Konoha Drunkard

"So that's why you're only seconds away from becoming Hokage! The Hokage is so approachable. Look at the old Hokage, I've called him that for years and he's never gotten angry. That's the magnanimity a Hokage should have! Who are you trying to impress with that deadpan face all the time? Alright, I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you! Old Hokage, hurry up and sign this." Shanks deliberately flattered Hiruzen Sarutobi, tossing him the application form and his personal information.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt incredibly satisfied. He always enjoyed hearing that bastard brag about him; he was so eloquent! And this time, it was in front of his best friend, the saccharine feeling shooting straight to his head, even brightening his dark circles. He took the application form without a second glance, and with a flourish, wrote his name in a flamboyant, calligraphic style!

"Alright! I'm off, you two enjoy your time together!" Shanks took the application and disappeared!

"Hmph! Look at him, he's over thirty and still looks like this!" Danzo was hit where it hurt again by Shanks, inwardly spitting blood. Those few seconds again! Danzo said angrily to his best friend.

"Heh! Isn't he doing fine like this?" Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't blame Shanks at this moment; after all, Shanks was making him feel good. Danzo didn't have his skills, always wearing that sullen, deadpan face, like everyone owed him money.

"Hmph! I'm here to ask you for Orochimaru and two Uchiha members. Root has too few people; they can't carry out missions at all!" Danzo said, getting down to business.

"The Uchiha clan won't do. I can't entrust them to you. You can go to their clan leader. As for Orochimaru, well, that's up to him!" Hiruzen Sarutobi deflected the offer. Send Danzo to the second male lead's father? Hopefully, he won't get kicked out. Everyone in the village knows Danzo has always disliked the Uchiha clan because Kagami stole the Leaf Village's Flower, especially after the incident where he caused trouble in the Land of Earth. As for Orochimaru, ha! How could Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple possibly be interested in a weakling like Danzo!

Unfortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi was unaware that his best friend and his beloved disciple had been having a secret deal. Danzo's demand for people was part of their plan. The Uchiha clan was just an excuse; whether they actually got them or not was unimportant. They could easily use some tricks to capture one or two Uchiha.

172. Let me take you to experience the Tailed Beast Ball. (Please subscribe!)

The next day, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared intently at the photo of him and his master on the table, his gaze fixed on Orochimaru.

Why? He couldn't understand why Orochimaru would choose to join Danzo's Root. Everyone in Konoha knew that he was grooming Orochimaru to be the next Hokage. Yet this beloved student chose Danzo's Root. Didn't he know that joining Danzo's Root would greatly reduce his chances of becoming Hokage?

"What do you want? Why are you staring at the photos? The people in them aren't dead!" Shanks said, sitting on the stool, bored.

"You know Orochimaru has joined Root, right?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"I know, Jiraiya even asked me to drink with him yesterday. What's wrong?" Shanks said, shrugging.

"Don't you think there's something wrong with this? We knew Orochimaru was very likely to be the next Hokage," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a hint of disappointment.

"Is there anything wrong with that? After all, it was his choice. And... Hokage, I want to ask you, you're training Orochimaru to be Hokage, but is becoming Hokage his dream?" Shanks looked at him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused for a moment after Shanks' question. "He's from Konoha. Although he's very ambitious, I can tell he loves the village. Shouldn't he be the Hokage?"

"I love the village too, as do Sakumo, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. But none of us want to be Hokage! Old Hokage, loving the village and wanting to be Hokage are two different things. I think if you want to train a Hokage, at least see if that person actually wants to be Hokage. Orochimaru clearly doesn't want to be Hokage, aren't you just making things difficult for him?" Shanks said lazily. He was really going all out for Orochimaru, thinking of a thousand ways to persuade Hiruzen Sarutobi in one night. After all, he was a true fan of Orochimaru.

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent for a moment, taking a few deep drags of his opium. Was being Hokage really that bad? Back then, they all worked hard to become Hokage, how did it turn into such a troublesome thing now? "Is this how he rejected me?"

"I don't know, after all, other people's brains work better than mine! I'm going back to catch up on my sleep now. Your other beloved disciple spent the whole night drinking with me about this." Shanks said with a yawn.

"Go back and rest," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, noticing his listless appearance.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Shanks arrived at Orochimaru's underground laboratory. "You'd better think this through. Scientific research is great, and I'm not against it, but if your teacher or anyone else finds out, you'll have to leave the village."

"Hehe, Captain, haven't you always known? None of that matters to me. These research findings are the most important." Orochimaru said, looking at the densely packed data in his hand.

"I personally support you, but don't use the villagers for experiments. If necessary, you can use outsiders, such as... Takigakure, Kusagakure, or even Iwagakure and Sunagakure if you can get them." Shanks said, looking at the corpses in the laboratory. These were people Danzo sent to Orochimaru, but Danzo didn't dare to use the villagers for experiments yet.

"Don't worry, Captain. I'm more afraid of being hunted down by you all over the world. Your abilities make it hard to escape," Orochimaru said to Shanks.

"Well, don't make it sound so serious. As long as you don't use the villagers for experiments, I'm quite interested in your research project, even though I don't understand it! And I've always admired people like you who have dreams, unlike a lazy bum like me," Shanks said, teasing a white snake.

"Oh? Speaking of which, it seems the captain really doesn't have any dreams, or is it that the captain's dreams are so grand that no one can understand them if he says them out loud?" Orochimaru said.

"Communicating with you smart people is both easy and troublesome, it's easy to overthink things, so I'm still more suited to hanging out with people like the Raikage." Shanks shrugged, letting the little white snake bite his index finger.

"Hehe, in my opinion, the captain is a smart man too," Orochimaru laughed.

"I admit what you said, but I'm not like you smart people. You people are too smart, so you tend to overthink things. I haven't thought that much. Have you found the Second Hokage's Edo Tensei? If you have, please give me a copy. You know I haven't seen my aunt in a long time!" Shanks said.

“I’ve found it, but as the captain said, this forbidden technique has many flaws. The soul of the person summoned will be damaged, and most of their strength cannot be replaced. I’m currently working on perfecting it. If the captain wants it, I can give it to you now,” Orochimaru said.

"No! Let's talk about it after you've perfected it. I'm afraid I'll ruin my aunt's soul!" Shanks said, waving his hand.

"Well! I'm off. I comforted your good buddy yesterday, and I was so sleepy all night." Shanks said and then left. He had only come to inform Orochimaru not to experiment on the people of his own village. However, Shanks guessed that Orochimaru wouldn't do it anyway, since Danzo was behind most of Orochimaru's defection in the original story.

........

As soon as I got home, I saw a couple of lovebirds standing at my door, showing off their affection.

"Uncle! Minato has something to ask you!" Kushina called out before he could turn around.

"Kusina! You and him aren't even married yet, why are you always moving things out of the house? What am I supposed to give you as a dowry when we get married!" Shanks slapped her head helplessly.

"Stop talking nonsense! Minato said he doesn't want a dowry!" Kushina said fiercely, hands on her hips.

"Alright! Alright! Fine, I give up. So, Minato-kun, what's the matter?" Shanks looked at Minato, who was grinning foolishly to the side.

“Teacher, I’ve almost mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, but I haven’t quite mastered it yet. However, I feel that the modified Finger Pistol and the Flying Thunder God Technique don’t combine very well. I heard from Jiraiya-sensei that the Tailed Beast Balls are very powerful and have a fast charging speed, so I wanted to ask you about them,” Minato said.

He had been studying the Flying Thunder God Technique recently. With Shanks' insights and his own spatial abilities, he learned it very quickly. However, he discovered that the Finger Pistol could only be used as a one-time burst technique and could not achieve the effect of continuous damage. Moreover, the charging time of the Finger Pistol could not keep up with the Flying Thunder God Technique. Then he suddenly thought of the Tailed Beast Ball that Jiraiya had mentioned. Who in the ninja world had the deepest feelings about the Tailed Beast Ball? Of course, it was Shanks.

"Well... you improved the Finger Pistol, so you know better than me how well it turned out. Besides, my ninjutsu theory isn't as good as Jiraiya's! So there's nothing I can do. But since you asked about the Tailed Beast Ball, it means you already have some ideas. Tomorrow I'll take you to experience the Tailed Beast Ball; maybe you'll get some inspiration." Shanks patted his shoulder.

Those who are meant to emerge will eventually emerge. If they don't emerge by making pills, the future savior won't be able to use skills like finger guns that require such precise control.

173. Her cousin explained the "please subscribe" request to her.

"Really? That's great! I want to go too!" Kushina exclaimed excitedly before Minato could even speak.

Shanks looked at his little niece and sighed inwardly. Although she had let go of her hatred as a Jinchūriki, she had never left the village, as if she were being kept in Konoha.

"Alright, you can go tomorrow too, but you can't tell anyone. Cousin Kurama, when you see the Eight-Tails tomorrow, you better behave yourself! Otherwise, I'll tell you stories every day from now on!" Shanks said to Kushina's stomach at the end.

"Cousin! Cousin! Your whole family are cousins!" Kurama felt aggrieved. Ever since he was in Mito's belly, his status as a cousin was confirmed. Who could blame him when he couldn't beat Shanks now? Shanks' Conqueror's Haki was completely overwhelming him.

The two of them paused upon hearing Shanks' last sentence; it was clearly meant for Kurama (the Nine-Tails), but that form of address...

"Uncle, why do you call Kurama your cousin?" Kushina asked, puzzled.

"Well... cousin, could you explain this to Kushina?" Shanks continued to tease her stomach.

"Get out! You're the cousin! Your whole family are cousins!" The Nine-Tailed Fox inside Kushina's belly was furious, tearing its teeth and brandishing its claws inside Kushina's belly.

"Ah!" Kushina exclaimed in surprise when she heard the movement of the Nine-Tails in her belly. The Nine-Tails was actually responding! You know, no matter how she talked to the Nine-Tails for so many years, the Nine-Tails had never paid any attention to her in her belly.

"Kusina! What's wrong?" Minato looked at her anxiously.

"It's alright! The Nine-Tails actually spoke just now! This is the first time I've heard it speak in all these years!" Kushina said to Minato in surprise.

"Of course, my cousin is quite arrogant! Isn't he, cousin?" Shanks continued to tease Kurama!

"Get out of here, you little red-haired brat! Your whole family are your cousins! Little girl, get out of here! I don't want to see this bastard!" Nine-Tailed Fox was furious. After all these years, this bastard's body had grown, but his brain hadn't. He got angry just seeing Nine-Tailed Fox.

“(⊙o⊙)…Uh! Uncle, Kurama doesn’t seem to like you very much. We’ll be going now and come back to see you tomorrow!” After saying that, Kushina grabbed Minato and ran off.

"Tch! All you've got left are tricks to scare kids!" Shanks looked at the two of them with disdain for Kurama.

"Kushina, what's wrong?" Minato asked Kushina after they left the Senju clan's territory.

"Uh, Kurama said it didn't want to see Uncle and told me to leave," Kushina said, looking at Minato strangely.

"It might have been teased by the teacher too much?" Minato felt more empathetic; he had been teased for six years, a full six years! The Nine-Tails had been inside Mito-sama's belly for so many years; heaven knows how it survived.

"I'm starting to admire this blond brat!" Kurama cried inside Kushina's belly. Finally, someone understood it! When Shanks was little, he wanted to kill him when he was teased. Damn it, he grew up to be another Hashirama Senju, but he was even worse than Hashirama Senju. He teased it all the time.

"(⊙o⊙)...Nine-Tails, is my uncle really that scary?" Kushina was dumbfounded.

"That's not just scary, that's awful! Do you understand? That bastard who only grows a body but doesn't think!" Kurama roared angrily when he heard her mention Shanks.

"Minato, Kurama says he admires you!!" Kushina said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Minato.

"Haha! (⊙o⊙)...Is that so?" Minato laughed, scratching the back of his head. What good is it if you admire me? I'm still sealed tight and teased by my teacher for so many years.

"Nine-Tails, why does your uncle call you cousin? And did your uncle often tease you when you were little? How were you sealed in Grandma Mito's belly? I heard that the First Hokage defeated you, is that right? And also! When did you appear? Our Uzumaki clan records that you have existed in the ninja world for a long time, is that right?" Kushina saw that the tenant in her belly had finally spoken, and her mouth hadn't stopped, asking a whole bunch of questions.

"Little girl, don't mention those two bastards, Red-Haired Brat and Hashirama Senju, to me! Humph! I've been in the ninja world much longer! Alright, I'm going to sleep now, don't bother me!" Kurama said, closing his eyes and remaining still.

It had already been very kind of it to this little girl, saying so much; she wasn't Mito Uzumaki. Besides, every question she asked hit her sore spot! If it weren't sealed away, it would have torn her to pieces long ago! Shanks, Hashirama Senju—they can all die, they're all older than me anyway!

Minato noticed that Kushina had suddenly stopped talking and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Kushina sighed in disappointment, "The Nine-Tails is ignoring me again."

"Haha! Maybe he's tired!" A bead of cold sweat trickled down Minato's forehead. Every question you ask hits a nerve; no wonder he won't listen to you!

“That’s true! My uncle made me so angry just now, I was furious!” Kushina nodded in agreement. In her mind, her uncle’s words were much stronger than his strength.

“…” Nine-Lama rolled his eyes.

.....

The next morning, Haruko got up early to prepare breakfast for the father and daughter.

"boom!"

The door was opened and Kushina pulled Mizuki in, where they saw Haruko-sama making breakfast.

Good morning, Auntie!

Good morning, Haruko-sama!

"Kushina, why are you here so early? Come and have some breakfast, your uncle hasn't gotten up yet!" Haruko-sama said with a smile to the two of them. No one ever knocked on her door; it was either kicked open or smashed open! She was used to it.

"Ah, perfect timing, we haven't had breakfast either. Auntie's cooking is the best! I really can't understand how someone as gentle, beautiful, and a great cook as you could marry such an unreliable man as my uncle!" Kushina complained while eating breakfast.

"Hehe (^_^), actually your uncle isn't as bad as you think! And if it weren't for him back then, I might be dead on the battlefield by now!" Haruko-sama said happily.

"Really? Tell me how my uncle won you over!" Kushina looked at Haruko with a gossipy expression, while Minato pricked up his ears while eating breakfast.

"Hehe, (^_^) You wouldn't believe it, but he confessed to me when he was only five years old!" Haruko-sama found it more and more hilarious as she recalled it.

"What! No way? Uncle confessed to you when you were only five years old?" Kushina was stunned.

"Four countries!" Even Minato was shocked by his former unreliable homeroom teacher!

"Ah, back then, the Ninja Academy had just been established. I and a few friends from the orphanage came to the school to register. We were still very young then, and it was inevitable that we were scared in such an unfamiliar environment. While we students were gathering and waiting to be assigned to classes, your uncle suddenly ran up to me and said a bunch of strange things, and then... haha!" Haruko-sama seemed to be recalling something from the past as she spoke.

174. Old man! It's you again, asking to subscribe!

"I never imagined Uncle had such a gentle side, carrying you for ten laps!" Kushina said enviously, resting her chin on her hands after hearing the story.

"Haha! Of course! So never be fooled by appearances!" An exaggerated laugh came from behind!

The atmosphere was instantly broken when Haruko-sama and the newly awakened Yonko-sama gave him a Tenseigan.

"It's still the same as before, no difference!" Kushina said, covering her face. It didn't match the scene she had imagined at all.

After everyone finished breakfast, Big Mom went to school, and Haruko went to work. Shanks looked at the two of them and said, "Let's go too. It's been so long since I've seen the Raikage. I miss him."

Hands on their shoulders

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