Time flowed on like a river.
Without a sound, it passed slowly by.
Ever since the day Asuma had been scared into collapsing by Youyu, he had once again solidified his position as the undisputed ruler of the Ninja Academy.
Still, during this period, Youyu had started to feel that Kurenai and Rin were being a little too enthusiastic.
They were always bringing him different kinds of alcohol.
And during lunch breaks, they even competed with each other to invite him to eat.
As for Youyu's choice, naturally, it was…
"Youyu, eat more. I made this bento myself."
Rin touched the tip of her nose, her eyes carrying a trace of anticipation as she handed the lunchbox to Youyu.
"Youyu-kun, this bottle is part of my father's personal collection. Try it and see how it tastes."
Kurenai refused to be outdone. She took out a tightly sealed bottle of liquor and handed it to him.
"Mm, let me try it."
Youyu licked his lips, opened the bottle Kurenai had brought first, and took a deep drink.
Gulp, gulp—
"Ha! What good wine!"
After drinking his fill, Youyu let out a long breath, enjoyment flickering in his eyes.
"Ding! Host has reached satisfaction from drinking. Swordsmanship Comprehension +3."
As expected of the fine liquor Kurenai said her father had treasured.
Ordinary alcohol only triggered the Wine God System for a random +1 to an attribute.
But this bottle had given him three points of swordsmanship comprehension in one go.
"I'm happy you like it, Youyu-kun."
Seeing that Youyu had chosen to drink the wine she brought first, Kurenai smiled brightly. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Rin, who had puffed out her lips in frustration, and the corners of her own lips lifted slightly.
Rin really was annoyed to see Youyu drink Kurenai's wine first.
Truthfully, before this, Rin had also secretly taken quite a bit of alcohol from home.
But after putting in effort day after day, she had finally managed to make a delicious bento.
And on top of that, her family had already discovered that she had been stealing alcohol.
They had scolded her harshly, then hidden the wine away even more carefully.
So this time, she had only brought the bento she made herself.
"Damn it, I'm not going to lose!"
Watching Kurenai's delighted expression and Youyu's blissful look while drinking, Rin clenched her little fists tightly.
Then her eyes shifted, and she suddenly smiled.
"Youyu, how can anyone drink without something to go with it? Hurry and try the bento I made."
Rin carefully opened the lunchbox and said it with a smile.
"Mm, that makes sense."
Youyu was already extremely satisfied. This bottle could easily be called one of the best wines he had ever tasted.
Hearing Rin's words, he immediately felt a little regretful.
There had been a saying in his previous life—good wine should be paired with good food.
Without proper drinking snacks, wouldn't such fine liquor be wasted?
When his gaze shifted to the bento Rin had brought, his eyes lit up again.
The lunchbox was much bigger than an ordinary one, and inside it was packed full of all kinds of beautifully prepared meat dishes.
After all, how could anyone drink without meat?
If it was vegetables with wine, then no matter how fine the wine was, something about it would still feel lacking.
Rin had clearly put real effort into learning Youyu's tastes.
From their earlier interactions, she had realized that whenever Youyu drank at lunch, he only ate meat.
So every single dish in her bento was meat.
"Mm, delicious!"
Youyu picked up a piece of fried chicken, put it in his mouth, and praised it at once.
Gulp, gulp—
Then he washed it down with another mouthful of wine.
"Hah… this really hits the spot."
The combination of meat and alcohol made Youyu's eyes narrow in delight.
"Ding! Host has reached sublimation from drinking. Physique +5!"
"Ding! Congratulations! Host's physique has broken through the threshold and reached Elite Chunin level. Chakra +15."
"Ding! Congratulations! Host's chakra has reached Elite Chunin level."
At that moment, the familiar mechanical voice rang out again in Youyu's mind.
"Mm? Did I level up?"
Youyu clenched his fist and could feel the strength in his body was even greater than before.
"Open the status panel."
Host: Saiki Youyu
Age: 8
Physique: Elite Chunin level
Chakra: Elite Chunin level
Swordsmanship Comprehension: Swordsman
Special: Asura Sword Intent
Overall Strength: Special Jonin level
(Note: Special bonuses apply while drunk.)
Unlike the systems from some of the novels Youyu had read in his previous life, the Wine God System seemed just as lazy as he was. Other than alcohol, it showed little interest in anything else.
So it only updated the panel when he crossed a threshold and never displayed precise numerical values.
But Youyu didn't care.
In his eyes, data was nothing more than dead information. It could never truly represent real combat ability.
If anyone wanted proof, then they could come and exchange blows with him.
Don't be fooled by the fact that his current overall strength was listed as Special Jonin level. That was just dead panel data.
Back when Kakashi had challenged him, he had only barely reached Chunin level.
But after drinking, hadn't he still cut Kakashi down with a single strike?
As for that special ability, Asura Sword Intent—
That was the reward he had received after cutting down the teacher who dared smash his bottle and shocking the entire academy.
It was a terrifying sword intent born from the fusion of swordsmanship and pressure.
What he had used on Asuma before was precisely Asura Sword Intent.
It dragged the enemy into the world of his sword intent, making them feel as though they were facing a terrifying asura.
Without a strong enough will, all they could do was wait helplessly to be slaughtered.
After giving the panel a quick glance, Youyu stopped thinking about it.
After all, there was such wonderful wine and meat right in front of him. Why waste time thinking so much?
Enjoying the moment was what mattered most.
"Hmph."
Kurenai watched Rin smile brightly again and gave a soft snort. Her beautiful eyes shifted slightly.
Inside her little head, she was already carefully wondering where else her father might have hidden good wine.
As for her father, who had already been heartbroken over his fine liquor mysteriously disappearing again and again…
That was no longer Kurenai's concern.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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