Kankuro and Temari smiled when they heard that. "Got it. Sorry for the trouble!" Sakura nodded and dropped her playful expression. She placed both hands against Kankuro's chest and channeled her chakra.
Green chakra enveloped Sakura's hands, and Kankuro felt a soothing warmth spread through his chest.
The dull ache gradually faded. When Sakura finally withdrew her hands, she let out a deep breath. "All done!"
Kankuro moved a little and found that the ache in his chest had vanished completely. He felt no discomfort at all.
He thanked Sakura politely, then looked at Hinata and the others. "My injury's healed now, so we shouldn't stay with you any longer."
As he spoke, he cast a meaningful glance at Gaara, who sat not far away. "I hope you make it through. See you at the finish!"
"Thank you, really," Temari said apologetically. "We'll be going now." Hinata and the others nodded and smiled their goodbyes.
Temari and Kankuro walked straight over to Gaara. Hinata couldn't hear what they said, but Gaara rose from where he had been sitting. Before leaving, he turned to give the girls a long look. His expression was complicated, and she couldn't tell what he was thinking.
Once the three had disappeared from sight, Sakura finally let out a sharp breath. "That scared me to death! I thought we were really going to die in the Forest of Death today!"
Ino nodded fervently. "I thought that kid was going to kill us too. He's terrifying! He looks so young, but he has such a murderous aura!"
"Maybe he doesn't want to be like that either," Hinata murmured. "Maybe there's something he can't talk about." She spoke so softly that it was almost as if she were talking to herself.
Sakura and Ino hadn't heard her. They