Advancing Examinees

Kankuro hadn't thought much of it at first. They had just arrived in Konohagakure today, and Gaara had been giving him the cold shoulder the entire way. Even Temari's attitude towards Gaara was unpleasant, leaving him fuming.

He had initially thought the kid he bumped into was just an ordinary resident of Konohagakure. He hadn't expected him to be the Third Hokage's grandson?

Furthermore, this guy who had appeared out of nowhere went on a long rant. To be honest, Kankuro hadn't understood most of what he said. He had only noticed that their actions were intended to provoke a war between their two villages, or even their two countries.

This made him panic. While it was true they were here to carry out a so-called Konoha Crush Plan, that was all supposed to be conducted in secret. If they had dared to say it openly, three nameless corpses would appear outside Konohagakure the next day!

As for the Jinchuriki, it was only the One-Tail, and the seal wasn't even complete. Did they really think Konoha's foundation couldn't handle a Shukaku?

"I'm sorry, this guy was careless..." Temari quickly apologized, pulling Kankuro aside and speaking rapidly. At the same time, she subtly observed Nanfeng.

"But..." Kankuro opened his mouth, wanting to say more, when a stone suddenly flew down from the tree canopy above them, striking Kankuro's right hand and causing a small cut. However, no blood flowed out.

"Since you're ninja participating in the Chunin Exam, you must abide by Konoha's rules while in Konohagakure. I believe the three of you can't handle all of us, right?" Kankuro looked up with a grim expression at the black-haired man sitting in the tree canopy.

The newcomer was Sasuke. Temari and Gaara also noticed his actions. Gaara's eyes were filled with provocation and brutality, likely a result of the incomplete seal causing the Shukaku's chakra to leak. Temari, however, was completely star-struck...

"All the Konoha boys I've seen since arriving seem to be quite good-looking. Unlike our village, which is full of people like this..." Temari's thoughts were quite honest.

As they were in a standoff, Naruto also appeared in front of Nanfeng. Seeing the few people looking at each other with confusion, a large question mark appeared on Naruto's forehead.

"What... happened? Why are ninja from another village here in Konohagakure? Is it an attack?" Before Temari and the others could explain, Naruto directly used the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

After a massive chakra fluctuation, hundreds of Naruto figures stood densely before them. Temari stared at Naruto's shadow clones in shock.

To be honest, there were many substitute ninjutsu that could achieve the same effect, but they all had one thing in common: the amount of chakra consumed increased exponentially with the number of clones.

Even a genius like Gaara could only create about two clones at most with this kind of jutsu. Any more would cause a temporary chakra deficiency.

But this golden-haired guy in front of them, despite his honest smile, possessed a terrifying amount of chakra!

"We are..." Kankuro was about to speak when Naruto's shadow clones rushed forward and completely overwhelmed him, the sounds of punches, kicks, and shattering shadow clones filling the entire street.

The violent commotion caused the residents who had wanted to watch the spectacle to quickly retreat. They were ordinary people; getting involved in a ninja battle was like looking for death with a lantern!

Sasuke still wanted to say a few words, but after seeing Nanfeng's expression, he wisely shut his mouth. As for Konohamaru, he was comforted by Nanfeng and ran back to the Hokage Office.

After all, the child was still young and couldn't watch such terrifying things...

Nanfeng had seen Naruto's intention to cause trouble from the beginning. After all, he had heard that explosive news earlier, and his dissatisfaction hadn't been vented. Now that a punching bag had appeared before him to vent his anger, it would be unreasonable not to make good use of it.

"Hey, we're here to participate in the Chunin Exam, not some random enemies. If we were enemies, would we appear so openly on the streets of Konohagakure?" After the situation stabilized a little, Temari quickly grabbed Naruto, who was about to charge again, and said.

Naruto had no injuries other than his clothes being slightly wrinkled, while Kankuro was in a bit of a sorry state, just a tiny bit.

"Puppeteer?" Sasuke frowned slightly, looking at Kankuro's shattered body.

This was a unique profession in Sunagakure. Their puppeteers were quite famous throughout the ninja world. The most renowned puppeteer, the Scorpion of the Red Sand, came from Sunagakure, but he was now part of Akatsuki and seemed to have carried out many difficult missions within the organization.

"Brat, you've successfully caught my attention. I hope you don't encounter me in the Chunin Exam, or I'll show you what true cruelty is!" Kankuro's body emerged from the puppet, and he said to Naruto, who had a harmless smile on his face.

"You're here for the Chunin Exam? Why didn't you say so earlier? You waited until I was done before telling me this? I'm truly sorry!" Naruto said with a smile, but his tone held a hint of coldness as he spoke to Temari and the others.

"You didn't give us any chance to speak..." Temari thought helplessly. Although she was angry today, this was Konoha's territory, and they would be at a disadvantage if they caused trouble. Moreover, Kankuro had been the one to suffer the initial disadvantage.

"Shut up. If you say another word, I'll kill you right here..." Gaara, who had been silent for a long time, said to Kankuro with killing intent.

"I'm very interested in you. I hope to meet you in the Chunin Exam. Your blood should be quite delicious..." Gaara said with bloodthirsty eyes as he looked at the three of Nanfeng, then turned and left the street.

"This guy seems a bit strong?" Sasuke frowned. This was the first time Sasuke had felt such immense pressure from someone his age!

Naruto's expression was also quite grim, as he felt a sense of kinship from Gaara.

This feeling wasn't due to chakra, but from the Nine-Tails sealed within him. It seemed that the guy's body also contained a sealed monster.

"Desert Psammophila Gaara, the Kazekage's son, and also a very tragic... pitiful wretch?"