Konohamaru shook his head after hearing what Shinju said.
"I've heard from Grandpa that the Chūnin Exams are especially hard, and the pass rate is super low."
"Even though you're really strong, niichan, becoming a Chūnin could take who knows how long. By the time you're one, teaching me will be way too late…"
Smack! Shinju slapped Konohamaru on the head.
"(ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ) You cursing me or something?"
Konohamaru covered his head with a pitiful look.
"I'm just telling the truth."
Seeing that the brat still hadn't learned his lesson, Shinju raised his hand again.
"Don't hit me!"
Konohamaru bolted in fear!
But Shinju had already placed a Flying Thunder God mark on him.
So he simply stood there, arms crossed, watching Konohamaru run off.
No matter how far the kid ran, he could catch up in an instant.
Just as Shinju judged Konohamaru had gotten far enough and was about to teleport after him with the Flying Thunder God Technique...he noticed that the reckless little brat had run right into someone.
And now that person was holding Konohamaru up by the collar.
The man's outfit was strange—black clothes, a hat pulled low over his head, a Sunagakure forehead protector tied around his brow, leaving only his face visible, with odd stripes painted on it. On his back was a strange object wrapped tightly in bandages.
Dangling Konohamaru, the man growled,
"Brat, can't you watch where you're going?"
Konohamaru froze at the sight of the strange getup.
"S-Sorry."
The man, clearly looking for trouble, tightened his grip on Konohamaru's collar.
"You think a simple 'sorry' is gonna cut it…?"
Just then, Shinju stepped forward and called out to the unfamiliar ninja.
"Sorry, it was our fault just now. Could you put him down first?"
Since Konohamaru was the one who bumped into him, Shinju took the initiative to apologize.
The man glanced up at Shinju, his sharp gaze sizing him up before curling his lip in disdain.
"A Konoha genin? Looks pretty unimpressive."
Behind him, a blonde girl carrying a giant fan caught sight of Shinju, and a spark lit up in her eyes.This boy's… kinda handsome!
She slapped the man's shoulder, scanned the surroundings warily, and warned,
"Kankurō, stop it. You'll get chewed out later."
Kankurō ignored her, still holding Konohamaru and facing off with Shinju.
Konohamaru, desperate to get free, started kicking his legs.
"Let go of me…"
Kankurō's expression darkened.
"I hate runts the most. So young and already this cocky—makes me want to kill you."
Shinju's pupils shrank sharply.
Judging from his expression, the guy wasn't joking.
Konohamaru's face flushed red from being hoisted up, his voice strained with pain.
"Niichan… I can't breathe…"
Shinju's eyes narrowed.
"If you don't let go, I won't hold back."
His gaze turned cold.
Since the guy was clearly here to pick a fight, there was no need to play nice.
He slowly drove a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal into the ground.
Then—fwip!!—Shinju vanished on the spot.
In the next instant…
He appeared in midair, right behind Konohamaru.
He struck Kankurō's wrist with precise force.
Smack!
The sudden pain made Kankurō reflexively release his grip.
Catching Konohamaru as he fell, Shinju teleported again, reappearing beside the kunai he'd planted earlier.
All of it happened in the blink of an eye!
So fast that neither Kankurō nor the blonde girl saw a thing—only that Konohamaru had been rescued.
Temari's eyes widened in shock.
"What… what ninjutsu is that?"
Kankurō, undeterred, let thin chakra threads snake from his fingertips.
"Whatever it is, it's just a low-level escape technique. Nothing to be afraid of."
He tried to wind the threads around Shinju's leg, intending to yank him and humiliate him in front of everyone.
Too bad for him…
Shinju didn't play along—he simply blasted the chakra threads apart with his own overwhelming chakra.
Seeing how easily Shinju broke free, Kankurō flushed with anger and shame.
Reaching back, he grabbed the bandage-wrapped object from his back.
He was about to get serious.
Temari covered her face when she saw this, knowing she couldn't stop him. She backed away, choosing not to interfere.
Just then, a ninja appeared hanging upside down from a nearby tree, his voice cold and raspy.
"Stop. Don't disgrace Sunagakure any further."
Kankurō froze instantly, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead, and quickly slung the object back onto his back.
Shinju was puzzled.
Who was this guy that could make the arrogant Kankurō so afraid?
Driven by curiosity, Shinju looked toward the tree.
The upside-down ninja was clinging to it with chakra. He had no eyebrows, a kanji for "love" etched into his forehead, and a massive gourd strapped to his back. Arms folded, his gaze was icy, his whole demeanor screaming "trying way too hard to look cool."
The strange outfit made Shinju instantly guess his identity.
That gourd, that tattoo, those missing eyebrows…
Gaara noticed Shinju's odd stare but didn't respond. Instead, he turned his gaze to Kankurō and said in a voice cold enough to freeze bone,
"Do you even know why we came to Konoha?"
Kankurō opened his mouth, fear making his words stumble.
"L-Let me explain, Gaara. They started it—"
Gaara?
The name rang familiar to Shinju.
He didn't know much about Naruto, but he remembered a few key characters. And Gaara was… pretty popular, if he recalled right.
Of course, he had no idea what Gaara had actually done.
"Shut up!"
Gaara cut him off brutally, then narrowed his eyes.
"Be careful, or I'll kill you."
The killing intent in those words was so thick it was almost tangible.
Konohamaru yelped and hid behind Shinju, clutching his leg.
Kankurō nearly dropped to his knees in terror.
With that, Gaara leapt down from the tree and started walking away with Temari and Kankurō.
After a few steps, he suddenly turned back, his calm gaze landing on Shinju.
"What's your name?"
"Shinju," Shinju replied casually.
He made no move to ask the other's name.
After waiting in vain for the question, Gaara introduced himself instead.
"I'm Gaara. You… interest me."
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