Chapter 159: Nap Time?

Chapter 159: Nap Time?

The afternoon arrived quickly.

Shiranui Genma, Raidō Namiashi, and the oddly named Iwashi Tatami hadn't had any lunch. All three were former bodyguards of the Fourth Hokage. Unfortunately, the Fourth Hokage had died after only a year in office, leaving them, who had just joined his service, feeling like orphans. As "veteran officials of the previous administration," they had worked diligently over the years, putting in considerable effort to regain the Third Hokage's trust.

Taking advantage of the short lunch break, the three of them had completely drained the arena's water into the Nanga River. Afterwards, they discovered a thick layer of sand remaining on the competition grounds, all left behind by Gaara and Shukaku. There was no choice but to continue clearing it! So, they began moving sand once more.

By the time Ino, who had been drinking all morning, returned to the competition venue, they had just finished. The three were covered in dirt. The senbon in Shiranui Genma's mouth even had a hint of mud on it, making them look quite disheveled.

Ino casually settled into the stands reserved for the participating contestants, ready to watch.

First up would be the third and fourth place match between Naruto and Gaara, followed by the final match to decide first and second place.

According to established practice, the top three automatically qualified as Chunin. As for which of the remaining Genin might advance, that would entirely depend on the leaders' discretion.

If they decide you're in, you're in, even if you don't quite measure up.

If they decide you're out? Then you probably really are out.

In the original timeline, Tsunade only had Shizune as a close confidante. She reluctantly returned to the village to become Hokage. In the Hokage's office, she met Shikaku and Shikamaru, father and son, who had come to "report on their work." She understood their unspoken message and the significance of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Immediately afterwards, she promoted Shikamaru to Chunin.

Shikamaru was indeed exceptional. Compared to the unreliable Naruto and Sasuke, who had effectively defected from the village at that point, he was more like a true ninja. But weren't others good enough? Wasn't Shino qualified? Wasn't Neji deserving of being a Chunin?

It could only be said that there was significant room for manipulation in the Chunin promotion process.

Now that Ino had secured her qualification for Chunin promotion, she had nothing else to worry about.

In the eyes of many who had knowledge of future events, this Chunin Exam was considered a major turning point in the story, a kind of prologue. But from the perspective of the village's normal promotion procedures, this should have been an ordinary Chunin Exam.

They had summoned Jinchuriki and the Sannin, and even used the Impure World Reincarnation to bring back the First and Second Hokage. That was going overboard. A normal Chunin Exam didn't have so much drama.

It's not like getting first place would immediately reward you with an S-rank ninjutsu, right? There's never been such a precedent. It's just Chunin; why would you need an S-rank ninjutsu? Normally, a newly promoted Chunin receiving a C-rank ninjutsu would be considered a generous reward. Did Ino care about a C-rank ninjutsu?

She held a white porcelain wine bottle, slowly sitting there, pouring and drinking by herself.

"Ino, drinking alcohol isn't good for your health," Hinata whispered to her from the side.

After becoming Tsunade's apprentice, Ino had completely let loose. Got a problem? Blame Tsunade!

What's wrong with drinking? People can kill each other, can't they have a drink? The fact that I don't have the character for "gamble" written on my back is already a plus.

She didn't care at all, saying, "A little bit occasionally is fine."

Hinata was quite worried. Was that really "a little"? She had been drinking since noon until now, and Hinata had even paid for the alcohol.

Even now, Hinata could still vaguely recall the strange look the tavern owner gave her, which roughly translated to: such a young age, and you're already drinking this much?!

She felt quite unjustly accused. She wasn't the one who drank the alcohol, but she couldn't exactly explain that.

Ino suddenly slapped her thigh and laughed, "From now on, when the two of us go out to eat, you just focus on eating, and I'll focus on drinking. We'll be the Drunkard Duo—" muffled sound?

Hinata quickly covered her mouth and looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she breathed a sigh of relief. Goodness, the name "Drunkard Duo" was too embarrassing.

She lowered her voice and whispered into Ino's ear, "Later, you still have to compete with... with Sasuke-kun."

Ino took Hinata's hand away from her mouth and said nonchalantly, "It's fine, it's just Sasuke. He can't beat me."

Truthfully, she was a little tired now. The Great Waterfall Technique and similar moves didn't actually consume much chakra. What was most tiring was using the Great Water Prison Technique to extract Shukaku's chakra.

That tailed beast's chakra was really hard to extract, especially when it was solidified. Without using all her chakra and exerting every ounce of her strength, she couldn't move it at all. No wonder the Akatsuki had so much trouble extracting tailed beasts.

After the nine shadow clones were dispelled, the fatigue all concentrated on her main body, and she felt quite drained.

Drinking alcohol was just for relaxation and to speed up her body's recovery by circulating Yang-style chakra.

The effect of Indra's chakra wasn't yet apparent, but she had already felt a bit of the body recovery ability of Asura's chakra.

If a normal ninja's recovery speed was a baseline of 1, then with Asura's chakra, the recovery speed would be 1.5. After Ino created Yang-style chakra, Yin could be born from Yang, which could also restore her mental energy.

Ino used the opportunity of drinking to suppress the Yin-style chakra in her body and generate Yang-style chakra.

Now that she hadn't used the Water Transformation Technique to separate the alcohol, the alcohol was taking effect, and she felt a bit dizzy.

"Um, can I lean on your shoulder for a bit? I'll rest, and I'll be fine in a little while." She acted first and asked later, directly tilting her head and falling asleep on Hinata's shoulder.

She was tall, and Hinata was short. They were also very close, so the angle of leaning was a bit awkward. Plus, Hinata's chest was quite ample. Seeing Ino getting dizzy and about to slide off her shoulder, Hinata quickly repositioned Ino's head onto her lap.

Ino felt quite comfortable and didn't resist, falling into a deep sleep.

Not far away, Sasuke remained expressionless. He had basically overheard their entire conversation from beginning to end. He naturally heard Ino's dismissive tone, and while he was annoyed, he was also genuinely uncertain about his chances.

It was a little after one o'clock in the afternoon, and they were at the age when they were prone to sleepiness. The artificial lake in the arena had been drained by digging ditches, but the moisture was still present. When it evaporated under the sun, the resulting humidity made people even more drowsy.

Sasuke couldn't help but yawn twice. Sakura, who was next to him, kept nudging his shoulder, subtly suggesting that he could lean on her too, and even lie on her lap.

Sasuke pretended not to understand her hint and forced himself to stay awake, gritting his teeth.

Hinata could smell the alcohol on Ino and also felt a bit sleepy. Her small head bobbed repeatedly as she dozed off. She didn't even notice Naruto entering.

Gaara had slept for several hours. The Five Elements Seal still hadn't been undone, but his spirit was much more refreshed than before.

He wasn't a ninja who couldn't fight without his tailed beast. In the original timeline, even after Shukaku was extracted by the Akatsuki, he could still become Kazekage. When facing Madara Uchiha, he did indeed perform weaker than the other four Kage, but that was mainly due to his young age. In reality, his ninjutsu talent, hand seal proficiency, and chakra control ability were very high.

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