Konoha Drunkard

"Hey!"

After complaining to Orochimaru, Danzo sighed as he looked at the expressionless Kaname. He was a reasonable person, and it wasn't Orochimaru's fault that he had produced a pirated copy. Besides, Kuchiki... was still wood, so it was good to be able to fool people.

"Orochimaru, your Konoha has a new Hokage. I heard you were supposed to be the successor." Kakuzu said, sitting on a stool in Orochimaru's lab in the Land of Rain, looking at the human body submerged in the equipment.

Since Orochimaru joined the Akatsuki organization, he has completely let loose. He wants the biggest research lab and the most expensive research equipment. The only thing missing is to choose virgins as his experimental subjects.

When Orochimaru handed the list to Konan, she was overwhelmed by the final prices. She and Nagato had gone to great lengths to bring Kakuzu, the Minister of Finance who was good at making money, into the company. Kakuzu was already furious about the prices of Sasori's toys. Now, Orochimaru's pile of junk was more than ten times more expensive than Sasori's. She wondered if Kakuzu would explode with anger and quit after seeing this.

But before Xiao Nan could even speak, Kakudo glanced at the list and calmly said, "I understand," before turning and leaving. There was no outburst of anger or attempt to quit as Xiao Nan had expected. While Xiao Nan breathed a sigh of relief, she was also a little puzzled. Had this second-best money-grubber in the ninja world forgotten his meds? He was surprisingly agreeable.

Xiao Nan had no idea that the reason Kakuzu didn't unleash his power upon seeing the list was out of respect for his only friend, Shanks. He and Orochimaru were old acquaintances, though they had known each other for a long time. Back when Orochimaru had just graduated and Shanks left the village for the first time, the Kage-level shinobi they encountered was none other than Kakuzu. As a friend and former teammate, Kakuzu was quite generous. He gave up a bounty of 100 million berries after drinking a bottle of sake from Shanks. That's what it means to put loyalty first.

Later, when Kakuzu brought the experimental equipment to Orochimaru, the two hit it off immediately. Orochimaru was very interested in Kakuzu's immortality technique, while Kakuzu found Orochimaru's human research quite interesting. In all his years in the ninja world, this was the first time he had ever seen such a high-level scientific research project. The two became familiar with each other over time, especially since they had a mutual friend, Shanks. So whenever Kakuzu wasn't out making money, he would go to Orochimaru's lab to have a drink and chat with him.

"Hehe, the title of Hokage is meaningless to me. Becoming Hokage isn't easy." Orochimaru chuckled lightly. He had been taken in as a disciple by Hiruzen Sarutobi since childhood and was trained to be Hokage. Of course, he knew all the nonsense about the Konoha higher-ups. He would rather spend his time on his research than wasting time arguing with those people. So, although Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two friends were the people he spent the most time with, the one who understood him best was his former leader.

"That's true. If he wasn't responsible, Shanks probably wouldn't have become the vice principal." Kakuzu shrugged. Since they parted ways, Kakuzu had been wanting to go to Konoha to drink with his only friend. For the past six months, he had been traveling all over the ninja world, doing business and buying alcohol for his friend. However, even though he had bought the alcohol, he didn't dare to go to Konoha so openly. After all, his reputation in the ninja world wasn't very good, and he was afraid of causing trouble for his friend. As for infiltrating Konoha, forget about it. The Uzumaki clan's barrier was not to be underestimated. Without connections or knowledge of space-time ninjutsu, he would be met with White Fang's short sword as soon as he entered.

"Yeah, my rival told me to tell you that if you have time, you can go have a drink with him. If you want to go, my White Snake can lead the way," Snake Uncle said casually.

Orochimaru discovered that beneath that terrifying exterior lay a heart full of loyalty. For the past six months, his lab and equipment had been constantly being replaced, and Kakuzu had always been generous in replacing them for him, making his teammate Sasori extremely envious. "Damn it, young master, I have to argue with him to replace some wrenches and screwdrivers, but when it comes to Orochimaru, he replaces them all without saying a word. I'm still Shanks' nominal disciple!"

“Let’s talk about it another time. You have no idea how short of money our organization is. I’m actually starting to regret agreeing to become the finance minister. These are some famous wines I bought while traveling around the ninja world. Just take them to Shanks for me.” Kakuzu shook his head after hearing Orochimaru’s words. The Akatsuki organization isn’t just about the individuals; you could say that all the ninjas in the Land of Rain are members of the Akatsuki. So, he has to support so many ninjas, and just making money has already kept him incredibly busy. Moreover, when he first took over the finances of the Land of Rain, seeing all the numbers with minus signs at the beginning, he even wondered if he had been kidnapped. How the hell do the people of the Land of Rain survive?

Even Konan was a little embarrassed when she handed the account book to Kakuzu, but there was nothing she could do. Neither she nor Nagato were good at these things, and Hanzo of the Salamander was the same way. Over the years, keeping the people of the Land of Rain alive was already their limit.

After Kakuzu took over the ledger, before Orochimaru arrived, he spent his time earning bounties to support his family, in addition to his hobbies. This explains why Nagato didn't interfere with the Immortal Duo's wanderings around the world later on. Firstly, their abilities made them incredibly difficult to kill, and secondly, their economic lifeline was in their hands, so Nagato's words lacked authority, even though he himself hadn't learned arithmetic as a child due to poverty...

Moreover, he is the second most money-making person in the ninja world. They couldn't bring in the number one money-making person, Shanks of Konoha, because he is a veteran of Konoha and doesn't have Orochimaru's hobby of studying the human body.

However, Kakuzu, who is ranked second, is a suitable candidate. Although his ability to amass wealth is not as flamboyant as Shanks', he is still a rare butler with an excellent ability to accumulate wealth.

379. Kakuzu, a man of loyalty and righteousness.

"Haha! Kakuzu is really loyal. He's traveling all over the world and he still thinks of me." Shanks laughed as he looked at the pile of wine in front of him. He really didn't know that this money-grubbing Kakuzu was such a loyal and righteous person.

"That's because he's naive. He'd be counting money for you even without your tricks," Haruko's voice came from the kitchen.

"Are you kidding me! You're saying Kakuzu, a seasoned veteran who's been in the ninja world for decades, is naive? Besides, I'm a true friend, okay?" Shanks said.

"...It seems like you have the most enemies in the ninja world." Haruko-sama gave him a Tenseigan in the kitchen.

"My idol, the great Kobe Bryant, was someone who had just as many people who loved him as he hated. I'm learning from him," Shanks said righteously.

"...Didn't you say your idol was Uchiha Madara? How did it become this Bryant guy? I've never heard of him." Haruko looked blank. Her achievements in the history of the ninja world were even more impressive than Sakumo's, so how come she had never heard of this name?

"The ninja world has a history of thousands of years, and countless heroes have been buried in the river of time. It's not surprising that you haven't heard of them. Kobe Bryant was a famous blacksmith. The amount of iron he forged could circle the ninja world ten times. And you've never heard the sound of him hammering iron; it could play a symphony." Shanks rambled on.

"...You're so eloquent, I don't know how many people have been fooled by you. Yesterday, Nono said that the orphanage's funds were insufficient. I can't leave the hospital these days, so could you send the funds to them for me?" Haruko-sama was too lazy to discuss such a nonsensical topic with him. When it came to talking, no one in the ninja world could compare to him.

"...Speaking of which, has the orphanage been spending a lot of money lately? I remember you just gave them a sum of money at the end of the year." Shanks asked curiously. Every year at the end of the year, Haruko would give the orphanage a large sum of money. After all, her husband was a master at making money. Therefore, Haruko, the great philanthropist of Konoha, had a better reputation than Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage. She was also from a commoner background, and even after marrying into a wealthy family, she did not forget to give back to the orphanage. This was also why when Shanks was robbed, half of the villagers of Konoha came to his aid with weapons. Although some of the incidents were because of Shanks, it was only those few villagers who joked around with Shanks all day. Most of them were doing it out of respect for Haruko.

Just like why Minato was so popular in Konoha, he was a super genius from a commoner background, and he had a natural aura of popularity. This is something that some clan ninjas can't do. Although Hiruzen Sarutobi has been working hard to integrate the relationship between commoners and clans for many years, he doesn't have the same boldness as the previous two leaders who directly dismantled the prestigious Senju clan and integrated them into the villagers. This is also why there are more and more commoner ninjas in recent years, and their quality is getting higher and higher. Many commoner ninjas have some Senju blood in their blood.

Therefore, there is still a sense of distance between the common people and the clan ninjas in the village, but it is not as severe as in other villages.

"Sigh! I don't know what's going on. The ninja world is no longer at war, but the number of children in the orphanage is increasing. A new batch of children was just sent here last month, and the expenses are getting bigger and bigger. Moreover, those old houses are no longer habitable. I was planning to expand the orphanage this year, but I might as well take this opportunity to sort things out once and for all." Haruko sighed. The orphanage was where she was born in Konoha, so she had a deep affection for it. If the orphanage hadn't raised her, she wouldn't have gone to the ninja academy to enroll at the age of five without knowing anything, and she wouldn't have met her true love, Shanks.

"What, is Uncle's Wood Release technique that bad? It's only been a few decades and it's already failing. The houses in Sunagakure made of earth can last for hundreds of years without any problems." Shanks pouted. The old houses in Konoha were built casually by Hashirama Senju when he established Konoha and was doing a lot of landscaping. When they were first built, they were full of vitality and could even resist aging and ward off evil spirits. Back then, they were quite expensive.

.......

"Hey, isn't that... Kabuto? What are you doing here?" The next day, Shanks, following Haruko's orders, carried a bunch of money to the orphanage and happened to see the future ugly Orochimaru playing with the children at the entrance.

"Lord Shanks, I grew up here. The institute has been busy lately, so I come here to help out whenever I have some free time," Kabuto Yakushi said with a smile, pushing up his glasses.

Because of Haruko-sama's immense wealth, the orphanage didn't encounter any funding problems. Moreover, since the orphanage was Haruko-sama's territory, Danzo had to give Shanks and Koharu Utatane face. Unlike the original story, where Kabuto Yakushi killed Nono, who was like a mother to him, there were many elite spies like Nono in Root. It wasn't worth offending Koharu Utatane, whom he least wanted to offend, for someone insignificant. Shanks was even lower on the list.

"Seriously! I thought you were some noble young master from a wealthy family. You don't look like an orphan at all." Shanks said, as if he had just realized something.

"Hehe, I suffered a head injury when I was sent here when I was very young, and I've forgotten everything from before," Kabuto Yakushi said with a smile.

"Alright, you go ahead with your work. I'm going to deliver the money to the headmistress." Shanks said, then carried the banknotes into the orphanage building.

As soon as Shanks entered the building, a stench of decay hit him, almost suffocating him. He also felt sorry for the kids who had to live in such a place.

"Lord Shanks, what brings you here?" Shanks was spotted by Nono as soon as he arrived at the Dean's door. Nono, who had once been Tsunade's assistant, had seen Shanks many times before.

"Haha, besides the wind from your Haruko-sama's pillow, what other wind is so powerful that it could blow me here? I never thought that my little assistant back then would be the dean now. You've risen through the ranks much faster than me. I've been working my way up for so many years and I'm still just a vice dean!" Shanks joked.

"Lord Shanks hasn't changed at all. What brings you here, Haruko-sama?" The Shanks family is the easiest to get along with in the entire Hidden Leaf Village. From the eldest to the youngest, none of them are arrogant.

"I mentioned this to the former Hokage at a meeting years ago, urging him to pay more attention to the orphanage. The old man's amnesia is getting worse and worse. Otherwise, if Lady Haruko hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that life at the orphanage was so difficult. When I get back, I'll go to his house and wait for him, and make him come and see for himself." Shanks looked exasperated.

"Lord Shanks, there's no need for that. The Hokage must have been too busy and forgot. Besides, with Haruko's help all these years, we've managed to get by," Nono said with a smile. Having followed Tsunade for several years, she knew that Shanks loved to talk big and was the kind of person who would say anything.

380. The future is yours.

“That won’t do. I never imagined that life in an orphanage in such a large village would be so difficult. Is this acceptable? Besides, your Lady Haruko also asked me to bring the money for expanding the orphanage. You can start implementing it tomorrow.” Shanks finished speaking and handed her a money bag.

"Thank you so much, Haruko-sama!" Nono said excitedly, looking at the money on the table.

"No need to thank me, I should be thanking you on behalf of these children. They are lucky to have a director like you." Shanks waved his hand.

.......

Six months later at the Hokage Rock,

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

"Not bad, young man. You've already achieved the Five Thousand Slashes of an ordinary person in just one year. Keep up the good work, the future is yours." After Itachi had given his all and defeated the last clone, Shanks said to him. What could be more encouraging for a young person than the words "the future is yours," especially when they come from the mouth of a powerful figure like Shanks?

However, Shanks wasn't exaggerating. From the moment he took Itachi as his disciple, Shanks once again witnessed the power of Kishimoto's favorite son. If he didn't know that the chosen one was his younger brother and his brother's best friend, he would have considered Itachi the protagonist of this period. Although Itachi didn't possess the same sensitive spatial abilities as his older brother Minato, his talent in learning taijutsu and ninjutsu surpassed even Kakashi, whom Shanks previously considered to have top-tier ninjutsu talent. Kakashi's ninjutsu talent was undeniable; anyone capable of developing their own unique ninjutsu is born to be a top-tier player. If Kakashi hadn't changed his eyes…

Since Kakashi got his eyes changed, the most regrettable character is Hiruzen Sarutobi. A perfectly good double-flower red staff has become a five-point true man. Now Kakashi can only last five minutes at full strength, and that's only maintaining the double-tomoe state. If he had triple-tomoe or Mangekyou Sharingan, he would definitely be like in the original story, starting by using his brain, and when that doesn't work, he would use copying and Lightning Blade. If even copying and Lightning Blade don't work, he can only prepare for five minutes to unleash his ultimate for thirty years, and then rest for a day or two.

Therefore, Kakashi was the one who was most tragically betrayed by Obito. Although the Kamui of that Mangekyou Sharingan was powerful enough, most powerful ninjutsu have a common drawback: they take too long to build up and consume too much chakra. If it were a Senju or Uzumaki clan member, it wouldn't matter. But fate just happens to favor Kakashi. The Hatake clan is naturally fast, and now Kakashi is even faster.

A month ago, when I was fighting with Dark Bear on the border of the Land of Fire, the battle was in full swing. Then, when the other side was fighting a kid on Dark Bear's side, they immediately ganged up on Kakashi. Who is Kakashi? A man who has been called a super genius since childhood. Seeing several angry guys surrounding him, and Dark Bear and the others being tied up and unable to come to his aid, Kakashi, in desperation, revealed his Sharingan and used Chidori on the guys who were beating him up, also giving Dark Bear and the others a good beating. Suddenly, he's the captain's favorite son, so his strength is definitely not to be underestimated.

After finishing off his opponent, Mingxiong was about to come over and offer some praise, but before he could take a few steps, Prince Ka collapsed to the ground, recovering mana and health. This startled Mingxiong, who quickly ran over to check what had happened. This was the Crown Prince, after all! If something happened to him, he would either be punished by the big boss or beaten to a pulp by the big boss's best friend. Mingxiong looked him over carefully and, after confirming that he had simply run out of mana and fainted, he breathed a sigh of relief. He carried the Crown Prince back to Konoha and took him straight to the hospital.

"Master, are there no other methods of cultivation?" Little Itachi asked after resting for a while. He disliked fighting and killing the most, even if it was just fighting clones.

"Of course there is. Who am I, your teacher? I'm a top figure in the education field. But right now, this is the only method suitable for your age. Combat experience doesn't fall from the sky; it's earned through countless battles. You're still too young. You can't learn many of my skills. Just learning a finger gun is already a challenge. So what you need right now is to constantly enrich your combat experience. Haven't you noticed that when you see your clansmen sparring, you can spot a whole bunch of weaknesses?" Shanks said with an air of superiority.

"When can we practice other things?" Little Itachi asked like a curious child.

"I reckon by the time you start school, at your pace, it won't be long before you can take down ten thousand ordinary clones with your physical skills. What you need to do in combat is not to use too many fancy moves. It's hard for your family, whose flamboyance is etched in their blood, to change, so you need to start training from a young age," Shanks said, patting his head.

The Uchiha clan, whether in taijutsu, ninjutsu, or shurikenjutsu, exudes a certain flair—flashy shuriken techniques, flashy fire release, and flamboyant genjutsu. While they are very popular with girls, it's time-consuming and laborious. Shanks has mentioned Shisui more than once. However, Shisui learned from his father when he was young, and his father learned from Uchiha Kagami's notes. This tradition has been passed down from generation to generation and cannot be changed.

As for Itachi, he is still young and has not received much training from his father, so it is easier for him to change. Moreover, Itachi cannot learn the barbaric style like Shanks. He will be a technical player in the future. If he wants to live a few more years, he cannot rely too much on the Mangekyou Sharingan. If he does not rely on the Mangekyou Sharingan, he can only start with ninjutsu and taijutsu.

While Itachi's talent in ninjutsu is undeniable, Shanks admits he lacks the ability to train him to be like Madara, whose simple B-rank fire jutsu can create a massive crematorium. Compared to Madara's fire jutsu, the Uchiha clan's fire jutsu is child's play. Even without the Mangekyou Sharingan, Madara is still the boss.

Genjutsu is one of the Uchiha clan's strengths, and Shanks can't teach it. He can only use Observation Haki to defend against genjutsu and then use Conqueror's Haki to break it. So this is something that he and Shisui can only study. Both of them are top-notch genjutsu users. Even without the Mangekyou Sharingan, their genjutsu is still excellent.

Taijutsu is Shanks' forte, although he calls himself that... The Naruto version of the Six Powers that Minato improved has already completed the Shave, Tempest Kick, and Finger Pistol. As for Moon Walk, Minato was completely dumbfounded when Shanks explained it. What a load of crap!

Is it even possible for a human to train with iron weights? To control the density of one's muscles? What kind of nonsense is that? I've never even heard of it.

After Minato became Hokage, a bunch of trivial matters came his way. One day, a kitchen knife went missing and people worried that a child might use it for something important. The next day, a water pipe in another house would leak for no reason. These kinds of petty problems never decreased from the day he became Hokage. Now he finally understood why Nawaki and the others looked at him with such pity.

381. You wouldn't even steal this, would you?

In the 49th year of Konoha

The savior's parents are finally getting married, which is the most important event in Konoha during this period. The last time the Hokage got married was decades ago when Hiruzen Sarutobi got married. Many of the villagers who experienced that time have passed away, the young people have become grandfathers, the children have become parents, and even the unborn Shinnosuke has become a sunny young man. You can imagine how fast time has passed.

This Hokage wedding is another momentous event in history. The Hokage has changed four times, but there have only been two Hokage weddings, including this one. That must be incredibly rare.

"Minato, relax. It's just one night. You'll be fine after this." Nawaki, who had been there before, shared his experience with Minato in the hall. Meanwhile, the current Grand Strategist, Nara Shikaku, that lazybones, was in for a rough time. The Hokage's job of entertaining guests wasn't something anyone could do; it was a matter of principle. So only the Nara clan, the heirs to the title of Grand Strategist, could do it. However, this lazybones, who was known to be even lazier than his father, was going to suffer today. He was dragged out of his house early in the morning by Big Mom and sent to Minato's bridal chamber to prepare for his "guest-accepting" job.

"Hey, son-in-law, wake up! Look at you, half-dead. I was wondering why our daughter's belly hasn't shown any signs of pregnancy yet. You wouldn't be cheating on her like this, would you?" Shanks looked at the towering cannon with disdain.

"...Father-in-law, you can't blame me for this. This is the thing I've worked the hardest for in my life, but it's just not meant to be." Chongtianpao looked up at the sky helplessly. Even though his father had retired, he still came over every few days to urge him to quickly create a new account that combined the best genes from both families. If he could create a genius, then the Nara clan's days of soaring to new heights would begin. With overwhelming strength, who the hell would want to play mind games?

“Your family mass-produces deer antlers, so we’ll increase the quantity every night from now on.” Shanks stroked his chin, looking like he was very knowledgeable.

"Teacher, Shikaku has already eaten a lot. Will it cause any problems if we increase the amount?" Yamanaka Inoichi said from the side.

"Don't worry, Tsunade is here. As long as he has a breath left, he'll be bouncing around again the next day." Shanks patted the rocket launcher on the shoulder.

"...Today is Minato's wedding day, let's talk about this later." Skyrocket was clearly afraid of his future father-in-law.

"That's true, I'll let you off the hook today because it's my niece's wedding." Shanks straightened his bright red suit, looking incredibly flamboyant.

He wasn't in the main seat today, but he really went all out to steal the spotlight. As someone who's always the center of attention, how could he willingly play a supporting role? Even if he is a supporting role, he'll be one that takes down the main character.

"Haha, Captain looks so handsome today." As Minato's mentor, Jiraiya is in the main seat today, but he is still as sloppy as ever, not paying any attention to the occasion. Even Shanks, who is usually sloppy, can still hold his own on important occasions.

"Jiraiya, it's your disciple's wedding tonight, can't you change your clothes? This is really damaging to your image." Yuhi Shinku looked at the disheveled Jiraiya beside her.

"Really? I think it's pretty good!" Jiraiya looked at his outfit and didn't see anything wrong with it.

"Hey! Even Shanks knows to change his outfit..." Kurenai was also blinded by Shanks's flashy red suit. A bright red suit with a black undershirt, paired with red hair, was incredibly flamboyant. No wonder Garp stayed far behind him when they came over.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you saying, Shinku? Girl with colored contacts, tell your dad, isn't Uncle's outfit cool?" Shanks asked the girl with colored contacts like a creepy uncle.

"...Uh, Lord Shanks looks really handsome today." The girl with colored contact lenses lied through her contact lenses.

"See? Beautiful people never lie. Your taste as a father is terrible." Shanks said, puffing out his chest. He didn't care whether he was handsome or not. Anyway, he had never heard anyone say that he was handsome since he was a child. Just the fact that the girl with colored contact lenses praised him made him feel that breaking her ill-fated relationship with Asuma was really worth it. It made her, a goddess of her generation, a widow at a young age. The Sarutobi clan really did a lot of harm.

"Wait! Hasn't the Hokage arrived yet? Well, he's been in that important position for so long, it's hard to shake off that habit overnight." Shanks glanced around and, not finding Hiruzen Sarutobi, remarked.

"...Lord Shanks, my brother and I are still here!" Little Green Sprout rolled his eyes at Asma. Only someone like him would gossip about someone's father in front of his son.

"Shin-chan, isn't it tiring to have a dad like this?" Shanks looked at the little green seedling with sympathy.

"..." Little Green Sprout was speechless. What sympathy are you talking about?! Do you even get to choose your father? Being Lu Jiu's son-in-law is even more tiring for you!

"Ahem! Here I am, I've got a lot to do." Before Little Green Sprout could feel awkward for long, his father, Hiruzen Sarutobi, came to the rescue. Today was Minato's wedding, so he had to relive his days as Hokage for a day. After having some free time, dealing with so many miscellaneous matters was really overwhelming for him. He didn't know how he had managed all those years; being Hokage was so tiring.

"So, how was it reliving your time as Hokage for another day? Retirement is still the best, isn't it?" Shanks said, raising an eyebrow.

"Someone has to do it!" Hiruzen Sarutobi winked at Shanks, indicating that they should talk privately.

Shanks returned a knowing look, also wondering what could possibly happen at this time. There shouldn't be anything major happening now, right?

After chatting and laughing with Kurenai and the others for a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to a corner.