Naruto: Drinking Makes You Stronger

For Obito, the news of Leo's graduation was like celebrating the New Year.

At last, he didn't have to worry about Leo suddenly taking a dislike to him and coming over to cut him twice.

For Kurenai, Leo graduating ahead of schedule was bittersweet, and she found it hard to let go.

But for Hideichi Tanaka, the days of suffering were just beginning.

....

In the ninja school that had just ended for the day.

"Leo, do you understand this question?"

Tanaka asked carefully.

"Huh? What did you say?"

Leo suddenly woke up from his nap and looked at Tanaka with slight annoyance.

This teacher wasn't so long-winded before. Why is he so annoying now?

"Um, are you tired? You can rest for a while if you want," Tanaka stammered nervously, noticing Leo's irritated gaze and almost on the verge of tears.

Seriously? Giving Leo a theory lesson? What a joke!

Yes, Hideichi Tanaka had been tasked with giving Leo a surprise tutoring session at this moment.

After all, the first part of the Chūnin Exam was a written test!

If Leo couldn't even pass the written exam, there was no point in thinking about the second stage.

Thus, Sarutobi Hiruzen had personally ordered Hideichi Tanaka to ensure Leo received this surprise tutoring session!

"Make sure to get passing marks on the written test!"

For Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was a simple command.

But for Hideichi Tanaka, it was anything but easy.

Leo couldn't be scolded, let alone disciplined.

To make matters worse, he often drank himself to sleep during their study sessions.

This job was starting to feel impossible.

"Leo-kun, just listen. Mr. Tanaka has it tough."

"Yeah, Leo, we're here with you, aren't we?"

Kurenai and Rin, noticing Tanaka's tearful expression, couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

After all, he was their teacher, and he always looked out for them.

Thus, they began to persuade Leo.

Seeing this, Hideichi Tanaka was so moved that he nearly broke into tears.

"Alright, I'll learn it. Let me tell you, I'm a genius. This kind of thing, I'll learn it quickly."

When Leo heard Kurenai and Rin say this, he gave them an exasperated look.

"Well, I believe in you, Leo-kun."

Kurenai and Rin looked at Leo with admiration.

Leo picked up the textbook, opened his eyes wide, and studied it seriously.

"Um, Leo, the book is upside down."

Tanaka, who had been feeling pleased, took a closer look and suddenly felt a wave of discomfort.

Leo had even been holding the book upside down.

"So it's reversed," Leo suddenly realized, feeling a bit foolish. No wonder he couldn't make sense of anything.

But then, Leo reacted—wasn't this embarrassing?

"You be quiet! Did you think I didn't do that on purpose? I can learn even by looking at it backwards, and I can score high when answering the questions!"

Leo slammed the textbook shut in frustration.

"Stop trying to learn! What's the point?"

Leo cursed at the textbook and stormed off with Kurenai and Rin.

"This... what am I supposed to do now?"

Tanaka stared at the empty classroom, feeling utterly helpless.

...

"Hokage-sama, that's all."

In the evening, Hideichi Tanaka went to the Hokage Building to report to Sarutobi Hiruzen about the recent surprise tutoring sessions.

"Forget it, it's not easy for you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Tanaka, who appeared full of guilt. His lips moved, and he finally sighed.

He wasn't even worthy of being called Tanaka Hideichi—he had been too ineffective in teaching Leo.

Leo, who had been drinking, was unmanageable and impossible to teach.

"Yes! Hokage-sama!"

Tanaka let out a sigh of relief and respectfully exited the Hokage office.

"What should I do now?"

As soon as Tanaka left, Sarutobi rubbed his forehead, clearly stressed.

"What's going on, old man?"

A young man with white hair and two marks under his eyes asked with a mischievous grin.

"Jiraiya, you troublemaker, do you think I haven't taught you well enough?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave Jiraiya a cold glance.

The last time he spoke nonsense, Sarutobi had given him a harsh lesson.

It seemed Jiraiya hadn't learned his lesson!

"Shivers"

Jiraiya's expression froze.

For some reason, the old man had been making him feel incredibly uneasy lately.

Even last time, he found an excuse to lecture him.

"Anyway, we just need to let that kid, Leo, take the written test, right?"

Jiraiya noticed Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression growing darker and quickly spoke up.

"Huh? Do you have any ideas?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a breath and spoke calmly.

"Well, why not help him cheat?"

Jiraiya said with a warm smile.

After all, the first exam was meant to test each student's ability to gather information.

But for Leo, even though he's powerful, his ability to gather information… Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't really be sure.

That's why Tanaka had given Leo extra training.

"Cheating? What are you even thinking, you troublemaker? Do you really think we can just cheat for people in our own village during the Chūnin Exams? How shameless!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was immediately furious. What a ridiculous idea!

This disappointing disciple spends his days either spying on women in the bathhouse or visiting shady little hotels.

He never thinks about helping his teacher with his worries or problems!

And then, he even talks nonsense to Leo!

The more Sarutobi Hiruzen thought about it, the angrier he became, and he started scolding his unsatisfactory disciple.

"Old man, you're really going to hit me!"

"Hey, I was just trying to help you out, and you're taking it the wrong way!"

Jiraiya yelped and quickly fled the Hokage's office, almost like he was running away.

After Jiraiya had escaped, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat at his desk, stroking his chin, deep in thought.

"Well, I suppose... it could work."

-----

Hidden Mist Village.

"Oh? Konoha has sent an invitation for the Chūnin Exams?"

A figure hidden in the shadows spoke calmly from the position of the Mizukage.

"Yes, Lord Mizukage."

When the Mist Ninja heard the voice, his entire body trembled, his tone filled with deep fear and respect.

"Then go and find out what kind of tricks Konoha is playing."

Yagura raised his head from the shadows, and the scarlet light gleamed in his eyes.

…

Cloud Village.

"What? Konoha has invited us to participate in the Chūnin Exams?"

The Third Raikage, a rugged man, laughed heartily.

"Master Raikage, are you going?"

A Jonin from the Cloud Village asked.

"Of course, we'll go. Let Konoha and those weaklings see how powerful the Cloud Village really is."

The Third Raikage slammed his hand on the table as he spoke.

However, the Hidden Rock Village and the Hidden Sand Village declined Konoha's invitation for various reasons.

Konoha soon received their responses.

Among the five great Shinobi villages, three had agreed to participate in the Chūnin Exams—Hidden Mist Village, Hidden Cloud Village, and Konoha.

The rest were smaller neighboring villages, like the Hidden Sound and Hidden Rain villages.

On Konoha's side, preparations for the upcoming Chūnin Exams began in earnest.

…

Soon, Leo's graduation application was approved.

After all, it was directly ordered by the Third Hokage, and everyone was aware of Leo's strength.

As a result, Leo's graduation went smoothly.

Next came the usual procedures: photos, registration, haircuts, and other formalities.

At this moment, Leo had finally become a proud… Genin.

"Leo, this headband really suits you," Rin said, excited, as she watched him leave the Hokage Building with the Konoha headband on his forehead.

"Leo-kun, I… I heard my father say that other ninja villages will be participating in this Chūnin Exam."

Rin, standing by, bit her lip, her face full of worry.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them all," Leo said confidently, patting his chest with a gleam in his eyes.

To Leo, ninjas from other villages were nothing more than easy targets.

As long as they were eliminated, they were just stepping stones to his own growth.

...

Hokage Office.

"You gave Leo everything I told you to, right?"

Sarutobi stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching Leo leave the Hokage Building, and asked.

"Yes, Hokage-sama, I handed everything to him personally."

Hideichi Tanaka replied with a confident expression, "Yes, I gave it to him."

"Good."

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a sigh of relief.

What Sarutobi had asked Tanaka to give Leo was the answer key for the written portion of the Chūnin Exam.

Now, there shouldn't be any problems, right?

Sarutobi felt helpless.

It was the first time in history that the Hokage had personally helped a candidate cheat.

But in order to ensure Leo could pass the first exam,

Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to resort to this method.

"Hidden Rock Village and Hidden Sand Village didn't accept the invitation. It's normal that the Hidden Rock Village didn't come, given that they have that guy, Onoki.

But what's going on with the Hidden Sand Village?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned as he looked over the responses from the various Shinobi villages.

"Forget it. Even without the participation of the Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock villages, as long as Leo demonstrates his strength to the Hidden Mist and Hidden Cloud villages in this Chūnin Exam, the Hidden Sand and Hidden Rock villages will take notice."

After thinking for a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided not to dwell on it further.

As long as Leo could showcase the strength of Konoha's new generation in this Chūnin Exam, that would be enough.

...

Time passed slowly.

During this period, the villagers of Konoha began to notice an increasing number of outsiders in the village.

"Hey, that's the Hidden Cloud Village symbol! These bastards!"

A group of strong-looking ninjas walked through the streets of Konoha.

Konoha's villagers stared at the group of people angrily.

This was not the time when the original events began.

It was shortly after the Second Ninja World War had ended,

and the Hidden Cloud Village had also been a participant in that war.

"What are they here for?"

"I heard the Chūnin Exam is being held. These guys are all here to take part in it."

"And that group, which Shinobi village are they from?"

"They're from the Hidden Mist Village. It's been a while since I've seen anyone from that village."

...

"Huh, is this Konoha? These weaklings occupy such a great place for nothing."

A ninja wearing the Hidden Cloud Village headband said with disdain.

"Don't be careless. Konoha is the cradle of geniuses."

The leader of the Hidden Cloud ninjas, a Jonin, glanced at the one who had spoken and said calmly.

"I know, isn't it that guy named Kakashi? I've heard he's the son of 'Konoha's White Fang,' but that guy's been a stubborn one, right? Aside from him, Konoha isn't really worth mentioning!"

The person spoke indifferently.

As the son of "Konoha's White Fang," Kakashi's intelligence had long been known by the major Shinobi villages.

However, this is the Chūnin Exam, not the Jōnin Exam. Kakashi may have passed the Chūnin Exam, but he can't participate this time.

The leader of the Hidden Cloud Village Jonin said nothing.

In his opinion, the new generation of Konoha seems to have only Kakashi worth considering. The rest were hardly worth mentioning.

...

"Konoha... it's so dull."

A shark-faced, cyan-skinned ninja with a Hidden Mist headband revealed a mouth full of fangs.

"Kisame, when the exam starts, make sure to show your best. Let Konoha's people see just how terrifying the ninjas from our Blood Mist Village really are."

The leader of the Hidden Mist, Fuguki Suikazan, wielder of Samehada, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist grinned widely.

"Understood."

The Sharkskin Ninja, known as the "Ghost Shark," stared with bloodshot eyes at Samehada, his gaze lingering for a moment before speaking.

-----

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