Konoha Drunkard

"That's the difference between a loser and a scientist," Shanks said to Tsunade after arriving on location and seeing the two men.

"A scientist?" Tsunade said she didn't understand.

“Ah, just like Uncle Two, that’s what you call a scientist,” Shanks explained.

"You mean Orochimaru can also develop a lot of ninjutsu like my great-grandfather?" Tsunade was a little skeptical. Her great-grandfather was hailed as the greatest genius ninja in a hundred years and had developed many powerful ninjutsu.

"It should be fine. Don't you think his ninjutsu talent is just as good as Uncle's? The most important thing is his learning spirit. Look at him, he's still reading that book that's only a C-rank Earth Release manual. Other people would have thrown it away long ago after learning this ninjutsu," Shanks said.

Tsunade nodded, acknowledging Shanks' statement.

"You guys are pretty early, Jiraiya, did you stay up all night reading erotic novels?" Shanks teased Tsunade as they got closer.

"What? I was training all night to stay in shape," Jiraiya explained immediately when he saw Tsunade's disgusted expression.

"You don't need to explain, I believe you." Shanks said, as if to say, "I really trust you."

"..." Jiraiya looked up at the sky.

The four left the village and traveled through the mountains and rivers. Half a day later, they arrived at a cave.

"Your mission this time is to kill all the bandits on the opposite mountain. Figure out how to do it yourselves. I'll wait for you here. If you haven't returned by noon tomorrow, I'll go back to the village and report that you died in the mission." After Shanks finished speaking, he sat down on the ground, took out a small wine jug, and leisurely drank some wine.

"Kill...kill someone?" Jiraiya panicked. Having never killed an animal in his entire life, his heart pounded wildly at the thought of killing someone.

"Isn't it normal for ninjas to kill? Since you've chosen to be a ninja, killing is inevitable. Instead of being afraid, let's think of a way to complete this mission." Orochimaru is Orochimaru; he's naturally calm. Shanks gave Orochimaru an appreciative look. "As expected, even if you're a little younger, you're still Orochimaru."

"Exactly, they talk so big all the time, but they always drag their feet when it really matters," Tsunade said smugly.

"Who...who dragged me down? I was just too excited and didn't expect to be able to kill someone," Jiraiya tried his best to cover up.

"Hmm?" Upon hearing Jiraiya's words, the three of them looked at Jiraiya with strange expressions.

The "perverted" Tsunade makes a lot of sarcastic remarks.

“That’s not what I meant…” Jiraiya realized his grammatical error.

"Stop talking nonsense and let's discuss the plan." Orochimaru interrupted Jiraiya.

"I'm not good at this kind of thing, you do it!" Tsunade waved her hand. The meaning was clear: you can handle this little thing.

"Uh..." Jiraiya saw Orochimaru looking at him, pretending to be deep in thought.

"Sigh!" Orochimaru felt so tired; neither of them was reliable.

"Let's find a place to rest at the foot of the opposite mountain and then move out at three o'clock in the morning," Orochimaru said.

"Why wait until midnight? Why don't we just charge up now?" asked Jiraiya, the best supporting actor.

"People sleep most soundly between 3 and 4 a.m., and their mental state is most relaxed. That's when we can act most easily," said Orochimaru, the best male lead.

"Very well, let's do as Orochimaru says," Tsunade finally decided. She knew she wasn't good at battle planning, so it was more reliable to leave it to the most well-read person in the team. Jiraiya, that brainless idiot, was even less capable than her.

The three acted immediately after speaking. Shanks certainly wouldn't just wait for them as he claimed; after all, one of them was his niece, another a future mad scientist, and the third a future mentor to the protagonist and his father—a key figure in Naruto. If anything happened to them, how could the Naruto story continue? So, after they left, Shanks followed them at a distance, using his Observation Haki to sense them.

The three found a secluded spot at the foot of the mountain to rest and recuperate. After all, they were about to kill someone, and even Orochimaru was a little nervous. Fearing his plan wasn't perfect, he closed his eyes and kept rehearsing it in his mind. Jiraiya, needless to say, tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Tsunade, like Orochimaru, sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and tried her best to control her emotions.

Seeing that it was still early, Shanks sat down in a tree and took out a recently popular novel, "The Great Battle of the Rich and Powerful Families in the Land of Thunder," to read. Shanks couldn't help but complain about the authors of this world; a perfectly good story about a wealthy family had been turned into a martial arts epic.

In the dead of night, under a dark and windy sky, three figures moved swiftly through the mountains. They arrived at the bandits' hideout at exactly 3:10 AM.

"There are two guards at the gate. Jiraiya and I will go and take them out. Tsunade will stay behind and keep watch," said Orochimaru, the natural-born conductor.

"OK." Tsunade had no problem.

"Okay...okay," Jiraiya replied, his legs trembling slightly.

"I'll go with you, Jiraiya will be on guard." Tsunade was worried that Jiraiya might not be reliable at a crucial moment.

"No need. You stay on guard and let Jiraiya go," Orochimaru said seriously. If Jiraiya couldn't get past this hurdle, he would have to give up being a ninja. He had trained with Hiruzen Sarutobi for two years, so it was impossible for them not to have feelings for each other. Therefore, Orochimaru wanted to help Jiraiya. Whether he could get through this hurdle depended on him.

"That's right, don't try to take it from me," Jiraiya said, calming down a bit.

"Go!" Orochimaru shouted, charging straight at one of the guards and easily slicing his throat with a kunai before the guard could react.

"Sizzle!" Jiraiya had originally followed Orochimaru's method, but due to hesitation and nervousness, he plunged the kunai into the guard's throat. Blood gushed out from the guard's throat, spraying all over Jiraiya's body, staining his white hair red. He looked terrifying, like a murderous maniac.

Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya with surprise. Tsunade followed and looked at Jiraiya with a strange expression.

Jiraiya stood there, his mind blank, his eyes vacant. "Hurry up and move. Don't make too much of a commotion," Orochimaru said, ignoring Jiraiya, and spoke to Tsunade.

Leaving Jiraiya behind, Orochimaru and Tsunade went from room to room collecting heads. Not long after, the two met in a room. Orochimaru's face was only slightly pale, which was not noticeable unless you looked closely. Tsunade's face was much worse, but she gritted her teeth and persevered.

"This is the only room left." The two exchanged a glance, nodded, and slowly crept into the room. They had just opened the door.

"Who goes there!" a voice came from inside the room, and the two men rushed out. One was around thirty years old; one wore an eyepatch over his left eye and looked menacing, while the other had blond hair braided into many plaits. Both wore headbands typical of Kusagakure ninja, but a line across the middle clearly indicated they were rogue ninja from Kusagakure.

“Two Konoha brats, and another one standing outside daydreaming. They’re obviously treating us like a test,” said the one-eyed rogue ninja.

"Such a little brat dares to try and kill us. It seems Konoha has a lot of geniuses. But it looks like we're going to die here tonight," the blond rogue ninja said cruelly.

"Go!" Orochimaru is Orochimaru. If you can avoid fighting, then go for it. Tsunade saw Orochimaru go for it and didn't waste any words. She directly swung her fist at the blond rogue ninja.

Orochimaru's taijutsu was mediocre, and a child's body couldn't compare to an adult's, so he quickly found himself at a disadvantage!

"Sizzle"

A one-eyed rogue ninja stabbed Orochimaru in the body with a kunai. "Orochimaru!" Tsunade's eyes turned red when she saw Orochimaru killed, and she raised her fist. She threw a "Super Strength Fist" at the blond rogue ninja, but the experienced blond rogue ninja dodged it.

"Earth Clone!" The one-eyed rogue ninja had a bad feeling when he saw the person he had stabbed turn into a pile of dirt.

"Escape from Earth. Huangyan Marsh"

The soil around the one-eyed rogue ninja turned into mud. The one-eyed rogue ninja was slow to react and his body slowly sank into the mud.

With a "bang," the body of the one-eyed rogue ninja turned into a cloud of smoke.

Orochimaru's pupils contracted as he heard the "Clone Technique".

"Bang!" A rogue ninja with one eye appeared behind Orochimaru and kicked him in the back.

"bang bang bang"

Orochimaru was kicked to the ground.

"Jiraiya, what are you doing? Come and help!" Seeing that Orochimaru was no match for her and that she herself had no way to deal with the blond rogue ninja in front of her, Tsunade had no choice but to ask Jiraiya for help.

Hearing Tsunade's cry, Jiraiya's eyes regained some of their light. He saw Orochimaru lying on the ground, and a blindfolded man holding a kunai, preparing to kill him. In a moment of impulsiveness, he rushed to help.

However, his reckless charge was clearly futile, and he was kicked away by a one-eyed rogue ninja.

Orochimaru seized the opportunity to engage in a fierce battle with the one-eyed rogue ninja. With Jiraiya's help, the two fought the one-eyed rogue ninja to a standstill.

As time went on, Tsunade gradually suppressed the blond-haired rogue ninja. The blond-haired rogue ninja was not as strong as Tsunade to begin with. At first, he could only fight Tsunade to a draw by relying on his combat experience. As time went on, Tsunade got used to his fighting style, and the gap became apparent.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya continued their battle with One-Eye. Orochimaru took the lead in the attack, while Jiraiya provided support. They fought skillfully, but both of them sustained many small cuts. Suddenly, One-Eye accelerated and kicked Orochimaru and Jiraiya respectively.

"Bang bang!" The two clones exploded.

Taking advantage of the moment when one eye was off guard, Jiraiya and Orochimaru each took a kunai and stabbed it into the other eye's body from below, one in front and one behind.

"Ah!" One-Eyed cried out in agony and then fell silent.

The blond-haired rogue ninja, distracted by his elder brother's screams, was sent flying by Tsunade's powerful punch, crashing into the wall and breaking it. He died instantly.

38. The second male lead's father was born. "Please give flowers!" "Please add to your favorites!"

"huhuhuhu"

After the battle, the three men collapsed to their knees, panting.

"Ugh!" Jiraiya was the first to vomit.

"Ugh, ugh," two voices echoed after Jiraiya made the sound.

After the three of them vomited, they rested for half an hour and regained some strength. Tsunade then summoned a slug to treat the two of them before descending the mountain.

Shanks went back to the cave to wait for them after they finished fighting.

The three returned just as dawn was breaking. They were all pale, and Jiraiya was so disgusted that there was still vomit residue at the corner of his mouth. His white hair was stained red, and there was blood on his face.

He's a complete and utterly deranged and murderous psychopath.

"Jiraiya, how was it? Did killing feel good?" Shanks joked.

"Well... of course, it's just killing someone, I'm perfectly fine," Jiraiya said, trying to sound tough.

"Hmph," two disdainful glances were cast from both sides.

"Haha! I'll only believe you more if you clean the residue from the corner of your mouth first," Shanks laughed.

"You bastard!" Jiraiya quickly wiped his mouth with his clothes.

"Since the three of you have come back dressed like this, it means you've completed your mission. But before you go back, Jiraiya, you'd better wash yourself clean, lest people think you're a murderous psychopath!" Shanks continued to tease Jiraiya.

The four found a river, and the three of them waited by the river for Jiraiya to finish washing before returning to the village.

.....

Shanks told them to go home first. He still had to report to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"How did they perform?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, a pipe dangling from his mouth.

"Orochimaru was calm and performed flawlessly. He just lacked combat experience. Tsunade... she was alright, quite calm as well, but like Orochimaru, she also lacked combat experience. Jiraiya wasn't calm enough and his strength was rather weak, but he did perform reasonably well by killing a special Jonin alongside Orochimaru in the end," Shanks commented, puffing out his shoulders.

"Hmm! That's fair enough. Starting tomorrow, you'll lead them to take on C-rank missions and occasionally B-rank missions as well," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, his brows furrowed.

"What's wrong? You look like you have something on your mind?" Shanks asked curiously, noticing Hiruzen Sarutobi's furrowed brows.

“It’s nothing. The Anbu recently received intelligence that the Land of Rain is in some turmoil. I’m worried it might affect us,” Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"The Land of Rain? I've heard that someone named Hanzo the Salamander has been quite prominent lately," Shanks said. Actually, Shanks didn't know much about the Land of Rain, but he had heard of the demigod-like figure from the manga in his previous life.

"The Anbu only learned that Hanzo the Salamander was planning a coup in the Land of Rain, but the specifics are unclear," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Why worry so much? The Land of Rain is in its own internal strife, why are you meddling in this? We'll know their true attitude after they finish their coup," Shanks said before disappearing.

"Sigh!" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as he watched Shanks' departing figure.

.........

"What? The Uchiha clan chief having a son is none of my business. The child isn't even mine." Shanks had just returned home when Senju Koma summoned him to the main hall. Mito had asked him to represent the Senju clan in delivering gifts.

“How can you talk like that? It’s like a clan chief has a son, so we should send a gift. But Kijima is a dullard and doesn’t know how to talk, so you go and send a gift on his behalf,” Mito said, rolling her eyes at Shanks.

"Auntie, you mean you want me to talk nonsense to ghosts?" Shanks rolled his eyes back.