They should have simply walked past. Luo Mang cast them a casual glance, with no intention of talking to them much.
They did not know each other, for one thing. Even if they did, they could not afford too much interaction.
After all, these were people from another village. Too much contact could easily get him branded a traitor.
Danzo had targeted him once and then stopped making moves. That worried Luo Mang; he feared the man was plotting something.
Could Hiruzen Sarutobi keep him in check? That seemed unlikely.
If he caught Luo Mang talking to people from another ninja village, the resulting publicity could be disastrous.
He still had to plan for his own survival. How could he spare the energy for this?
If not for the fact that he had yet to run into Danzo, Luo Mang would have considered eliminating him while sorting out where everyone stood. A weapon that operated on rules like that would leave no traces anyway, and no one would suspect him.
Unfortunately, he had not encountered him.
Whoosh!
Yet just as they were about to pass each other, Gaara suddenly raised his hand and blocked their way.
"Hey, you weirdo! Why are you stopping us?"
Naruto Uzumaki turned angrily, following the outstretched hand to Gaara. But one glare from those murderous eyes left him too intimidated to speak. His mouth opened, but the rest of his words never came out.
He was still a little out of his depth. After all, the people Gaara had killed were different from the bandits Naruto Uzumaki had killed.
Sasuke frowned as well. Only then did he notice the person carrying a gourd, who seemed familiar from the video.
He looked again at the gourd and the sand spilling out of its top, then remembered.