Konoha Drunkard

"It's still a very high price."

Kakuzu's heart was bleeding. Originally, he didn't need any money. He could have just returned to the Land of Rain and asked Sasori, who played with toys all day, to make the medicine for him. It wouldn't have cost him any money at all. But time was too tight, and he didn't have time to go back. So he simply went to his old employer and bought a bottle. That bastard from Sunagakure, if he wasn't in a hurry, he would have killed him!

"You... go, hurry on your way."

Shanks initially wanted to tell Kakuzu that the poison was probably useless. He knew Chiyo so well, and he'd never heard of her concocting a poison capable of overpowering the One-Tailed Beast. If she could, the ninja world would have been finished long ago; a poison capable of overpowering a tailed beast... it seemed impossible. However, seeing how distressed Kakuzu was, Shanks knew he'd been badly tricked, so he couldn't bear to discourage him further.

But that Sand Ninja is pretty audacious; he actually dared to swindle Kakuzu, who values ​​money more than life itself. Aren't they afraid of being hunted down to the ends of the earth?

.........

"Lord Jindong, we're about to enter the Land of Mountains, but we haven't encountered a single Iwa ninja yet. Could we have come to the wrong place?"

At the border of the Land of Mountains, the Hyuga clan members of the Sarutobi Into Cave team scanned the surroundings with their Byakugan. They had traversed the Land of Earth all the way here, but they hadn't encountered a single Iwa ninja. He even wondered if they had come to the wrong place. If the tailed beasts were missing, there should be large numbers of Iwa ninjas searching for them, but on the contrary, they had crossed the entire border of the Land of Earth without seeing a single Iwa ninja.

"Uh... you can just call me Sarutobi. I prefer people to call me by my surname... These two Jinchuriki have spent a lot of time with the Tailed Beasts. According to the intelligence, they won't go berserk or anything like that, so finding them is too difficult. We can only try our luck and see where we end up."

Sarutobi felt incredibly awkward every time he heard this Hyuga clansman call him that. It was the first time he'd ever hated his old man for giving him such a terrible name. The Hyuga clan was so rigid, they wouldn't listen to anything he said, and he was just so unlucky. He hadn't done a mission in so many years, and now he was stuck with this high-difficulty one. Finding someone was one thing, but finding a Jinchuriki? He was practically skin and bones. If his team wasn't strong enough, he even suspected his uncle might be after the clan leader position and wanted him to die so Asuma could have the position... The only Ice Release user, the Hyuga clan, and the village's precious Uzumaki clan—his uncle wasn't willing to send such a powerful force to his death.

"Lord Sarutobi, this is not a solution. Captain Tongchuan has been using his Byakugan for a long time."

Haku also felt that this couldn't go on, especially seeing his captain in the Anbu using the Byakugan for far too long. While the Byakugan doesn't actually consume much chakra, maintaining it for extended periods is still very taxing, unless they possess the physique of the Uzumaki clan. Of the four, only this Uzumaki clan member remained energetic, constantly glancing around.

The Uzumaki clan is very important to Konoha, which is why its members are always under special protection. This is especially true for the Uzumaki clan members who are proficient in sealing techniques. They rarely leave the village, even once a year. The Hokage is worried about them. If they go out and get kidnapped, and someone tries to extract their sealing techniques using some underhanded means, they will suffer a great loss.

This Uzumaki clan member happened to be a member of the sealing squad who hadn't left the village for over a decade. He was curious about everything he saw, and with his immense chakra and vitality, he didn't feel tired even after walking for a year straight.

"What Bai said makes sense. Let's rest for a bit first. We'll use my summoned beast to lead the way. Flying in the sky will give us a better view."

Sarutobi entered the cave and saw Hyuga Toukawa sweating profusely; he knew that Toukawa was nearing his limit.

"Does the Lord of the Cave possess a flying summoned beast?"

Hyuga Toukawa looked curiously at Sarutobi entering the cave. There are many summoning beasts in the ninja world, but flying summoning beasts are rare. The most famous one is the Thunder Hawk of Kumogakure.

"Haha! It's been so long since I've done a mission. I just remembered that this Thunder Eagle was a gift from an old Cloud Ninja uncle when I was a kid, after we had a drinking contest."

Seemingly sensing the resentment in Hinata Toukawa's eyes, Sarutobi entered the cave and awkwardly explained.

"........."

Haku and Hinata Toukawa were both speechless. Was this still their senior from the Anbu? How could he have become like this? He had even forgotten about the spirit beast. What had he been through all these years?

"Wow! Lord Sarutobi has a Thunderhawk! Let it out and let us see. It is said that Thunderhawks are enormous when they grow up. A single adult Thunderhawk can have a wingspan of tens of meters and can fly more than a thousand meters in the air."

With the exception of a very few individuals, every member of the Uzumaki clan is an academic genius; all those years of studying haven't been for nothing.

"Haha, when that Cloud Ninja uncle gave it to me, Xiao Lei was still a child, and he's still not an adult now, but it's no problem for him to carry us all flying."

After speaking into the cave, Sarutobi formed a hand seal and summoned the Thunder Eagle. This Thunder Eagle was indeed not yet an adult, with a wingspan of only about seven or eight meters. It still had some young feathers that had not yet fallen off, but it was no problem to carry a few people through the air.

"Xiao Lei, thank you for your help!"

After speaking to Lei Ying in the cave, Yuan Fei jumped onto its back. Lei Ying nodded. Not all spirit beasts can talk. Those that can talk are usually high-level creatures. There are also many that cannot talk but can understand human language.

The toads of Mount Myōboku, the giant snakes of the Earth Hollow Cave, and the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest are all top-tier creatures. Each of these places has a powerful sage leader. The ape demon, which is said to be the strongest summoning beast and can grow bigger and thicker, is also considered a top-tier creature. However, it is unknown whether it has a sage father protecting it.

When Thunderhawk led Sarutobi and the other two into the Land of Mountains, Shanks and his group had just entered the Land of Stone. Although Shanks didn't understand why the Land of Earth, the Land of Mountains, and the Land of Stone had to be so clearly distinguished, in his view there was no difference at all; the surroundings were either rocks or mountains.

“We found him, but what you were worried about has happened. There is only the Four-Tails Jinchuriki; the Five-Tails Jinchuriki is not with him.”

Not long after entering the Land of Stone, Shanks used his Observation Haki to scan the area and found that, sure enough, in a rather remote place, Shiki was sitting on a stone platform, eating and singing. Although he was dressed in tattered clothes, he was still quite dashing. He looked like he was about to run away, clearly out to travel and explore the beautiful landscape.

716. The future is yours too.

"Sogga! We've finally found him! Boss Kakuzu, don't make a move later, let me teach him a lesson. That bastard made us search for so long!"

After arriving not far from Old Purple, Hidan, covered in bumps, rolled up his sleeves and started yelling like Shanks. But what he was really thinking was that this bastard had been running around everywhere and had caused him to get beaten up for so long. This time, he was going to repay this Jinchuriki with twice the damage he had suffered. He couldn't beat this masked man, but he refused to believe that he couldn't beat this Jinchuriki.

"Are you sure? Old Zi is no ordinary person."

Shanks saw that Hidan, despite being covered in bumps, was still so arrogant, and wanted to see where he got the confidence to take on Roshi.

Hidan's signature move, though impressive, is a passive skill. It might be useful against those unfamiliar with him, but his active skills are practically nonexistent—besides an uppercut, a jumping slash, and a sweeping attack, he has nothing else. Meanwhile, Roshi has the agility boost from the Four-Tails Goku and is a master of Lava Release. Isn't Hidan just asking for trouble?

"Leave it to me, no problem. You bastard, you're going to die!"

After finishing his explanation, Hidan, covered in bumps, grabbed his scythe and charged forward. As a Jinchūriki, Roshi's Four-Tails inside him possessed incredibly strong sensory abilities. When Shanks and the others approached, the Four-Tails had already sensed them. Although Shanks had changed clothes, wore a mask, and transformed, he couldn't hide from the Four-Tails' senses. The immense chakra within him was like a beacon in the darkness, so bright and outstanding. Did they really think he was blind?

Over the years, it had only seen Hashirama Senju and Shanks from Konoha. Hashirama Senju had been dead for many years, but Shanks from Konoha was still alive. Who else could it be but Shanks from Konoha? Just thinking about that terrifying aura made the Four-Tails Son Goku tremble inside Rōshi's stomach. Rōshi naturally sensed Son Goku's abnormality. Before he could ask, he saw a strange-headed man carrying a large sword rushing towards him.

Without uttering a word, Old Purple nimbly jumped behind Hidan, who was covered in bumps, and began unleashing a barrage of curses at him...

The scalding magma rushed towards Hidan, whose head was covered in bumps. Hidan, with his head covered in bumps, confidently continued charging towards Roshi without any hesitation, enduring the scalding magma.

Old Purple was startled by Hidan's reckless fighting style, with his head covered in rashes. Who was this desperate scoundrel? So fearless, daring to withstand his magma head-on. In the entire ninja world, only Konoha's Shanks and the Third Raikage could do that.

However, Old Purple was someone who had seen many storms alongside Onoki. Even though his magma hadn't burned Hidan, whose head was covered in bumps, to ashes, he quickly jumped back, maintaining distance, and continued to form hand seals, unleashing another torrent of magma at Hidan's head...

The two of them chased each other while one endured the damage, and the other kept jumping and spitting fire. Although Hidan was chasing Rōshi with bumps all over his head, Rōshi was not injured at all. As a Jinchūriki, he had plenty of chakra.

Hidan, covered in bumps, was in a terrible situation. He was getting beaten up by the masked man the whole way, which was understandable since he couldn't beat him.

Now he's been berated by this seemingly unapproachable old man, and his clothes are burned. If it weren't for his sharkskin underwear, he would probably be completely exposed.

"Damn it! Don't run away if you dare..."

Hidan, his head covered in bumps, gritted his teeth and continued to charge with his scythe.

"...It would be stupid not to run."

Old Purple glanced disdainfully at Hidan, who was covered in bumps. He could tell that this guy had maxed out all his stats on endurance, and apart from high defense, he didn't have much else to offer. So Old Purple dodged while spewing insults at him.

...........

"Kakuzu, your little brother is no good. All these years, apart from becoming more durable, he hasn't improved at all."

Shanks, watching the two of them jumping around, couldn't help but say to Kakuzu, "I thought this Hidan with his head full of bumps was something special, daring to challenge Old Purple to a duel. You can't even touch a hair on his head, how are you going to summon a demon god?"

While Old Purple's Lava Release is decent and quite spectacular, with its various powerful magma attacks being quite visually appealing, it's still a drop in the ocean compared to Madara's level of Fire Release techniques.

Lose your face!

It's so embarrassing, especially in front of his own good brother. How could he take in such a lackey? He can't even handle tough fights properly, he has no skills whatsoever, he just talks the talk.

"Someone's coming! Hurry up!"

Just as Shanks was preparing for a new wave of attacks, he suddenly sensed someone approaching, and it was an old acquaintance. Sarutobi Jin'do, Haku, a member of the Hyuga clan, and his underlings were flying towards him on Sarutobi Jin'do's giant bird. Shanks knew what they were doing there. Although he couldn't understand what Konoha had to do with the escape of the Iwa ninja's Jinchuriki, and why Minato had sent them to get involved, Shanks had a big business to do and didn't have time to mince words with them.

"Hooray!"

"boom"

KO!

Without further ado, Shanks appeared behind Old Purple and delivered a powerful punch to his head, knocking him unconscious.

.........

The sudden change left Hidan, who was chasing Rōshi, bewildered, as if he had lost his purpose in life. Who was he? Where was he? He chased after him, sweating profusely, his clothes even burned off, without touching a single hair, only to have the other man finish him off with a single punch.

"It's just a four-tailed jinx, why waste so much effort? Let's get going, someone's coming."

After Shanks finished speaking, he grabbed Old Purple, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and immediately disappeared.

"........."

Hidan, his head covered in bumps, looked like a soulless shell, staring blankly at the sky.

"...You're still young, keep up the good work, the future is yours too..."

Kakuzu understood his younger brother's thoughts. When Takumi saw Shanks deal with the Five-Tails so easily and decisively, he was even more disappointed than Shanks.

"However... why did I say 'also'?"

.........

"My lord, there are signs of a fight down there, it seems to have just happened."

Not long after Shanks and the others left, Sarutobi's cave-entry team arrived on a large bird. Hyuga Takakawa quickly discovered the place where Old Purple and Hidan, who had a full head of bumps, had fought.

"...Go down and check it out. Xiao Lei!"

Sarutobi entered the cave and swore he would never team up with the Hyuga clan again. He kept yelling "Enter the cave! Enter the cave!" Go to hell!

"Wow, this is a big scene. You can't create something like this without at least an A-rank Fire Release technique."

After everyone came down, they were startled to see the steaming battlefield around them, with stones that were still red from being burned. Sarutobi entered the cave and was taken aback.

"The Four-Tails Jinchuriki is known as Lava Release: Roshi. Could he be the one who created this? Did he fight with the Iwa ninja?"

Bai asked curiously.

"No, I've looked all the way here and haven't seen a single Iwa ninja. Such a powerful Lava Release technique should have been used by many Iwa ninjas. There's no reason why I haven't seen a single one."

Hinata Togawa shook his head, denying Haku's statement.

717. It was that bastard who did it again.

"Who could that be?"

Bai asked curiously. Although he was already a special Jonin, that only meant he had reached that level of strength. In terms of experience, he was still just a novice.

"I don't know who he is, but he must be a formidable figure, if I'm not mistaken. Either he was burned to ashes by Lao Zi, or he captured Lao Zi. Look at the battlefield, it's only around here, there's no trace of fighting on the outer perimeter, which means the battle ended here."

Although Sarutobi Sin-dong had been staying at home for many years, he was once a squad leader in the Anbu, an elite among elites, and his analysis was quite convincing.

However, even if they figured it out, it wouldn't be of any use, as Shanks had already run away with the unconscious Old Purple and Kakuzu.

To prevent Rōshi from waking up along the way, Shanks would occasionally punch him in the head, forcibly knocking him unconscious. He dared not let Kakuzu feed Rōshi that strange poison; what if it actually killed Rōshi? This was a rare and lucrative deal. Rōshi was incredibly valuable, worth at least two or three hundred billion. The Four-Tails itself wasn't that valuable; what was valuable was the person who could perfectly control the Tailed Beast's power.

Finding someone who can perfectly control the power of a tailed beast is extremely difficult. Take the Eight-Tails of Kumogakure, for example. The Eight-Tails has been in Kumogakure for so many years, and only one person, Xiaosha, has been able to perfectly control it.

Iwagakure only has Roshi. Although the Five-Tails Jinchuriki can also utilize some of the Five-Tails' abilities, he can't do it to the same extent as Roshi.

Hidan, who wouldn't die, felt much better. Before, Shanks would occasionally punch him, and he dared not retaliate because he couldn't beat him. Now, seeing the Jinchuriki who had burned his clothes, just like him, his mood naturally improved. He was no longer alone; he finally had company. If this Jinchuriki was awake, that would be even better.

"How about we use the medication?"

Kakuzu, watching from the side, was terrified, fearing that this guy might accidentally kill someone in the middle of the fight. Jinchuriki aren't as resilient as Hidan.

"Then... let's give it a try, but use a small amount, so as not to poison someone."

Shanks insisted on using the potion he'd bought, the one that supposedly poisoned the One-Tailed Beast, even though Kakuzu was adamant about it. Shanks didn't want to disappoint him, after all, he'd paid a hefty price. While the potion couldn't actually poison a tailed beast, a small dose should be fine for a Jinchuriki, right? Aunt Chiyo's skills were pretty reliable after all.