snake unleashed his full killing intent at Kaspersky. Kaspersky almost went weak in the knees in the face of Snake's immense killing intent. Although his father was still alive, he was not a delicate flower in a greenhouse. Since his debut, his father had never protected him once. However, it was already good that he could stand up and not embarrass his father in the face of Snake's immense killing intent. It was obviously impossible for him to attack Snake.

"Hehe, you're far inferior to Sakumo." Snake calmly walked past Cardin, whispered something in his ear, chuckled, and then casually left, clutching his stomach.

"........Hoo hoo!"

After Orochimaru left, Kakashi was also completely exhausted and knelt on the ground. Orochimaru's killing intent was too immense. He had just been stubbornly holding on because of his pride and couldn't even speak. If he had opened his mouth, his aura would have definitely leaked out.

"Is Kakashi alright? Where did Orochimaru go?" Kakashi had just caught his breath when Jiraiya caught up. Seeing that Kakashi was just exhausted, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that his best friend would take Kakashi down. Even if Sakumo was straightforward, he would capsize the ship of friendship.

"He... ran that way."

Kadian pointed in a direction and said breathlessly.

"hateful!"

At this point, Jiraiya couldn't care less about Kakashi; winning back his best friend was the most important thing.

.......

"Lord Hokage, apart from one child who still shows signs of life, all of Orochimaru's experimental subjects are dead." After Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to Orochimaru's laboratory, Sakumo and Minato came over to report to him.

"Hey! Orochimaru! What have you done?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi started acting again, looking up at the sky with tears streaming down his face. In Minato's eyes, the Hokage seemed to have aged decades in an instant.

"boom!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was only halfway through his act when a huge bang suddenly rang out. Hiruzen didn't even need to look to know who had come; such a big thing had even reached Tsunade's ears in the hospital.

"Old man, what exactly happened? Why did Orochimaru defect?" Tsunade asked Hiruzen Sarutobi with an air of dominance after blasting open the laboratory door, as if she were about to confront him.

"...Look at what Orochimaru has done! These are innocent villagers! What did they do wrong? Why are they suffering like this?" Once he got into acting, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't stop. He portrayed the compassionate and heartbroken expression to the extreme. Even Sakumo Hatake, who had followed him for decades, was impressed by his boss's acting skills. Based on this acting alone, even he, who knew the inside story, almost believed it, let alone the others.

Tsunade looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, then at the corpse that the Anbu were carrying out of the laboratory, and clenched her fists tightly, remaining silent.

"Lady Tsunade, this child is still breathing. I wonder if we can save him?" At this moment, Minato walked over carrying a child who was about the same age as Katakuri.

"...Send him to the hospital for observation for a few days immediately." After giving the child a simple examination, Tsunade found that the child was just in a coma.

"Now you see, Orochimaru has gone mad for immortality! From today onwards, Orochimaru is no longer a ninja of Konoha. Sakumo announces Orochimaru's defection to the ninja world." Hiruzen Sarutobi said to his head horse, heartbroken.

"Wait, old man, give me a chance! I'll definitely bring him back!" Jiraiya walked over, pale and dejected. He had just fought Orochimaru, but the outcome was predictable. He was evenly matched with Orochimaru, and without Jiraiya's willingness to go all out, how could he possibly defeat Orochimaru?

"Jiraiya, how is it?" Tsunade looked at Jiraiya with hope as he approached.