Naruto: Drinking Makes You Stronger

"This little red flower is my life!"

...

Leo looked at Inuzuka Aki with a strange expression.

"Is this guy crazy? Why does he keep flapping his mouth like that?"

But Leo quickly lost interest in him.

Instead, his attention was drawn to something more pressing—the ninjas from the other villages who had ruined his drinking!

"Whoosh!"

With his eyes red with rage and a murderous aura surrounding him, Leo vanished from where he stood.

---

As soon as Leo left, Haruki Hyuga and Yūnashi slumped to the ground, utterly exhausted.

They sat there in an embarrassed heap, exchanging glances. Both felt like they had just narrowly escaped death.

When their eyes fell on the small red flower, which they had earlier thought was a silly trinket, it suddenly appeared beautiful—almost sacred.

---

Konoha Observation Room

The room was silent.

Everyone stared at the screen, their faces frozen in disbelief.

"Th-that slash... how is it possible?"

The leader of the Rain Village pointed a trembling finger at the screen, his eyes filled with fear.

That slash didn't just remind him of the terrifying legend of the "Konoha White Fang."

It made him feel as though the White Fang himself had returned!

"This... this kind of power… how can it exist?"

The usually calm Fuguki now had his jaw slack, revealing sharp fangs. His expression was so dumbfounded it was almost comical.

"An S-rank forbidden technique?"

He muttered in disbelief as he stared at the destroyed land and forest on the screen.

At the same time, the leader of the Cloud Village was pale.

Three of their elite ninjas were gone—just like that.

"Even for an S-rank forbidden technique, the power is way too exaggerated," someone whispered.

Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin, was also at a loss.

"A single slash created a canyon several kilometers long...

"Even the late 'Konoha White Fang's' swordsmanship, which was unparalleled in precision, didn't have this sheer destructive range!"

Jiraiya's cheeks twitched.

"Kage-level power? From a kid who's barely nine years old?"

He couldn't help but feel like a complete failure. Compared to Leo, his achievements as one of the Sannin seemed trivial.

"Genius" wasn't enough to describe Leo.

He was a monster.

"Wait, didn't he say he was going to kill all the ninjas from the other villages?"

The leader of the Grass Village suddenly remembered, his face paling in terror.

If a monster like Leo decided to hunt them all down, it would be a massacre.

Everyone shared the same thought as their expressions shifted from shock to panic.

Something terrible was about to happen!

---

Konoha Hokage's Office

"Huff... huff..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, was sound asleep at his desk. He had stayed up all night working and hadn't even gone home.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Suddenly, there was a loud, frantic knock on the door.

No, it wasn't just knocking. It sounded like someone was trying to break the door down.

"Who is it?"

Sarutobi woke up groggily, his face showing irritation.

This was the Hokage's office! Who would dare be so rude?

The door swung open with a loud creak, revealing a panicked Konoha Jonin.

"What's going on?"

Sarutobi asked, immediately alert.

"H-Hokage-sama... it's the Chunin Exams..."

The Jonin was gasping for breath, his face pale with fear.

It was reasonable to assume that something like this wouldn't happen, especially with the strength of a Jonin. Yet, the events unfolding now left him in a grim mood.

"Oh? Did Leo stand out?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes lit up with excitement. "Haha, he's truly the genius I had high hopes for."

The previous day had been overwhelming for Sarutobi Hiruzen. He had to handle several critical decisions, leaving no time to check on the Chunin Exam's second stage through his crystal ball.

Yet, he felt confident about Leo's abilities. He didn't need to see it to know that Leo's performance would undoubtedly be spectacular.

When the distressed Jonin barged in, Sarutobi Hiruzen assumed he came bearing good news.

"Leo probably did something extraordinary," he thought, feeling pleased about his decision to secretly help Leo enter the exams.

"Tell me, how did he perform?" Sarutobi Hiruzen lit his pipe, eager to hear about Leo's achievements.

"L-Leo…" The Jonin stammered, clearly overwhelmed.

"Oh? Leo? What about him?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes sparkled with anticipation as he puffed on his pipe.

"Leo is about to kill all the participants from the other villages!"

Clatter!

The pipe fell from Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand, hitting the floor with a sharp sound.

---

Konoha Observation Room

Chaos reigned.

"What do we do?! No one can stop him!"

"Konoha, this is outrageous! How could you let such a monster join the exam?"

"Stop him! This isn't an exam—it's a massacre!"

Before Sarutobi Hiruzen even reached the observation room, he could hear the heated arguments inside.

As he entered, the scene before him was chaotic.

"Lord Third Hokage is here!"

A distressed Konoha Jonin immediately turned to Sarutobi Hiruzen, looking relieved.

But the relief was short-lived.

"Third Hokage, you owe us an explanation!"

"Why is someone with Kage-level power participating in this exam?!"

"Do you intend to start a war?"

The Shinobi from the outer villages crowded around Sarutobi Hiruzen, ignoring his rank and authority.

The elites from their villages were being hunted down by a monster, and every passing moment meant another potential death.

This Chunin Exam, initiated by Konoha, was supposed to be a safe event—even for villages not allied with Konoha. Trusting this, they had sent their best ninjas without hesitation.

But now, they felt utterly betrayed.

The leader of the Mist Fuguki Sukaizan, who had been brimming with confidence earlier, was now the loudest and angriest of them all. His spit flew dangerously close to Sarutobi Hiruzen's face as he demanded answers.

"Everyone, calm down!" Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to steady the room, though his heart raced at the accusations.

Kage-level power? When did Konoha allow someone like that to participate? He was still piecing the situation together.

"Calm down? Our people are being slaughtered!"

The representative from the Cloud Village stood firm, his anger palpable. Unlike others, he had no fear of Konoha's power.

"People from our village are already dead!" cried the leader of Takigakure(Takinin earlier), his voice breaking with despair.

"First, tell me what's going on?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his fist on the table and rubbed his temples as the aura of the Hokage radiated from him.

The room fell silent immediately.

At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was undoubtedly one of the most powerful people in the ninja world.

If they angered him, they might all be stuck in Konohagakure.

"Old man, take a look at this. Do you want Orochimaru to interfere with the exam?"

Jiraiya brought a screen to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen hurried over to the screen and examined it intently.

His eyes widened in shock as he saw what was on the screen.

"Leo, you rascal! You're overdoing it!"

------

Konohagakure, Death Forest

The genin from the other villages who had entered the forest earlier weren't fazed by the name.

Instead, they scoffed inwardly, thinking Konohagakure just liked to exaggerate!

But now, they truly understood the meaning of the word "death."

"Boom!"

"Crash!!!"

"Rumble!!!"

Countless terrifying slashes raged mercilessly through the Death Forest.

The dark purple slashes were several meters high for the small ones and tens of meters high for the large ones!

The earth groaned continuously as the dark purple slashes struck it, leaving deep scars in their wake.

Countless large trees were uprooted by the sword energy and dismembered in mid-air. Countless scattered branches and leaves were chopped into pieces the size of boulders. In that terrifying, boundless sword energy, they were cut into several or even dozens of pieces!

Then they fell limply into the chasms that had been carved out.

At that moment, the vast Death Forest was already a mess when viewed from above!

Countless horrifying slashes had carved countless chasms into this once-unassuming forest.

" Where did they all go?"

Leo roared as he unleashed another slash.

The violent state of intoxication didn't have any lasting negative effects.

However, Leo discovered that in this state, he craved alcohol intensely.

It was like an itch he couldn't scratch.

The less alcohol he had, the angrier Leo became at that moment.

Those damn shinobi village punks! Now I don't have any sake to drink!

But in a state of extreme anger and violent intoxication, Leo's normally domineering perception had become slightly impaired.

It could only sense a limited range of chakra signatures.

Therefore, Leo simply resorted to using slashes to plow through the Death Forest.

"Cowards! Come out and fight me! I'm tired of slashing!"

Leo roared and unleashed another slash that was several meters wide.

The dark purple, violent slash raged uncontrollably across the ground.

"Rumble!!!"

The violent slash tore mercilessly through the ground.

The earth shook like an earthquake.

The terrifying air pressure brought by the sword aura destroyed everything in its path!

In the sky, there were only the remains of massive trees that had been cut apart and enormous rocks that had been sliced into countless sections.

A scene of pure purgatory.

In a cave

"Cough, cough, cough!!!"

"Kisame, are you alright?!"

Hanabi Kaito looked at Kisame Hoshigaki, who was coughing up a pool of blood in pain, and asked anxiously.

"Ugh, damn monster!!!"

Kisame had a horrifying scar that ran across his entire chest.

Blood constantly seeped through the bandages and dripped onto the ground.

An ordinary person would have died from such an injury.

Kisame clutched his chest, and blood dripped from his sharp teeth.

His eyes were bloodshot, revealing the ferocity of a beast on the verge of death!

But upon closer inspection, one could see a hint of fear lurking in the depths of his eyes.