Naruto drinking makes me stronger

Chapter 25 - The Butcher in the forest

The second exam had officially begun.

As soon as Orochimaru gave the signal, Konoha's candidates rushed into the Forest of Death, disappearing into the dense foliage. The humiliation from the first phase still burned in their minds, and they wanted to escape the mocking eyes of the other villages as quickly as possible.

Youyu, on the other hand, showed no such urgency. He calmly bid farewell to Rin and Kurenai, hoisted his backpack full of sake over one shoulder, and strolled into the forest, his sword resting lazily in his hand.

Orochimaru watched his retreating figure, amusement flickering in his serpentine gaze. "Youyu... interesting."

Deep inside the Forest of Death, Youyu walked leisurely along a beaten path, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind blending with his quiet sips of sake. He had been wandering for a while now, yet he hadn't encountered a single opponent.

"Hic... where the hell is everyone?" he muttered, rubbing his eyes, which had become slightly hazy from the alcohol.

He had entered the forest expecting a quick fight. After all, the sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could collect on his house full of sake from Hiruzen. But the other candidates had scattered like mice, making it impossible to find them.

He sighed, taking another deep swig. If this kept up, he'd finish all his drinks before he even got to cut someone down.

Unbeknownst to him, in the shadows nearby, a group of three shinobi from Takigakure had been tracking his every move.

"Brother, that arrogant brat from Konoha... let's take him out," one of them whispered, eyes glinting with hostility.

"The way he acted in the first exam pissed me off. Now, he's alone and drunk—this is our chance."

Their leader smirked. "Hmph. He was clearly given special treatment by Konoha. Now that he's here, we can prove he's just some spoiled brat. Let's take his scroll and get ahead of everyone else."

One of the younger Taki-nin hesitated, his brows furrowing in concern. "Something about this feels off. If Konoha was so desperate to push him forward, why would they send him in alone? Maybe he's stronger than he looks."

The leader scoffed. "What kind of real ninja gets drunk in the middle of an exam? Don't overthink it. We finish this fast and move on."

Their decision had been made. They would strike.

Inside the observation room, where high-ranking shinobi from multiple villages watched the exam unfold, a Kumogakure jōnin smirked as he noticed the developing encounter.

"Konoha's drunkard is finally being hunted down," he remarked, leaning back in his seat.

Fuguki Suikazan, one of Kirigakure's infamous Seven Swordsmen, chuckled darkly. "It's about time. This brat has been nothing but a joke so far. Let's see how he handles actual combat."

He threw a glance at Jiraiya, watching for any reaction. However, Jiraiya remained expressionless, arms crossed as he observed the screen.

Fuguki's grin widened. He was looking forward to seeing Youyu die.

Back in the forest, Youyu was humming to himself, swaying slightly as he walked. The peaceful rhythm of his drinking session was rudely interrupted when multiple kunai whistled through the air, heading straight for him.

Attached to them were explosive tags.

The moment they made contact, a powerful series of explosions rocked the forest, sending flames and debris into the air. Smoke clouded the area, masking everything from sight.

From a distance, the three Taki-nin smirked.

"Good. That should have blown him to pieces."

They stepped forward cautiously, expecting to find burned remains—but what they found instead made their blood run cold.

Youyu stood there, completely unharmed, still holding his sake bottle. He took a slow sip before huffing in annoyance.

"That was a waste of good alcohol," he muttered, shaking his head.

The lead Taki-nin stiffened. "Impossible...!"

Youyu finally looked up at them, his gaze lazily scanning their faces.

Forehead? No flower.

Between the eyebrows? No flower.

His lips curled into a grin.

"No little red flower... that means I can cut you down."

Excitement flickered in his gaze as he gripped the handle of his sword.

One of the Taki-nin scoffed. "What the hell are you talking about? You think this is a game?"

Without waiting for an answer, he lunged forward, kunai gleaming as he aimed straight for Youyu's throat.

A flash of steel.

The next moment, a wet gurgle filled the air.

The Taki-nin's eyes widened in horror as he realized he couldn't move.

A deep, clean cut had appeared across his chest. Blood spilled freely, his body swaying slightly before collapsing to the ground—sliced in two.

The forest fell silent.

The other two Taki-nin froze, their minds struggling to process what had just happened.

One second, their comrade had attacked.

The next, he had been cut in half

Their leader took an instinctive step back, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. "What... what just happened?"

The third Taki-nin swallowed hard. "He... he didn't even move."

No—that wasn't right.

He had moved. They were just too slow to see it.

The realization hit them like a tidal wave.

Konoha hadn't sent Youyu into the exam as a joke.

They had given every one of their candidates a red flower to make sure he didn't kill them by mistake.

The leader's breathing turned shallow. "This... this guy is a monster."

Youyu tilted his head, his grin widening. "You two are next."

His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword. His movements, once lazy and sluggish, now carried a sharp, deadly focus.

"Let's see how much more sake I can trade for your heads."

Word Count: 1,020

Author Notes:

Taki-nin: "We'll take out the drunk idiot."

Youyu: "No flower? Alright, time to cut you down."

In the original translation Fuguki Suikazan was called Watermelon Mountain Pufferfish, would you like to use that I thought it was pretty funny so lmk and future updates would be that way😂😂

Next Chapter: read and figure it out