Time quickly passed into the afternoon.
Shiranui Genma, Raido Namiashi, and the oddly named Iwashi Tatami hadn't eaten lunch at all. The three of them had been the Fourth Hokage's bodyguards. Unfortunately, the Fourth had only held office for a year before falling in battle, leaving the three of them as orphans without a master. As "former loyal retainers," they had worked hard over the years to prove themselves, expending considerable effort before finally regaining the Third's trust and being reassigned to important duties.
During the brief lunch break, the three diverted all the water from the competition grounds into the Nakano River. Then they discovered the arena was still covered in a thick layer of sand left behind by Gaara and the One-Tail. With no other choice, they continued clearing it out, hauling away the sand.
By the time Ino returned to the competition grounds after drinking all afternoon, the three had just finished their work. Covered in dust and grime, even the senbon in Genma's mouth carried a distinct earthy smell—they looked utterly exhausted.
Ino leisurely took her seat in the competitors' viewing area to wait.
First would be the match for third and fourth place between Naruto and Gaara, followed by the final deciding the champion and runner-up.
According to tradition, the top three would automatically qualify as Chunin. As for which other Genin might be promoted, that would depend entirely on the higher-ups' discretion.
If they said you were qualified, then you were—even if you weren't.
But if they said you weren't? Then you probably truly weren't.
In the original timeline, Tsunade had only Shizune as her sole confidant when she reluctantly returned to the village to become Hokage. When Shikaku and Shikamaru came to her office to "report," she immediately understood the Ino-Shika-Cho Formation's intentions and promptly promoted Shikamaru to Chunin.
Shikamaru was indeed outstanding—far more like a proper ninja than the unreliable Naruto or Sasuke, who had already effectively defected. But were others unworthy? Was Shino not qualified? Didn't Neji meet the standards for Chunin?
It just went to show how much room there was for maneuvering in the Chunin promotion process.
Now that Ino had secured her Chunin promotion, she had nothing left to worry about.
To many outsiders, this Chunin Exam was seen as a major turning point in the story—some kind of grand prologue. But from the village's standard promotion procedures, it was just an ordinary Chunin Exam.
Bringing in Jinchuriki, summoning the Three Legendary Sannin, even using Edo Tensei to resurrect the First and Second Hokage—that was all extra. A normal Chunin Exam didn't have this much drama.
It wasn't like winning first place meant the village would reward you with an S-rank ninja technique. There had never been such a precedent. You were just becoming a Chunin—why would you need an S-rank technique? Normally, a newly promoted Chunin would be generously rewarded with just a C-rank technique. Did Ino care about C-rank techniques?
Holding a white porcelain sake bottle, she sat there unhurriedly, pouring herself drinks.
"Ino, drinking... drinking isn't good for you," Hinata whispered beside her.
After becoming Tsunade's apprentice, Ino had completely let loose. Any problems? Just blame Tsunade!
What was wrong with drinking? If killing was allowed, why not drinking? She hadn't even written the word "gambling" on her back—that was restraint enough.
She waved it off. "A little now and then is fine."
Hinata was deeply concerned. Was that "a little"? She'd been drinking since noon, and Hinata had even paid for it all.
Even now, Hinata could still vividly recall the tavern owner's strange look at her—basically thinking, "So young, yet drinking so much?!"
She felt quite wronged. It wasn't her who drank all that, yet she couldn't explain it.
Ino suddenly slapped her thigh and laughed. "Next time we go out to eat together, you focus on the food, and I'll handle the drinking. We'll be the Drunkard Duo—mmph?!"
Hinata hurriedly covered her mouth, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention before sighing in relief. Good grief, that "Drunkard Duo" name was just awful.
Leaning close to Ino's ear, she whispered, "You still have to... compete with Sasuke-kun later."
Ino pulled Hinata's hand away from her mouth and waved it off. "No big deal. It's just Sasuke. He can't beat me."
Truth be told, she was feeling a bit worn out. The Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave hadn't taken much out of her—what really drained her was using the Water Prison Technique to extract the One-Tail's Chakra.
Tailed Beast Chakra was seriously tough to extract—so dense that it took every ounce of her strength and Chakra just to pull it out. No wonder the Akatsuki struggled so much with it.
After canceling her nine Shadow Clones, all the exhaustion piled onto her main body, leaving her pretty tired.
Drinking was just a way to relax while circulating Yang Release Chakra to speed up her recovery.
The effects of Indra Chakra weren't obvious yet, but she was already starting to feel Ashura's Chakra's restorative abilities.
If an average ninja's recovery rate was 1, having Ashura's Chakra bumped it up to 1.5. By generating Yang Release Chakra, she could also replenish her spiritual energy through the balance of yin and yang.
Ino used the drinking session to suppress the yin-aligned Chakra in her body and produce more Yang Release Chakra.
Without using her Hydrification Secret Technique to filter out the alcohol, the buzz hit her hard, making her head spin.
"Hey, let me borrow your shoulder for a bit. I just need a quick rest," she declared, already tilting her head onto Hinata's shoulder and dozing off.
Ino was tall, Hinata was short, and they were sitting close together—so the angle was a bit awkward. Worse, Hinata's ample chest meant Ino, already woozy, started sliding down her shoulder. Hinata quickly shifted to let Ino rest her head on her lap instead.
Finding it comfortable, Ino didn't resist and sank into a deep sleep.
Nearby, Sasuke stood expressionless, having overheard their entire conversation—including Ino's dismissive remark. It pissed him off, though he wasn't entirely confident either.
It was a little past 1 PM, prime naptime for kids their age. Though the artificial lake had been drained, the lingering moisture in the air, intensified by the sun's heat, made drowsiness even harder to fight.
Sasuke couldn't help yawning twice. Beside him, Sakura kept nudging her shoulder, hinting that he could lean on her—or even lay his head in her lap.
Pretending not to notice, Sasuke forced himself to stay alert.
Meanwhile, Hinata, lulled by the scent of alcohol on Ino, found herself nodding off too, her head bobbing as she dozed. She didn't even notice when Naruto walked in.
Gaara slept for several hours, yet the Five Elements Seal remained unbroken. However, his mental state had improved significantly compared to before.
He wasn't the type of ninja who couldn't fight without his Tailed Beast. In the original timeline, even after Akatsuki extracted the One-Tail from him, he still managed to serve as the Kazekage. When facing Uchiha Madara, he did appear weaker than the other four Kage, but that was mainly due to his young age. In reality, his talent for ninja techniques, proficiency with hand seals, and chakra control abilities were exceptionally high.