Chapter 151: The First Group of Guests
While everyone was preparing to eat, the first group of "guests" arrived at the "banquet" site outside the tower.
It was none other than the Sand Trio—Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.
After a few quick exchanges of offense and defense, both sides tacitly pulled apart.
The trio backed into the shade of the Forest of Death at the edge of the clearing, with Gaara in front and Temari and Kankuro on either side of him, forming a triangular defensive formation.
Gaara was expressionless, the sand around him flowing slowly; Temari held her unfolded Giant Folding Fan, looking alert; Kankuro had retracted his Puppet, but his fingers still rested on the scroll on his back.
Meanwhile, Sasuke, Neji, and Tenten quickly retreated to regroup with Naruto, Shikamaru, and the others in the rear, re-establishing a complete front line.
Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, panting slightly, but his gaze remained sharp.
He turned his head toward Naruto, who stood calmly at the front of the group, and whispered:
"That red-haired guy isn't as strong as we thought."
After that brief head-on clash, Sasuke had made a preliminary assessment.
Gaara's sand defense and manipulation were indeed troublesome, and his attacks were heavy and bizarre, but in terms of speed, flexibility, and piercing power, he didn't seem to show an overwhelming advantage.
Especially in a one-on-one situation, Sasuke felt he had a good chance of winning.
"Yeah."
Naruto nodded, acknowledging Sasuke's assessment.
I hope these three are sensible enough to just go inside quietly.
Kankuro looked at Shikamaru.
"We meet again. You guys looked pretty pathetic running away earlier!"
"Heh."
Facing Kankuro's provocation, Shikamaru just kept his hands in his pockets and gave a half-hearted "heh" without even bothering to lift his eyelids, having no intention of responding.
This indifference annoyed Kankuro even more than a direct insult would have.
Seeing Shikamaru's attitude, Kankuro grew even angrier and raised his voice to continue his mockery:
"Not planning to run this time? Consider yourselves lucky! Now get lost, we're going into the tower!"
Seeing that Shikamaru didn't reply, Kankuro continued to taunt them.
Give them an inch, and they take a mile.
Naruto drew his wooden sword from his ninja tool pouch and hung it at his waist.
He looked at Kankuro.
"You're Kankuro, right? The son of the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. The other two are your sister Temari and your brother Gaara, I assume?"
He exposed Kankuro's identity directly, while also pointing out his background.
Kankuro was taken aback, not expecting the other party to know his background so well.
Before he could react, Naruto had already issued battle orders, his voice clear:
"Leave Gaara to me."
He pointed at the red-haired youth, his gaze sweeping over Temari and Kankuro.
"As for the other two, do whatever you want, just don't kill them."
He said it nonchalantly, as if assigning some trivial task.
Finally, he added the objective:
"Out of respect for the Hidden Sand Village, throw these children of the Kazekage into the tower later and let them enter the third round of the exams."
He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"As for the rest of the Sand ninjas, eliminate them all."
As the words fell, the eyes of the Hidden Leaf Village group sharpened, and their Battle Intent surged instantly!
They weren't afraid of a duel, let alone a group fight.
Naruto suddenly bent down and quickly pulled up both of his pant legs.
Two weighted bands were strapped to his calves.
"Release!"
Naruto let out a low shout, his hands quickly brushing over the weighted bands, and the two bands fell off instantly.
The moment the weights were removed.
"Whoosh!"
A visible current of air exploded from around Naruto.
In everyone's sight, his figure suddenly became blurred and elongated.
So fast!
This thought rose simultaneously in the minds of everyone who saw this.
Almost at the same moment the weights hit the ground, Naruto's figure appeared in front of Gaara as if he had teleported.
The distance of over ten meters between them seemed to be crossed in a single step!
In Gaara's pale green eyes, a clear look of astonishment and a hint of delayed reaction appeared for the first time.
The sand around him surged instinctively, trying to form a defense, but its speed... seemed a beat too slow.
Naruto raised his foot and kicked Gaara away, then rushed into the Forest of Death to continue his pursuit.
This sudden turn of events left Temari and Kankuro completely stunned.
Their eyes were still fixed on the moment Naruto removed his weights and blurred out of sight; their brains hadn't even processed the fact that Gaara had been kicked away.
By the time they realized what had happened and snapped their gaze toward the direction Gaara had flown.
A youth's voice, tinged with faint mockery, rang out leisurely behind Kankuro:
"Where are you looking?"
It was Uchiha Sasuke.
Kankuro tried to spin around.
However, it was already too late.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Nail Crimson!"
Swish, swish, swish—
Dozens of Shuriken wrapped in searing flames, like blooming death phoenix flowers, whistled through the air with sharp screeches and scorching heat. They were spat out from Sasuke's mouth, instantly covering all possible escape routes behind Kankuro!
The flames illuminated Kankuro's expressionless Face.
Temari opened her Giant Folding Fan and gave a powerful swing, blowing away the Shuriken aimed at Kankuro.
Just then, Ino Yamanaka's Mind Transfer Jutsu also hit Temari.
Not good!
Rock Lee dashed forward and arrived beside Kankuro.
"Lee, his true body is inside the bandages. Attack the bandages on his back."
Neji reminded him.
——————————
Within the Forest of Death, Gaara was barely fending off Naruto's relentless attacks.
Seizing this opportunity, the Nine-Tailed connected with Shukaku's consciousness through the Shukaku Chakra leaking from several weak points in Gaara's Seal.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, isn't this the stinking raccoon? It's been decades, and you've become this pathetic?"
The Nine-Tailed's appearance made Shukaku, who was already violently thrashing against the Seal, even more berserk.
"You damn fox, it really is you! I guessed I might run into you before I came, but I didn't expect you to show up so soon. Also, I'm not a raccoon, I'm a tanuki!"
Feeling Shukaku becoming increasingly noisy inside him, Gaara clutched his head in pain.
"Mother, it's almost time. I'll give you the blood you want soon, ah!"
Because of Shukaku's endless noise, Gaara got very little rest, and his mental state was significantly affected as a result!
Seeing this opportunity, Naruto used Wind Pressure Suction to blow away the sand, then immediately unfurled two scrolls to bind Gaara.
On the way back, carrying the struggling Gaara, Naruto expressionlessly patted Gaara's back gently.
There, there. I'll give you a good night's sleep after this Chunin Exams is over.
Unexpectedly, Gaara struggled even more violently after being patted.
Heh, being so uncooperative?
Then, Little Gourd Boy, you might as well stay awake.
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