'Could it be worse than this?'
'Hmm... if it didn't know I was here, it might take a while to transform into its Tailed Beast form. But if it knows I'm here, it might immediately intensify its struggle for the Jinchuriki's body, thus rapidly transforming.'
Hearing Kurama's answer, Naruto paused and asked.
'What deep-seated hatred do you have for it?'
'Well, nothing much, just beat it up a few times many years ago.'
Alright, Naruto knew that Kurama and Shukaku had fought many years ago. Hearing Kurama say this, it was probably a good beating for Shukaku.
'Never mind, desperate times call for desperate measures. If Shukaku doesn't appreciate it, then we can't be blamed.'
Naruto was prepared. If things really went south, he might have to use the Myriad Sword Art again.
'Okay...'
'Wait a minute...'
Kurama:???
Just as Kurama was about to use its unique Tailed Beast Chakra to communicate with Shukaku, Naruto saw Temari, looking disheveled by Sakura, running towards Gaara despite her own danger... "Gaara, wake up!"
At this moment, Gaara's own consciousness was severely interfered with by Shukaku. Temari running over like that was also risking being attacked by Gaara.
But she couldn't not go.
Gaara was her younger brother.
If he were to transform into his Tailed Beast form now, not only would the Hidden Sand Village's original plan fall through, but it would also be a question of whether Gaara himself would survive.
Think about it, if a Tailed Beast suddenly appeared during the Chunin Exams, would the Konoha Ninja consider it a pleasant surprise or a fright?
Temari couldn't control Sunagakure's plan, but Gaara absolutely couldn't be in danger.
"Temari, get out."
Gaara's consciousness was not very clear. He tried to suppress his killing intent towards Temari, urging her to leave quickly.
"Gaara, control yourself! You absolutely cannot expose your identity now."
Gaara knew this perfectly well; he was just being influenced by Shukaku, making him irritable and bloodthirsty. He himself wasn't an idiot.
However, Gaara truly couldn't suppress Shukaku within him anymore.
"Leave quickly, take Kankuro, and go. Otherwise, I'll kill both of you too."
From some small details in the original work, it could be seen that although Gaara was always cold and harsh towards Temari and Kankuro, he never truly laid a hand on them.
Because he knew that these two were different from other mere nobodies; they were the only two people who cared about him at present.
He didn't want to kill Temari and Kankuro. Seeing that he was almost unable to suppress Shukaku, he naturally hoped that these two would run as far as possible.
Looking at Gaara, who had a hideous expression and drool at the corner of his mouth, Temari did not run away, but instead embraced him.
Strangely enough, the sand that always prevented others from approaching Gaara did not stop Temari this time.
Embraced by Temari, Gaara froze.
It had been a long time since he had experienced such a warm embrace.
Ever since he killed Yashamaru, all he had faced were negative emotions like resentment and fear.
He had been in this state of negative emotions for too long, too long, without feeling the 'light' brought by warmth.
At this moment, Temari's gentle hug made him feel that long-lost 'light'.
"Temari, let me go, I'm fine now."
The negative emotions had been driven out by the gentle 'light,' and Gaara successfully suppressed Shukaku, regaining full control of his consciousness.
Looking at the now clear-headed Gaara, Temari wept tears of joy. She didn't listen to him and let go; instead, she tightened her embrace... Beside them, Sakura came up to Naruto and quietly asked, "In this situation, are we still fighting?"
Naruto scratched his hair, looking conflicted.
If they fought, what if Gaara went berserk again? What then?
If they didn't fight, Naruto felt a bit... off.
"Sakura, what do you think?"
"Me?"
Sakura pointed to herself, feeling bewildered.
Throughout the team, decisions were always made by Naruto and Sasuke. Now that she was suddenly asked to decide, she really didn't know what to do.
"How about we let them pass?"
"If we let them pass, how do we explain it to Sasuke?"
"Then... don't let them pass?"
"If we don't let them pass and Gaara goes berserk again, will you handle him?"
"Ah~"
Sakura frantically rubbed her hair for a while, replying irritably, "This won't work, that won't work, what do you suggest?"
"Ha, aren't I asking you?"
"Ask your sister."
Sakura, who had reverted to her true nature by the question, clenched her fist and said fiercely, "Have you ever seen a fist as big as a sandbag? If you keep bothering me, I'll punch you."
"Alright, alright."
Helpless, Naruto could only figure out a way to solve this perplexing problem himself.
Fortunately, Naruto didn't struggle for long. Temari walked over with two scrolls and said, "Here are the scrolls you wanted."
"You gave me the scrolls, so what about you?"
"Of course, we'll go steal from others."
"I see."
Naruto took the scrolls and watched the three of them disappear from his sight.
"You're done here, so I'm going back to Sasuke's side."
"Okay, you go ahead."
Sakura left and returned to Sasuke's side.
Naruto looked at the two scrolls in his hand, smiled silently, and then returned to a very suitable ambush position... On the first day of the exam, almost all the examinees were still cautiously probing and vying for other examinees' scrolls.
Only the powerful Sand Siblings Trio successfully reached the Central Tower.
So, apart from the fight on Naruto's side, they were quite bored for the rest of the time.
Especially Naruto; Sasuke had Sakura to talk to, but Naruto could only chat with Kurama.
Chatting with a stinky fox was nowhere near as pleasant as chatting with a beautiful girl.
Thinking that Sakura and Sasuke might be happily 'playing' together, Naruto couldn't help but want to proactively go find someone to fight.
After all, it was just too boring.
When the time came to the second day, the situation changed.
"Damn it, we'll be back!"
A background Ninja looked at the blond-haired person in front of him, full of indignation.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for you."
Yawning, Naruto looked at the increasing number of scrolls and suddenly wondered if his decision to block all examinees outside the tower was a bit reckless.
Yes, compared to the boredom of the first day, the arrival of some examinees on the second day was indeed not boring.
However, the strength of these examinees was simply too weak.
At first, Naruto was quite interested in 'playing' with them.
But after a few times, Naruto got bored.