Naruto: Drinking Makes You Stronger

This terrifying destruction was caused by Leo.

Not long ago, they had the misfortune of encountering him.

Initially, Kisame was somewhat excited, eager to test the strength of this man who had been directly recommended for the second round of the exams.

But that excitement turned into a nightmare almost instantly.

A monster in the form of human uttered one chilling line, "No little red flower? Then go to hell, bastards from the other villages!"

And with that, he swung his blade. A horrifying slash, several meters tall, surged toward them like a force of nature.

Kisame immediately unleashed his full strength, performing a B-rank Water Release technique: Exploding Water Colliding Wave.

This technique brought forth an amount of water comparable to an entire lake, capable of washing away anything in its path.

Yet, before Leo's dark purple slash, it was as fragile as paper.

The "lake" was bisected with a single swing.

If not for Oiwa Ryo shoving him out of harm's way, Kisame would have been cut down by that terrifying attack.

Unfortunately, Oiwa Ryo couldn't avoid it. He perished beneath that monstrous strike.

Kisame and Haneda Kaito had no choice but to run for their lives.

Even so, Kisame was grazed by one of the slashes.

Just a glancing blow from the sword aura nearly severed Kisame's upper body in half.

Thankfully, Leo's movements were unsteady—he had clearly consumed far too much alcohol.

This gave Kisame just enough time to perform Water Release techniques to aid their escape.

Kisame's immense chakra reserves were critical. Every Water Release he could muster was used to flood a small section of the forest temporarily.

Kisame's unique physiology allowed him to breathe underwater, while Haneda Kaito, a skilled ninja from the Hidden Mist Village, held his breath expertly.

Together, they fled through the water, Kisame clutching Kaito tightly as he swam frantically.

It was the most humiliating experience of Kisame's life.

He couldn't retaliate—he could only run for his life.

Haneda Kaito remained silent, shaken to his core.

Before this, Kaito would have scoffed at anyone calling someone else a "monster" in Kisame's presence.

After all, Kisame was the most fearsome "monster" Kaito had ever known.

With chakra reserves comparable to a Jinchūriki, the ability to use A-rank Water Release techniques at such a young age, and combat strength rivaling that of an elite jonin, Kisame was a juggernaut.

Coming to Konoha for the Chūnin exams felt like overkill.

But now, Kaito understood the true meaning of the word "monster."

Boom!

"Bastards! Come out!"

A thunderous roar echoed across the forest.

A dark purple slash, tens of meters tall, tore through the land, the sound reverberating like a mighty explosion.

The earth quaked violently as though struck by an earthquake.

"It's happening again!" Kaito exclaimed, his voice trembling.

Boom!

The terrifying dark purple slash passed near the cave they were hiding in, shaking the ground to its core.

The air pressure alone was enough to make the cave tremble. Rocks began to fall from above.

"Kisame! Get up, now! The cave is about to collapse!" Kaito shouted, panic gripping his voice.

Ignoring his own fear, he hoisted Kisame onto his shoulders and ran toward the cave's exit.

Outside the Cave

Just as they escaped, a deafening crash resounded behind them.

The cave that had stood for countless years collapsed entirely.

"This... this is insane..." Kaito muttered, turning to look back with wide eyes.

But what he saw left him frozen in place.

"Monster..." Kisame murmured, clutching his wound as cold sweat dripped from his face.

They had chosen this cave because it was hidden within a small mountain range.

But now, that mountain range was unrecognizable.

The hill where they had been hiding had been completely bisected by Leo's latest slash.

The entire hill had been split cleanly in two. 

The mountain had been cleaved in two.

Thinking back to the dark purple slash just moments ago, Kisame and Haneda Kaito broke out in cold sweats.

If that attack had landed even a few meters closer, they wouldn't have stood a chance.

Death would have been certain—there was no escaping it.

"Too... too much. That strike came from kilometers away," Kaito stammered, his lips trembling.

The sheer scale of the power they had just witnessed was beyond comprehension.

Even the most advanced techniques from an elite Jonin couldn't compare to this.

This wasn't just overwhelming—it was terrifying.

"If it's not Jonin-level, then it's..." Kaito trailed off, fear overtaking his thoughts.

"Kage... a Kage..."

The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Against someone of this caliber, he and Kisame were no better than insects.

Kisame, clutching his bleeding wound, could barely stay upright.

Kaito's voice broke through the haze of pain.

"Kisame, this isn't working. He obviously has sensory abilities. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to track us so consistently.

The only thing stopping him from hitting us directly is his drunken state. He's missing his mark, but we can't keep gambling on that!"

Kaito's fear sharpened his mind, forcing him to think clearly.

They couldn't rely on luck. Betting their lives on Leo missing his target was suicidal.

"Every slash he swings is another gamble with our lives!" Kaito exclaimed.

Kisame remained silent, gritting his teeth against the pain.

He hated the thought of waiting helplessly for death.

Leo's drunken slashes were wildly inaccurate now, but that could change at any moment.

"Then what's your plan?" Kisame finally managed, his voice strained.

Kaito wracked his brain, desperate to find a solution. Time was running out.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"The little red flower! Kisame, the little red flower!"

Kisame furrowed his brow, confused by the sudden outburst.

"What little red flower? Are you talking about that silly sticker the Konoha ninjas wear?"

Kaito nodded enthusiastically, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

"Exactly! Do you remember what that monster said before attacking us?"

Kisame frowned, trying to recall.

"He said, 'No little red flower? Then go to hell.'"

"That's it!" Kaito exclaimed, his voice trembling with hope.

The realization struck like lightning.

The little red flower wasn't a joke or some meaningless sticker.

It was a safeguard Konoha had devised to deal with Leo's drunken rampages.

"They must've given them those flowers to stop him from killing the wrong people when he's drunk!" Kaito explained, his voice filled with urgency.

The irony wasn't lost on him—he and Kisame had laughed at Konoha's ninjas for wearing the flowers earlier.

But now, those seemingly ridiculous stickers were the key to their survival.

"I can sense chakra, Kisame. If we find the Konoha ninjas and get those little red flowers, we might live through this!"

Hope flickered in Kaito's eyes.

Kisame stared at him, the corners of his mouth twitching despite the pain.

"You want me to put a little red flower on my forehead?"

The absurdity of the situation hit him.

Here he was—Kisame, the terrifying "Monster of the Hidden Mist," known for his shark-like appearance and skin—being told to wear a flower on his head.

The mental image alone made him grit his teeth in frustration.

But survival was survival, no matter how humiliating.

"This is ridiculous," Kisame grumbled. "But fine. Lead the way."

Kaito didn't waste a second, dragging Kisame forward with renewed determination.

Their lives depended on that ridiculous little red flower.

Kisame's stomach churned at the absurdity of the situation.

A shark-faced man like him wearing a little red flower on his forehead? It was a scene straight out of a bad joke.

But Haneda Kaito wasn't laughing.

"Kisame, do you really think your pride is worth more than your life? If we don't find that flower, we'll just keep playing roulette with those slashes! Do you honestly believe we'll dodge every single one?"

Kisame clenched his fists, torn between his pride and the primal instinct to survive.

A deafening roar broke his thoughts.

"Huuu—BOOM!"

Another dark purple slash tore through the forest, cutting a massive gash across the terrain. The sheer force of it sent shockwaves through the ground, nearly knocking the two of them off their feet.

Kisame's hesitation shattered.

"Fine!" he roared, his voice trembling with desperation.

"Let's find that stupid flower!"

Meanwhile, Konoha's observation room was in chaos.

The leaders of various villages had surrounded the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, their voices rising in angry unison.

"Explain this madness, Hokage!" one leader bellowed, slamming his fist on the table.

"Why is such a monster in the Chunin Exams?!"

"This isn't the strength of a genin—it's not even something a Jonin could handle!"

Hiruzen stood at the center of the storm, his expression grim.

Allowing Leo into the exams had seemed like a brilliant idea at the time—a chance to showcase Konoha's strength after the loss of the White Fang. But now, it was spiraling out of control.

On the screen, another colossal dark purple slash carved through the forest, obliterating a hill in its path.

"BOOM!"

The hill crumbled like paper, scattering debris across the forest.

"Third Hokage!" a Kusagakure leader shouted, his face pale.

"This isn't an exam—it's a massacre!"

"Half the forest is gone already!"

"If this continues, there won't be any participants left to promote. Are you trying to start a war, Hokage?!"

Hiruzen's jaw tightened as he watched the destruction.

He had underestimated Leo—his power, his unpredictability, and his lack of restraint.

Back in the forest, Kisame and Kaito sprinted through the wreckage, dodging falling debris and the occasional stray slash.

Every step was a battle against both fear and humiliation.

Kisame's pride gnawed at him, but as another slash obliterated the ground behind them, he gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

"That damn flower," he muttered under his breath.

Kaito, sensing the urgency, turned to him.

"This is our only chance, Kisame! If we get that flower, we'll live to tell this story!"

Kisame growled, narrowly avoiding a falling tree.

"Tell the story?" he snapped. "If I survive this, I'm burning that flower and never speaking of it again!"

But for now, survival was all that mattered.

And the little red flower was their only hope.