Konoha Drunkard

The second male lead, covered in blood and his pants, brought Kado over and pointed at the unconscious Savior, asking, "The Savior's outburst just now was definitely not his own power. The second male lead knew this very well. He had fought the Savior one-on-one more than once or twice over the years, and he knew the Savior's level very well. The violent power just now felt to him not like a human being at all, but like a beast without any feelings."

"...This is a sealing technique of the Uzumaki clan. Naruto's mother sealed the power of a demon beast inside his body when he was born to protect him. At the time, the sealing technique was so powerful that it summoned the entire demon beast..."

Kaden simply shifted the blame to the Uzumaki clan. After all, the Uzumaki clan had plenty of strange sealing techniques, including the legendary Tengu, so summoning a monster wouldn't be anything unusual.

"Aunt Kushina?"

The second male lead was stunned. He wanted to confirm whether the person Kakashi mentioned was the one he knew. Back then, Aunt Kushina had indeed said she would teach him ninjutsu, but seeing how long it took her to unleash even a Great Fireball Jutsu, he had given up hope. Now, he was surprised to hear that Aunt Kushina's strength wasn't in ninjutsu but in sealing techniques. All these years, he had missed out on such a powerful sealing technique!

"Ah, Lady Kushina is a princess of the Uzumaki clan, so she naturally knows many powerful sealing techniques."

Kadian said matter-of-factly that there were many records of the Nine-Tailed Fox's rampage, and the rumors also said that it was caused by a demon fox. Even if these two brats investigated, they wouldn't find anything.

647. You can find connections everywhere.

When Kakashi carried the unconscious savior, and the second male lead, along with Gato, escorted Tazuna home, the Land of Waves, despite lacking ninja, was full of hot-tempered individuals. Having been bullied by Gato for so long, and when Gato and his henchmen had previously come, none of them dared to show their faces. Now that Gato had lost, their tempers flared. They grabbed weapons and stormed to Tazuna's doorstep, shouting and demanding revenge on Gato. If it weren't for various reasons that had kept them from doing so all those years, they would have driven Gato out of the country long ago…

Although Kashin and his group despised these people, they had just fought a major battle and didn't have time to argue with them. Since this Gato wasn't any better, they decided to just let them handle it. However, before handing Gato over, Kashin used a small illusion spell on him to find out where he kept his valuables. Gato was a well-known tycoon, and although Kashin considered money worthless, the village wouldn't complain about having too much. Gato's wealth could at least secure the village's income for one or two years. Kashin had finally grown up. After resting at Tazuna's house for three to five days, and once the savior had recovered, they would take inventory of Gato's wealth and then return to the village.

..............

"You are...uh...you really are Kisame?"

Looking at the polite shark-faced man in front of him, Shanks wondered if this guy had been possessed. He was completely different from the fierce man Shanks had been when he watched him raid Danzo's base a few years ago. This guy was dressed in a suit and tie that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, looking every bit the successful businessman. If it weren't for the giant sword Hashira on his back, Shanks would have almost not recognized him.

"Red-haired sir, my full name is Kisame Hoshigaki, a former member of the Kirigakure Anbu, and an assistant to Suigetsu Fuguki."

As Itachi's confidant, Kisame figured his teacher was an elder, and since there was no conflict between them, leaving a good impression was the right thing to do. So, apart from his face, he replaced every part of his body that could be replaced.

"...Um...you've come to see me about something? You know I've been retired for a long time, and it's not cheap to ask me to come back to work."

Shanks feigned ignorance. He was truly unaccustomed to Kisame's pedantic way of speaking. Another highly educated individual! Despite Kisame's constant fighting, he must have received an excellent education, completely different from Shanks's laissez-faire upbringing. Getting him to talk like that was harder than killing him.

"It's like this, by a stroke of luck..."

"Stop, stop, stop! Please speak in a way that I can understand..."

Kisame's good looks combined with his overly refined way of speaking are such a stark contrast. And are all the people of the Land of Water this cultured? His best friend Minazuki's suicide note was also written in such a literary style; thankfully, he had some schooling, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to understand a word it said. And now this muscular Kisame is the same.

"Uh... to put it simply, Itachi and I are friends. He couldn't come to Konoha for some reason, so as his friend, I brought you the sake on his behalf."

Distracted by Shanks, Kisame forgot his prepared speech. Before coming, he had thought that this Konoha Shanks was an educator, and educators are usually cultured people. So he spent the whole night thinking about his eloquent speech. Now, it was all for nothing.

"So that's how it is. My precious disciple is so lucky to have such a loyal friend like you. You have no idea Danzo is still after you! Hahaha... Come, come, come inside. Today I'll have a couple of drinks with you and your brother. You're Itachi's friend, so we're practically family. If you need anything in the future, just mention my name. I, Shanks, still have some influence."

For some reason, Shanks couldn't help but laugh whenever he thought about Danzo's family being wiped out, especially when he remembered Danzo's constipated expression... It was just too funny! Shanks laughed without any regard for his image, patting Kisame on the shoulder like they were best buddies.

"......"

Kisame was completely bewildered as Shanks pulled him into the cabin. He didn't seem to understand the dynamics of this relationship. He and Itachi were friends, brothers, and now this red-haired man was saying they were brothers too. If he and this red-haired man were brothers, wouldn't he be a generation older than Itachi...? But he was still so young...

"By the way, where are you working now? How's the pay? How did you meet my precious disciple? I haven't seen him for years. How is he? Where is he working now?"

Shanks invited Kisame into the house, sat him down, opened two bottles of wine, and started chatting away.

"Uh... I met Itachi a few years ago and spent some time with him. I don't know where he is now. I'm also a wanderer in the ninja world and don't have a fixed place. I happened to run into him once last week and he seemed to be in a bit of a predicament. I had nothing else to do, so I brought you the sake for him."

Kisame was almost caught off guard by Shanks's census-like approach, but luckily he was quick-witted enough not to reveal anything about the Akatsuki.

"Sog! You still don't have a job? That must be really tough. I have a good brother who's been doing really well these past few days. If you're interested, you can go find him. Just say I introduced you. His arrangements will definitely satisfy you. You've heard of Kakuzu, the famous pharmaceutical tycoon in the ninja world, right? We're all on the same side. You can ask him for help if you need anything."

Shanks chugs a bottle of liquor from who-knows-where, and said it was quite delicious, his face starting to flush.

"puff!"

"Lord Red Envelope, do you know Kakuzu?"

Upon hearing Kakuzu's name, Kisame spat out the mouthful of sake he had just taken a sip. Wasn't Kakuzu their Akatsuki's finance minister? How did he become this red-haired man's good friend? He really didn't know that. No wonder Itachi was treated so well in the organization. He had wondered before why Itachi's treatment was so good—living in a mansion, eating high-end food, and even having servants to wait on him. He was comparable to Orochimaru. Apart from Orochimaru and Itachi, the rest of the organization members lived in dilapidated wooden huts, damp and leaky every day. The difference in treatment was too great. But since Kakuzu controlled the finances, and they were just waiting to die and drinking, they couldn't say anything.

However, Orochimaru is Kakuzu's production line, while Itachi and Kakuzu have no interest in working together. Now he realizes that Itachi's ability to enjoy emperor-like treatment within the organization is entirely due to the Shanks. Of course, that stingy Kakuzu would take good care of his good brother's disciple. This world is truly infuriating; there are always people with connections everywhere.

648. Konohamaru got beaten up.

"Of course! Kakuzu and I have been brothers for decades. I met him before World War II even started! Many people in the ninja world know this, don't you?"

Shanks was curious. Kisame was such a shut-in. Back then, he and Kakuzu were famous financial giants. Why did Kisame seem so surprised when he heard that he knew Kakuzu?

"........."

Kakuzu shook his head blankly. He really didn't know, and no one had told him about this. Kakuzu was also a very busy person in the organization, and he hadn't seen him many times throughout the year. He rarely even attended the monthly organization meetings. How could he possibly know?

"Lord Red-Haired, Kakuzu is a notorious rogue ninja. Aren't you afraid that befriending him will damage your reputation?"

After a couple of drinks, Kisame loosened up and talked to Shanks about everything except revealing information about the organization.

"Let me tell you, I never look at a person's background when I make friends. I befriend people based on their hearts. Besides, reputation is earned through hard work. If you don't have the ability, no matter how famous you are, you're just a stepping stone for others. No matter how much you try to protect it, it's useless."

Shanks said nonchalantly. Having been in the industry for so long, he had long seen through it all. What use is fame or reputation if you don't have the strength to back it up? Back then, Shamon was also very famous and had a good reputation. After all, he was one of the participants in the first peace talks. But when he was killed by him and his two best buddies, some people in the ninja world said that Shamon was a fraud.

"Red-haired sir, you're so generous!"

Kisame, drunk and grinning with his shark-like mouth, said, "No wonder he could teach a man as loyal and righteous as Itachi. If only he had been born in Konoha, there wouldn't be so much darkness, so much treachery. If he were in Konoha, nobody would even think of defecting..."

Moreover, unlike the arrogant and aloof strongmen he usually encountered, this Konoha Red Hair was completely unpretentious and chatted animatedly with him, a rogue ninja, without caring at all about his status as a rogue ninja.

...........

"Shikamaru, have you noticed that there seem to be a lot more strangers in the village? What's going on?"

In the card room of Konoha Park, today was a rare day of rest, and the Saviors were gathered here with nothing to do.

"Idiot, those are people who came to the village to take the Chunin Exams. You can tell they're not from our village just by looking at their ninja headbands."

Karin slowly flipped through a thick book on sealing techniques while saying disdainfully that despising the savior had become the duty and right of every friend.

"The Chunin Exams???? How come I didn't know about them?"

The savior shouted, looking around at his companions who all seemed to know, while he remained oblivious.

"Didn't you already fill out that registration form yesterday?"

The girl with the broad forehead said curiously, "This guy was the first to sign yesterday, could it be that he didn't read what it said?"

"I thought it was a summer camp registration form, so I didn't even look at it."

The savior shrugged. In fact, he was so annoyed by that brat Konohamaru yesterday that he had no mood to read those messy words.

"...Idiot! You're being so irresponsible. Kakashi-sensei said that if even one person in the team fails a challenge, the entire team will be eliminated."

The girl with the broad forehead grabbed the savior's neck with both hands, and was furious. She really wanted to strangle this idiot. She had filled out the form because she thought the savior was very confident because he looked indifferent. She didn't expect that this idiot hadn't even read the contents. Wasn't he just making things difficult for her?

She was quite confident in herself regarding the exams; her hesitation to fill out the form stemmed from her worry about Kakashi, the "savior" who was at the bottom of the class. After all, Kakashi had said that if one person failed, the whole class would be dragged down.

"He...he's stopped breathing!"

The savior was dizzy from being choked, and his speech was intermittent, as if he was about to die.

"Big brother! I've been beaten up! You have to avenge me!"

Just as the savior was about to die, three little brats rushed in, the leader of them, bruised and battered, crying and shouting at the savior.

"What? Which bastard did this? Take me there!"

The dying savior heard his younger brother's voice, turned around, and saw a guy with a face swollen like a pig's head standing in front of him. Wasn't that Konohamaru? How did he turn into a pig's head?

However, upon hearing that someone dared to beat up his underlings in Konoha, the Savior's temper flared up. He escaped the clutches of the broad-browed girl in one fell swoop, and instantly his arrogant demeanor returned. Didn't he know that Konoha was his territory? Daring to beat up his underlings in Konoha was disrespectful to him.

"It was an ugly monster, with something like a big doll on its back, like the kind that Ebisu-sensei has at home..."

A little girl behind Konohamaru complained, "They say girls are more observant, and it's true! When her friend was being attacked, she was carefully observing the culprit's appearance, and she even noticed that the person was carrying a doll that looked just like Ebisu's."

"Where are they? Take me there!"

The savior, in a menacing manner, rolled up his sleeves and grabbed Konohamaru, pulling him outside.

"Should we go over there? I'm afraid Naruto won't be able to handle it..."

Shino Aburame, wearing small sunglasses and looking like a gangster, said in a low voice.

"...I think we should still go and see. Naruto is our classmate, after all. It would be embarrassing for us if he got beaten up."

Kiba Inuzuka, sporting a husky-like hairstyle, pondered for a moment and suggested, "After all these years as classmates, Naruto's only real talent is his talk; he's not much of a fighter. Although he often competes with Naruto for attention, we should unite against a common enemy right now and put aside our personal grudges."

"...Let's go. Everyone in the village knows Konohamaru. Anyone who can beat him must be from outside the village. If we've already beaten Konohamaru, then Naruto won't be a problem either."

Little Cannon reluctantly sat up and followed. This was the reason he secretly came to the card room to sleep in during his break. With so many outsiders in the village now, there would definitely be a lot of trouble. Someone like him, who hates trouble, naturally tries to avoid it if possible. He didn't expect that even hiding here would still bring trouble. After all, they were childhood friends, and in a way, cousins. If he didn't clean up Naruto's mess, who would? Besides, Naruto wasn't very bright; without him covering for him, who knew what kind of trouble would arise?

The big boss of the "Little Skyrocket" gang had all gone, so they couldn't just stand by and do nothing; it was all for the collective honor!

A small group of friends followed behind, wanting to see who was so bold as to dare to attack Konoha's people on Konoha's territory.

649. The Hokage's son fights for territory.

"Huh? What's going on? Where are all of you going?"

"I don't know. I heard from them that the Hokage's son, Naruto, was going to fight someone for territory, so I went along to see what was going on."

"Really! I'll have to go check it out. It's been a long time since I've seen such a big scene. Wow! Naruto's influence is pretty good. There must be over a hundred people here, right?"

"Let's go, stop talking nonsense. If we're late, the event will probably be over."

"........."

Naruto was followed by a small version of the Skyrocket, and behind that was a small group of scattered friends. Along the way, many onlookers were curious about what so many of them were going to do and followed behind to see what was going on.

As more and more people gathered behind him, the scene eventually resembled Naruto leading a group to claim territory.

"What?! Naruto's fighting over territory? What's going on?"

It's a crucial time for preparing for the joint Chunin Exams, and with so many people illegally gathering, especially since the ringleader is the Hokage's son, the Anbu naturally had to report it to the Hokage, Minato. Minato nearly bit his tongue upon hearing this. Did his son really have that much influence? How come he didn't know?

"...I heard it from a villager who was following behind, but I did see that the grandson of the third generation was swollen like a pig's head."

The ANBU member recalled the conversation between the villagers and spoke to Minato.

"Konohamaru got beaten up? Let's go see what happened."

Minato became worried about Konohamaru. After all, he was the Third Hokage's only grandson, the orphan of their village hero, Little Green Sprout. If something happened to Konohamaru, how would the Third Hokage live? Since Little Green Sprout's passing, watching the Third Hokage grow older day by day, Minato felt a sense of a hero's decline. The Third Hokage only had this one heir left; none of Asuma's dozen or so "sons" were from the Hokage's family.

"Hey? Zuo Tian, ​​where are you guys headed? Is your dad home?"

Shanks was sitting in front of a small stall when he saw a large crowd of people passing by. He called out to a young man standing next to the crowd.