"Hey, it's you guys."
Naruto stopped, looking at them in mild surprise.
The last time I saw Konohamaru, he wanted to beat me up. How had he changed his tune so quickly?
Konohamaru ran up to Naruto with Moegi and Udon, all three out of breath. Tilting his little face up, he spoke as though reporting a grievance and asking for backup. "Big Brother Naruto! We ran into some bad guys yesterday!
"Two weirdly dressed people from another village bullied us! They even tried to hurt us!"
Naruto froze. People from another village? Bullying kids?
Moegi nodded vigorously beside him and added, "Yeah, yeah! They were so scary! The guy carrying a bundle wrapped in cloth even tried to tie Udon up with some weird strings!"
Udon sniffled and said quietly, still shaken, "L-luckily, Big Brother Shikamaru and the others happened to pass by..."
As the three children took turns explaining, Naruto gradually pieced together what had happened.
Yesterday, while he and Sakura had been temporarily assigned to help the medical team move an urgent shipment of medicinal supplies, the opening notes of the chunin ninja exams had quietly begun to sound through Konoha's streets and alleys.
Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara from Sunagakure had clashed with Konohamaru and his friends.
Konohamaru had accidentally bumped into Kankuro, who had wanted to teach him a lesson. Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka had arrived just in time to keep things from escalating.
And Ino... apparently, she had gotten into an argument with that blonde girl from Sunagakure. They had even come to blows, briefly exchanging attacks before Asuma and Sunagakure's Baki pulled them apart and took them away.
"So much happened..."
Naruto murmured, his brows drawing together slightly.
Ino got into a fight?
*With her personality and strength, she probably hadn't