Konoha Drunkard

Soon after, the person who went to investigate returned. "He's a distant relative of the famous man's concubine. He just arrived today and plans to open a bathhouse in our village."

"Was he actually measuring by gesturing with his hand just now?" asked the ninja who had been hiding in the shadows.

"Probably, but I don't know anything about architecture, so I don't know," said the ninja who was researching.

"Never mind him. Konoha ninjas have already been killed here, so they probably won't come back. Let's go keep watch elsewhere. Only the Iwa ninjas haven't arrived yet."

"Do you think the Iwa ninja will come? After all, they've killed people from Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha; the news has probably already spread."

"Probably not. Lord Shokuta has already blocked the news; it can't get out."

After the two ninjas finished talking, they went to the place the Iwa ninjas had mentioned and waited for them to appear.

"They've definitely betrayed us or been discovered. I just don't know if they've all been found out." Shanks said after sensing the two ninjas in the shadows leave.

"Looks like they've all found out. What's Kirigakure up to? Instead of sticking to their grand family dramas, they've switched to making spy movies. Spy movies don't have an audience, huh?" Shanks went to three different places, and each time he was being watched from the shadows by Kirigakure ninjas.

Shanks had no choice but to find a place to rest and think of a solution tomorrow.

Around midnight, Shanks suddenly sensed a chakra fluctuation in the distance and quickly ran over to investigate. He had barely reached the area when he saw a group of Mist Ninja chasing three ninjas. All three ninjas were using Earth Release techniques, suggesting they were likely Iwa Ninjas.

"Could it be that not only Konoha has been discovered, but other ninja villages have been found as well?" Shanks thought to himself from the shadows. The three Iwa ninja were quite strong; they had only suffered minor injuries after being chased for so long.

Shanks was about to praise the three Iwa ninja when they were killed by a ninja wielding a super-sized machete. This ninja was shirtless, had a sallow complexion, shark-like teeth, and a long nose; he didn't look human at all...

"This must be the current owner of the Executioner's Blade. It stinks so bad," Shanks muttered to himself.

Shanks slowly retreated to his residence and lay on his bed in deep thought.

"Damn it. Why didn't I watch more spy movies before?" Shanks thought with a hint of regret.

34. It turns out it was because I asked for "flowers" and "favorites".

The next day, Shanks wandered aimlessly through the streets of Kirigakure. To be honest, before the Blood Mist Era began, this village was pretty good except for the abundance of fog. It had a unique architectural style and was as prosperous as Konoha, much better than Sunagakure, which Shanks had visited.

"No wonder when Boruto aired, Kirigakure surpassed Konoha to become the village that everyone on Earth wanted to live in," Shanks thought.

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"What's wrong with you? Can't you watch where you're going?"

"I'm so sorry I got your clothes dirty, I'll pay for them."

"Damn it, this isn't about paying compensation; you bumped into me, so what do you suggest we do?"

Shanks' voice sounded like a typical spoiled brat bullying an innocent girl. Approaching closer, they looked up and saw three little brats harassing a woman a full twelve years their senior. "What kind of tactic is this? Even the Uchiha wouldn't dare use this."

"I'll pay for your clothes. I'm so sorry!"

"That's what the older sister said."

"You just wait, don't you dare leave!"

One of the kids in the middle arrogantly finished speaking and left with two little followers. This was their tactic to recruit people for a fight!

"..." Shanks looked up at the sky speechlessly. "Are the people of Kirigakure all so kind? How come this brat has survived until now?"

The key point is that this older sister actually waited. After a short while, three little kids came over with a ninja who was about the same age as the older sister.

"Minazuki, did you hit my brother?"

"Pfft!!!! Minazuki Sei...." Shanks greatly admired the ancients' talent for naming.

"I didn't mean to. I've already apologized to him and am prepared to pay for his clothes," Minazuki said helplessly.

"Is it enough to just apologize after hitting my brother Huang?" the man said arrogantly.

"Then what do you want?" the sperm asked helplessly.

"..." Now it was the newcomer's turn to be dumbfounded. "Yes, they apologized and offered compensation, what more do they want?"

"Hey!" Shanks stroked his chin, thinking this young man was quite talented.

"This... I'll let it go this time, but you better watch out." After uttering these harsh words, the newcomer took the three kids and disappeared.

"...What are you doing, brother? I've already bought soda and sunflower seeds, and this is what you're doing?" Shanks continued to look up at the sky.

After that person left with the three little brats, Shanks approached the older woman and asked, "Beautiful lady, who are those guys? Why were they so arrogant in Kirigakure?"

“...I’m a man, not a prostitute,” Minazuki said.

"...Ahem...sorry, sorry, I just arrived in Kirigakure yesterday. By the way, who are those people? They were so arrogant. They dared to threaten you even knowing you're from the Mizuki clan?" Shanks looked at the other person's appearance and surname and understood.

"They are from the Hozuki clan. Ever since the Second Hokage became the Mizukage, their clan has always been like this. However, they only talk the talk; they generally don't actually take action," Minazuki Seiko explained.

"So he's a master of empty talk too," Shanks thought to himself after hearing this, and a plan formed in his mind.

"Well, I'm sorry to bother you. I'm planning to do business in the village, and I'm really afraid of running into them again," Shanks laughed.

"Really? They rarely take action in the village. At most, they'll just scare you. Don't worry."

"Haha, then I'll take my leave. I need to check out the shop first," Shanks said, bidding farewell.

"Okay, sayonara!"

......

Shanks wandered around for a bit before returning to his lodgings to wait for nightfall. He truly hadn't expected the Hozuki clan kids to be so talented. Generally, parents who raise kids like this are probably similar. Look at Uchiha Fugaku; he was never arrogant. He was just a little haughty, but much better than other Uchiha clan members, which is why he could raise a genius like Uchiha Itachi, who wiped out the entire clan for the village. Sometimes Shanks even wondered if Kagami had cheated on Fugaku with his father, otherwise, how could their grandsons have such similar personalities...?

Tonight, under a dark and windy sky, Shanks, dressed entirely in black and masked except for his eyes, sneaked into the Hozuki clan's territory using his Observation Haki. In a house, he found the two arrogant brats from that morning. Sitting before them were a man and woman in their thirties, presumably their parents. He slipped inside and, before they could react, knocked them unconscious. Just as the two brats were about to make their move…

.

"bang bang"

They lay down too. Shanks tied them up.

.......

"Ooh ooh ooh"

When the parents woke up and found themselves tied up, they struggled desperately.

"Shh!"

"I advise you to calm down and think about your situation," Shanks said slowly, his face masked.

Shanks spoke slowly after the two had calmed down and stopped struggling.

"Now I'll say something. If you know the answer, nod; if you don't, shake your head. Don't be stubborn. I know your Hozuki clan can turn their bodies into water, but I don't know if your heads can too. If you're stubborn, I'll draw a turtle on your faces." Shanks said slowly, taking out a small knife.

The man and woman nodded together, saying "Oh, oh, oh."

For them, death is not scary; what is scary is going out every day with a turtle on their face, unless they wear a mask.

"It's starting. Are you aware of the recent killings of Iwa ninja in the village?" Shanks asked.

"Ooh ooh ooh"

The two nodded together.

"Do you know why the Iwa ninja were killed?"

"Ooh ooh ooh"

The man shook his head, while the woman urged him to nod.

"Hey! Looks like someone's up to no good. How about we draw your youngest son first?" Shanks said, about to go over and stab the brat.

The woman seemed to have something to say.

"Don't you dare yell before I give you a chance to speak, or I guarantee your whole family will have a turtle on their face before I run away." Shanks said, then cut the rope around the woman's mouth.

"My husband doesn't know about this. I only heard about it from my father," the woman quickly explained. She had just heard him only ask about the murder of the Iwa ninja, and assumed the killer was one of them. She quickly told the truth, as the entire ninja world knew how deep the hatred between the Iwa ninja and the Hozuki clan ran.

"Your father? Is he a big shot?" Shanks asked.

"My father is the third elder of the family. As long as you release us, I guarantee you will leave the Water Kingdom safely." The woman spoke of her father with pride.

"It seems to be a hereditary disease. She still can't tell the situation at this point," Shanks said, observing the woman's expression.

"We Iwa ninja have never been afraid of death. If you say another word of nonsense, I will really start drawing." Shanks moved her youngest son to her feet.

"I'm asking you, how did they know they were spies from our Iwagakure?"

"I don't know that, my father didn't say, but I do know that it wasn't just your Iwa ninja who were killed, Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure were also killed."

"Why would they do this? Aren't you Kirigakure people vying for the position of Mizukage?"

“My father said this was Lord Shita’s idea.”

Why did Shita-ma do that?

“My father didn’t say anything either, but recently it’s been said in our clan that the clan head and Lord Shokuta are planning to select a member of the Hozuki clan to be a Jinchūriki.”

Shanks, having heard this, basically understood what was going on. "I didn't expect that I, the Tailed Beast Demon Star, would make Shokuta Makoto so nervous," Shanks thought with a hint of smugness.

"Since you're so honest, I have no reason to cut your faces. I, Onoki, am the most awesome and trustworthy person. You can go back to sleep." Shanks said, then knocked them unconscious.

Shanks sneaked back to his lodgings. Lying on his bed, he pondered the words of the woman from the Hozuki clan. "So the problem lies with me. Shokuta thought so highly of me; should I take advantage of their sealing of the Three-Tails?" Shanks thought about it and felt a surge of impulse. However, he remembered that Kirigakure's situation was different from Sunagakure's during World War I. Back then, Sunagakure was weak internally, and now, without Sakumo's help, the difficulty was practically cosmic. The Three-Tails wasn't as easy to fool as the One-Tails. He decided against it. Besides, it was a truce period; if he accidentally started another world war, that wouldn't be fun. Right now, he needed to play it safe and develop his strength. Shanks realized he'd become too arrogant lately, daring to even think about such things.

The next morning, Shanks left Kirigakure. At the village entrance, he was simply asked why he was leaving, which was standard procedure in every village, given the large number of merchants and travelers. Shanks' reason was simple: to go back and raise funds.

It was the same old "doorman." "Pah! I could tell he was a poor bastard the moment I saw him."

"Alright, what if they really do come back and open a shop? Maybe we can get a discount if we know someone there," another doorman said.

Shanks returned the way he came, this time without sightseeing like he had on the way there. He still swam back to Konoha, just in case God got drunk and opened a ventilation shaft in his roof, allowing him to find a Tremor-Tremor Fruit in the ocean...

35. Konoha, 16: "Seeking flowers" and "Seeking favorites"

As it turns out, even if God is drunk, he might be opening someone else's ventilation duct. Shanks returned to Konoha after more than a month of wandering, without finding a single thing.

"It seems the Hozuki clan and Shokuta are planning to use the Three-Tails to seize the position of Mizukage. Shokuta was already a highly respected former subordinate of the First and Second Mizukage, and with the support of the Hozuki clan, even if Kaguya and the Minazuki clan disagree, it's only a matter of time before he becomes Mizukage. However, if they can control a Jinchuriki now, they can also stop the internal strife in Kirigakure." Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed a seasoned politician; he could deduce so much from the information Shanks provided.

"Well. My mission is over. You promised me three months of rest, don't forget, I've been working myself to death during this time." Shanks stretched and said.

"Go back and rest," Hiruzen Sarutobi said helplessly.

..........

..........

Konoha 16 years