Mamoru stepped forward, fist wrapped in wind-ripped Chakra, ploughing through layer after layer, then stopped a hair from Gaara's nose.
A coil of sand had snared the blow, squealing as grains ground together.
Mamoru blinked. For an instant, he'd felt arms tugging his own, yet only sand remained. Frowning, he shook the grains of sand free and set himself again.
"One punch didn't work? Let's try another."
Gaara, composure gone, slammed palms together, compressing every grain into a single slab that shone like metal.
Boom!
Blue-white Chakra flamed round Mamoru. His forward foot cracked the ground, then he let the energy die, tapping the shield with a soft thud.
"Just kidding. Hahaha!"
Laughter hung in the air as everyone exhaled, equal parts relief and frustration, wiping cold sweat.
The memory of that crushing pressure lingered.
Behind the shield, Gaara's face darkened. Sand stirred restlessly, then, losing interest, he let it slither back into his gourd.
Mamoru's gaze snapped to a nearby tree. "Enjoying the show?"
A twist of invisible force punched the trunk, wood exploding.
The crowd spun to look.
Three shadows leapt away in an instant, vanishing without pause.
Mamoru watched them go, a faint smirk on his lips. He'd spared them. Otherwise, the three Otogakure spies would be corpses.
Best to keep things low-key inside the village.
Rolling his wrist, he sneered. "Every Tom, Dick and Harry from a tiny place loves skulking about."
Gaara stood silent, sand still shifting beneath him like restless anger, but the fight was over. The grains hissed back into the gourd.
At this moment, Sakura stepped forward with newfound courage. "From your forehead protectors, you're clearly ninjas of Sunagakure. Although the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies, the treaty should forbid ninjas from crossing each other's borders at will. State your purpose. Depending on the situation, we'll…"
Temari sighed, shaking her head as she cut in, "This is what they call 'the darkness right under the lamp,' I guess. Do you really know nothing?"
She pulled a pass from her pocket and held it up for the Konoha group to see. "This is our entry permit. Just as you said, we're Genin from Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, here to take part in the Chunin Selection Exam."
"Chunin Selection Exam?" Naruto repeated, bewildered. "What's that?"
"Idiot, the name says it all." Sasuke shot him a look reserved for the hopelessly dense.
"Could you please not ask such dumb questions?" Mamoru rubbed his brow in exasperation. "Chunin Selection Exam—an exam to select Chunin. Simple."
"W-what do you mean?" Naruto's brain still refused to turn.
Konohamaru explained, unable to watch any longer, "Big bro Naruto, pass that test and you rank up from Genin to Chunin."
"Really?" Naruto's eyes lit up.
He clenched his fists in excitement. "Then I'm gonna try."
He seemed entirely unfazed that an eight-year-old had just out-thought him.
Kankuro snorted, a openly scornful grin spreading across his face.
"Let's go, we didn't come to play." Gaara corked his gourd with a stopper of compacted sand, the dull thud sealing the sound.
As he left, however, he gave Mamoru a long, unreadable look.
Mamoru couldn't care less, he even raised an eyebrow in open provocation.
Once Gaara's group had vanished from sight, Naruto burst out, "So how do we enter the Chunin Selection Exam?"
Mamoru replied lazily, "Just ask your Jōnin instructor."
"Oh yeah!" Naruto clapped in realization.
Sasuke glanced at him in disdain. "A dead last trying to make Chunin? Spend that effort training instead of day-dreaming."
"What'd you say, Sasuke?" Naruto clenched his fists, teeth gritted. "I won't lose to you!"
Sasuke gave a soft snort and turned away with trademark pride.
From behind, Sakura looped an arm around Naruto's neck—not hard, but her tone was sharp. "Shut it, Naruto! Sasuke's absolutely right."
"No way… even you, Sakura?" Naruto deflated, hanging his head in defeat.
"I wondered who was making all that racket, so it's you guys."
A familiar voice drifted from above.
Looking up, they found Neji, Lee and Tenten standing on the very branch Sasuke had occupied earlier. Neji's pale eyes held their usual calm.
"Mamoru!" Tenten crouched on the branch, waving cheerfully, smile bright.
"Yo." Mamoru gave her a warm smile and waved back.
Tenten leapt down lightly, and excitedly ran to Mamoru with girlish delight, hands behind her back, head tilted. "Heh-heh…"
Mamoru reached to tap her nose and she playfully dodged.
Naruto, Sakura and the Konohamaru corps stared, stunned.
Who was this girl? How come she was so familiar with Mamoru? What was their relationship?
Neji and Lee landed softly.
Neji surveyed the trashed ground and asked, "What happened here?"
Mamoru chuckled meaningfully, glancing toward where Gaara had left. "Just had a 'friendly, in-depth exchange' with some foreign ninja."
Neji mused, "Lately the village's full of unfamiliar faces, ninjas from other countries. Looks like 'that' is about to begin."
Sasuke stated coolly, "The Chunin Selection Exam."
Neji said, slightly surprised, "So you already knew."
"Forget that!"
Lee suddenly dropped into a stance, threw a straight punch, and declared, "Mamoru, Sasuke, let's have a—"
Mid-sentence, his gaze locked onto something and he froze, eyes unblinking.
Following his stare, Mamoru saw Lee gawking at Sakura.
Sakura, meanwhile, was startled by how naturally Tenten and Mamoru interacted, secretly wishing she could be that easygoing with Sasuke.
Lost in that fantasy, she felt a scorching gaze. Puzzled, she looked around and met a pair of bushy brows. Those thick, dark eyebrows looked like two fat caterpillars stuck to his face, sending a shiver of instinctive revulsion through her.
At the same time, Lee, face slightly red, back ramrod straight, walked straight up to Sakura. "My name is Rock Lee. Meeting you today is wonderful luck."
He gave a big thumbs-up, white teeth flashing. "Please date me. I'll protect you with my life."
An awkward silence fell.
"Absolutely not!" Sakura blanched, rejecting him with utmost gravity. "Your eyebrows are way too thick!"
"Eh?" Lee's face drained of color.
He hung his head, a dark cloud of despair hovering above him.
Once again, the place fell into mortified silence.
"Heh-heh…" Naruto, having watched the whole scene, couldn't help laughing.
"Bushy-brows, give it up. Sakura'll never like you. I'm the one who'll date Sakura."
Eyes blazing, Sakura raised a threatening fist. "You really want to die, don't you?"
"S-sorry…" Naruto cowered, sparing himself a beating.
"I'm outta here." Sasuke said abruptly.
Watching Gaara and Mamoru's brief stand-off had unsettled him, he had no patience left for this farce.
"Sasuke…"
Sakura reached out, but he didn't look back, striding off with his usual proud air.
Once he was gone, Tenten tilted her head. "What's with Sasuke?"
"No idea." Mamoru shrugged, gaze trailing after him. "Forget them, let's grab those new grilled skewers."
"Eh… am I treating again?" Tenten puffed her cheeks.
"My treat this time." Mamoru grinned, then added, "You pay."
"Why me?!" Tenten protested.
"No reason." Mamoru said matter-of-factly, resting a hand atop her head.
"Mmph." Tenten puffed up, then sighed in defeat. "Fine. Last time, okay?"
"You're too naive, it'll never be the last." Mamoru shot back with a teasing smirk.
"You—" Tenten chased him in mock anger, the two frolicking away.
Watching their intimate antics, Sakura wilted, strength draining from her shoulders.
In the now-empty alley the losers weren't few: Naruto crouched sketching circles in the dirt, Lee still nursed his broken heart, even the Konohamaru corps felt the gloom.
Unable to stand the atmosphere, Neji sighed and quietly slipped away.