"All right, now was the time to let youth bloom!"
Rock Lee somersaulted straight from the spectator stands onto the arena and struck an extremely exaggerated opening stance.
In a corner, green flames seemed to burn in Might Guy's eyes as he whooped loudly, cheering on his student.
Not far from him, the mouth of a Root member twitched beneath his mask. He was stationed here alongside Might Guy as a precaution.
This mission called for concealment, but judging by the current situation, there was no point hiding anymore.
No wonder Might Guy couldn't get into ANBU or Root.
Perhaps Might Guy's only chance of joining ANBU would have been to sell his looks a few years ago, when Captain Kakashi was still in office, and get Kakashi to approve his entry that way.
Tsk, tsk, look at where my mind went. All that gossip Lady Izumi usually shared had brainwashed me. Sorry, Kakashi.
Seeing his teacher cheering him on, Rock Lee grew even more excited in the arena.
Just then, on the side of the stands where Sunagakure sat, a stream of sand flowed out from the seating area.
A red-haired figure stood atop a torrent of flowing sand, riding it down into the arena.
Tap, tap.
His feet touched the ground, and as the sound of his soles meeting the arena rang out, the sandy pathway behind him returned to the gourd on his back.
In the stands behind him, Temari and Kankuro's expressions turned strange. They looked at each other, then spoke after a moment.
"Gaara... since when did Gaara make entrances like that?" Temari sounded as though she were questioning herself. Honestly, she had never seen Gaara put so much effort into an entrance.
Usually, he simply jumped into the arena or walked over.
Yet today,