Chapter 68: The Sand Village Arrives – Old White-Haired Kankurō
"Naruto—you're here?! Damn it, we've been looking for you like crazy these past few days!!!"
A boy shouted excitedly.
"Woof woof…"
A small dog barked beside him.
So, one boy and one dog rushed straight over.
"Naruto—why did I get beaten when I only opened that book in front of my parents? Explain it to me!"
A chubby little boy followed right behind.
Who else could it be but Inuzuka Kiba and Akimichi Chōji?
Naruto's mouth twitched.
Wasn't this ancient history?
What are you guys doing now?
Settling old scores?
cough cough…
Seeing them arrive, Yamanaka Ino quickly jumped down from Naruto's back.
Though she was bold and open-minded,
she was still a girl.
No matter how carefree she usually acted,
in moments like this,
Ino still got shy easily.
Kiba stormed up to Naruto, furious.
"Naruto—what the hell was that book?!"
"I only flipped through a few pages in front of my parents and they chased me around beating me!"
"You've made my life hell these past few days. Several times I passed my house and didn't even dare go inside!"
"Woof woof…"
Akamaru barked from the side.
Dog taking advantage of its master's power.
That pretty much described him.
Chōji nodded.
"Yeah, Naruto! You gotta give us an explanation. Shikamaru and Lee were fine."
"But we're the ones who suffered."
"Oh—and a few others who got your 'training book' too."
"We don't care about them. Why are we the only ones getting punished?"
Right now both their faces
still bore some visible bruises.
Kiba's face especially was mottled with faint green and purple patches.
Even though they had faded, you could still tell.
His parents had hit him with full force!
Chōji was in a similar state. No one knew how they had survived those five days after the book was discovered.
Ino and Sakura both looked puzzled.
They turned to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun—what book is that? Can we see it too?"
"If it's okay… I-I want to read it as well."
The village wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either.
Living on the same street and being classmates,
they all knew each other.
One night, Ino had fallen asleep happily.
In the middle of the night, blood-curdling screams echoed outside—like pigs being slaughtered.
It broke hearts to hear and made eyes tear up just watching.
She was startled awake by the noise.
Moreover, Ino also heard the sound of something being beaten—slap slap slap.
Whoever was doing the beating was really ruthless!
The next day, seeing Chōji and Kiba with black eyes and swollen faces,
Ino got curious and wanted to ask.
But the two refused to say a word.
Now, though, her interest was piqued again.
Sakura's thinking was even simpler.
Why does Naruto give them books
but not me?
I don't care—I want one too! I want to see it!
No more differential treatment, hmph.
Naruto's old face turned red—this situation was getting out of hand.
If you want to blame someone, blame the system for the choices.
But those rewards really were sweet.
After thinking for a moment, he quickly came up with a response.
Naruto said seriously:
"You still have the nerve to ask me?"
"Getting beaten—wasn't that something you should ask yourselves about?"
"Us?"
Chōji and Kiba looked at each other.
Damn it—you gave us the book.
You caused us to get beaten.
And now you're putting all the blame on us?
After thinking carefully…
they realized their actions probably weren't entirely innocent.
Naruto reminded them:
"Didn't I tell you back then—not to let your parents find out you were reading the training book?"
"Did you forget?"
Gulp…
Both Chōji and Kiba swallowed hard.
They suddenly remembered.
Naruto had indeed warned them.
But at the time, they treated it like background noise.
What's wrong with reading training material with parents watching?
Facts proved—the consequences were pretty severe.
Remembering that night when they were dominated by feather dusters,
they swore never again to let anyone point a feather duster at their heads.
Otherwise… they'd just run away.
Can't beat parents? Can't you at least escape?
In the end—this really was their own fault for ignoring him.
Ino suddenly hooked her arm through Naruto's and shook it lightly.
With a playful tone she said:
"Naruto-kun—what kind of book was it? Just tell me~"
"I'm super curious."
Holy crap!
Girl, that's a nice thought.
But do your mom and dad know?
If they don't—here are two seniors.
You can take [Icha Icha Paradise] home and imitate them.
Of course—
Naruto had principles.
Some things he wouldn't give just because someone asked.
It depended on the person, the occasion, the timing.
If Ino were already 18,
would she still need to read Icha Icha Paradise?
For training purposes,
Naruto could personally guide her hand-in-hand.
But for now—no.
Besides romantic matters,
he had plenty of other plans to handle.
Busy with official duties—goodbye.
"That book is sold out on the market right now. Can't buy it even if you want to. Next time I get some, I'll give you one."
Naruto brushed her off casually.
Ino's beautiful eyes lit up. The book itself didn't matter! Getting a promise from Naruto
made her extremely happy!
Sakura puffed out her cheeks, tone full of jealousy.
"Naruto-kun—I want one too!"
Although Naruto had no real interest in Sakura,
they were still on the same team.
They saw each other every day.
A book wasn't expensive.
Giving one was giving; giving two was still giving.
Naruto nodded. "Sure."
Seeing Naruto agree, Sakura's face first showed disbelief, then bloomed into a full smile!
As expected… Naruto-kun still cares about me!
"Is this what Konoha genin are like?"
"All they do is flirt—how annoying."
An abrupt, out-of-place voice rang out.
A boy about their age, with deep purple face paint, spoke.
Beside him stood a tall, very womanly beauty.
Around her slender snake-like waist was tied a red silk ribbon holding a giant folding fan almost as tall as she was!
Who else could it be but Kankurō and Temari from the Sand Village, here for the exam?
Seeing them,
the corner of Naruto's mouth curved into a slight smile.
Looks like the Chūnin Exams are starting soon.
"Hey brats—you're all Konoha genin, right?"
"You all look weak as hell."
"Looks like Konoha has really gone downhill these past few years."
Kankurō went full old-white-haired mode.
Opening with pure mockery.
Perhaps because he was extremely confident in his own strength.
He thought he was invincible among his peers.
Maybe even capable of fighting above his level.
His words instantly pissed off
Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chōji, and the others!
Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura both frowned.
The air was thick with gunpowder.
As if the slightest spark
could set everything off!
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