Konoha Drunkard

542. Kakuzu changed careers.

"Everyone in the village is very nice, and the scenery is beautiful." Although Bai felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi was acting strangely today, asking him these questions for no reason, Bai still answered politely when asked by an elder.

"Yes! Everyone in the village is very kind. Is Bai willing to protect them?"

"Of course!"

Bai's answer, given without a second thought, made Hiruzen Sarutobi's face bloom like chrysanthemums. What a wonderful child! He's handsome and so sensible. It's a pity he's not a native; otherwise, Hiruzen Sarutobi would have loved to help him gain attention. Apart from the different color of the hair on his head, he's a spitting image of a mini-Minato. Although he might not be as sharp as Minato in the future, his Ice Release ninjutsu is so beautiful. If he goes out and gets more attention, maybe more people will immigrate to Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but start fantasizing, and he almost drooled.

.........

At the headquarters of the Akatsuki in the Land of Rain, it was a rare cloudy day in the Land of Rain, as it didn't rain. Kakuzu was counting a wad of banknotes and walking down the main road with his little assistant, the immortal Hidan. The immortal Hidan was in a rather miserable situation, carrying on his back a device that was twice the size of him and looked like some kind of experimental equipment.

"Hey Kakuzu, don't you feel like our immortal duo are just Orochimaru's errand boys? We just got him a new machine last month, which cost us a year's worth of money, and now we're buying this huge thing. Damn, it's so heavy!" Hidan, who can't die, complained as he carried the behemoth.

“You’re still too young. You can’t reap without sowing. Orochimaru says his new drug is almost ready, and those noble lords love it. The real money will come when his new drug is developed. It’s much more comfortable than running around the world racking up kills all day, right?” Kakuzu said while counting his money.

That's right! Kakuzu has changed! He's stopped bothering with killing people. Ever since Shanks helped him rig the bet and tricked the former daimyo of the Land of Wind, Kakuzu has finally realized that making big money doesn't necessarily mean running around the world killing people. There are many other ways to make money!

No wonder he's been diligently traveling the world for decades to rack up kills, while Shanks just hangs around Konoha every day. Yet, in the world of making money, he's always second best. It turns out he just can't make quick money.

After figuring all this out, he started thinking about ways to make quick money. Who wouldn't like to stay at home all day lying around counting money? But after thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a way to make quick money, so he decided to ask the people around him.

Pain, the leader... if he could make money, we wouldn't have needed to recruit him into Akatsuki! Konan? All she'd do is sell explosive tags; it's not a world war, explosive tags are dirt cheap. That little scorpion who plays with toys all day doesn't even know you have to pay for things. Hidan, the assistant and tank who can't die, is fine for bullying and robbing, but asking him to come up with any ideas is a pipe dream.

After much thought, Kakuzu concluded that only Orochimaru, known as the second-generation great scientist of the ninja world, should have a solution. So Kakuzu immediately went to Orochimaru's research institute to ask him for his opinion. It has to be said that Orochimaru is an all-powerful snake; he came up with a solution for Kakuzu in less than three minutes.

Snake's immortality experiment is progressing slowly, but he has made many side results in the process. For example, he recently developed something that can slow down aging and even restore virility. This thing is useless to Snake, but it's a different story for those cowardly noblemen. Those noblemen have enjoyed their whole lives, and who wouldn't want to live a few more years? Moreover, being able to restore their virility and be able to be vigorous again is exactly what they want!

As Kakuzu listened to Orochimaru's explanation, his eyes gleamed with a bright green light. He immediately decided to cooperate with Orochimaru, with Kakuzu in charge of sales and Orochimaru in charge of development.

Orochimaru probably felt that he had been taking too much from Kakuzu over the years, and that developing these drugs wouldn't take much time, so he agreed. However, he only said that he wanted 30% to help him buy new equipment, and the remaining 70% was Kakuzu's.

Orochimaru's actions deeply moved Kakuzu. What a wonderful person he was! Kakuzu immediately elevated Orochimaru to the level of a close friend, placing him on par with Shanks.

From that day on, after Kakuzu cooperated with Orochimaru, Kakuzu became incredibly successful in the world of making money, completely changing the worldview of everyone in the ninja world. The infamous backstabbing Kakuzu actually stopped making money and started selling pills!

Selling pills is indeed lucrative and easy money. Those noble gentlemen, after trying them once, become addicted, frantically showering Kakuzu with cash. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi had Shanks buy some for him.

This led to a shortage of Orochimaru's pills, and even repeated price increases were ineffective. However, with the limited equipment in Orochimaru's laboratory, it was impossible to produce too many pills. After all, Orochimaru wasn't an industrialist; he was a genuine scientist. In the end, only after Kakuzu's repeated requests was he "reluctantly" allowed to replace his equipment with the latest batch, and the amount was quite substantial. This made the little scorpion next door, who was playing with toys, extremely jealous. However, considering that he could only play with toys and didn't have Orochimaru's talent, the little scorpion could only sadly lock himself in the toy room and become a recluse.

With an easy way to make big money, who would want to go back to the old path of struggling to earn hundreds of thousands or millions by running all over the ninja world? From that day on, Kakuzu and the immortal Hidan began to transform into business elites, negotiating with people everywhere. Every time, he only had to open his mouth, and the immortal Hidan would just draw his knife, and wave after wave of money would fly into his pocket. He would satisfy Orochimaru's every request. Today's batch of equipment was the new equipment purchased after Orochimaru's research institute expanded its area once again. Every time Orochimaru changed this equipment, the one who always suffered was the immortal Hidan.

"Didn't Orochimaru bring back that brat whose whole body spews bones last time? You can bring him next time. I'm not doing this job anymore. It's disgusting to make Hidan do all the hard labor." Hidan grumbled and lashed out while carrying the heavy equipment.

"You mean that brat from the Kaguya clan? He's Orochimaru's precious treasure, don't even think about it," Kakuzu said, shaking his head.

"Kaguya clan? What kind of clan is that? I've never heard of it." Hidan thought he had lived in the ninja world for quite some time, yet there was a clan he had never heard of, and one whose entire body was made of bones.

"The Kaguya clan was wiped out by the Fourth Mizukage of the Land of Water. You probably haven't heard of them, but decades ago, the Kaguya clan was a very famous and powerful family in the Land of Fire. Later, during the Warring States period, they were driven out of the Land of Fire by the Uchiha and fled to the Land of Water. Spend your time studying the history of the ninja world, instead of thinking about fighting and killing all day long. That won't get you anywhere." As one of the most senior figures in the ninja world, Kakuzu was still being responsible by giving his junior a lesson, explaining some historical knowledge about the ninja world.

543. Is he a big mouth?

"Tell me about it! What happened back then? Were those damned Uchiha clan members really that powerful? I don't think so." Hidan perked up as soon as Kakuzu told him a story. This was why Hidan liked following Kakuzu; Kakuzu was practically a living encyclopedia of the ninja world, and newbies like Hidan loved hearing his stories.

Although hearing the name Uchiha brought to Hidan's mind the brat and ugly middle-aged man who beat him up a few years ago, he decided to listen to the story first.

"Don't underestimate the Uchiha clan. Although they've declined somewhat, during the Warring States period, the Uchiha and Senju clans were recognized as the two most powerful clans in the ninja world. Back then, Uchiha clan leader Madara Uchiha and Senju clan leader Hashirama Senju were practically invincible. While I don't know what the Kaguya clan did to anger Madara, he single-handedly stormed into the Kaguya clan compound, decimating them. Only Hashirama intervened, allowing a little over a hundred clan members to survive. Even those hundred survivors managed to escape the Land of Fire. At that time, the Kaguya clan was..." "They were among the top three powerful clans in the Land of Fire, and they fought like madmen. Even the Hyuga clan gave them a wide berth. You can imagine how powerful the Uchiha were back then. That brat you fought a few years ago wasn't even a ten-thousandth as strong as Madara Uchiha." Kakuzu pursed his lips, looking at Hidan with some disdain. He had thought that after being beaten up by Shanks, that Uchiha disciple, his underling would repent and diligently train in taijutsu. But he was wrong. Hidan was still the same Hidan, still relying on his special moves to get by. He'd always pull out his scythe and just do a downward slash, a horizontal sweep, and a jumping slash. That'd probably be his fate for the rest of his life.

"Hmph! That Uchiha brat, I'll kill him next time I see him! And that red-haired ugly freak! How dare he hit my head!" Hidan said, then thought of the big bump on his head from back then. Thinking about it now, his head still felt a little sore. It really hurt.

"You should just give up. Even Pain couldn't do anything to him, let alone you. Konan almost blew up the Land of Rain back then, but she couldn't even scratch him. The number of people in the ninja world who want to kill him could stretch from here to the Land of Snow, and he's still as carefree as ever. He didn't kill you last time because he was giving me face, so don't mess with him." Kakuzu shook his head and sighed. As the older brother, Kakuzu was very worried about having such an arrogant underling. Although his underling wasn't very bright, he had been with him for so many years, and he didn't want his underling to die like this.

"What? Are you kidding me? I'm immortal! How could he possibly kill me? You're overthinking it."

Hidan would have accepted it if Kakuzu had said something else, but Kakuzu actually said that the red-haired ugly monster could kill him... Insulting him is fine, but insulting his Jashin-sama is not.

“You’ve had too little contact with him, you’ll never know how terrifying he is. It’s said that he has awakened a special ability that has never appeared in the Uzumaki clan before, the ability to hear what people are thinking. So there are never any secrets in front of him. Your ability is indeed very special, but I think he already knew it after seeing you once. If he were to feed your limbs to the dogs and freeze your head, you would be worse off alive than dead,” Kakuzu said, half-jokingly trying to scare you.

Shanks knows he can hear what others are thinking, but if someone is not thinking, he naturally can't hear them. However, he didn't tell his underling, because even if he did, it wouldn't matter. Given his underling's fighting prowess, it's impossible for him not to think during a fight.

"Are you... joking? There's no such person in the world who can hear what others are thinking! He... isn't a blabbermouth, is he?"

Hidan stared wide-eyed in disbelief. If such a person really existed, it would be terrifying. No secrets could be kept from someone like that. And the evil god was his capital in the ninja world. If that ugly red-haired monster were to reveal his secrets to the entire ninja world, what would become of him?

"What's so strange about that? There are all sorts of strange things in the ninja world. You've only been around for a few years, how much do you know? Although the Uzumaki clan is known for its sealing techniques, their bloodline shouldn't be underestimated. Almost everyone in their clan is a tailless tailed beast, it's just that they're not good at fighting. Shanks is an exception in the Uzumaki clan. But... he really is a big mouth. All those rumors in the ninja world originated from him." Kakuzu stroked his chin and recalled that in recent years, almost all the headlines in the ninja world were related to Shanks, either he created them or he spread them.

"What should I do then? If he reveals my secret, how will I ever be able to face the world?"

Hidan heard the last thing he wanted to hear: that red-haired ugly guy really did have a big mouth. Hidan felt his heart was as gray as the sky over the Land of Rain.

"It's not that I look down on you, but how many years have you been in this business? Who do you think you are? Every one of those big-mouthed people has been famous in the ninja world for years. We'll talk when you're famous. You need to be well-known to make him talk big. Countless people in the ninja world are lining up to ask him to talk big. Besides, he might have already forgotten about you. Unless you appear in front of him and remind him, that's a different story." Kakuzu pursed his lips. Look at the big-mouthed people: Madara, Chiyo, Onoki, the Third Kazekage, Sakura, the Third Mizukage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, Sakuma, and Kakuzu himself. Aren't they all extremely famous in the ninja world?

Although he's a big mouth, there are countless people in the ninja world who wish they could be the male lead in that scandal, but unfortunately, they don't have the looks or talent.

"Seriously? Are those people out of their minds? They're actually lining up to beg him to slap them?"

Hidan's mouth was big enough to fit a salted duck egg. Was this still the world he knew? It felt more like the entertainment industry...

"Think about it, the person who talks big is either Onoki or me, Kakuzu. We are all renowned figures in the ninja world. If it's that person who talks big, it just means that person is just as powerful as us in some aspects. In that case, whether it's in the village or in the ninja world, it will be too easy to rise to the top. Like the negotiations before, after those people knew it was me, Kakuzu, they didn't even need to negotiate. They immediately handed over the money obediently. But when you went to negotiate, you had to use a knife. That's the benefit of fame! Do you understand? Surviving in the ninja world is not that simple. You still have a lot to learn!"

Perhaps having spent so much time with Shanks, Kakuzu didn't forget to brag about himself while lecturing Hidan.

544. The Benefits of Brand Awareness

"Sogga!"

Kakuzu's words today enlightened Hidan. He said that although he had killed so many more people than Kakuzu, every time they negotiated, as soon as people heard that the person he was negotiating with was Kakuzu, they would immediately take out their money and leave without saying a word or even trying to bargain. But when he went to negotiate alone, he would waste a lot of breath every time, and if they couldn't reach an agreement, they would even resort to violence.

He originally thought it was because Kakuzu looked like a villain that people were so afraid of him and dared not bargain with him. Only now does he realize the real reason. It turns out that this is the benefit of fame. You can never stop learning!

"So how can we build brand awareness?"

Hidan carried a huge piece of equipment on one hand, and with the other hand, he pulled out a small notebook and pen from somewhere. He held the pen in his mouth and the notebook in his hand, looking at Kakuzu with a thirst for knowledge.

"...Well...there are many ways. For example, you could do something earth-shattering, or become a high-ranking member of one of the great ninja villages, and then do something in the ninja world that will make you memorable. I belong to the former category. Do you know how many people wanted to assassinate the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, when they first entered the ninja village era? But all those who went died. They wanted to go but didn't dare to. I became famous because although I failed to assassinate Hashirama Senju, I survived his attack unharmed. That's why I'm so famous." Anyway, the young people nowadays don't know that the kunai he flew from 800 miles away couldn't move forward when it was still ten meters away from Hashirama Senju, so Kakuzu wasn't afraid of being exposed and could just keep exaggerating.

"So, if I were to assassinate that ugly Shanks, my fame would increase dramatically?" Hidan exclaimed, suddenly realizing something.

"The problem is you can't beat Shanks. Instead, you get beaten up or killed by him. Your reputation won't increase; instead, you'll be used as a negative example and be infamous for eternity. Whenever people talk about him, they'll remember that some unknown ninja who overestimated himself and tried to assassinate Shanks of Konoha, only to be killed in the end. Then those people will warn their descendants to be realistic about their abilities in the future." Kakuzu shrugged and teased. This kid really has a stubborn temper.

"Damn it! I'm not some ninja, I'm Hidan! Didn't you fight Hashirama Senju? Why don't you come with me to take him down? That way your fame will increase, and I'll also gain some recognition." Hidan said, his eyes darting around.

"Do you think I, Kakuzu, would betray my brothers for fame? Don't even think about it. Besides, his defense is even higher than the Third Raikage, who was once known as the strongest shield. I can't break through his defense either. The title of the toughest man in the ninja world isn't just for show." Kakuzu said righteously, then looked at Hidan with a look that said, "You've disappointed me." This little rascal thought he could fool him? A hundred years too early! He'd crossed more bridges than Hidan had walked roads. It wasn't because Hidan was lazy; Kakuzu had traveled all over the ninja world for decades, crossing far too many bridges.

"The other way is obviously impossible. Which great ninja village would I go to become a high-ranking official in?" Hidan said listlessly.

"Just wait and see. You're still young. You'll make it eventually. I didn't become famous until I was almost thirty. How old are you? In all these years of the ninja world, only Shanks and Konoha's White Fang, who debuted as child stars, have remained popular until now. Look at that toy scorpion. Although he also debuted as a child star, he's still past his prime. How many people still remember the super genius from Sunagakure?" Kakuzu saw that his younger brother was feeling a bit down, so he quickly used the little scorpion's experience to comfort Hidan.

Was Scorpion famous before?

Hidan, with his simple mind, was indeed instantly teleported away.

"Remove that 'ma' from him. Although I don't approve of his actions, as a descendant of the First Kazekage, that toy Sasori was indeed incredibly famous back then. He was universally acknowledged as the person who could surpass his grandmother, Chiyo, in puppetry. Chiyo's puppetry skills were arguably the pinnacle of a puppeteer, and surpassing her was extremely difficult. You can imagine how famous Toy Sasori was back then. Moreover, there were rumors that Sunagakure spent a fortune to hire Shanks to teach him for half a year, and he was even designated as the future Fourth Kazekage. But I don't know if he was driven mad by Shanks, but instead of being a proper second Kazekage, he killed his own village's Kazekage for some damn art and ran off to be a poor bum." Kakuzu had a strong dislike for little Sasori.

Although he also killed the village's leaders and left the village, that was because those people betrayed him first.

Back then, he was a loyal and devoted ninja who loved his village and was willing to sacrifice his life for it. For the sake of the village, he dared to assassinate the God of Shinobi. However, after his failure, those people abandoned him and declared him a traitor, which led him to betray his beliefs and turn to money.

The reason he liked the brainless Hidan so much was because Hidan's experience was somewhat similar to his own. Although both of them killed everyone in the Jashin Cult, Hidan was adopted by the Jashin Cult when he was young, but later he was abandoned by them and used as a human sacrifice to the Jashin Cult. Fortunately, he was lucky enough to get the cheat code of immortality, otherwise he would not know how he died. So he felt a sense of sympathy for Hidan.

But Sasori is different. The Sand Village never gave up on him and even groomed him to be the Kazekage. But this guy went crazy and killed his own village's Kage, causing the village to suffer heavy losses in the Third Shinobi World War. For an old-school ninja like Kakuzu, Sasori's actions were completely unacceptable, and he even looked down on him.

"Wow! Sasori, who's always so cold and aloof, was actually this powerful before! I never would have guessed."

Hidan exclaimed in amazement, "I never expected that handsome guy who always hides in his weird shell and wears pants would have such a hidden identity. I had no idea!"

"Hmph! That toy scorpion is a typical child star who debuted and then faded into obscurity in just a few years. Go out and ask how many people still remember him. So, to make a name for yourself in the ninja world, it's not just about timing, location, and connections. Toy scorpion had timing; there weren't many super geniuses of his generation back then. He had location; Sunagakure was one of the five great ninja villages. As for connections, as the grandson of the First Kazekage, his status in Sunagakure was unquestionable. It's a pity he ruined his perfect start." Kakuzu continued to despise the little scorpion, doing whatever it took to belittle him.

545. Being a teacher is quite fun.

"Sogga! Write it down, write it down! Playing cards is also important, hmm, hmm!"

Hidan, like a model student, scribbled furiously in his notebook, pen in hand, while muttering to himself. This left Kakuzu completely bewildered; he was eager to know how Hidan could speak and write so quickly at the same time.

"Is there anything else? Is there anything else?"

Hidan, who was halfway through writing, noticed that Kakuzu was silent and offered a reminder.

"Well, that's about it. Right now, you don't have the right timing, location, or people, so you have to wait for the right opportunity. Just like when I spent twenty or thirty years in Takigakure before I got this opportunity, and I just happened to seize it. It's the same for you. You have to be prepared at all times. When the opportunity comes, seize it. Then it will be hard for you not to become famous."

Kakuzu came to his senses and said.

"Sug! This is important. Be prepared and wait for the right opportunity. Hmm, anything else?"

"That's all for today. You won't remember too much if I say too much at once. After you review what I taught today, I'll talk about something else next time," Kakuzu said seriously. Mainly, he couldn't think of any more words. He would have to look them up in the book later. But today he finally understood why his good brother Shanks used to like staying in Konoha as a teacher so much. It turns out that being a teacher and bragging all day is quite enjoyable.

"Alas! If I hadn't attempted to assassinate Hashirama Senju back then, I might have become a renowned teacher myself. What a cruel twist of fate!" Kakuzu sighed inwardly, looking up at the sky.

.......

"Orochimaru, the package has arrived. Come and sign for it. Damn it, this thing is killing me."

After Kakuzu and Hidan returned to the Akatsuki headquarters, they immediately delivered Orochimaru's large machine to his door.

"Lord Orochimaru's experiment is at a critical juncture, you can just leave the things here."

The research institute's doors opened, and a rather delicate-looking figure emerged, with two small dots above his eyebrows on his forehead. He spoke to Hidan without any emotion.

"boom!"

"Hey, you damn brat, do you even know who I am? How dare you talk to me like that?"

Hidan shoved the equipment to the ground, then grabbed the little figure and lifted him to shoulder height, snarling, "Just because you're handsome doesn't mean you can be so arrogant! I'm cool, but I'm still approachable!" The problem of arrogant children's education is getting more and more serious.

"Hehe, Maro-kun is still a child. Hidan-kun, don't take it to heart. Maro-kun, go and bring over the latest pills so that Kakuzu-kun and Hidan-kun can see the results."

Just then, Orochimaru, dressed in a research suit, stepped out and laughed. Orochimaru is starting to look more and more like a research scientist. Like I said before, the research conditions in the Land of Rain are incomparable to those in the underground labs of Konoha. Back in Konoha, there was no such complete equipment; he was always in civilian clothes or Jonin vests. Nothing beats this high-class research suit. Wearing this, Orochimaru felt he'd wasted so many years being a ninja. His true calling was definitely in these scientific experiments.

Orochimaru led Kakuzu and Hidan into the research institute, where a dozen or so young kids lined up in two rows guarding the experiments.

"Orochimaru, I think you could open an orphanage instead of just a research institute. Why did you bring so many kids back?"

Hidan looked at the brats standing so straight and made a sarcastic remark.

"Hehe, Hidan-kun, don't underestimate them. Each of them possesses a bloodline limit just like Maro-kun. These are all my experimental projects."

Although Orochimaru spoke rather calmly, his expression revealed his smugness. After all, bloodline limits are extremely rare in the ninja world, and he possessed more than ten of them, which was already quite remarkable.

"Lord Orochimaru, the new medicine has arrived."