louisehourcade Chapter 208 begins
Chapter 208 begins
"Who exactly is that guy?"
As Naruto, Satsuki, and Konohamaru disappeared completely at the end of the street, Kankuro muttered to himself. He looked down at the tiny, healed wound on his wrist, which hadn't even left a scar, and was filled with confusion and astonishment.
That chakra... what is it? Medical ninjutsu?
"..."
Temari remained silent, her gaze still fixed intently on the direction Naruto had left in. The impact that blond boy had had on her was far beyond her expectations.
Is Naruto really a ninja younger than her? That composure and calmness in the face of danger, the ruthless methods to defeat the enemy instantly, and the skillful and tactful handling of conflicts afterward... Temari has never seen such qualities in any of her peers.
"You two really aren't ashamed of yourselves."
Suddenly, a voice, devoid of emotion and as cold as the grinding of sand, rang out abruptly.
Upon hearing the voice, Kankuro and Temari froze instantly. They struggled to lift their heads and look towards the source of the sound—a figure had been standing on the branch of a large tree nearby. Red hair, carrying a huge gourd on his back, a dark "love" character etched on his face, and most chillingly, his eyes were filled with a numbness and icy killing intent that belied his age.
It was their younger brother, Gaara.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gaara's figure transformed into a scattering of sand, falling from the tree and quickly gathering on the ground in front of the two, reforming into human form.
"Listen...listen to my explanation, I...Gaara..." Kankuro's face was filled with fear and trepidation, completely devoid of his previous arrogance. "They...they started it first..."
"Shut up." Gaara's voice was completely flat. "What do you think we came to Konoha for?"
He tilted his head slightly, his uninteresting eyes sweeping over Kankuro, and added a sentence that almost froze the air.
"...Watch out or I'll kill you."
Upon hearing this, Kankuro's face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He almost immediately responded humbly, "I...I'm sorry! It's my fault! It was wrong of me! Please...please forgive me..."
However, Gaara completely ignored his brother's terrified and pleading appearance. His gaze returned to the direction Naruto had left, and a rare, faint hint of doubt flickered deep within his cold eyes.
That person... is no ordinary person. Not just in terms of strength... but also... what was that strange feeling I just felt?
In the brief moment when Naruto appeared and displayed his abilities, Gaara clearly felt that his heart, which had been filled with darkness and bloodlust for many years, was stirring with a strange, indescribable restlessness, as well as a feeling of unease that he had never experienced before.
This unprecedented feeling confused and even agitated Aiolos. He couldn't understand or define this emotion.
Finally, he forcibly suppressed all his turbulent thoughts, regained his unchanging, cold expression, and indifferently addressed the two still terrified individuals:
"That's enough. Let's go, we didn't come here for sightseeing."
------
"What?! The Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast? Naruto, are you sure?"
On the other side, after hearing the information provided by Naruto, Kakashi's usually lazy, dead fish-like eyes instantly sharpened, and his tone became more serious than ever before.
"Yes, I'm sure." Naruto nodded firmly. "The Nine-Tails told me personally that there is indeed the aura of something called Shukaku the One-Tailed Beast mixed in with the Sand Village's forces. It is indeed a Jinchūriki of a Tailed Beast, just like me. Kakashi-sensei, is this kind of situation... common among allied nations?"
Although Naruto already knew the names of the other tailed beasts and their jinchūriki, Kurama "personally" gave him a "lecture".
Although the process mostly consisted of Kurama boasting about how easily he crushed Ichi-Tail, he finally had a plausible reason to reveal this crucial information.
This situation is certainly rare! Kakashi's alarm bells rang loudly. The whereabouts of Jinchuriki from other villages are always top secret, as they are considered strategic weapons. They rarely appear so easily within another country's borders, especially at a time like this. What exactly is Sunagakure planning?
"I understand, Naruto." Kakashi made a quick decision and instructed in a deep voice, "During the upcoming Chunin Exams, be sure to stay away from the Sand Village's teams, especially that Jinchuriki named Gaara. This information is crucial, and I will report it to the Hokage immediately."
Before he finished speaking, Kakashi's figure disappeared in a wisp of smoke, heading towards the Hokage Building at top speed.
Hopefully, this information will allow the third-generation elders to prepare in advance.
Naruto pondered. In the original story, the "Konoha Crush Plan" resulted in far more than just the Third Hokage's deaths; many Konoha ninja and civilians perished in the attack. He hoped this would reduce some unnecessary sacrifices. Of course, Naruto would also have all members of the [Jin] organization on standby outside Konoha during the Chunin Exams, just in case.
"Hey, Naruto!" Just then, a deep voice, clearly displeased, rang in Naruto's mind. "Why didn't you go teach Shukaku's Jinchūriki a lesson earlier?"
It seems that Kurama (the Nine-Tails) was very disappointed that Naruto didn't beat Gaara to a pulp on the spot, thus failing to prove to Shukaku that "my jinchūriki is much stronger than yours," missing a perfect opportunity to mock him.
Naruto thought to himself, "Kurama, be reasonable. They didn't provoke us, so we can't just attack without cause, right? That would cause a serious diplomatic incident. Besides, you actually just want to beat up the One-Tailed Beast, right? Isn't it a bit inappropriate to drag innocent Jinchuriki into this?"
Naruto's rebuttal was reasonable, but Kurama seemed a little sullen, grunting and not responding immediately.
Seeing the giant fox throwing a tantrum in the mental world, Naruto quickly soothed it in a coaxing tone, "Don't worry, Kurama. The Chunin Exams are about to begin, and then we'll be able to 'legitimately' fight the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail. Maybe, we won't even have to go looking for it; that impatient Shukaku will just jump out on its own! Then, you can do whatever you want, right?"
This vision clearly struck a chord with Kurama. Imagining itself crushing its old rival in front of everyone, its initial discontent was quickly replaced by anticipation. And so, Naruto once again successfully appeased his temperamental companion.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
On July 1, 1963, the large-scale joint Chunin Selection Exam, hosted by Konoha Village and jointly participated in by Sunagakure, Amegakure, Kusagakure, Takigakure, and Otogakure, officially began.