Naruto: Drinking Makes You Stronger

Dozens of times, hundreds of times?!

If the Death Forest was completely destroyed, would there even be a trace of their shinobi left?

What the other villages didn't know was that Leo, in his drunken frenzy, grew stronger with every opponent he defeated.

Each kill awarded him critical rewards, boosting his base attributes. But even more terrifying was the effect of his "Drunken Fury" state, which multiplied those temporary boosts by ten.

In the truest sense, the more Leo fought, the stronger he became.

Hearing the panicked protests from the other village leaders, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face twitched.

By the rules of the second exam, all participants had signed death consent forms.

If every shinobi from the other villages died, technically, it wouldn't be Konoha's responsibility.

However, if Leo truly wiped them all out, this would no longer be a case of "a few unlucky losses."

It would be an insult to every village represented in the exam.

The entire shinobi world would know that one of Konoha's genin had annihilated all the shinobi from other villages.

And then?

Which village would trust Ninja Village to handle their missions?

If their shinobi were so weak that a single Konoha genin could destroy them, why not just hire Konoha directly?

For these Nobles , missions were their lifeblood. Without them, their economies would crumble, and their people would starve.

If their shinobi were truly massacred, the villages would have no choice but to retaliate—declaring war to restore their reputations.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was caught in a dilemma.

Canceling the second exam would mean Konoha would lose face. But letting Leo continue unchecked could lead to a disaster far worse.

"Damn those bastards! I have no sake left! I'll kill every last one of you!"

Leo's drunken roar echoed from the screen.

"Huff—"

"BOOM!"

Dark purple light erupted once again, cutting through the forest with even more ferocity.

"Why… why is he getting stronger?"

Watching the screen, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face paled.

Even he, the Third Hokage, was beginning to believe Leo was a monster.

By now, Leo should have been exhausted.

Sarutobi had hoped the young shinobi would tire himself out, solving the problem naturally.

But instead, Leo seemed to grow more powerful with every slash.

"No, we must stop him!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression hardened as he made his decision.

If this continued, Leo would wipe out every shinobi from the other villages, sparking a war that Konoha couldn't afford.

"You should be able to contact the elites from your villages," he said, addressing the panicked Jonin leaders. "Tell them to find Konoha's shinobi and get those small red flowers. Have them place the flowers visibly on themselves."

"When Leo senses the red flowers, he'll stop attacking them."

"Small… red flowers?"

"So that's why Konoha's shinobi were distributing them earlier?"

"Damn it! Contact our shinobi immediately!"

The Jonin leaders scrambled to relay the instructions to their remaining participants.

"Turn off the screen," Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered.

The room dimmed as the screen went dark.

Despite the protests of the other village Jonin, Sarutobi remained steadfast.

He had already done his part to intervene. Allowing the other villages to continue watching would only worsen tensions.

"Jiraiya, tell Orochimaru to intervene and stop Leo," Sarutobi said, leading Konoha's shinobi out of the room.

"Yes, Lord Hokage," Jiraiya replied.

Sarutobi sighed deeply, his heart heavy.

He had only wanted Leo to showcase Konoha's strength—to make the village shine.

But instead, Leo had gone too far, becoming a storm of destruction.

Now, the Third Hokage had no choice but to clean up the mess.

Jiraiya nodded and quickly began to contact Orochimaru.

"By the way, tell Orochimaru to bring a good bottle of sake," Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly remembered and added quickly.

"Uh... sure," Jiraiya replied, momentarily stunned before hurrying to comply.

But deep down, he couldn't help but wonder—what if even Orochimaru couldn't stop Leo?

Meanwhile, in a hidden cave within the Death Forest, the scene was vastly different from the chaos outside.

While the forest suffered relentless devastation from Leo's rampage, this cave remained untouched—a pure haven amidst destruction.

Inside, all of Konoha's candidates had gathered.

"Boom!!!"

Another dark purple slash lit up the sky. Even from this distance, the Konoha shinobi could see it clearly.

"Whoa! Leo is incredible!"

"Look at that slash—it's at least twelve meters high, right?"

"No way, I'd say it's closer to fifteen meters!"

"Unbelievable! Higher than a building!"

The distant flashes of destruction left the Konoha shinobi in awe. To them, it was as if they were watching an epic movie.

"Aki, what are you doing?"

Haruki Hyuga approached Inuzuka Aki, noticing his peculiar actions. The corners of Haruki's mouth twitched in disbelief.

"Huh? Oh, the glue on these little red flowers came loose, so I'm reinforcing it," Aki replied. His face was covered in small red flowers.

Before Haruki could respond, Aki gave one of the flowers a quick lick and firmly stuck it back onto an empty spot on his already crowded face.

"How does it look? Not bad, right?" Aki asked proudly.

Haruki stared at him, speechless. Aki's face was so plastered with flowers that not a single patch of skin was visible.

"If it makes you happy, then go ahead," Haruki muttered, trying to suppress a laugh.

Since learning about the significance of the small red flowers, Aki had become obsessed. If even one flower fell off, he would stop at nothing to stick it back on.

"Boom!!!"

The sound of another violent slash echoed through the forest. Every time they heard it, Aki's body trembled involuntarily.

"Thank goodness we're from Konoha," said Yūnashi Aburame, adjusting his sunglasses as he observed the destruction from a distance.

After Leo announced his plan to "plow through the Death Forest," he tasked Aki, Haruki, and Yūnashi with finding and gathering all the Konoha participants.

Thanks to the Byakugan and Yūnashi insect-tracking technique, they were able to locate everyone quickly.

Once the Konoha candidates realized that the devastating slashes were caused by Leo, they immediately followed orders and gathered in the cave.

As Leo's relentless destruction continued outside, the Konoha shinobi couldn't help but feel grateful for their allegiance.

If they weren't from Konoha, they wouldn't be watching Leo's rampage like an action movie. Instead, they'd be out there, dodging slashes as tall as buildings.

At first, the group huddled in fear, trembling at the thought of Leo accidentally targeting them.

But after some time passed, they began to relax, marveling at the destruction from a safe distance.

That is, until Haruki Hyuga noticed something alarming.

"Wait a second! Why are the slashes starting to shift toward our direction?!" Haruki's previously calm demeanor turned frantic.

The others, who were still discussing the height of the slashes, froze in place.

Then, chaos erupted.

"Leo wouldn't forget we're here... would he?"

"This is bad! If one of those slashes hits us, we're done for!"

"Everyone, run!"

Panic spread like wildfire as the Konoha shinobi scrambled to find a safer hiding spot, their earlier awe of Leo's strength replaced by sheer terror.

Everyone was momentarily flustered, but when someone suggested running away, the others looked at him like he was an idiot.

Run? The entire Death Forest was being ravaged by Leo's violent slashes. Staying here was the only barely safe option.

"This is your fault, you idiots! You didn't stick on enough red flowers—now you can't even sense the danger properly!"

Inuzuka Aki suddenly snapped, his frustration boiling over. He had told everyone to cover their faces with red flowers, just as he had done.

But these fools had ignored him!

"See? Now you can't feel the danger anymore! Come here, line up! I'll fix this myself!"

Reluctantly, everyone in Konoha formed a line.

Aki grabbed a plate full of small red flowers and began pressing them onto their faces with an almost comical level of force.

"Smack! Smack! Smack!"

Haruki Hyuga watched the scene unfold, his face twitching. It looked like a slapstick comedy routine, with Aki smacking red flowers onto everyone's faces as if they were misbehaving children.

"Is this really how it works? Shouldn't we still be able to sense danger without these?" Haruki thought, puzzled.

If Leo had intended to target them, surely one of his slashes would have hit their area by now. Something didn't add up.

"Wait... could it be...?"

A sudden realization struck Haruki, and his expression changed drastically.

"Byakugan!"

The veins around his eyes bulged as Haruki activated his Byakugan and scanned the forest ahead.

"No, this is bad!"

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Before Haruki could even warn the others, the sound of rapid movement filled the air.

"Look, we've found them! Konoha's group!"

Twelve shinobi from the other villages appeared, their eyes locked on the Konoha team.

"What's going on?"

Aki, busy slapping red flowers onto another person's face, looked up in confusion.

"What... what is that?!"

The newcomers froze when they saw Aki's face—completely covered in small red flowers, with not a single patch of skin visible.

Their eyes turned red with envy and desperation.

"Konoha! Hand over the red flowers!"

"Those flowers smell like dogs, but we don't care! Give them to us!"

Even Kisame, usually composed, seemed unable to control his emotions.

To them, the red flowers symbolized hope and survival. With them, they wouldn't have to worry about being hacked to death by Leo's monstrous slashes.

"Hand over the red flowers!"

The shinobi from other villages shouted, their eyes locked on Aki's face as if it were their salvation.

To them, the red flowers were nothing less than a lifeline—a shield against Leo's relentless destruction.

As the realization sank in, their desperation grew.

"Uh, this is bad," Aki muttered, his body instinctively tensing as he turned to face the intruders.

The primal instincts of the Inuzuka clan told him these people were dangerous.

"Be careful," Haruki warned, his expression serious.

Although the newcomers looked disheveled and exhausted, their spirits were on edge.

Many of them were injured, their bodies battered and their minds teetering on the brink of collapse after enduring the terror of Leo's slashes.

It was a nightmare—an unrelenting fear of being obliterated at any moment.

But now, cornered and desperate, they were like wounded animals who had found a glimmer of hope. That desperation made them more dangerous than ever.

"Are you sure you want to fight us?" Haruki asked, his tone calm but firm. "We have Leo's contact information."

The tension in the cave escalated, the air thick with the possibility of conflict.