Konoha Drunkard

"Hey! Koharu, what do you think about this? Was that person last night really Danzo?" Hiruzen Sarutobi finally couldn't bear to see his best friend upset, so he asked Koharu Utatane.

“...It was too late last night, so I couldn’t see very clearly, but there’s no doubt about the scar on his chin! And look at his injury…!” Koharu Utatane also pondered for a moment before joining in.

Danzo was initially pleased upon hearing the first half of the sentence, but when his injuries were mentioned again, Danzo's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He couldn't clear his name if he couldn't prove the condition of his hands and eyes.

"...Since you can't see clearly, a scar on the chin could be a frame-up. But... Danzo, at least explain the injuries to your hands and eyes! There are so many people here!" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked helplessly at his best friend.

206. Don't you know I value bromance the most?

Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo's face darkened even more. If I could prove it, why would I have said so much nonsense!

"Oh, right! Orochimaru knows about my injury too, you can ask him." Danzo closed his eyes and thought for a long time, finally giving Orochimaru a warning look, meaning he should not speak carelessly.

Everyone then looked at Orochimaru, the Hokage's prized disciple, the infamous "gambling, prostitution, and drugs addict" in the ninja world; his words were still credible.

"Hehe, I almost forgot about Danzo. His injury was indeed inflicted by a rogue ninja from the Land of Rain two months ago." Orochimaru certainly wouldn't speak carelessly now; he still had many research projects to complete and needed Danzo to provide him with resources.

"...Since Orochimaru has confirmed that Danzo's injuries were inflicted by someone else, then the person last night was not Danzo. However, we still need to continue investigating this matter," Hiruzen Sarutobi said after taking a few puffs of opium.

"Hmph! It better not be you!" Shanks said to Danzo with a reluctant look as he retrieved the withered wood, though his face still showed disbelief.

"Everyone, disperse. I will hand this matter over to the Anbu for further investigation!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said to the people around him.

"Wait! Now that I've finished talking about my business, shouldn't we talk about Hatake Sakumo? Because he abandoned the mission, Konoha suffered huge losses of resources!" Danzo saw that his business was over. Anyway, it wasn't him who did it, and no matter how they investigated, they wouldn't be able to trace it back to him. Besides, he would investigate himself. He wanted to see which bastard would do something to his dream girl and then frame him. However, he wouldn't let go of this opportunity to strike at Sarutobi Hiruzen's headmaster.

"..." Those around who had originally intended to leave looked at each other, unsure of what to say. Loss? Couldn't Konoha afford such a loss? It's just abandoning a mission, right? What ninja hasn't abandoned a mission once or twice in their career?

"Hehe, then what do you think, Advisor Danzo, should do about how to resolve the matter of Sakumo?" Shanks said with a smile, seeing that Danzo was still pressing the issue.

"Hmph! Hatake Sakumo's abandonment of the mission caused damage to the village. According to the rules, he should be immediately removed from his position as head of the Anbu. He should be imprisoned in Konoha Prison!" Danzo resumed his previous impartial and selfless demeanor.

Everyone looked bewildered. Did abandoning the mission really mean being sent to prison? How come they didn't know that?

"Danzo, have you lost your mind? What kind of rule does Konoha have that you get suspended and sent to jail for abandoning a mission? I've never heard my great-grandfather mention that!" Tsunade glared at Danzo, finally realizing it was another political struggle.

"Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist! What if everyone abandons their missions like Sakumo Hatake and causes damage to the village?" Danzo said arrogantly.

"Is that so? I'll ask you and all the ninjas here now, who among you hasn't abandoned the mission? Step forward and let me see, I also want to see just how much the village has lost." Shanks said to the ninjas around him.

After Shanks finished speaking, the people around him started talking again.

"Murai, have you ever abandoned a mission?" a minor Jonin asked his friend.

“Yes, I gave up on one last week. My student was poisoned, and I couldn’t delay any longer, so I had to take him back to the village,” Murai said.

"Hey! We've never given up on the mission, right? Why don't we step forward? Maybe we'll get praise from the Hokage!" another minor Chunin said to his teammate.

"Idiot, we're only Chunin now. How difficult is the mission? What if we get promoted to Jonin and something unexpected happens that forces us to abandon the mission? Let's leave ourselves a way out!" said the obviously somewhat intelligent Sakae.

......

After a while, the murmurs subsided, and no ninja stepped forward. After all, no one could guarantee that something unexpected wouldn't happen during future missions, so it was better to have a backup plan. Those who could become ninjas were not stupid.

"Look at him, he's abandoned missions before, and the village hasn't suffered any losses all these years. In every major battle, he's fought four against one!" Shanks looked at Danzo with disdain.

"...So all those losses suffered by the village this time are just going to be ignored? Does that mean every ninja can just abandon missions at will from now on?" Danzo looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a dark expression.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, veins bulging on his forehead, stared at his best friend without saying a word. "Damn it, I just spoke up for you, and you turn around and bite me! Fine, if this happens again, I won't give you a second glance. We're breaking up!"

"Heh, of course we'll call it even! What else do you want? Damn it! Back in World War II, you got hammered by the Raikage so many times, and you even lost over ten thousand ninjas. After that, you just ran away and left the mess to Orochimaru. Did anyone ask you for compensation? If you want compensation, you'd better pay for the lives of the ten thousand ninjas you tricked back then!" Shanks was so angry at this bastard that he laughed. "Damn it, you really don't know how shameless you are. Don't you know that I value bromance... ptooey!... friendship the most? You even dare to mess with my buddy."

"Whoa! Wasn't it said that Lord Orochimaru was sent to replace Danzo as advisor? How did it become that he ran away? And wasn't the person who died supposed to perish together with the Cloud Ninja? How did it become that he was tricked?" As soon as Shanks finished speaking, the surrounding ninjas and villagers almost rioted.

"...You don't know this, do you? I was on the battlefield of the Land of Lightning back then. Originally, the Hokage sent Orochimaru to take over as commander, but Danzo refused, so Orochimaru had no choice. Later, Danzo's bad command did kill a lot of people!" said a ninja who was on the battlefield of the Land of Lightning back then.

"Yes! When Danzo was in command for the last time, the Shimura clan and the Hokage's clan together numbered over 8000. In the end, apart from Lord Hima and a few others, they were all killed by Danzo! Even Sarutobi Daihoma died there," another ninja said.

"This is outrageous! Lord Hokage, punish this culprit!" The villagers couldn't help but exclaim.

In particular, the family members who died on the battlefield in the Land of Lightning roared angrily at Hiruzen Sarutobi. They had believed the news spread by the village all along that their family members had died bravely to protect Konoha. Now they knew that their family members were indeed brave, but they were tricked to death. How could they accept this!

"Lord Hokage, this bastard must be punished! Our family members cannot die without a clear explanation!" the villagers shouted at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

207. Jiraiya's brain has grown out.

Danzo's face turned pale at this moment. He didn't expect Shanks to expose the truth. This time, even his best friend couldn't protect him... This is the will of the people!

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the two leaders were also taken aback by the villagers' angry voices, not expecting things to escalate to this point.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, in particular, had even more prominent veins on his forehead. Danzo, that bastard, was truly courting death. He was given a way out and that was it, but he insisted on making trouble. Now, he couldn't be saved by Danzo.

"Hey! Starting today, Danzo is stripped of all his positions in Konoha and sent to Konoha Prison to reflect on his actions." Hiruzen Sarutobi and his two companions exchanged glances and said to the villagers. He was reluctant to let his best friend die. Over the years, Danzo had done a good job in some shady dealings. Even if he hadn't done anything meritorious, he had still put in a lot of effort.

"Sakumo, take Danzo to prison. Everyone, disperse." Koharu Utatane also stepped forward and said. She couldn't just watch her friend die after so many years.

Shanks, having heard that both of the bigwigs had spoken, shrugged and remained silent. He had initially been reluctant to let Danzo suffer too much, since they had teamed up to trick Danzo first.

Who knew that Danzo, that bastard, would actually try to bite the hand that feeds him? Of course, his temper wouldn't stand for it. Sending him to prison is fine, since Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't be willing to kill Danzo anyway. Konoha will be more peaceful for a while without Danzo.

After everyone left, Shanks breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his good friend. In order to save him, Shanks had really offended Danzo. If he didn't swindle all of Danzo's wine tonight, he would take the surname of Big Mom's daughter!

Sakumo Hatake breathed a sigh of relief, surprised that no one blamed him. What happened next was beyond his expectations.

......

Inside the Hokage's office, the three giants of Konoha, the great strategist, the giant cannon, Sakumo Hatake, Shanks, and the "gambling, prostitution, and drug gang" were all gathered.

"While Danzo is still in prison, Orochimaru, you will temporarily manage this headquarters. The losses to the village caused by Sakumo abandoning his mission will be deducted from your future mission bounties. Now, let's talk about the conditions for ninjas to abandon missions in the future." Hiruzen Sarutobi punished his leader in a nonchalant manner. After all, a manager must have both rewards and punishments.

When Shanks heard Hiruzen Sarutobi's punishment of his best friend, he felt it was like making his friend work for nothing. He wanted to say something more in defense of his friend, but his friend stopped him.

Hatake Sakumo felt that things had progressed well enough and didn't want his friend to cause any more trouble. Besides, he didn't care about mission rewards. He wasn't a commoner who needed those rewards to make a living. The wealth his family had inherited from the Warring States period was enough for his single-lineage clan to squander for dozens of generations.

As for Orochimaru taking over Root, Shanks didn't care. Orochimaru couldn't control Danzo's die-hard followers, and he was too lazy to bother. He'd rather spend that time on his scientific research. As for the final condition of abandoning the mission, Shanks didn't even consider it, and immediately looked at his future in-laws' massive rocket launcher.

Tsunade and Jiraiya did the same thing as Shanks! Shanks and Tsunade thought it was better to leave this kind of thing to smart people to use their brain cells, but Jiraiya really didn't have a brain and couldn't think of such a thing.

Looking at the three men's gazes, Big Cannon sighed inwardly. What a nuisance; he couldn't even slack off.

“We can introduce a rule that when a ninja is carrying out a mission, if the difficulty of the mission changes and exceeds their ability, they can choose to abandon the mission or transfer it to someone who is capable of completing it. Of course, the mission level will also be increased. We will also evaluate whether the abandoned mission is truly impossible to carry out or whether an accident has occurred to decide whether it is necessary to punish the ninja who abandoned the mission,” said Big Cannon after thinking for 0.03 seconds.

Shanks and his two companions gave a thumbs-up to the giant rocket launcher, thinking that clever people always come up with the best ideas!

"...Then let's do it as Shika says for now, and we can add anything later if there are any mistakes or omissions," Hiruzen Sarutobi said after taking a few puffs of opium.

.....

Shanks and the others left their office in the Hokage Building for the three giants of Konoha and the great strategist.

"Sakumo, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're basically working for the Hokage for free. Believe me, all your bounty money ends up in his pocket. Biwako-san has a tight grip on his allowance," Shanks said to his best friend.

"Well, it's good that things have been resolved to this point. I was already prepared for the villagers to come knocking on my door," said Sakumo Hatake.

"Tch! It's just abandoning a mission, and no one in Konoha died. What's the big deal? Brother Sakumo, your contributions to Konoha over the years are nothing if a few people die. I think it's just that bastard Danzo making trouble for no reason." Jiraiya pouted.

After Jiraiya spoke, Shanks and the others looked at him with surprise.

"W-what's wrong? I didn't say anything wrong!" Jiraiya felt a little uneasy under Jiraiya's gaze, but then he remembered that he hadn't been to the roof of the bathhouse recently, which gave him some confidence.

"Jiraiya! Your brain has finally grown! We thought you were the only one who couldn't understand!" Shanks exclaimed in exaggerated surprise.

"...Damn it! I was just too lazy to think about these things before!" Jiraiya was furious and embarrassed. He could tolerate being called a low-level flirt, but now he dared to look down on his wisdom. This was absolutely unacceptable.

"This is a war between the teacher and Danzo, and Sakumo almost became a victim this time," Orochimaru said slowly.

"Hmph! Konoha is in such a mess because of these two bastards!" Tsunade snorted domineeringly!

"My dear niece, take it easy. Every village has a few people like that. Take Sunagakure, for example. If it weren't for Aunt Chiyo holding things together, it would have collapsed long ago. And your teacher, generally speaking, is just a little soft-hearted. At least Konoha hasn't declined," Shanks comforted her.

"Hehe, just wait and see. I think our advisor Danzo will be up to something soon. Our teacher and the others are very sentimental." Orochimaru said with a faint smile.

Shanks knew Orochimaru was right, but there was nothing he could do. He disliked power and couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters. Jiraiya, on the other hand, didn't have the energy to think about these things; he'd rather spend his free time on the roof of the bathhouse.

Tsunade was even less busy, her mind was entirely focused on Nawaki giving birth and the casino. As for Hatake Sakumo, his innate ninja mindset meant he didn't care about such trivial matters.

Shanks and Tsunade had just returned to the Senju clan when they saw Kushina rushing out aggressively.

"Kushina, where are you going?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"Haven't you heard? That bastard Danzo is trying to do something bad to Aunt Koharu Utatane. I'm going to teach that bastard a lesson!" Kushina said angrily.

"???" Shanks and Tsunade stared at Kushina in utter confusion.

"...You just woke up?" Shanks asked curiously. It's been ages since this whole thing was resolved, and this girl only just found out now? She must have been up to something naughty with Minato last night; he hadn't seen Minato today either.

208. The Bloodline Limit "Technique Subscription" Most Popular Among Men

“Minato had a mission to leave the village this morning, so we played late last night! What does that have to do with this?” Kushina said.

"Big sister, everything's been resolved. Danzo's in Konoha prison. Where are you going to find him?" Shanks said.

"Tch! I had to run out without even washing my face! Everything's over." Kushina said with dissatisfaction.

"By the way, you and Minato stayed out late last night. Did you manage to kill anyone?" Shanks asked seriously.

"Uncle! Don't think such strange things! When I said 'play,' I meant Minato using the Flying Thunder God Technique to take me out of the village to play." Kushina's red hair instantly stood on end.

"Oh! It's good that no one died. Remember, never let yourself be taken advantage of before you get married, okay? At most, you can just hold his hand!" Shanks patted his chest, relieved.

"boom!"

"Not even holding hands! I'll only let him get within five centimeters!" Tsunade said domineeringly, giving Shanks a powerful punch when he said he could hold hands.

Shanks lay on the ground listening to Tsunade's domineering words, "...It's really not easy for Jiraiya to have lasted so many years."

"What are you talking about! I'm going back to sleep!" Kushina ran off, her face flushed.

......

The incident involving Sakumo Hatake didn't seem to affect Kakashi much. He probably hadn't even heard about his father abandoning the mission; right now, the village was buzzing with rumors about Danzo sneaking into Koharu's room. As for Sakumo... well, none of that mattered as much as these gossips!

"Kakashi, have you heard?" Asuma asked Kakashi mysteriously in the classroom.

".....??" Kadian looked puzzled. He thought to himself, "Who knows what you're asking if you're asking such a nonsensical question!"

The mysterious way the surrounding kids called Asuma aroused their curiosity as well.

"On my way to school this morning, I heard the villagers say that last night, Danzo, the advisor, sneaked into Aunt Koharu's room naked, intending to do something bad, but he was beaten out." Asuma looked up and met Kurenai Yuhi's gaze, saying, "I really am the center of attention wherever I go."

"...What! Danzo's advisor is actually such a person? How despicable! How could such a high-ranking person appear in the village? What a misfortune for the family!" Kakashi didn't react much after hearing this, but Obito next to him jumped up excitedly and cursed, looking like he was worried about the country and its people.

"Ahem! Yes, Danzo usually looks like a fierce and menacing figure, I never expected him to do something like this! Luckily, he wanted to ask my dad for the secret of the Escape Technique last time, but thankfully he didn't give it to me!" Gekko Hayate coughed a few times and said.