Konoha Drunkard

"Just empty rhetoric," Tsunade said. In truth, she didn't understand what Shanks was rambling on about. It was the final battle; they should just set the rules and get to it.

"I didn't expect that this Konoha Red-Haired Man is not only powerful, but also has remarkable oratory skills!" The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning said to Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"...You flatter me, Your Excellency. This Shanks has enjoyed studying literature since childhood, and his cultural refinement is quite good." Hiruzen Sarutobi casually began to boast. Minato didn't have Hiruzen's composure when it came to boasting, so he left Hiruzen to handle it.

"........."

As soon as Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, those around him who knew Shanks were speechless. What was with his supposed cultural refinement? And what was with his supposed love for literature? Was the Third Hokage really talking about their Shanks? It didn't seem like it at all.

"Lord Ao, didn't the Anbu's files say that this Konoha red-haired guy is a heavy drinker? How come he's suddenly interested in studying literature?" A Jonin behind Ao asked in a low voice from the Kirigakure side.

"...Maybe it's just a hobby. Drinking doesn't interfere with studying literature, right?" Qing replied after a moment's hesitation. He had no idea what was going on. This was only the second time he had seen Konoha Red Hair. How would he know what hobbies this Konoha Red Hair had? He had only seen his preferences in the archives.

"Sigh! No wonder he's been able to stand tall in the ninja world for decades. It turns out this Konoha Shanks is quite cultured!" exclaimed the Daimyo of the Land of Water.

"........"

The words of the Daimyo of the Land of Water not only made the Konoha high-ranking officials blush, but even the incredibly thick-skinned Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't take it anymore. Minato next to him wanted to disappear into the ground. Fortunately, he wasn't exaggerating; he couldn't even imagine how Hiruzen Sarutobi would respond.

"Now, I'll announce the exam content. As you all know, ninja battles are usually one-on-one or 3v3, but because there are so many people, one-on-one or 3v3 battles are quite long and boring. So, to make it more exciting and thrilling, this exam is simple: team battle, or simply, 'Slash Your Friends'!! Everyone participating in this exam will enter the arena. Inside, only your team of three members are your allies; everyone else is the enemy. Only the team with the last member standing will be the champion. This will test both your combat abilities and your survival skills on the battlefield. If anyone is seriously injured or loses their ability to fight and wants to withdraw during the exam, they can raise a white flag. Everyone received a white flag when they entered the exam room. Do you have any questions?" Shanks said, then asked the boys in the audience.

"Red-haired lord, our Tang Ninja only has three teams participating in the exam, while the Cloud Ninja has more than twenty teams. If they unite first to clear out those villages with fewer people, wouldn't that be a bit unfair?" a Jonin from Tang Ninja Village asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement. It was indeed a bit unfair. Exams should be fair and just. If Konoha's Shanks did it this way, wouldn't that be tantamount to pre-determining the champion from the top three? The three ninja villages would have the most participants.

"That's an excellent question, Jonin! But nothing in this world is absolutely fair. If everyone wanted fairness, we could just sit down and play rock-paper-scissors to decide the winner. Why bother with fighting and killing? Since you've chosen to be a ninja, you have to be prepared for all sorts of things to come. Besides, there are plenty of examples of people winning against overwhelming odds in the ninja world. If you fail, it just proves that you're not strong enough. Don't blame fate or others," Shanks said, shrugging.

"Red-haired Lord is right! If we fail, we can only blame our own lack of strength. Jiro! Enter the arena!" As soon as Shanks finished speaking, the Fourth Raikage immediately stood up and shouted at the Cloud Ninja. The Cloud Ninja loved this kind of exciting clash, especially since they had the most people in the final round, which was most advantageous for them. He had no reason to refuse.

"Red-haired Lord is right, you should all enter!" The Fourth Raikage had spoken, and Ao, representing the Mist Village, followed suit. Anyway, they were sure to get into the top three this time, and they could also show off their strength, so they wouldn't lose out. This time, the Mist Village hadn't even thought about winning the championship. It would be good enough if they could show off in the finals. What they needed now was to develop stealthily, not to make a big splash. They would wait a few years until the village had recovered before competing for the championship.

After the Kirigakure genin entered the examination hall, the Konoha genin, led by Garp and his two companions, also entered, facing off against the Kumo and Kirigakure genin. If there were some music playing at this moment, it would be even more like a scene of swords clashing.

After the three great ninja villages entered, the genin from the smaller ninja villages also began to enter in small groups. There was no other way; the momentum of the three great ninja villages was too overwhelming. If they didn't stick together, they would be wiped out even faster. Soon, even if they did stick together, it would be of little use. The total number of these people was less than half that of Konoha, and there were also people like the grass ninja who lacked fighting spirit. In terms of momentum, they were far inferior to the overwhelming momentum of the three great ninja villages.

483. So exciting!

"on!"

"Hack him!"

"Charge!"

"Konoha Ganbatte!"

"..."

When the morale on the field reached its peak, the audience in the stands were also infected. They shouted excitedly at the examination room, and some even stood up and raised their fists, as if they wanted to find someone to fight them three hundred times.

"This is so exciting! It's so exciting!" Even the lords of various countries were thrilled. When had they ever seen such a scene? Such a battle scene only appeared during national wars, and they dared not go to the front line to watch during national wars. If they were to be wiped out by chance, it would be GG.

"Daimyo, calm down, the battle hasn't even started yet!" Ao whispered a reminder to the water daimyo who was gesticulating wildly. He was already so excited before the battle even started; what would happen if the battle actually began? These daimyo would probably really start fighting.

"Stop watching, let's get started!" Shanks said helplessly, watching the four teams on the field have been locked in a battle of wills for at least ten minutes since he announced the start. The ratings are already soaring, what's the use of just showing off? Do they have Conqueror's Haki or not?

"on!"

After Shanks reminded them, the leader of the Cloud Ninja was the first to realize that he had been so caught up in the excitement that he had forgotten about the fight!

"on!"

"Charge!"

Konoha and Kirigakure weren't going to be left behind and rushed in. In an instant, the arena was filled with all sorts of kunai and shuriken flying everywhere, a constant barrage of muscle-bound clashes, and occasional low-level ninjutsu. After all, they were all genin, relying heavily on taijutsu. This kind of visceral, hand-to-hand combat was exactly what ignited the audience's passion. The elaborate displays of ninjutsu, like dazzling fireworks, rarely got the audience fired up; at most, they'd exclaim, "Wow, that's beautiful!" But this kind of brutal, visceral combat was different. Even the simple punches and kicks that ordinary people could throw were enough to get their blood pumping. Didn't you see the daimyo of the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Lightning already caught up in the excitement in the VIP section, almost coming to blows themselves, even dragging the daimyo of the Land of Water into the mix as referee?

"Super Strength Fist!"

"boom!"

"Storm Kick!"

"boom!"

Bagua Fist!

"Bang bang bang!"

On the field, Garp and his two companions led the charge, flanking the Konoha genin with incredible ferocity. These weaklings were no match for Garp's monstrous strength; a single punch sent them sprawling. Regardless of Garp's actual combat prowess, his speed at clearing monsters was almost on par with Nawaki, who wielded several powerful weapons. Moreover, Garp's stamina far surpassed his father's. Furthermore, due to his incredible vitality, he was virtually immune to injury. Even when struck by kunai or shuriken, he would calmly pull them out and continue charging, his wounds healing in seconds, leaving him unscathed except for a few drops of blood. Garp's tough-guy style ignited the fighting spirit of his underlings, who, with bloodshot eyes, mimicked Garp's actions, pulling out their weapons and charging aggressively into the fray.

Unlike Garp's, Itachi's skills were much more impressive. His agile movement, stylish dodges, and occasional use of his family's Fireball Jutsu or a Naruto-style Six Powers technique—after fighting for so long, he wasn't injured at all. Seeing the second male lead's father on the platform, he felt immense pride, thinking, "My son has grown up!" Who said the Uchiha clan only relied on the Sharingan? Didn't they see how skilled his son was? The Uchiha clan members were also incredibly excited. They only knew their young clan leader was a genius, but they'd never seen him fight. Now they finally witnessed it firsthand; his flashy skills were practically a textbook example for the Uchiha clan!

Of the three, only Hyuga Tsuruhime performed adequately, supporting Garp and Itachi. She would unleash her Bagua Fist on areas Garp and Itachi couldn't reach. However, this girl possessed the monstrous physical abilities of the Senju clan, like Tsunade. Using Bagua Fist with her Byakugan active for extended periods inevitably took its toll. After blasting away another Kirigakure ninja who tried to ambush her, she was also panting heavily. It was her first time experiencing such a group battle, and she had no experience in conserving energy. She used whatever skills were most powerful. Unlike Itachi, who had often fought against Shanks' clones a few years ago, she was very experienced in this style of fighting. Garp, with his monstrous physique, didn't need any experience; he just went for it.

"This is so exciting! This is truly exciting! This is the romance of men! Kakashi, let's have a duel between men!" In the stands, Green Guy's body was glowing green with excitement, his blood was boiling, and his eyes were blazing as he looked at Kakashi.

"............Let's test the waters first, don't get so excited." Kasper rolled his eyes. He knew it would be like this. Even he almost lost control of his emotions in this situation, let alone a hot-blooded young man like Green-skinned Kai, who was already glowing green before the game even started.

"Kai, calm down, we're still taking the exam!" The Konoha ninja next to Green Guy felt a chill run down his spine as he watched Green Guy open countless gates. He decided to stay away from this freak in the future; this guy was way too impulsive!

"Lord Hokage, I never imagined your village had such a genius! You're truly amazing!" The Water Country Daimyo, while acting as referee for the two teams of weaklings fighting, was captivated by Garp's fighting style. It was so damn exciting! That Uchiha boy was also good, but he didn't have the same infectious energy as the Senju clan boy. Even he wanted to join in and fight the Lightning Country Daimyo against the Earth Country Daimyo.

"Hahaha!...Please excuse my rudeness, Daimyo." A bead of sweat dripped from the back of Minato's forehead. The situation was completely out of control. Whether it was the Daimyo in the VIP seats or the spectators, several groups had broken into fights due to the heat of the moment. His ANBU (Anbu) were utterly unable to maintain order. They'd just break up one fight, and another would erupt. The ANBU couldn't really knock people unconscious; they'd paid for their tickets, and they couldn't very well stop them from watching the match...

"Is that passionate young man from the Senju clan the young patriarch of the Senju clan? He is truly a valiant warrior!" exclaimed the daimyo of the Land of Water.

"............" Minato, who was not used to lying, did not know how to respond. It was already unfair to make Garp, Itachi, and Hyuga Tsuruhime, who was already a Chunin, participate in the competition. Now that they were being praised like this, Minato was a little uncomfortable.

"Ah, Garp has some talent, so he was taught by Tsunade since he was a child. He's just so-so!" Minato was thin-skinned, but Hiruzen Sarutobi was thick-skinned. How could he let go of such a good opportunity to show off?

494. The Senju family all use big brushes.

"Holy crap! That Uchiha kid is pretty amazing too, his skills are truly impressive!" The daimyo of the Land of Water couldn't help but drool as he watched Itachi dashing through the crowd without a single scratch.

"...That's Shanks' disciple. He hasn't been taught for long, so he's just so-so." Hiruzen Sarutobi, watching the Water Country Daimyo drooling, tensed up. This was too blatant! Couldn't he have toned it down a bit?

Meanwhile, Ao, the advisor from Kirigakure behind the Daimyo of the Land of Water, had been admiring Itachi's amazing moves. He never imagined that the Uchiha clan had another genius besides Uchiha Shisui.

Shisui had been in the Anbu for several years and had fought with Anbu members from many villages, so his name began to resound in the ninja world. Because his Body Flicker Technique was so amazing, he was given the title "Body Flicker Shisui". Although Ao had stayed in Kirigakure and had never met Shisui, he had still heard of his name. He originally thought that the Uchiha clan had produced one Uchiha Shisui, which was already impressive enough. Now there was another young genius, who was also a disciple of Konoha's Shanks. His talent was beyond question. If he didn't have enough talent, Konoha's Shanks wouldn't even look at him.

.........

"Garp, this can't go on. Many people can't hold on. Charge out in one direction first!" Itachi, who had just knocked away a Cloud Ninja, shouted to Garp in the midst of the chaotic battle.

Because Garp was too aggressive, his fists were flying everywhere, and he had filled up all the hatred points. This caused Konoha to be surrounded by the other three teams, who seemed to have a tacit agreement to eliminate Konoha first. To be honest, this generation of Konoha's genin is really not very talented. They are all ordinary, not to mention their combat strength. Each of them might not even be able to defeat an opponent. The reason they have been able to hold on until now is due to the effect of Garp's hot-blooded aura and the pressure relief from Garp and Itachi's left and right attacks. Now the aura has worn off, and they are starting to show signs of fatigue. If this continues, their Konoha army will probably be eliminated even sooner than those small ninja villages' ragtag armies.

"Strange power!"

"boom!"

Triple kill!

"Roger that, everyone follow me and charge out!" Garp shouted after blasting away three more Cloud Ninja. Of all the people fighting so far, only Garp was still full of energy, not a drop of sweat on his body. Even Itachi was struggling. This kind of team battle was something only a technical player like him could handle. Usually, technical players would try to kill the enemy's leader in a team battle, but this was an exam, not some national war. The enemy didn't have a real leader. He could kill one or dozens of them, and he was surrounded by more than a dozen people. Wave after wave of attacks came without stopping. He was exhausted and almost got stabbed several times.

"Huff! Huff! This won't do. They're determined to get rid of us first." Hyuga Tsuruhime was exhausted. She had turned off her Byakugan and stopped using her Bagua Fist. She was now relying on her basic skills to fight off one opponent at a time, and she had several bruises on her body.

"The Takigakure ninja are outnumbered, let's clear them out first!" Itachi used a Great Fireball to expel the people surrounding him, then observed the battle. So far, the small ninja village army had the fewest people, and many of them had already been defeated. Let's clear out the ragtag army first, otherwise it would be a huge loss of face if Konoha were driven out first.

"on!"

After hearing Itachi's words, Garp stopped talking and led the charge towards the group of small ninja villages.

"Sis, we can't beat them! They're clearly aiming to wipe out Konoha's people first. Garp is so hated." Nawaki said to Tsunade beside him from the stands. He had been helping Garp calculate his stats. So far, Garp had racked up more than forty kills, leading Itachi, who was in second place, by more than twenty kills. If they won this match, Garp would basically secure the MVP. However, Konoha's situation wasn't good. If all of Konoha's people were wiped out, the three of them would probably have a hard time lasting until the end. Although Garp and Itachi were much stronger, even ants can take on elephants. Their strength hadn't reached the point where they could ignore numbers.

"...Those smaller ninja villages don't have many people left. Now it's up to them to find a chance to clear them out first, so the three major ninja villages can have a final showdown later." Tsunade said, looking at Garp who was constantly throwing punches on the field. She wasn't worried about Garp, but she was worried about Itachi and Hyuga Tsuruhime. She knew Garp's abnormal physique very well; he could throw punches for a week without any problem. But Itachi and Hyuga Tsuruhime didn't have that kind of stamina. Both of them were technical ninjas, and they couldn't last that long, especially Hyuga Tsuruhime, who had many injuries. If the two of them couldn't hold on either, then Garp alone would be worn down to death.

"Kakashi, do you think Konoha won't be the first to be eliminated? I listened to you and bet all my savings on Garp and the others." The green light on Green-skinned Guy disappeared, and he watched the battle on the field with a serious expression.

"...I just told you to buy a little more, not all of them...As long as we wipe them out in one wave, Garp and the others will still have a chance in the three-way final battle. Right now, not many of our Konoha people have been eliminated." Kakashi looked up at the sky speechlessly.

"There aren't many left from those smaller ninja villages. It's a matter of whether they can seize the opportunity." The girl with colored contact lenses beside Kakashi was staring intently at the battlefield, her fists clenched tightly. Her future father-in-law had told her to use all the cash the Hatake clan could muster to buy Garp and his men. If they lost, they'd be starving before they even got their paychecks.

"Clan leader, the young clan leader seems to be about to give up." On another side of the stands, a clansman next to the second male lead's father looked at Itachi, who was starting to pant heavily, and said with concern.

"...Nakagawa, what are Itachi's stats like?" The second male lead's father asked after a moment of silence, turning to another person who was taking notes in a notebook.

"The young clan leader currently has thirty-two kills and fifteen assists. However, Garp of the Senju clan already has over fifty kills, but because all his attacks are finishers, he has no assists," the Uchiha clan member holding the notebook said, putting down his pen.

"...Let's see if they can seize the opportunity." The second male lead's father said after hearing Itachi's stats. Getting two doubles wouldn't be bad. His eldest son hadn't awakened his three tomoe yet, and getting 30+15 stats through taijutsu was already excellent. The Senju family were all big spenders with freakish stamina, so it wouldn't matter if they couldn't beat them. Therefore, the second male lead's father wasn't disappointed after hearing Garp's stats. His son was an all-rounder. Didn't you see that his son hadn't been injured yet? The Senju family members were covered in blood, disgusting, they didn't have a trace of the noble air of a great family.

485. Itachi has evolved.

"Itachi! Watch out behind you!"

When Itachi had almost finished off the small ninja village army, his stamina was dropping too quickly and his attention was starting to wander, so he didn't notice the sneak attack from behind by a Mist Ninja. However, Hyuga Tsuruhime noticed it, but the distance was too far, and in her condition, she couldn't go up to help. She could only shout a warning.

"what?"

Just as Itachi flipped one of the ninja over, he saw a katana slowly enlarging in front of him. At that moment, Itachi seemed to sense the aura of death. The two tomoe in his eyes began to spin wildly, and the katana got closer and closer. However, Itachi felt that the katana was getting slower and slower. Finally, the tomoe in his eyes stopped and became three tomoe. Suddenly, a powerful burst of chakra erupted from his body!

"boom!"

The Mist Ninja who launched the sneak attack was forced back by the burst of chakra, and their katana fell to the ground.

"Three...three tomoe!"

The Mist Ninja, who had been forced back, turned around in a daze to look at Itachi. He had finally managed to get the first blood, but he was inexplicably knocked back. When he turned around, he almost bit his tongue. Was this kid cheating?

"What! Three-tomoe jade?"

"Three tomoe? Are you kidding me? How old is this kid?!"

"......"

Not only was that Mist Ninja shocked, but everyone on the field stopped and looked at Itachi in shock. Three-tomoe jades were not unheard of, but it was truly unheard of for such a young brat to awaken three-tomoe jades!

"Clan...Clan leader, the young...young clan leader's Sharingan has evolved!" The Uchiha clan members who had come to watch the match were utterly astonished. If anyone knew the most about the Sharingan, it was undoubtedly those who possessed it. They were acutely aware of the difficulty of Sharingan evolution. Evolving from one tomoe to two tomoe wasn't too difficult; as long as one's talent wasn't terrible, most adult Uchiha could evolve to two tomoe. They already considered Itachi a super genius when he evolved to two tomoe at ten years old—that was before they knew Shisui had awakened to two tomoe at seven. But this evolution to three tomoe at ten was beyond their comprehension. This was practically the rhythm of a chosen one! The Uchiha were about to take off!

"...Yes! Three-tomoe!" It would be a lie to say the second male lead's father wasn't happy about his eldest son evolving to three-tomoe. However, he would be truly happy if his eldest son could evolve to three-tomoe secretly. Evolving to three-tomoe in front of everyone would change things significantly! At least the family would be at peace.

"Oh! This Uchiha boy is really amazing! He's evolved to the three-tomoe Sharingan at such a young age!" In the VIP section, even the daimyo from various countries who were bickering among themselves stopped and looked at Itachi, who had the three-tomoe Sharingan. They had all seen the Sharingan before, and some even had it in their collections! But to see a 10-year-old boy evolve to the three-tomoe Sharingan was truly a first.

"..." This time, none of the four Konoha leaders spoke, falling silent in their own thoughts. Minato was no exception. Although he had been prepared for Itachi's evolution to the three-tomoe form, he estimated it would take at least a few years. Shisui hadn't evolved to the three-tomoe form until his teens. He hadn't expected Itachi to evolve so quickly. The relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan wasn't good, especially with Danzo causing trouble. Things were becoming increasingly unexpected.

"Haha! Our Land of Fire has so many geniuses!" The daimyo of the Land of Fire, sporting a bunch of panda eyes, taunted the daimyo of the Land of Wind, who also had panda eyes.

"boom!"

"Hmph! Even if someone is a genius, they are someone else, not you. What are you so proud of?" The daimyo of the Land of Wind couldn't stand the daimyo of the Land of Fire's behavior, and with that, he punched the daimyo of the Land of Fire in the eye.

"Damn it, I'll fucking kill you!" The fire country daimyo, having been punched, was enraged again and charged at the wind country daimyo with his fat body.

"......"