Naruto: Drinking Makes You Stronger

Leo watched the ninjas from the participating villages fleeing from the center tower as though they were escaping the death forest, muttering quietly to himself.

In exchange for the little red flowers, all the scrolls of these outer village ninjas had been handed over to Konoha.

With Leo's presence on the way here, they dared not take them.

This time, Konoha was taking the second exam, and everyone had advanced, except Leo.

"It doesn't matter," Leo thought. "If the third Hokage doesn't give me the wine, I won't leave his house!" He turned his gaze to the two guards at the door, who trembled at his stare. With a smirk, Leo walked out of the death forest.

"Huh—finally, that monster is gone."

The two guards exchanged a relieved glance and let out a long sigh.

Anyone who had flattened the death forest and dared to curse Lord Orochimaru was someone they couldn't afford to cross.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Ninjas from the other villages rushed towards the designated exit. Some glanced back, still fearful the monster might catch up.

Though they knew the exam was over, the psychological shadow left by Leo's actions was still fresh.

"Konoha! I'll never come here again!"

A Cloud ninja ran wildly, sobbing. He had always prided himself on being tough, but this experience had completely shattered his spirit.

"The front is the exit!" Haneda Kaito shouted excitedly, his feet barely touching the ground as he sprinted.

"Teacher!"

"Teacher, I made it out alive!"

"Woooooo—"

As they reached the exit, they spotted their respective instructors, and some of the ninjas began to break down in tears.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Before the emotional reunions between teachers and students could unfold, countless figures appeared out of thin air, surrounding them.

"Anbu! Third hokage, what are you Konoha people doing?!"

Suzuki glared at the Konoha Shinobi and the dozen or so Anbu who surrounded them, his voice filled with anger.

The Anbu, only found in the five hidden villages, were the "Shadows"! The sharpest weapon in the hands of the "hokage"!

The Cloud Village, led by a Jonin, also stared at the third Hokage, who had yet to appear at the center tower.

"Don't worry, Konoha won't be against you, but the memories here can't leave."

Sarutobi's gaze was like a torch, locking onto every shinobi in the area. His presence alone radiated authority, and the atmosphere grew tense.

Beside Sarutobi Hiruzen were his trusted allies: Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, Yuri Shinku... all of them were there.

What happened in the second exam had to remain buried.

Leo, with his terrifying strength at such a young age, could never have his power spread beyond Konoha. Not even within the village itself.

It must stay hidden.

"Dammit!"

Suzuki face darkened with rage, but he knew he was powerless against Konoha's might.

Just Jiraiya and Sarutobi alone could easily overpower them.

"Do it!" Sarutobi called out decisively.

The surrounding shinobi immediately took action.

"Damn it! What are you doing?"

"Konoha, are you starting a war?"

"Assholes!"

The sound of cursing and resistance filled the air, but soon, the situation was under control.

Suzuki Suizakan and the top Cloud ninja attempted to resist, but Jiraiya personally took action, quickly suppressing them.

Konoha's special sealing team, along with the Mt. Myobuko Clan, sealed the memories of everyone outside the village and made the necessary alterations.

Even the Red Sand Scorpion, known for his ability to manipulate memories, would be impressed by the professionalism of these ninjas.

Soon, the sealing was complete.

"What... what just happened?"

Suzuki shook his head, feeling a strange tingling sensation.

"You've all worked hard," Sarutobi said, his expression gentle as he addressed the group. "Although it's unfortunate that your journey in the Ninja exams ends here, we appreciate your participation in Konoha's exams..."

"Kisame, did you lose?! Who did you lose to?"

Suzuki Suizakan, listening to Sarutobi's long speech, glared at the severely injured Kisame with a dark expression.

Leo shook his head, as though he had forgotten something important.

"Huh? Isn't that the old man? Why is he here?"

At that moment, a somewhat surprised voice reached his ears.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's previously passionate expression suddenly froze.

"Um?!"

At the sound of the voice, his scalp tingled with unease.

"Heh, he..."

Kisame eyes turned bloodshot, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

The feeling was strange—it was as though he had encountered a natural enemy.

In his memory, there was no such person, so why was this happening?

"Hey, what's going on?"

"What's happening with you all?!"

...

At this moment, all the participating village ninjas, upon seeing Leo, began trembling uncontrollably, their bodies drenched in cold sweat. Fear filled their eyes, though they couldn't understand why.

"Who are you?!"

Suzuki stared at Leo and shouted.

Although his memories had been sealed, the sight of the ninjas around him and Leo's performance immediately struck him as unusual.

Why would Kisame feel fear towards this person?

Seeing this, Leo rolled his eyes and immediately understood.

"Don't bother guessing. Sarutobi must have tampered with their memories."

But Leo wasn't concerned about how these people viewed him—he was only interested in what Sarutobi had promised him.

"Lord Hokage!"

Under Sarutobi's increasingly dark expression, Leo trotted up to him, his face filled with mock surprise.

"Lord Hokage, I will take care of all these guys..."

As he spoke, Leo made a motion across his neck, under Sarutobi's stern gaze.

"No, no!"

"Yes, there are monsters!"

"I don't want to die!"

...

Upon seeing Leo's gesture, many of the participating village ninjas screamed in terror, clutching their heads in agony.

"Well, Leo, what I promised you will definitely be done," Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly interrupted, his voice tinged with urgency.

At the same time, he was secretly shocked. It seemed that these ninjas' fear of Leo had become ingrained in their very souls.

Even with their memories sealed, upon witnessing Leo make certain movements, they still reacted violently!

Sarutobi Hiruzen quickly agreed to Leo's request, genuinely fearful that Leo might react too strongly.

What if this continued? What if the memory block on these ninjas no longer worked?

Seeing Leo's triumphant smile, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Who said Leo was just a lunatic who cared only about drinking and killing people?

Clearly, his intelligence was far beyond his grasp!

"Then, Hokage-sama, tomorrow, I'll come to your place for the wine," Leo said with a smile, oblivious to Sarutobi's distressed expression.

Having achieved his goal, Leo hummed a little tune as he walked away, leaving behind a trail of fearful looks from the outer village ninjas.

Konoha, Leo's home.

Whoosh—

Leo walked out of the bathroom, towel in hand, and grabbed a bottle of beer from the refrigerator, taking a satisfying sip.

"My shoulder still aches a bit."

He stretched out on the sofa, his gaze heavy with a touch of laziness.

The past few days had been exhausting for him.

Although the recent "work" was enjoyable, too much pleasure wasn't always a good thing.

His muscles ached from all the slashing!

Thankfully, Rin and Kurenai had been considerate, and Rin had given him a full body massage.

If it hadn't been so late, and if the two women weren't heading back, Leo would have liked to invite them for a drink and celebrate.

"But the rewards were definitely worth it."

A glint of satisfaction flickered in Leo's eyes.

"Open the information panel," Leo commanded in his mind.