"You actually have thoughts like that about the leader? Don't worry—there's no way the leader would ever like a little girl like you."
Boom!
Karin didn't hesitate. She drove a brutal punch straight into Suigetsu's head.
The result was simple.
His head flew off.
"AAAAAH—!!"
"His head came off!!"
"What kind of violent maniac is this?! S-she killed him—!!"
Konohamaru and the other two Konoha kids screamed in panic, their faces drained of color.
But the next moment—
Suigetsu's severed head hit the ground and collapsed into water, spreading into a shallow puddle. A few seconds later, the water surged upward, reconnecting to his neck and reforming perfectly—no injuries, not even a scratch.
"Hey, that was way too much, Karin," Suigetsu complained. "You hit way too hard!"
Gaara, who had been watching the entire farce from a distance, didn't react at all. His eyes never left Kimimaro.
As if sensing that gaze, Kimimaro slowly turned his head and looked back.
…Sand Village genin?
"Let's go, Suigetsu. Karin."
"Yes, Lord Kimimaro."
"Alright, alright."
Just as the three of them walked past Gaara—
Whoosh!
A stream of sand shot toward them.
Kimimaro calmly raised an arm and blocked it head-on.
He lifted his gaze, meeting Gaara's eyes.
"So you're a genin from the Sand… I didn't expect a village like that to have someone like you."
His voice was calm—almost indifferent.
"You're different from me," Kimimaro continued, "but don't attack again."
"Otherwise, I'll kill you—even if it means releasing the thing inside your body."
"?!"
The words stunned Kankurō and Temari.
Gaara being the Ichibi Jinchūriki was a tightly guarded secret in Sunagakure.
Yet this man from another village had seen through it instantly.
Gaara felt it too.
The moment Kimimaro spoke, a terrifying killing intent swept over him like a blade.
Inside his body, Shukaku roared furiously, slamming against the seal as if enraged by the provocation.
"Arrogant bastard."
Gaara leapt down from the tree.
The gourd's seal behind him snapped open completely, and countless grains of sand surged into the air, swirling around his body.
Just as he was about to move—
Kimimaro vanished.
"Gaara! Watch out!"
"Damn it!"
Kankurō and Temari shouted in warning, but it was already too late.
At some point, Kimimaro was standing behind Gaara.
His fist drove forward—
And just before impact, it turned pitch-black.
Armament Haki.
The power Namikaze Kirito had given him.
With the Shikotsumyaku alone, Kimimaro was already terrifying.
With Armament Haki layered on top, his strength became outright monstrous.
There was no need to use his bones against a Jinchūriki like Gaara.
Boom!
A single, clean punch.
It slammed deep into Gaara's abdomen.
The world seemed to collapse inward.
Gaara felt his breath torn from his lungs, followed by an overwhelming wave of pain.
"Gkh—!!"
He retched violently.
What terrified him even more was the scream inside his body—
Shukaku was howling in agony as well.
That punch hadn't just hurt him.
It had hurt the tailed beast.
"You actually went and pissed off Kimimaro-sama?" Karin looked down at Gaara with open disdain. "You're way too clueless to be picking fights like this."
As a core member of Gensokyo, Kimimaro's strength had long surpassed what the original world should allow.
He was already Kage-level.
Gaara, unable to fully transform, stood no chance.
Unless he used the sleep technique and released Shukaku—
Otherwise, he was just throwing his life away.
"Gaara! Are you okay?!"
Temari rushed forward and grabbed him, panic written all over her face.
Gaara slapped her hand away, his eyes locked onto Kimimaro with a twisted glare.
"You hurt me…!"
"I'll kill you!!"
"Gaara! This is Konoha!" Kankurō shouted in panic. "Are you seriously going to release that monster here?! Think about Father!"
"Do you… really want to die?"
Kimimaro's voice remained calm.
But the killing intent beneath it was unmistakable.
The surrounding shinobi felt chills crawl up their spines.
It was broad daylight—yet his words made the air feel ice-cold.
What kind of person was this?
Haruno Sakura's legs had been trembling since the moment Kimimaro appeared.
Now, hearing his words, she finally lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.
"S-Sakura-chan! What's wrong?! Why did you suddenly fall?!"
Naruto—ever the idiot—rushed over immediately.
Sakura grabbed his sleeve, her voice shaking.
"We… we need to leave. Now. That man is dangerous."
"Huh?" Naruto blinked, then scratched his head.
"Dangerous? Uh… where?"
Before Sakura could stop him, Naruto stepped forward—straight between Kimimaro and Gaara—and stared up at Kimimaro with curiosity.
Kimimaro looked at the blond boy for a moment.
Then something clicked.
…The leader's brother.
Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
Namikaze Kirito's little brother—
Uzumaki Naruto.
"Your name… is Naruto, right?"
Kimimaro tried—very awkwardly—to smile.
Karin and Suigetsu instantly turned away, shoulders shaking.
This was Lord Kimimaro.
A man who never smiled.
A man who only listened to Orochimaru and the leader.
Watching him try to smile was somehow more terrifying than his killing intent.
Naruto lit up immediately.
"You know me?!" he said excitedly. "What, did my name spread across the world already? Hahaha! See, Sakura? You said he was dangerous, but he even knows who I am!"
"Idiot, Naruto! Get back here!!"
Sakura was on the verge of tears.
She didn't even know where the courage came from—her legs were shaking uncontrollably—but she forced herself up, ran over, and dragged Naruto back.
"I'm sorry—! I'm really sorry!" she bowed in a rush. "Naruto's always like this! If he said anything wrong, please don't take it seriously!"
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