Most of the qualified examinees were resting not far from the training grounds.
The oppressive aura surrounding Gaara was so terrifying that only Temari and Kankuro could nervously remain by his side.
Occupying another corner was the unsociable Team Saya.
Lady Saya and her younger sister Sana weren’t easy people to get along with, while Shira had only recently become a shinobi through special connections.
No one wanted to associate with the three of them.
Everyone else sat around in silence.
Some couldn’t stand the oppressive atmosphere and went outside to get some fresh air.
It wasn’t until Daimaru arrived leisurely that the gloomy mood was finally broken.
“Yo, Temari!
Fancy meeting you here.”
“Are you an idiot?
Anyone who won would naturally end up here!”
Temari replied impatiently before suddenly realizing she’d spoken too loudly.
She cautiously glanced at Gaara, worried she might have irritated him.
Only after seeing him still sitting quietly with his eyes closed did she breathe a sigh of relief.
“Stay away from me unless you have a death wish.”
Temari lowered her voice as she scolded him, urging Daimaru to get lost.
“You’re so cold.
We’ve known each other for over ten years.
Couldn’t you be a little gentler with me?”
“If you keep talking, I’ll— Wait…
what’s that on your shoulder?”
She hadn’t noticed it from afar.
Only after Daimaru got closer did Temari realize that the doll perched on his shoulder, despite looking like a ridiculous toy, had an incredibly familiar figure and face.
“This?”
Daimaru proudly picked up the carefully crafted puppet and smiled.
“So you noticed!”
“My very first puppet.
Well?
Isn’t it beautiful?”
“You bastard!”
Temari’s face flushed red.
She barely restrained herself from beating the shameless idiot in front of her into the ground, only holding back because she was wary of Gaara’s reaction.
Beside her, Kankuro rubbed his forehead with a sigh.
“So that’s what you made with all the materials you got from me…”
He waved Daimaru farther away.
“You’re a disgrace to puppeteers.”
“Hey, Kankuro!
We’ve done business together plenty of times.
Isn’t that a little harsh?”
Daimaru protested.
It was just a beautiful puppet.
How had he earned the title “disgrace to puppeteers?”
“Look at the figure, the hair, the skin—what part isn’t perfect?
Even the clothes and the Three-Star Fan have been recreated flawlessly.
Do you know how much effort it took me to make it this accurate?”
It hadn’t just cost him time and money.
He’d spent countless hours searching for suitable materials, patiently carving every detail, and pouring an incredible amount of effort into it. This chapter was copied from novelping.com without permission.
“I see.”
Temari gritted her teeth, glaring at Daimaru as though she wanted to kill him with her eyes.
“So you went to all that trouble studying my figure, my hair, and my skin.”
“Sorry for making you work so hard.”
“Temari, you’ve misunderstood me…”
Daimaru hurriedly sensed her growing anger.
“I didn’t really go out of my way to study your figure…
No, that’s not what I meant!
It’s not that you’re unattractive!
Actually, I really wanted to…
I mean, you’re beautiful.
But I absolutely wasn’t looking at you with any indecent intentions—”
The more Daimaru tried to explain, the worse things became.
“You call that an explanation?!”
Temari swung the giant Three-Star Fan from her back straight at the puppet Daimaru was proudly displaying.
“No!”
There was no way he could let his painstaking masterpiece be destroyed.
He quickly pulled the puppet back into his arms to protect it.
Instead, the heavy Three-Star Fan slammed squarely into him.
Bang!
Daimaru was sent flying, tumbling across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop.
Still fuming, Temari turned toward Kankuro.
“I heard you helped that idiot quite a bit too.”
“So you wanted everyone to see your big sister make a fool of herself in public?”
“We need to have a little talk, Kankuro…”
“It has nothing to do with me!”
Kankuro immediately denied it.
“Calm down, Temari!
We only had a little business together.
He bought some puppet materials from me.”
“Really?”
Temari leaned in suspiciously, staring at Kankuro until sweat began forming on his forehead.
At that moment, the silent Gaara suddenly opened his eyes.
“Be quiet.”
“You’re all too noisy.”
His icy voice instantly silenced both Kankuro and Temari.
Neither dared utter another word.
Meanwhile, Daimaru slowly climbed back to his feet.
“Good thing it wasn’t damaged.”
“Otherwise, repairing it would take who knows how long.”
“Now that was quite the show.”
A familiar, venomous voice reached Daimaru’s ears.
“You actually thought someone like you could win Temari’s affection?”
“Face reality, idiot.”
“And what’s it to you?”
“Lady Saya, if I hadn’t introduced a teammate to you, would you even be standing here mocking me?”
“Is this how you treat your benefactor?”
“Benefactor?”
“I believe I’ve already paid you.”
Saya snorted.
“It was just a transaction.”
“What makes you think you’re my benefactor?”
“As expected of a heartless young lady.”
Daimaru clicked his tongue.
Looking at the three members of her team, neither Saya nor Sana even had a single hair out of place.
It was obvious neither of them had fought.
Meanwhile, Shira stood nearby covered in wounds, looking completely exhausted.
Noticing Daimaru’s disdainful gaze, Saya quickly defended herself.
“I just wanted to see how strong our new teammate really was.”
“I never expected the carefully selected opposing team to be all bark and no bite.”
“They actually got beaten by a rookie.”
The first idiot hadn’t taken Shira seriously at all, looking down on someone who hadn’t even been a shinobi until recently.
Thanks to his arrogance, he was knocked unconscious almost instantly.
The second opponent had been more cautious.
Unfortunately, he simply wasn’t strong enough.
Before long, Shira’s overwhelming strength smashed through his resistance.
The third opponent was genuinely skilled.
As the team’s leader and final fighter, he put up a proper battle against Shira.
Unfortunately, his first two teammates had lost far too quickly, leaving before they could contribute anything meaningful.
Knowing victory was already unlikely, his determination simply couldn’t compare to Shira’s desperate desire to win.
In the end, after a prolonged battle…
Shira outlasted him.
“Stop acting tough after getting lucky.”
Daimaru shrugged.
“You’d better worry about the Chunin Exam.”
“The opponents there won’t be inexperienced little brats like today’s.”
“You should spend more time worrying about those two fragile girls you’re dragging along.”
Saya immediately fired back.
“Your strength isn’t enough to carry two dead-last teammates.”
“I have faith in them.”
Daimaru smiled.
“As for you…”
“Just don’t embarrass Sunagakure when the time comes.”
“And what gives you the right to lecture me?”
Saya’s expression darkened.
“You disgrace to puppeteers!”
“A combat puppet meant to defeat enemies…”
“…and you turned it into a toy.”
“Are you a child?”
“Did you realize you’d never win Temari’s heart, so you made a doll instead to comfort your shallow little vanity?”
(End of Chapter)
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