Standing silently beneath the shade of a tree, the red-haired boy with the giant gourd on his back was none other than the Sand's infamous shinobi, Gaara of the Desert.
His sharp, piercing gaze locked onto Kirito, who still stood with his blade at the ready. In the next moment, Gaara's figure crumbled into flowing sand, then reformed right before Kirito.
He didn't speak.
He simply stared, silently and unwaveringly, at the swordsman before him.
"G-Gaara!" Kankurō's face contorted with a mixture of fear and disbelief. To him, the one who stood behind him moments ago with a sword to his throat was already terrifying enough. But compared to Gaara? That was fear magnified tenfold. He swallowed hard and stammered, "Why... why are you here?"
But Gaara didn't even glance at him.
"Shut up. Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?" he said coldly.
"Ugh..." The scorn in Gaara's voice drained all color from Kankurō's face. He clenched his fists, furious, but he didn't dare talk back.
Temari, sensing the tense atmosphere, quickly stepped forward and spoke cautiously. "Gaara... let's not escalate things, okay? This was just a misunderstanding. And... to our friends from Konoha, could you please let Kankurō go? I promise, there won't be any more trouble. Please, I'm asking you."
Kirito didn't say anything immediately. Though Gaara's bloodlust had just slightly faded, it hadn't disappeared entirely. Kirito's eyes remained sharp, but eventually, he turned toward Asuna for her opinion.
Asuna thought for a moment, then nodded calmly. "Let it go, Kirito. There's no point making this mess any bigger."
Kirito gave a slight nod. "Alright."
With a flick of his hand, his Zanpakutō vanished without a trace.
Kankurō, sensing something, slowly tilted his head and peeked behind him, only to find the blade that had been at his throat moments ago was gone. His pupils shrank as he realized Kirito, who had stood behind him just seconds ago, had somehow reappeared directly in front of him.
Instinctively, he looked over at Temari. Her eyes were wide in shock, clearly, even she hadn't seen how or when Kirito had moved.
Gaara remained emotionless, as always. Slowly, he turned his head, his pale green eyes void of life, as cold as death. He stared at Kirito's back.
Then, he spoke for the first time.
"I find you... interesting. Tell me your name."
Kirito didn't even turn around.
He just waved a hand casually over his shoulder. "Gaara of the Desert... I'm afraid I don't share that sentiment. We'll meet again soon. When that time comes, go ahead and let your killing intent run wild."
With that, Kirito and Asuna left the trio from Sunagakure behind.
Even after they were gone, the strange and heavy tension lingered in the air.
Kankurō trembled uncontrollably. He stared at Gaara's vacant expression, there was no movement in his face, but his body radiated a chilling bloodlust that made even Kankurō step back in fear.
Damn it... he's triggered Gaara again...
That brat from Konoha... damn him! My Crow puppet hadn't even been deployed and it got wrecked!
Temari stood in silence, deep in thought. Her elegant brows furrowed with worry.
He's not even a shinobi... yet he possesses such overwhelming strength.
Konoha... can we really carry out our plan against them?
…
Inside the Hokage Tower
"Have you figured out the details?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked quietly as he exhaled a plume of smoke from his pipe.
"Yes, Lord Third." The one answering was Ibiki Morino, captain of Konoha's Interrogation Unit. "The man we captured is an A-rank missing-nin from Iwagakure. Codename: Tsubame. He's active in the underground black market and accepts jobs from all factions."
"I see..." Sarutobi's eyes narrowed slightly. "So, he doesn't even know who hired him?"
"Correct," Ibiki replied. "All he knows is that the target was the Fire Daimyō's daughter, and that the client provided highly detailed intelligence about her."
The Third Hokage's brows furrowed. His gaze turned sharp. "Which means... someone behind the scenes knows Konoha's internal workings very well."
"A traitor..." Ibiki muttered. Then his eyes flashed. "Could it be Orochimaru?"
But Hiruzen shook his head, his expression tinged with sadness. "No. Orochimaru wouldn't bother with tricks like this. If he were coming... he'd turn the entire village upside down in one strike."
Ibiki broke into a cold sweat.
That name alone was enough to freeze the air.
"So then... Lord Third, what should we do?"
Sarutobi closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, now sharp, resolute.
"What must come... will come. This time, it seems I must make a choice."
His gaze turned to the side as if seeing something distant.
"We'll need to assign someone to stay near the princess," he said softly.
"Yes. When war breaks out, it's inevitable she may be caught in the crossfire. But we don't have many hands to spare right now..."
"No," Hiruzen interrupted calmly. "I already have the perfect candidate in mind."
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