Hearing Shin say that, Kankurō's expression immediately turned ugly. Being completely overwhelmed by Sasuke before the exam had already left him seething, and now he was being subjected to this kind of "humiliation." With his proud and arrogant nature, how could Kankurō possibly accept it?
"Looking down on people should at least have some limits! Hey, Temari, aren't you angry at all? We're being treated like some ordinary stray cats and dogs!"
Compared to the hotheaded Kankurō, Temari was clearly much more level-headed. From the tone of those three alone, she could tell that the unfamiliar trio before them was obviously far stronger than Naruto's team.
Just thinking about how Naruto and Sasuke were already frighteningly strong—and yet these three were treating them like juniors—made Temari feel uneasy.
Although Gaara was clearly in the mood for a fight, Temari hesitated for a moment before speaking:
"Hey, Gaara, we've already collected enough scrolls. In my opinion, it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble."
Unfortunately, Gaara, her willful younger brother, had no intention of listening. He coldly glanced at Temari and said:
"Be quiet. I'm not satisfied yet."
Hearing this, Temari sighed inwardly and gave up trying to persuade him further. She simply reached behind her and took out her fan, preparing to deal with the aftermath.
On the other side, after saying this, Gaara could no longer suppress the battle intent in his heart. He smiled at Naruto and Sasuke:
"Come on. I hope you can entertain me."
As he spoke, Gaara raised his right hand in an upward motion. With that gesture, the sand waterfall slowly swirling around his body seemed to come alive, growing restless.
The sand—still mixed with lingering traces of blood—rose like a massive wave, soaring high into the air before crashing down toward Naruto and Sasuke.
Seeing the towering wall of sand, as tall as the surrounding giant trees, Naruto and Sasuke's expressions changed drastically. They hurriedly pushed off the ground and dodged to opposite sides.
Boom!
The sand slammed down heavily, making the ground beneath everyone's feet tremble.
Watching from the side, Sakura turned pale with fear. With power like this, was this really still a Chūnin Exam?
At that moment, Haku gently pulled Sakura closer:
"You should stand a bit farther back. With battles at that level, even the aftershocks would be hard for you to handle."
Sakura agreed deep down, but at the same time, a sense of loss welled up in her heart.
Yes… maybe coming to this Chūnin Exam had been a mistake. She was so weak, left far behind by Naruto and Sasuke.
Forget taking the Chūnin Exam—she didn't even feel qualified to stay in Team Seven anymore.
It had been the same during the survival exercise, the Land of Waves mission, and even just now when Naruto and Sasuke were fighting.
She could only stand on the sidelines like an outsider, unable to help them or stop their conflicts. Someone like her didn't deserve to be with them at all.
Just as Sakura was sinking into self-reproach, Haku gently patted her on the head:
"Don't be so discouraged. Weren't you very brave just now when you tried to protect the two of them?"
"But that was useless," Sakura said dejectedly. "Even if I want to protect them, with my strength, there's no way I can keep up."
Looking at Sakura, Haku felt a surge of sympathy. Kind-hearted as he was, Haku understood Sakura's pain—the feeling of being left far behind by one's companions was never easy.
After thinking for a moment, Haku spoke:
"Protecting them doesn't necessarily mean standing in front of them. Maybe you're more suited to being a support from the rear. How about this—if you're interested in medical ninjutsu, you can come find me at Konoha Hospital after the exam. I can teach you some medical techniques."
"Thank you, Haku-senpai."
While Haku and Sakura were making their agreement about learning medical ninjutsu, Kankurō had already reached his limit. He tore off the crow and salamander puppets from his back and looked confidently at Kimimaro and Shin:
"Next, I'll show you the true power of Sunagakure puppets."
...
Naruto and Sasuke were currently having a hard time under Gaara's relentless assault.
The sand Gaara controlled seemed as if it didn't consume chakra at all, endlessly surging toward Naruto and Sasuke. Neither of them was foolish—they knew exactly how disastrous it would be if they were caught by that sand.
Under normal circumstances, the two of them could have dealt with Gaara's sand through teamwork. But since they were still sulking and at odds with each other, neither was willing to take the initiative to cooperate.
As a result, they could only keep dodging passively.
However, as the evasion dragged on, they began to realize something was wrong—the scale of the sand waves chasing them was continuously increasing.
Each time the sand slammed into the ground, it shattered large amounts of soil. The pulverized earth was then churned into grains of sand and continuously absorbed into the wave itself, causing the range of Gaara's sand attacks to grow larger and larger.
If this continued, they would inevitably be swallowed by the sand waves with nowhere left to escape.
Realizing this, both of them grew anxious and couldn't help but speak at the same time:
"We can't keep this up—if this goes on, we're finished!" ×2
Hearing the other's words, they instinctively glanced at each other. In each other's eyes, they saw a trace of surprise—and then relief.
But in the very next moment, they both spoke again:
"Hey, you were the one who spoke first."
As soon as those words left their mouths, not only did the two of them freeze for a moment—even Hoshiyomi, who was silently observing the battle from a treetop, smiled. Truly, the two of them were such tsunderes.
With that perfectly synchronized exchange, Hoshiyomi could clearly sense that the coordination between them, which had been severed, was rapidly reconnecting.
The two, still dodging at high speed, exchanged another glance, instantly understanding each other's intent.
After nodding in unison, they leapt onto two different trees. Then, at the same time, they kicked off hard from the trunks, turning midair and charging straight back toward Gaara, who was controlling the sand waves behind them.
Sasuke raised his hand and unleashed a barrage of ninja tools. Seeing the incoming swarm, Gaara curled his lips into a disdainful smile and immediately sent a wall of sand surging up between them.
Every last weapon embedded itself into the sand and was swallowed whole—but that was enough. All Sasuke needed was to draw Gaara's attention and buy Naruto time to use his jutsu.
Sure enough, by the time Gaara realized what was happening, Naruto had already completed his hand seals:
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With Naruto's shout, hundreds—thousands—of Narutos appeared throughout the forest in an instant. The sheer spectacle stunned not only Kankurō and Temari, but even Haku, Kimimaro, and the others watching from the side.
They knew Naruto was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, but they hadn't expected his chakra reserves to be this overwhelmingly vast.
The Narutos, however, paid no attention to anyone's reactions. After exchanging a glance, they all leapt forward together, shouting:
"Everyone, charge! Take this—Three Thousand Naruto Barrage!"