When Hinata mentioned it, Kiba's expression turned a little fearful too. Even Shino, who rarely spoke, began trembling slightly, as if he'd witnessed something terrifying.
"If I'm guessing right, you must've run into those three from Sunagakure. The one carrying the gourd is dangerous. Don't get into a direct confrontation with him... He's really killed people, and quite a few of them." Nanfeng frowned and warned Kiba and the others.
"I know. I used my Byakugan, Kiba used his and Akamaru's keen sense of smell to scout, and Shino used his insects to build an airtight information network. That's how we were able to reach the Tower so quickly." Hinata nodded, touched by Nanfeng's concern.
"What about you? You weren't that slow, and you don't look like you ran into any powerful opponents." Kiba smiled.
"We did run into a team of ninja from another village, but Sasuke took them all out. They didn't seem very strong." Nanfeng smiled, not telling them everything.
"I'm so jealous. All we ran into were a bunch of weaklings!" Kiba said enviously.
"Don't you always say you're going to become Hokage? Facing strong opponents is how you train!" Nanfeng said with a smile.
After hearing Nanfeng's words, some of the gloom in Kiba's heart lifted. It had to be said, it was easy to reassure kids who didn't have much of a hidden agenda.
But when he looked at Hinata, Nanfeng's guilt only deepened. He'd better protect pure and innocent Hinata... While they rested, the Tower continued to receive a steady stream of arriving candidates. The three-person team led by Gaara arrived after Nanfeng's.
When Hinata saw Gaara, her face went deathly pale. Even Kiba fell silent.
"You got here pretty quickly too. Those three seem to be the ones we saw right at