"If it weren't for the fact you haven't fully healed, I'd have already taken apart every bone in your body..."
"That's small stuff. I'm asking you—do you really have nothing you need me to help with?"
Daigan smiled, unconcerned.
"You... what do you mean?"
Temari thought for a moment, then asked with a hint of suspicion.
"Do you know something?"
"Whether I know anything doesn't matter. What matters is you. Think it through—if the fourth match starts, what will happen, and... how it ends."
"So you're not as innocent as you look."
Temari's expression tightened. Lowering her voice, she warned him.
"Whatever you're after, you'd better not get any ideas. The third test isn't the same as before..."
"Relax. I don't have any ill intent toward you, Temari..."
Daigan closed the ward door.
"I've been waiting for you, Kankuro, or even Captain Otokaze—someone—to tell me exactly what that 'plan' is..."
"So you really do know..."
Temari sat down openly, watching as Daigan flicked his hand. Wind Release Chakra immediately enveloped a small, lamp-lit area.
"They can't see what's happening in here from outside, and our voices won't carry out either..."
Sound waves were just air vibrations. If you interfered with—or even cut off—their propagation, forming an auditory barrier wasn't that hard.
"So you really were holding back in the third test preliminaries..."
Temari glanced toward the door and window. It was pitch-black, and the outside sounds had vanished completely.
"Talk. What do you want?"
Daigan had his puppet Temari peel a few apples and handed them over.
"Want some?"
"No. I'm in a hurry..."
"Fine."
She didn't leave him even the slightest room for idle chatter, and Daigan felt a bit helpless. He took a bite of the sweet flesh.
"If the fourth match starts, I want us to come to an understanding..."
"An understanding? You want me to go easy on you."
Temari laughed.
"Think whatever you want. It's internal Sand Ninja competition anyway. As long as it's a good show, who wins or loses doesn't affect the village's honor. Those outsiders can't tell anything—it's just for entertainment."
"But it won't only be outsiders watching. The Hokage and the Kazekage will both be there..."
"Isn't it all a performance?"
Daigan curled his lip in contempt.
"If they're insiders, who would take the Chunin Exam seriously? Whether a Genin can be promoted, the judging panel can only give recommendations. The final decision still rests with each village's leader."
"The Fourth Kazekage won't pull strings for you. Even if you cozy up to me and Kankuro, he won't give you any benefits."
After their mother died, Rasa threw himself into Sunagakure's affairs and basically never fulfilled a father's responsibilities. After Yashamaru—who'd been close with the three siblings—died, Temari rarely saw Rasa at all.
On the few occasions they spoke for official reasons, there would still be a thick curtain and a black face veil between them. If not for old photographs, after enough time she might have forgotten what he even looked like.
"I wasn't counting on that."
Living off someone else sure sounded nice—if you could pull it off, it was a skill. But Rasa, that hopeless would-be father-in-law, was simply not someone you could rely on.
"I'm proposing we fight with a tacit understanding for one reason: no injuries, and conserve Chakra. Both of us."
"You..."
Temari's face shifted as her left hand went to the fan handle on her back.
"Let me finish."
Several Chakra threads bound Temari's wrist as she started to flare up.
"What I'm about to say—I won't admit it once I step out of this room. You'd better keep it in your heart too and act like you never heard it."
"Let's see what you can possibly say."
Temari's tense posture loosened slightly, and she lowered her itching hand.
"Uchiha Sasuke's injuries are severe—and complicated. He's training a high-powered technique, but time is tight. If he can't arrive in time, his match with Gaara will be delayed.
"Neither Sunagakure nor Konoha will allow that match to end without a result. They might push up the third or even the fourth match. When that happens, Kankuro, you, and I will have to decide—who drags things out..."
"You mean!"
Temari's face stiffened as she couldn't help thinking through what she'd do if the trouble Daigan described actually happened.
Kankuro's opponent was Konoha's Aburame Shino—no weakling. Kankuro might not be able to control the fight with precision.
Even if he won, exposing his strength and consuming too much Chakra would be bad.
By comparison, a match between Sand Ninja like Daigan and Temari was much easier to manipulate.
"Can I trust you?"
"Didn't I say it? I won't lie to you. But whether it's true—you'll have to judge for yourself."
Because of what Daigan did in the Forest of Death, after Uchiha Sasuke defeated Akado Yoroi, he waited several more hours before accepting treatment, not until all the third test preliminaries ended. A lot of time had already been wasted.
But whether he'd actually be late, like in Daigan's memory, would only be clear when the moment arrived.
"Where did your information come from? If it were Yome, it would at least be convincing. But you? I doubt you have that kind of ability."
"If it were anything else, I'd tell you everything I know. But this time, I really can't answer.
"I'm saying all this because I don't want to die. And you—don't die either."
"You're really a big idiot. Why not just give up and go back to the village?
"You know it's dangerous, so why wade into this muddy water?"
Temari seemed to realize Daigan wasn't spouting nonsense, and her tone softened a little.
"And can you let go of me? Those Chakra threads are cutting into my wrist—it hurts."
"Yeah. Sorry."
Daigan scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he released her.
"You already warned me to be careful in private, so why won't you just tell me clearly? We're all Sand Ninja—why am I the only one kept in the dark?"
"Too many concerns. It was only a few days ago that the decision to carry out the 'plan' was finalized. There's no turning back now!"
Once the war machine started, even the Kazekage himself couldn't stop it.
"Your intel source is unclear, so we can't verify true or false. There are too many variables, so its value can't be confirmed.
"But I agree to your proposal for a tacit match in the fourth round. It doesn't affect the execution of the 'plan.' I'll keep it secret for now."
"I understand, Temari. Thank you!"
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