Shira had approached with good intentions, only to be politely rebuffed. Finding it a bit odd, he returned to Saya and Sana's side.
"What's wrong?" Saya asked casually. "What did you two talk about? It doesn't seem like you hit it off..."
"I'm not really sure," Shira replied. "Maybe I just caught him in a bad mood."
Though his friendly advance had been rejected, Daigan hadn't said anything out of line. Shira just felt it was a bit of a shame.
"Is that so? Don't worry about it too much. Daigan's just got a short temper, but he's not petty. He doesn't go around making enemies for no reason..."
"My lady, that's only true for you!" Sana kindly reminded her. "No one else gets that kind of treatment!"
Anyone who thought Daigan was easy to get along with was either just like him or had something of value to offer. Saya, with her narrow social circle, might not have known, but Sana was a true daughter of a wealthy family. Aside from her sister being her one weakness, she was quite normal in every other respect. She certainly knew about Daigan, the controversial Genin of Sunagakure.
Everyone knew he had a bad temper; being impulsive and quick to anger was nothing strange for a Sand Ninja. As for whether he was petty, there were no particular rumors. Anyone who crossed Daigan was usually taught a lesson on the spot. Those who escaped had never been heard to get the better of him later. No matter how you looked at it, "magnanimous" wasn't a word one would associate with Daigan.
"Is that really true?" Saya had probably never realized that if it weren't for their long-standing "business" relationship, Daigan wouldn't have bothered with a spoiled girl who had a temper as bad as his own.
"Maybe he really is just tired," Saya said, no longer interested in Daigan's thoughts after her own recent, grueling battle. She found a comfortable corner to sit down and rest. "He worries about things all day long, constantly thinking about how to stir up trouble!"
Nearby, Chi and Yome retreated to Daigan's side and closed their eyes, feigning sleep.
Temari, however, pulled Kankuro aside and spoke seriously.
"Did you say something to Daigan?"
"No," Kankuro denied flatly. "Are you accusing me of leaking information?"
"Then that means Daigan figured out something was wrong on his own?"
A short while ago, Temari had learned about some of Daigan's unusual activities while chatting with Chi and Yome.
Thanks to Daigan's actions in the first test, most of the Sand Ninja had been eliminated—an attrition rate even higher than Konoha's. But the second test in the Forest of Death favored strong Sand Ninja. Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari had cleared it quickly. The instigator, Daigan, and his team aside, even Saya's team had seen through the fake scrolls. The biggest losers were Konoha and the other minor villages.
"He drove out all the weaker Sand Ninja candidates, leaving only three capable teams. Even Saya's team passing the second test was likely an accident... What do you think Daigan's goal is?"
"If you want to know, ask him yourself. Why are you asking me?"
"You think he'd tell the truth? Besides, Saya and Sana weren't part of the plan. Given their status, if they actually make it to the main tournament, someone will definitely tell them about the mission..."
Any Sand Ninja candidate who entered the third test would undoubtedly be assigned to ensure Gaara could successfully unleash the One-Tailed Shukaku in Konoha. When that time came, they would have no choice but to follow orders.
***
In another corner of the Central Tower, Konoha Genin Team 8 was whispering among themselves.
"Shino, did you hear? That Daigan guy was spreading fake scrolls among the candidates. We were lucky to get through early, or we would've been in deep trouble!"
"Hn," Aburame Shino grunted in acknowledgment.
Hyuga Hinata looked worriedly toward the entrance.
"Naruto... he'll be okay, won't he?"
Out of a total of twenty-five teams, a maximum of twelve could pass. So far, three Sand Ninja teams and only one Konoha team—Team 8—had reached the goal. Konoha's performance was lagging far behind Sunagakure's, a result that had begun to worry the village's upper echelons.
The concern escalated on the afternoon of the third day, when a report reached the head proctor, Mitarashi Anko, nearly causing the Cursed Seal on her neck, which she had just gotten under control, to flare up again.
"Where did the fake scrolls come from?"
"We don't know, Proctor," a Chunin proctor reported from nearby.
"We were doing a routine check on candidates who opened their scrolls prematurely when we suddenly found a fake one, passed off as real, right next to an opened genuine scroll..."
"Were these rule-breaking candidates trying to forge them to sneak through?"
"No, Proctor. Based on our assessment of the situation, there's only one conclusion..."
"Spit it out!"
"This team didn't intentionally break the rules. After obtaining the scrolls, they suspected one was a fake and accidentally opened the real one."
"That's... impossible!" Anko roared, furious.
"If it were just some idiots trying to fool the proctors, that would be one thing. But what you're describing changes the nature of this completely."
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