Konoha Drunkard

How is Gaara doing?

Uncle Hai Zang asked Luo Sha.

"He's already asleep, and the One-Tail hasn't gone berserk," Rasa said, looking at Shanks. He had memorized everything Shanks and Shukaku had said on the way, and had grasped some key points. When he took Gaara back to rest earlier, he was on tenterhooks, afraid that Shanks would fool him with all that nonsense. But his youngest son had already fallen asleep on the way, and he hadn't seen the One-Tail make any move, so he was relieved.

"Don't worry, when the One-Tail appears and goes berserk, just keep bragging and it should be fine. But whether it can be completely cured depends on that kid himself. After all, we are outsiders and can't help much. The key is whether that kid can get along well with Fat Cat." Shanks patted Rasa on the shoulder and said.

"Thank you very much, Lord Shanks," Rasa said gratefully.

"No need to thank me. I've already made money off you. If you're too polite, I'll feel embarrassed to ask for more next time." Shanks patted his shoulder. Actually, Rasa was a really nice guy, polite and courteous. It's a pity he was born in the wrong era. After Sarazuki died, Chiyo hurriedly put him in charge of the village, and he had no reputation in the village. He had to start from scratch. His reputation was all taken away by that treacherous Sasori. But that treacherous Sasori, in his pursuit of eternal art, not only messed up Sunagakure, but also messed up Rasa.

Back then, Hiruzen Sarutobi had Minato grind a lot of reputation to help him succeed as Hokage. If Minato didn't have enough reputation, how could he have so easily secured the position of Hokage? Even with the support of the Hokage faction, it wouldn't have mattered. Back then, Rasa was only used as a support class. It's easy to switch classes, but it's not so easy to change your skill points.

507. Konoha is still the most welcoming place.

"Lord Shanks is back?"

"Lord Shanks, where have you been all this time? I couldn't find you anywhere for a drink."

"That's right, we didn't even see you, the examiner, when the Chunin Exams ended. We won a lot of money."

"Haha, isn't this another trip out of the village? How much did you win?" Shanks walked down the main street of Konoha, with villagers from both sides occasionally coming over to chat. Konoha was so nice; looking at the familiar streets and villagers made him feel inexplicably warm. Maybe it was because they were the most familiar. Anyway, he just thought the villagers of Konoha were adorable.

Unlike the Sand Village, where everyone seemed to want to see him, even when he was shopping with Uncle Kaizo, the Sand Village villagers still looked at him with fear, which left him speechless. Was he really that scary? After returning home, he deliberately looked in the mirror. Apart from the three-day scar from last night that slightly affected his appearance, his features were still quite unique. "Could it be that the Sand Village has a different aesthetic sense?" Shanks thought shamelessly.

"Haha, I didn't win much. The main reason is that my wife is very strict with money, so I can only use my own savings to bet," said the person who said he won money earlier.

"That's not right of you. How can you hand over the reins of finances to a woman? Look at me, my Haruko-sama has never managed my money. You guys need to show some manly authority." Shanks continued to shamelessly boast.

Fortunately, the surrounding villagers weren't young and naive. After listening to Shanks's few words of persuasion, they turned their backs and went to their wives to discuss finances. Otherwise, the domestic violence incidents in Konoha would have been enough to break even the towering walls of Minato and Roaring Cannon.

Everyone in Konoha knows that Shanks is afraid of his wife. If Haruko-sama says one thing, he never says another; he's just bragging. If they take it seriously, they've already lost.

"Lord Shanks, you didn't actually see the last match, it was really tense and exciting," another person laughed.

"That's easy! You guys can jointly propose it to the Hokage. We can hold this kind of tournament every year. Even if we don't join forces with other villages, Konoha can organize it ourselves." Shanks had a sudden inspiration. This kind of competition was much more interesting than Hiruzen Sarutobi's lifeless assessment methods. Plus, we could sell tickets, bringing some income to the village. And team battles could also train the genin's survival skills in combat. Thinking about it that way, it was indeed much more interesting than one-on-one or 3v3 duels, and it could really ignite people's passion. Back then, even the spectators in the stands got into fights! Konoha hadn't had that kind of excitement for many years.

However, these are matters for the villagers; he has more important things to do now, which is...

Take the money!

Just kidding, the huge sum of money he swindled from Takikage is still with Skyrocket. Who knows if Hiruzen Sarutobi will try to take advantage of it if this goes on for too long? That's why he rushed back after doing business in Sunagakure. Big Mom had already asked Miss Slug to deliver Kakuzu's money to him. To make it easier for Kakuzu to deliver sake to him without having to bother Orochimaru's little white snake all the time, Shanks left a small clone of Miss Slug on Kakuzu. Of course, Miss Slug agreed to this request without hesitation. It's just a small clone, and she can travel all over the world with Kakuzu. Isn't that great?

Hiruzen Sarutobi was relatively kind enough not to be tempted by Kakuzu's money. After all, a super S-rank rogue ninja is not someone to be trifled with, especially since Kakuzu is the kind of person who values ​​money as much as his own life. Otherwise, Shanks would have been in a really difficult position.

........

"Linlin, is Rocket still not back?" Shanks headed straight for the Nara clan and found only his daughter and lazy grandson at home. It was already past closing time, and Rocket still hadn't returned.

"The Uchiha clan has been a bit unstable lately, and Daddy doesn't come home until very late every night," the three-year-old lazily said from the side.

"How do you know the Uchiha clan is unstable, kid? Your old man isn't the type to bring work home." Shanks looked at Shikaku curiously, and the more he looked at him, the more he resembled his cocky father.

"The Uchiha clan has been so arrogant lately, I could have guessed it even without Dad saying it." Shikaku still had that lazy, deadpan look on his face.

"........."

Shanks was speechless. It seemed that Itachi's awakening of the three tomoe might not be a good thing after all. The three old guys were indeed starting to stir again. However, Shanks was more curious about whether his grandson's intelligence was truly higher than his father's, as rumored. But Konoha didn't yet have the technology to test intelligence. Anyway, Shanks couldn't beat him at shogi; the only time he won was by cheating with Observation Haki.

"Dad already had Mom give all your money to Grandma, so there's no point in waiting for him to come back," Little Deer said to Shanks, who seemed impatient.

"The three generations of old men didn't take half, did they?"

"I don't know. My mother had the money that day, and I didn't count it."

"Father, don't worry. The Third Generation hasn't gone to see Mother yet. They probably want to wait for you to come back before discussing it with you," the Fourth Emperor's mother said helplessly.

"...This isn't like the Third Generation Old Man's style. Is he up to something again?" Shanks said, stroking his chin.

Shanks actually wronged Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen genuinely hadn't intended to do anything malicious this time. The former Daimyo of the Land of Wind's high-stakes betting event actually benefited Konoha's economy. If we're talking about who the big winner of this bet was, it was Konoha. While Kakuzu and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire placed large bets, the former Daimyo of the Land of Wind could afford to lose. The main focus was on Konoha. Since it was a match on their home turf, the villagers naturally supported their own. Especially since it involved Garp, the young master of the Senju clan. So, many Konoha villagers bet on Garp and his group. Shanks didn't even know the exact number of Konoha villagers. In terms of sheer numbers, even the two Iwagakure villages combined might not have as many as Konoha. Add to that the numerous clans, big and small, who knew about the inside story and were betting their lives away, and even at odds of 1:1, the former Daimyo of the Land of Wind couldn't afford to lose, let alone at 1:15.

Even if the Land of Wind is wealthy, for the sake of the nation's reputation, they might open their national treasury to pay for the former Daimyo of the Land of Wind. Otherwise, the Land of Wind's reputation would be ruined. If the country's reputation is ruined, would the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure, like Chiyo, stand by and watch? They might even launch a major purge of those ministers.

So, whether for the sake of the nation's reputation or their lives, those ministers had no choice but to open the national treasury to clean up the mess left by the former daimyo. Ultimately, Sunagakure was their true master, given its formidable military strength!

508. Luckily, I didn't choose him back then.

The former Daimyo of the Land of Wind's high-stakes gamble alleviated some of the economic pressure on Konoha after its reconstruction, so Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't in a hurry to ask for the money back. Besides, Shanks hadn't returned yet, and the money was with Haruko-sama, so it couldn't run away. He had also had his men find out what Tsunade and Garp had been spending at his family's casino recently—it was all money they had won from betting. So Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't in a rush; he would wait for Shanks to return before making any decisions.

Because of Tsunade's winning formula, Shanks really didn't dare let her place bets. If she lost, it would be a financial loss, and if she won, it would be even worse!

Damn it!

So she only agreed not to participate in the betting game on the condition that Shanks would give her 20% of the winnings. Otherwise, given her gambling addiction, it would have been too difficult to get her to stop.

After Garp and his team won the championship, Tsunade ran to the betting station with her betting slips to collect her winnings before anyone else could announce it. However, she was still somewhat conscientious and didn't swindle all the money. She only took the 20% that she was entitled to and gave the rest to Nawaki's wife, Shizuka.

As for why Tsunade is so kind-hearted... well, the real money comes from Shanks' deal with Takikage; Tsunade doesn't care about these small sums.

"Get up and have breakfast. The Third Hokage and the teacher will be here soon." Shanks was woken up by Haruko early the next morning.

"What a shameless old man! I've been busy for a month, and he won't even let me rest when I get back. He's here first thing in the morning trying to get a share of the money," Shanks grumbled as he got up.

"Honestly, you got some money in Sunagakure again. If the village is in trouble, why don't you just do a good deed and give all the money you got from Takikage to the village? There are only a few people in our family, we can't spend so much money." Haruko-sama gave him a Tenseigan.

In Haruko's heart, the village is still the most important thing. Without Konoha, there would be no her. She has been dead for countless years.

"That won't do. There's an old saying, 'The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.' Donating a small amount to show support is fine. Look at the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, they're so rich, yet they didn't donate as much as the Hatake clan. Why is that? Don't give me that lame excuse about their large clans. These ancient clans have accumulated wealth that's terrifying. My little bit of money is nothing to them. But why don't they donate more? A high reputation isn't necessarily a good thing. If it were just you and me, it wouldn't matter, but we have the Senju and Uzumaki clans behind us. If the Hokage were Garp or the Uzumaki clan, we could donate everything. But now the Hokage is Minato, that penniless bastard, so it's different. Even if we really do allocate some to the village this time, we can only donate in Kushina's name. Uncle's students are cunning!" Shanks rambled on to dispel Haruko's bad ideas. That's 80 billion! Donating it like that? A philanthropist's title doesn't put food on the table. Even 20 billion would be painful for Shanks...

"...Is it really that serious?" Haruko was genuinely fooled by Shanks. Upon reflection, she realized there was some truth to it. Reputation was an intangible thing, but it was extremely important for the Hokage. The Hokage represented authority, and since they weren't the Hokage, having higher reputations than the Hokage wasn't ideal. That's why, after Tsunade's medical skills surpassed hers, she voluntarily stepped down to make Tsunade the head of the hospital, thus avoiding putting Tsunade in a difficult position.

"I wouldn't dare lie to you, even if I could deceive the whole world. Do you think I've been wasting my years? We may not get involved in politics, but we should at least have some understanding of it, right?" Shanks said smugly. Once he got past Haruko, negotiating with Hiruzen Sarutobi would be easier. He was afraid Haruko would be easily swayed and agree as soon as Hiruzen pleaded poverty, making all his efforts to negotiate with him a waste.

.......

"Good morning, Haruko! Have you had breakfast yet?" Not long after, the long-absent Konoha Four Giants arrived, and Hiruzen Sarutobi greeted Haruko-sama as soon as he entered.

"Good morning, Third Generation Lord. Have you had breakfast yet, teachers? I'll go prepare some for you," Haruko said to Koharu Utatane after greeting Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"No need to trouble yourself, we've already eaten there..."

"Goo..."

Before Xiaochun could finish her turn to the next room, a rumbling sound from her stomach came from behind her, interrupting her.

Koharu rolled her eyes at Danzo behind her. This was incredibly embarrassing; thank goodness she'd chosen him back then.

"Lord Danzo hasn't eaten yet, has he? Please come in first. I'll prepare some for you. Shanks is washing up and will be out soon," Haruko said with a smile to Danzo.

"Uh...cough..."

Danzo blushed deeply. He had truly lost face this time. Not only had he lost face in front of his dream girl, but he had also lost face in front of her disciple. The persona he had cultivated for so many years had completely collapsed.

However, he was really hungry. This morning, he had listened to his leader's rant as usual, and then his henchmen came to inform him that it was time for his appointment with his friends. If it were just Hiruzen Sarutobi and Homura Mitokado, Danzo wouldn't have come over without eating breakfast. But it was different if his dream girl was also there, so Danzo came over without eating breakfast.

After Shanks finished washing up, he had the four giants of Konoha sit neatly at his dining table, where his older brother Danzo was eating breakfast with gusto...

"Brother Danzo, has the Shimura family really fallen this poor? Eat slowly so you don't choke, there's more if you're still hungry!"

".......Cough! Cough!"

Shanks' words almost made Danzo want to crawl into a hole and hide, but Haruko's cooking skills were indeed quite good, far surpassing those of the fat chefs in Root.

Koharu rolled her eyes at Danzo again. This guy was really something else! Not only did he freeload at someone else's house, but he also acted like he was starving. It made her once again realize how lucky she was to have chosen Uchiha Kagami.

"........."

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Homura Mitokado sat there silently, looking down at each other, as if they didn't recognize the man. Luckily, there were no outsiders present, or they would have been incredibly embarrassed.

If it weren't for the fact that Danzo had also contributed a lot to the matter of trapping Takikage, and that he was part of their team and they couldn't isolate him, the two of them secretly decided that they would definitely not play with him next time. They had completely ruined the reputation of their formidable four giants.

Danzo finally succumbed to the temptation of his appetite and began to eat heartily. Since he had already lost face and couldn't get it back, he might as well fill his stomach first.

509. One hundred more than them

Time: Year 54 of Konoha, after Shanks finished breakfast

Location: Shanks's house in the Senju clan compound of Konoha.

Characters: Shanks, Haruko-sama, the Four Great Leaders of Konoha.

Event: Bargaining!

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the leader of the four giants of Konoha who initiated the incident, spoke first.

"Now that you're back, I've already told you about the village's situation last time. I won't hide anything from you. Although our village's economic situation has slowed down due to the gambling incident involving the former daimyo of the Land of Wind, and the village had already made donations before you returned, the Senju clan didn't make any donations because you weren't there. Now that you're back, let's split Takikage's money in half as a donation from the Senju clan."

"...Originally, there wouldn't have been a problem, but as you know, although the Senju clan is somewhat special in the village, having produced two Hokage, if we always try to be first, it's clear that the Senju clan's historical status is higher than that of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. After all, we're all families that founded the village together. So how about this? I'll just donate a hundred more than the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, considering they produced two Hokage." Shanks said this because, based on his years of experience, he knew that the Uchiha and Hyuga clans wouldn't contribute much in this fundraising effort. After all, the second male lead's father and Hiashi Hyuga weren't fools; they could be the first to step forward in some things, but not in others, and they certainly wouldn't be the first to do so in this kind of situation.

But this time things took a turn for the worse than he expected. As soon as Shanks finished speaking, the four great leaders of Konoha and Haruko looked at him with surprise, wondering if this was still the same miser they knew. After all, the Uchiha and Hyuga were incredibly generous when they were vying for first place. Was this the same guy who would go around the village keeping track of their expenses to avoid paying?

"You... decided to offer a hundred more than them?" Koharu asked, snapping out of her daze.

"Of course! After all, they've produced two Hokage, so the hundred is theirs. Oh, and my aunt's too, let's make it 1,100. 1,000 is my aunt's share, and the other two get 100." Shanks said generously. He guessed that the Uchiha and Hyuga clans wouldn't donate more than 10 billion, which was nothing to Shanks now.

"Ahem! Ahem! Since you're so generous, we thank you on behalf of the village. This time, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans each donated 100 billion yen to the village. I originally planned to only ask you to donate 40 billion yen, since you also need to make a living. I didn't expect you to be so generous in this matter!" Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed.

"puff!"

"You...you...what did you say! How much did the Uchiha and Hyuga donate?" Shanks spat out the milk in his mouth! He couldn't believe his ears. Had the second male lead's father and Hiashi Hyuga really lost their minds this time? They actually dared to be the first to stick their necks out!

"This time, the Uchiha and Hyuga clans each donated 100 billion, and you said you promised to donate 1100 billion more than them, so you donated 100 billion and 1100 billion on behalf of the Senju clan. Am I right?" Koharu Utatane said clearly, enunciating each word.

"Holy crap, are Fugaku and Hiashi out of their minds?" Shanks really heard that this time. It wasn't 1,100,000, but 100 billion! So... all his hard work for so long has come back to square one?

"Snapped!"

Shanks really wanted to slap himself, but his powerful self-control prevented this brainless act, and he slammed his hand on the table! At this moment, Shanks really wanted to pull out his long-unused forty-meter-long cleaver and kill the Hyuga and Uchiha clan heads. Wasn't this just setting him up? They both had family businesses to inherit and no worries about food and drink, but Shanks' family business was all built up by his own hard work, and he had two money-losing kids to support. Now, all that hard work had been rigged. As for going back on his word... Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, always kept his word. He'd fill the hole he'd fallen into!

Actually, the second male lead's father was truly forced into this situation. After his eldest son evolved into the Three-Tomoe form, the clansmen started to stir up trouble, constantly making small moves and becoming increasingly arrogant in the village. The villagers' complaints also started to increase. Minato had approached him about this several times, but he couldn't control the clansmen at all. They were all people of the three old men, and they only listened to the three old men. They always ignored him, the clan leader. So, in order to ease the relationship between the clan and the village, and also to apologize to those people, the second male lead's father immediately offered 50 billion yen. After all, the Hatake clan had already donated 30 billion yen, and the Uchiha clan, as the number one wealthy clan, couldn't possibly be lower than the Hatake.

As for the Hyuga clan, which is competing with the Uchiha clan for ranking, they can't stand the fact that the Uchiha clan can donate 50 billion yen right off the bat. They can't care about anything else, but if they donate less than the Uchiha clan this time, won't their reputation be overshadowed by the Uchiha clan?

So Hiashi Hyuga asked for 60 billion yen, a full 10 billion yen more than the Uchiha. When it comes to financial power, the Hyuga have never been afraid of anyone!

Hiashi Hyuga's initial offer of 60 billion yen infuriated the second male lead. Although he usually lacked the arrogance typical of the Uchiha clan, as the clan head, he was inherently quite noble. Hiashi Hyuga's offer of 10 billion yen more in front of him was a slap in the face. So, with a hint of anger, the second male lead's father offered 70 billion yen. He wasn't trying to prove how rich the Uchiha clan was, but rather to show the Hyuga clan that they were still the most powerful clan in Konoha.

Meanwhile, the 70 billion yen offered by the second male lead's father also infuriated Hiashi Hyuga. He stared intently at the second male lead's father, who then offered another 80 billion yen. The top spot was rotated, and this year it was the Hyuga family's turn!

The two went back and forth, each bidding 10 billion more than the other, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding crowd. The others watched with quiet amusement as Konoha's top two wealthy clans clashed over their wealth. Kakashi, representing the Hatake clan, rolled his eyes, indicating that this was all just a drop in the ocean. He added that if his father hadn't stopped him, he would have donated the entire Hatake clan's fortune; after all, the Hatake clan only had so much wealth, so what was the point...?

Just as the second male lead's father and Hiashi Hyuga were arguing so fiercely they were about to come to blows in the meeting room, Minato had no choice but to step forward and propose that since both families had this intention, then they should be equal, with each family donating 100 billion yen, and neither side could donate more, and the village would not accept any extra donations.