"Rustle..."
On the dim street, so silent that one could hear moths beating their wings as they flew toward the streetlights, a cold voice suddenly rang out.
"What is your name?"
Hearing this, the black-haired boy walking ahead could not help but stop. His distinct black-and-white eyes cast a somewhat icy glance at the red-haired boy.
The red-haired boy seemed utterly unaware of the black-haired boy's cold stare.
His fair, childish face remained expressionless, and his eyes held a calmness utterly at odds with his age as he looked at him.
This strange atmosphere lasted only a brief moment. The coldness gradually faded from the black-haired boy's face, and the emotion in his eyes slowly settled into indifference as he said calmly, "Second Pillar. And you? A ninja from Sunagakure?"
Hearing Sasuke's question, the red-haired boy seemed to have no particular reaction to his surname as he answered in an exceptionally calm voice, "Gaara..."
At that, Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly, and he silently muttered to himself.
Gaara... so this was him...
The one who had risen to fame in Sunagakure in recent years...
Just as Sasuke carefully recalled the information on several examinees that Kakashi had previously revealed to them, Gaara, standing before him, looked at him calmly and slowly said, "I can sense it... you're the same as me..."
Hearing that, Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. His clear black-and-white gaze fixed on him as he said coldly, "What do you mean by that?"
In response, Gaara shifted his gaze away from him and looked at the moths continuously crashing into the lightbulb, speaking slowly and coldly.
"You're like me. We're both very lonely..."
Hearing that, Sasuke's eyes turned slightly colder as he replied in a chilly voice, "Then you've got the wrong person. I'm not like what you described."