That night, Sakon and Ukon did not find the prey they wanted, but it wasn't a complete waste of effort.
Anyway, one of them has to be on duty, so the two brothers can take turns resting.
He wouldn't dare to play like this if he didn't have some advantages, and he genuinely wanted to test his skills against ninjas from other countries.
Perhaps it was because no one wanted to start a conflict so soon on the first day, or perhaps there were no ninjas passing by nearby, and the night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, just as Kidomaru's team finished a quick breakfast and was about to continue their journey, they suddenly heard the rustling of leaves behind them.
"Hmm? Something's up. Prepare for battle!"
Kidomaru and his two companions immediately formed a triangular formation, standing at different points on the tree trunk. As the commotion grew louder, the appearance of the newcomer came into view.
The three who arrived were none other than Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.
"Oh...! So it's them!"
As he spoke, Kidomaru revealed a malicious smile.
Karin and Kofu didn't show any particular expression; they simply watched the newcomer quietly.
Naruto on the other side also saw Kidomaru blocking their way and immediately stopped in their tracks.
"Not very lucky, we've encountered the enemy so soon!"
Naruto said with some distress, "This scene has obviously come a little too early."
"Hmph! Daring to block our way means they're planning to fight us. Looks like we've been underestimated!"
As he spoke, Sasuke took out Kunai from his Ninja Tool Pouch. His face showed no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, he was eager to try it out.
Sakura's gaze lingered longer on Fu and Karin, as women, especially rivals, naturally disliked each other.
"Huh? You mean we're being treated like pushovers?"
Naruto's gaze also turned serious, his eyes sharply fixed on the group of people in front of him.
The two sides were only about twenty meters apart, and their conversations were barely audible. At this moment, Kidomaru was also talking with great interest to the two women beside him.
"See that guy? He's about the same as you, Jinchuriki!"
These words were meant for Xiao Fu, but also for the three people opposite her. The purpose was to get Xiao Fu to test her skills against them and see who was stronger.
"Hehe... Now that you mention it, I'm actually quite interested!"
"No way! I also want to test the strength of Konoha's Jinchuriki!"
Karin then spoke up, clearly showing that the two were not only not afraid of each other's identities, but also wanted to test each other's strength.
These words made Naruto's face turn a little ugly; it seemed that he was the one being treated like a pushover.
He was also somewhat surprised by the other party's identity, as they were both Jinchuriki like him. Fortunately, he didn't know Gaara's background, otherwise he would probably be even more surprised.
But what surprised him even more was just beginning. Kidomaru then said to Karin:
"What, Karin? I remember someone saying that Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha is your cousin. Could it be this person in front of you?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Fu also remembered, looked at Karin suspiciously, and then at Naruto opposite her.
"It seems... there must be something like that..."
Faced with questioning from her two teammates, Karin could only nod and admit it.
Karin's identity is not a secret, at least not in the Northern Lands; compared to Jinchuriki, Rogue Ninja from various villages, and the true identity of the Golden Kage, she is just a little special.
Even Izumi Uchiha's identity was kept more secret than hers. The Uzumaki Clan was just rare, and there was no trouble behind them.
Her mother told her about her cousin's situation; when they got the list of participants for the Konoha Chunin Ninja Exams, he noticed this name.
Unlike in the Original Work, her mother is now alive, although she has been bedridden for many years.
A little inquiry revealed Naruto Uzumaki's origins; he was indeed from the same clan and related to them.
She came to Konoha hoping to meet her cousin. She had noticed him before but never had a chance to talk to him. She never expected to meet him in this way.
"Cousin... cousin? Naruto, you have a cousin?"
Sakura also looked at Naruto and Karin. They looked completely different, especially with one having red hair and the other having blonde hair. They were worlds apart.
Naruto involved, was equally bewildered. He had been an orphan since childhood, and no one had ever told him about his family connections.
Let alone his cousin, Naruto doesn't even know his own parents' names now, because no one ever tells him.
Perhaps it was due to his age, or perhaps for some other reason, who knows?
"I don't know either! Could they have mistaken me for someone else?"
Naruto scratched his head and squinted at Sakura, his innocent expression showing he was truly unaware of the situation.
"You can go back and ask... Kakashi... ah."
Her words immediately drew a retort from Naruto. After a brief chat, Kidomaru suddenly spoke up.
"Enough with the nonsense! Now that we've run into you, there's no reason for us to let you off the hook! Let's have a fight, and the loser leaves the scroll behind! How about it?"
"That suits me perfectly!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Uchiha Sasuke immediately chimed in. He had been itching to try it out for a long time. "Don't think you can get away with this just because you're Naruto's cousin. I'll beat up your cousin!"
Seeing Uchiha Sasuke leap out of the line, Karin was about to go up and meet him. Since her cousin wasn't her turn, this handsome young man who looked good wouldn't be bad either!
Perhaps sensing something amiss in Karin's gaze, Sakura immediately lunged forward, her target Karin.
"Hey! Red-haired girl, I'm your opponent!"
These words immediately caught Karin's attention, and she looked at Sakura with a somewhat unpleasant expression.
"What are you saying, you ugly, fat, wide-foreheaded thing!"
Two sentences ignited the anger of both women; that's how inexplicable things can be between women.
The two immediately became entangled, not by pulling hair or tearing clothes, but by clashing Taijutsu.
Kidomaru was equally unwilling to be outdone. He had long wanted to meet the Uchiha, who were known as geniuses. He would feel a great sense of accomplishment if he could defeat such a genius with a distinguished background.
Given that both sides consider themselves combat geniuses, they are naturally the most suitable opponents.
As for Xiao Fu and Naruto, they didn't have many thoughts. Usually, one seemed simple-minded and the other seemed fierce.
Xiao Fu just wanted to experience what it was like to fight Jinchuriki, since usually it was others who challenged her, the Jinchuriki, to fight; she had never challenged Jinchuriki.
More importantly, Chōmei within her body also sent her a message, telling Xiao Fu to teach the other party a lesson.
"Could there be grudges between the Tailed Beasts?"
The thought flashed through her mind in an instant, and she no longer had time to overthink it, because Naruto had already stepped forward.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
A dozen or twenty Naruto attacked Fu, but she was floating so lightly that she could easily dodge them.
After dodging a Shadow Clone's punch, Xiao Fu slightly increased her floating height and quickly Hand Seals.
"The Secret Technique: Scale Powder Camouflage!"
The next moment, countless grains of scale powder were spat out of her mouth, scattering towards Naruto below...