"What?!"
Without question, Hinata's cold-blooded decision shocked both Temari and Kankuro. They truly did look down on this group of Konoha Genin, who obviously appeared to have graduated only this year, but they had never actually intended to fight them. At most, they had planned to gain a little advantage with words. They had not expected Hinata to refuse to play by the usual rules and open with something as bloody and oppressive as an order to kill them on the spot.
"Damn brat! Give you an inch and you think you can take a mile?! If you want a fight, then come on!"
After his initial shock, Kankuro's voice immediately filled with anger. Originally, he had only intended to look down on these Konoha Genin, like tossing a pebble at someone just to annoy them. Then he would reveal his identity as a representative of Sunagakure and enjoy watching the other side swallow their anger because they could do nothing about it.
Hinata's response, however, felt like she had neatly caught the pebble he threw and immediately slapped an Explosive Tag onto his face in return.
"Wait! We have no hostile intentions! But if you insist on going too far, we won't simply let you bully us either!"
Temari was irritated as well. Her personality was indeed more rational than Kankuro's, but Hinata's openly hostile attitude still stung her pride. Halfway through speaking, the bristle-haired beauty angrily changed her tone, deciding that she would defend her village's dignity through action if necessary.
"Hmph~ Fools. Do you seriously still think you're capable of resisting?"
Hinata gave a derisive laugh and stood. Almost at the same moment, Temari and Kankuro, both already prepared for a fight, stiffened. Their eyes widened in disbelief for one very simple reason: they discovered they could no longer move their bodies.
"Seriously~ If you're going to someone else's village, you could at least make your attitude and words a little friendlier."
Nara Shikamaru held a hand seal as he gave Kankuro and Temari a bored look. In such a cramped indoor environment, the Shadow Possession Jutsu was almost perfect for ambushing someone. Temari and Kankuro had not even had time to notice the shadows beneath their own feet before they were caught completely.
"Damn it... what did you do?! If you've got the guts, release me and fight me fair and square!"
Kankuro struggled hard but found it useless, and unease finally crept into him. He had assumed the people before him were a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears Genin who had only just graduated, no different from the little brats in Sunagakure who had barely left the Academy and never even seen blood. That was why he had dared provoke them without concern. But... judging from the situation now...
This is bad! That idiot Kankuro! Did he seriously pick a fight with members of Konoha's secret-technique clans?!
Temari, who was likewise breaking into a cold sweat, could not help blaming Kankuro's "good luck." Every village had strange clans that inherited secret techniques, and their shinobi were almost always part of the village elite. Some possessed unique Kekkei Genkai, while others inherited special secret arts. Sunagakure's Puppeteers, for example, belonged to the latter category. Both Temari and Kankuro had certainly wanted to see some of Konoha's secret techniques, but that absolutely did not mean they wanted to experience them under circumstances like these.
"Fair and square, you say? Stop making me laugh, idiot~!"
Hinata walked unceremoniously in front of Temari and Kankuro, looking down at Kankuro with contempt. "You're a Puppeteer who hides behind a puppet to injure people from the shadows, and you're talking to me about fighting fair and square? Do you think everyone else is an idiot? Or is Sunagakure's average intelligence so low that it gave you the delusion everyone is easy to fool?"
Hinata's tongue was unquestionably vicious. Even Naruto, who was already accustomed to hearing her venomous remarks, felt goosebumps rise. As for Kankuro and Temari trapped by Shadow Possession, the way both of them clenched their teeth made it obvious Hinata's words had completely provoked their anger. For a shinobi, losing emotional control during battle was itself a form of defeat.
"Damn Byakugan Monster! If you've got the nerve, release me! I'll fight you fair and square!"
Temari ground her teeth as she stared at Hinata. Fury practically burned visibly in her eyes. Her self-control might be better than Kankuro's, but that did not mean she could tolerate Hinata insulting Sunagakure as a whole.
"I have no interest in fighting a little wildcat trapped in a cage. I'm quite fond of small animals, after all. Speaking of which... owner."
Hinata raised her head and called out casually. The restaurant owner standing stiffly nearby hurriedly answered, "Hai~ What are your orders, Hinata-sama?"
"Leave first. Afterward, you'll be compensated for any damage to the restaurant."
Veins bulged along both sides of Hinata's face as the Byakugan activated. The owner froze instinctively for a moment, then realized what was coming and hurried toward the side door. He dragged several bewildered employees out of the restaurant with him. Since Hinata had already promised compensation for the damage, the ordinary owner sensibly realized that if he did not want to add personal medical expenses to the bill, leaving obediently was the better choice.
Almost the instant the owner left, a sharp rushing sound erupted. A vast mass of yellow sand surged directly through the entrance as though it possessed a will of its own, heading straight for Hinata at the front. The doors and cooking counters caught in its path were instantly crushed and cracked by the sand, proving beyond doubt that this was no illusion but genuine sand carrying enormous mass.
Sand like this was clearly difficult to defend against effectively. Like Water Release and Earth Release, its destructive force did not rely on elemental damage the way Lightning Release or Fire Release did. Instead, it produced physical destruction through its own mass combined with inertia. Even if someone managed to block it, they still had to endure the tremendous force carried by its momentum.
"Divine Sandstorm!!"
Yet the enormous wave of sand never reached Hinata. With Naruto's low shout, two cyclones spinning in opposite directions roared outward and directly blasted the sand invading the room back outside.
This... has to be a joke, right?
Kankuro's face changed in horror at the sight. He had seen it clearly. The "person" standing outside was unquestionably the one controlling the sand that had just rushed into the restaurant, and the ease with which it shattered the entrance proved how terrifying its impact force was. Yet the short blond boy among this group had actually blasted all that sand back out?!
That degree of destructive power was not merely equal to the sand. It was effectively twice as great. First, Naruto had to neutralize the force carrying the sand inward, then apply enough force to hurl it back out at the same speed.
How is that possible?! The one using Sand Binding Coffin (Sabaku Kyū) is Sunagakure's monster! How can this short blond kid possess power even greater than that monster?!
Temari was equally shaken. She and Kankuro had indeed been caught earlier, but she had not been convinced of the other side's superiority. At most, she thought they had simply been careless. But now this group had not only refused to dodge the incoming Sand Binding Coffin (Sabaku Kyū), they had directly met force with force and driven it back. That meant even if Temari were released, she no longer had much confidence that she could defeat them.
The raging yellow sand was violently swept back through the restaurant entrance by Divine Sandstorm. Then the grains rolled through the air with remarkable agility and strangely stopped in place, revealing a figure standing there with arms crossed.
Without question, this was the final member of the same team as Temari and Kankuro, the person Shino had mentioned earlier. Unlike the other two, the figure who appeared had a completely different style of clothing and demeanor. Short red hair could not conceal his sinister eyes, while a striking red tattoo of the character for "love" marked the upper left side of his forehead, making his entire appearance instantly distinctive.
"Huh? What's this? Just a short red-haired kid~"
Naruto immediately looked delighted with himself. Inuzuka Kiba beside him reminded him irritably, "Hey, hey. When it comes to height, you really don't have much room to mock anyone else, you know?"
"Shorty, you've got enough nerve to openly cause trouble inside Konohagakure and in front of us. Looks like you've got quite the courage. Identify yourself."
Hinata calmly raised a hand and tightened the gauntlet around her wrist. She was genuinely interested in seeing this development play out.
As the core squad of Sunagakure's operation, Temari's team was unquestionably an important part of the plan. Since Hinata already knew they harbored malicious intentions, there was no harm in beating them up in advance.
More importantly, Hinata intended to use this sudden external confrontation to maximize the unity among the three teams currently forming the Hinata Group. The opposing side included a Jinchuriki, which made him more than qualified to serve as a punching-bag-type boss.
"...Gaara of the Sand Waterfall. The three of us are Genin sent by Sunagakure to Konohagakure for the Chunin Exams. If you insist on continuing to make unreasonable trouble, we will not sit here and accept it."
After several seconds of silence, Gaara finally spoke in a low voice. Clearly, even at this point he was still a murderous young demon lost in chuunibyou, but he retained basic reason and intelligence. He was not the type to rush forward and attack everyone he met for no reason whatsoever.
"Is that so? You at least sound reasonably polite. But... the question is, do you know whom you've offended? I am Hyuga Hinata, eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan. I am not some commoner who can be insulted without consequence."
Hinata made no attempt to hide either her malice or her status. She turned to look at Kankuro and Temari, and the Byakugan girl's tone became especially vicious. "How about this? As punishment for speaking disrespectfully to me, cut out both of their tongues. Then we'll consider the matter settled. Otherwise, I'm afraid none of you will need to participate in the Chunin Exams at all."
As she said this, Hinata suddenly struck the Zhangmen pressure points on Temari's and Kankuro's sides. Both of them had just opened their mouths to speak when they instinctively cried out and collapsed to the floor. After such important points were struck with Hinata's heavy technique, they would probably be unable to use chakra freely for several hours.
"..."
Gaara's expression did not change, but the sand circling around him abruptly accelerated. His actions had clearly begun giving Hinata an answer.
The others around Hinata also raised their guard. Gaara's killing intent was extremely dense, enough for all of them to feel how serious the situation had become.
Yet just as Gaara's killing intent spiraled upward toward its peak, his aura suddenly fell. Standing in place, the red-haired demon spoke flatly. "...We are not commoners. The current Fourth Kazekage is our father... Is that status enough for you to let this matter go?"
"Cough... Gaara..."
Temari, lying on the floor, breathed with difficulty. Without question, she understood just how much internal struggle it must have taken Gaara to say something like that.
"The Fourth Kazekage's children?! Then that means..."
Yamanaka Ino spoke in surprise. The identity Gaara had revealed clearly carried tremendous weight. In terms of status, it was genuinely no lower than Hinata's position as eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan.
"I see... then I truly owe you an apology. After all, the way this loud young man was shouting really did make it difficult to believe he had ever been properly brought up by the Kazekage."
Hinata stepped back with a mocking smile, genuinely somewhat surprised. Her original intention had been to humiliate Sunagakure badly here. If she could also provoke Gaara into losing control, then the Konoha Crush Plan could essentially be declared ruined on the spot. Once Konoha noticed Gaara's identity as a Jinchuriki, the village would absolutely take necessary precautions.
But now it seemed... there was a reason this red-haired little panda would later become Kazekage. His natural self-control and rationality clearly played a major role. Even while he was still a little chuunibyou, he could prioritize the mission. He was not an emotion-driven shinobi like Naruto, who could be provoked into losing control with only a few words.
Hinata waved a hand slightly, signaling Naruto and Sasuke around her to move aside. They had clearly sensed Gaara's difference as well. Having experienced Momochi Zabuza's killing intent before, they could feel the dense, blood-soaked aura around Gaara. That was something completely different from Temari and Kankuro.
Temari and Kankuro struggled to their feet and supported each other as they left the BBQ Restaurant. Their resentful gazes made it easy to see how deeply humiliated and furious they felt. On top of that, Hinata had struck their Zhangmen pressure points. Setting aside the pain and numbness, their chakra circulation had unquestionably been affected as well. In other words, for the next several hours their overall capabilities would conservatively be reduced by around forty percent.
"Since it was a misunderstanding, we look forward to seeing the shinobi of Sunagakure distinguish themselves in the exam. After all, the children of the Fourth Kazekage ought to possess abilities worthy of their father's fame, shouldn't they?"
Hinata maliciously twisted the knife as she watched Kankuro and Temari limp away. There was no need to be polite to people who had come here intending to kill and set fires.