Konoha Drunkard

"What?! He's Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin?"

They had been inquiring about Orochimaru for two months, and the girl with the broad forehead had naturally heard of Jiraiya's name as well. He was the "yellow" one of the "yellow, gambling, and drugs" Sannin. At this moment, she felt that the title was indeed accurate. No one but Jiraiya could have such an amazing lewd aura.

..........

"What are you two brats doing in the Land of Rice Fields? And Naruto, didn't I tell you not to call me the Perverted Sage?"

In a tavern, Jiraiya, whose head was swollen like a pig's, was vigorously rubbing Naruto's head. If Naruto's resilience hadn't been maxed out, the result would have been far more than just a bruised and swollen face.

"Perverted Sage, we're here to find Orochimaru. He took Sasuke away, and we want to bring him back to the village."

Naruto said this while Jiraiya was ravaging his blond hair.

"What?! You two brats dared to sneak out to find Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya was startled by Naruto's words. These two brats were too bold, especially Naruto. He was Minato's son and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. If they were discovered, it would be no joke.

"Last time the Sand Village attacked, my father and the others were busy, and Kakashi-sensei was injured by Orochimaru, so we came on our own. Anyway, we're determined to bring Sasuke back no matter what."

Naruto said, clenching his fist tightly.

"Sog! But I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Orochimaru isn't in the Land of Rice Fields. I've been looking for Orochimaru for so many years and I still can't find him. How could you two brats possibly find him? You'd better go back quietly and not worry people."

He had also heard about Hiruko killing and impersonating Rasa to attack Konoha. He just marveled at Hiruko's good fortune. He was seriously injured by the three Sannin back then but he didn't die and didn't even worry about the village being unable to protect it. He was joking. With so many double-flower red sticks in the village, let alone the Sand Village, even the Five Nations Alliance might not be able to do anything to Konoha.

"Is Jiraiya-sama also looking for Orochimaru?"

"I've never heard of the love-hate relationship between the Three Ninja," the girl with the broad forehead asked.

"Yes, I've been looking for him for over ten years. Orochimaru isn't particularly skilled in other areas, but when it comes to hiding, he's second to none in the ninja world. Finding him is incredibly difficult. Moreover, judging from what you've said, Orochimaru clearly planned to take that Uchiha brat away. How could you possibly find him so easily?"

Jiraiya said, sipping his sake.

679. Not composed enough.

"No! I have to find Sasuke no matter what, and bring that despicable bastard back!"

"Alright! You two little devils will be following me around for the time being."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto with his determined eyes and the girl with the wide forehead. He knew that they wouldn't go back unless he made these two kids give up. But he couldn't let them wander around outside, especially Naruto. So he could only act as a babysitter for a while.

.........

In a valley in the Land of Claws, the second male lead, dressed in trousers, was pleasantly surprised to feel the powerful force within his body. Although many strange symbols had appeared on his body, this powerful force made him feel more fulfilled than ever before. Indeed, there are many opportunities when you're out in the world. Although he didn't know who this sinister man in front of him was, he was sure that the man hadn't lied to him and could give him great strength.

"Hehe, Sasuke-kun, how do you feel? Are you satisfied with this gift? This is just the beginning. As your strength continues to increase, this power will also increase significantly along with your strength."

The more Orochimaru, dressed in his white coat, looked at the second male lead, the more satisfied he became. This kind of Sage Art curse mark, which he had long ago created through Gojutsu, was not something that just anyone could withstand. Even Lu Majun, whom he had raised for over ten years and who was his most favored, could only withstand the Earth Mark. Yet this second male lead, after hearing Orochimaru's analysis of the dangers of the Sage Art curse mark, dared to challenge the Heaven Mark and successfully withstood it. As expected of Itachi Uchiha's younger brother, although he was a bit weak in the early stages, there was still a lot of room for improvement, especially since his eyes were only two tomoe right now. Once he upgraded to three tomoe and the Mangekyou Sharingan, he should be able to rival Itachi Uchiha.

"At this rate, when will I be able to kill that man?"

The second male lead clenched his fists tightly. The feeling of having power was wonderful. He even had the illusion that he could kill Shukaku with one punch.

"Hehe, Sasuke-kun, there's no need to be impatient. I know more about Itachi Uchiha's power than many others. Although you successfully accepted the Heaven's Seal, it's still an external power. Ultimately, the power of the Uchiha clan still depends on those Sharingan. You already know about Hiruko's battle. External power is never truly your own. Even with so many bloodline limits, he still couldn't withstand the punches of Konoha's Shanks. The Heaven's Seal is the same; it can only enhance your own strength. The stronger you are, the more effective it will be. Itachi Uchiha has already awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, the ultimate eye of your Uchiha clan. If you haven't reached that level, you won't be able to defeat him."

Snake Uncle analyzed for the second male lead, Kuku.

"Kaleidoscope? Isn't the highest level of Sharingan three tomoe?"

The second male lead immediately grasped the key point: he had never heard of the term "Mangekyou" before. His clansmen used to say that the three-tomoe Sharingan was the most powerful Sharingan, so why did the Mangekyou Sharingan suddenly appear?

"Hehe, this is a secret of your Uchiha clan. Now that there are no more Uchiha, it's normal that you don't know about it. The Mangekyou Sharingan is the next form after the Three Tomoe Sharingan. Once the Mangekyou Sharingan is awakened, it will possess many amazing and powerful abilities. However, the Mangekyou Sharingan is extremely difficult to awaken. Even in the history of your Uchiha clan, there have only been a few people who have awakened it. But everyone who has awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan is a strong person. Back then, your Uchiha clan and the Senju clan established Konoha because one person awakened this eye. Back then, no one in the entire ninja world except the First Hokage was his match. In the end, the First Hokage was seriously injured in a duel with him and died young."

Snake Uncle is truly a remarkable teacher. In order to correct his disciple's cultivation direction, this ruthless and taciturn man actually gave the second male lead, Kuku, a long and rambling speech.

"How can one awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan?"

The second male lead was so excited that his breathing became rapid.

Unexpectedly!

He never imagined that his clan's Sharingan would have such a secret. This Mangekyou Sharingan was incredibly powerful, capable of killing the First Hokage, who was known as the God of Shinobi. This was just too amazing!

"do not know!"

Snake's words poured cold water on the second male lead's enthusiasm. "Damn it, I've been so excited for so long, and then you just say 'I don't know'? Are you kidding me...?"

"Hehe, Sasuke-kun, you don't need to look at me like that. I really don't know. Although I've studied your Uchiha clan's Sharingan for decades, the Mangekyou Sharingan, while it evolved from the three-tomoe Sharingan, is a completely different system from the three-tomoe Sharingan. Moreover, I haven't studied the Mangekyou Sharingan, so the method to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan may only be known by those who have already awakened it. However, I believe that with your talent, Sasuke-kun, as long as you have time, awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan shouldn't be difficult for you. After all, you two are brothers."

As Orochimaru spoke, he couldn't help but lick his lips. As long as Sasuke Uchiha awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan right under his nose, with his abilities, getting the answer would be no problem. This was a problem that even the first great scientist, Tobirama Senju, couldn't figure out. He seemed to have already seen his historical status surpass that of Tobirama Senju.

Actually, Orochimaru didn't know that ever since he developed the techniques of possession and immortality, Shanks considered him to be of higher historical standing than even the mother of the Six Paths Sage. Orochimaru is the only person in history to forcibly turn Naruto into a fantasy genre.

"But... I don't know how to awaken the Kaleidoscope."

The second male lead, Kuku, also looked bewildered. Although what the strange man said made sense to him, since he was the one who possessed the Sharingan, if even he couldn't awaken it, how could an outsider possibly know how to awaken it? But even if he possessed the Sharingan, he was still clueless about how he evolved to the double tomoe form, so how could he possibly know how to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan?

"You can't rush things now. I don't know how to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, but I do know how the ordinary Sharingan evolves. You can wait until you evolve to the three-tomoe Sharingan before figuring out how to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan yourself. What you need to do first is steadily improve your strength. You'll be living here from now on. This is my old laboratory, and there are many things here that can help you. Once your strength has improved to a certain level, I will tell you how to evolve to the three-tomoe Sharingan."

Snake Uncle noticed the changes in the second male lead's expression. In the end, he was still not composed enough. He couldn't even handle the slightest setback. What great things could he possibly achieve in the future?

680. Having a large family fortune is a sign of power.

After arranging things for the second male lead, Orochimaru rushed back to the Land of Rain. The evolution of the Sharingan was just one of his many projects; perfecting his longevity technique was the main goal. He didn't have much time to waste on the second male lead. He only took him as a disciple because he was interested in the evolution of the Sharingan and to give face to the captain. Otherwise, he could have just gone to Itachi Uchiha to find out the answer when he had time. But doing so would have been an insult to him; he preferred to find the answer himself.

........

Meanwhile, while Naruto and the girl with the wide forehead were traveling around with Jiraiya, and the second male lead was secretly developing in Orochimaru's den, Kakashi, the leader of the Land of Fire, was waiting with a group of Anbu members for the people from Sunagakure to arrive.

After learning that his two students were following Jiraiya, Kakashi stopped worrying and went out to look for them. Meanwhile, Sasuke was with Orochimaru, who was known for his masterful evasion of human nature; Jiraiya had searched for him for over a decade without success. Lacking confidence in finding Orochimaru, he could only pray that Sasuke remained healthy with him. He also noticed that his teacher and the others didn't seem to care much about Sasuke running away from the village, nor did they consider him a rogue ninja, which puzzled him. When he asked his captain, his father, the captain gave him vague and evasive answers, leading him to suspect that his teacher and the others were plotting something.

However, these matters were not something he, as a mere employee, could get involved in. Since he no longer needed to be a nanny, Kakashi was naturally pulled into a temporary job by his department head father. After more than two months of discussion, the Sand Village finally managed to bring out a heavyweight figure to negotiate with Konoha.

As for the heavyweights in Sunagakure, Minato knew perfectly well enough to be right. And who knows if Minato suddenly lost his mind, actually sending the son of his enemy, Cardmaster, to the border to welcome that important figure.

"Lady Chiyo, you've had a long journey. Please come with us."

Kaden and his underlings waited at the border for half an hour before the elderly and heavyweight Chiyo appeared with her bodyguards.

"Heh, Kakashi Hatake, is your father dead or not?"

Grandma Chiyo said to Card with a smile.

"...Father is still alive..."

If it were anyone else asking him, he would have already known to retort with a sharp retort. However, the person asking him now was a big shot who had been rumored to have had an affair with his father back then, which made it a bit difficult for him to answer. Shanks had told him countless times about the complicated love-hate relationship between this old woman and his father, and he was tired of hearing it.

Moreover, the old woman showed no murderous intent whatsoever when she spoke; he even had the illusion that he saw a hint of affection in her eyes. This made him worry—what if a stepmother old enough to be his grandmother were to appear...?

"Heh, looks like I can't die yet."

After finishing her sentence, Grandma Chiyo ignored Kakashi and slowly walked towards Konoha.

"Captain Kakashi, what does this old woman mean?"

One of the underlings behind Kaden looked at Grandma Chiyo with a hint of anger. What was wrong with this old woman? Her first question was whether their department head was dead or not. How arrogant!

"...Let's follow, and keep an eye on our surroundings."

Kadian shook his head and said that this was a matter for the elders, and it was best not to interfere. However, this old woman really was as rumored towards his father; she actually had the idea that if they couldn't live together, they would rather die together...

......

"Oh dear, Aunt Chiyo, what's going on in Sunagakure? It's such a small matter that you have to trouble your family. It's really too much."

At the entrance of Konoha Village, Shanks heard that the person who came was indeed Aunt Chiyo. As a good friend of many years, Shanks naturally had to come and see his old friend.

"If the younger generation is incompetent, this old man like me can't have any peace and quiet either. So, have those kids been wronged?"

Aunt Chiyo said with a smile that she had never left her secluded home in recent years and had never concerned herself with the affairs of the village. She only learned about the Sunagakure attack on Konoha afterward. At that time, Rasa had already set off with his underlings. She thought that Rasa's strength had greatly improved over the years. Who knew that Rasa had already been killed by a Konoha rogue ninja? This attack on Konoha was actually orchestrated by that Konoha rogue ninja who impersonated Rasa. This result made her furious. A Konoha rogue ninja was able to kill their Kazekage, and he was a rogue ninja with no reputation at that. Wasn't this a slap in the face to Sunagakure? But now her underlings were being held hostage, and even the Jinchuriki was inside, so she had no choice but to come.

"Haha, look at what you're saying. We can't let them suffer just because of you. They're eating and sleeping well here, and many of them have even gained weight. Besides, there's my future granddaughter-in-law among them. How could we possibly let them suffer?"

Shanks said with a smirk, "Now that Rasa is dead, the only one who can make decisions for the girl with the big fan is Aunt Chiyo. If we let Aunt Chiyo speak up before, then that generous dowry will definitely be in my hands."

"Oh? Granddaughter-in-law? The Nara brat has taken a fancy to a girl from our Sunagakure?"

Aunt Chiyo glanced at the large rocket launcher next to Minato.

"........"

Hey, you little brat from the Nara family, just call yourself that. Why are you staring at me like that? It might cause a misunderstanding.

"You wouldn't believe it, but Luo Sha's eldest daughter, the girl with the big fan, and my grandson fell in love at first sight. They're inseparable. When the girl with the big fan was temporarily isolated because of this, my grandson couldn't eat or sleep. He was worried that she would be mistreated, so he personally brought her food every day. Even I, her grandfather, didn't take such good care of her. So I thought, my grandson's conditions aren't bad either, and his status is a good match for Luo Sha's daughter. We're neighbors from the same village, so why not make them even closer through marriage? What do you say, Aunt Chiyo?"

Shanks, without batting an eye, launched into a tirade. The truth was, he was indeed forcing the little rocket launcher to deliver food to the big fan girl every day, but nobody knew he was the one forcing her; to outsiders, it just looked like they were attracted to each other.

"Hehe, let the children decide their own affairs. Let's get down to business first. We're old acquaintances, Hokage. No need for formalities. Name your price."

Grandma Chiyo wouldn't believe his nonsense. She was lucky if she could believe three out of ten things he said. Turning to Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato, she said domineeringly, "Being rich means you can talk like that." Grandma Chiyo's meaning was clear: name your price, as long as you're treated like a human.

681. Young people who are mutually in love

Grandma Chiyo's words left Hiruzen Sarutobi speechless; Sunagakure was truly amazing, but it also stumped him—how many should they open...?

"Chiyo must be tired from her journey. Let her rest for a day and we can discuss this again tomorrow."

Now that Minato is in power, Hiruzen Sarutobi can't overstep his authority. He plans to have a proper discussion with Minato tonight. In his opinion, Minato is too kind. If he doesn't speak up, Minato probably won't take too much of the Sand Village's resources. If we're talking about losses, the Sand Village suffered even greater losses this time. Their Kazekage was killed, so Minato might not ask for an exorbitant amount.

"Alright, it's been many years since I've been to Konoha. I might as well take this opportunity to look around."

Grandma Chiyo didn't care. She was already here, and they hadn't wronged the people of Sunagakure. It didn't matter if it was a day earlier or later. She was prepared to be tricked anyway. Although this was caused by a rogue ninja from Konoha, and even their Kazekage was killed, in the end, it was because Rasa was too weak and had no one to blame but himself. That's how the ninja world is; weakness is the original sin.

"Haha, it's perfect timing since I haven't seen Aunt Chiyo in a long time. I'll just accompany her around."

Shanks was still thinking about the dowry that Rasa had left for the girl with the big fan, and he wouldn't feel at ease until he could fool Aunt Chiyo today.

Since Shanks was willing to accompany and entertain Granny Chiyo, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others naturally had no objections. They were considered veterans in the ninja world, but they were always a generation lower than Granny Chiyo, which made them, who were used to being big shots, feel very awkward. Now that Shanks was willing to entertain Granny Chiyo, they were overjoyed.

Minato, being of a younger generation, needs no further explanation. He used to be two generations younger than Hiruzen Sarutobi and others. However, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were seniors from the same village, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was even his teacher's teacher. It was understandable that he would act like a grandson. But Chiyo was different. Minato was not familiar with her. If it weren't for the Hokage's courtesy, Minato would not have been willing to receive this senior from the enemy village.

"Konoha is indeed a great place. It's much more prosperous than when I came here more than ten years ago."

As Aunt Chiyo and Shanks walked together, she remarked that Konoha, as the largest village in the ninja world and a gathering place for investors, was expanding every year. Not only was the population huge, but the village's infrastructure was also quite complete. Even Aunt Chiyo, who had experienced many ups and downs, was envious. If Sunagakure had half the size of Konoha, they wouldn't need to carry out any elite training programs.

Unfortunately, the environment in Sunagakure is unsuitable; it's filled with sandstorms everywhere. Even those who go to Sunagakure are there to pan for gold and then go to the Land of Fire to enjoy themselves. Naturally, not many merchants are willing to invest in Sunagakure.

"Yes, but there are pros and cons. Like this time, we don't know how many places were damaged, and the cost of repairing them is staggering. You see, there are still many facilities over there that we don't have the money to repair."

Shanks pointed to the battlefield where Shukaku and Kurama had fought and said, "Fortunately, there was the Uzumaki clan's barrier, otherwise the destructive power of those two giants would have been far greater."

"Stop complaining about being poor. I was prepared to come here. Our Sunagakure village has everything but money."