Chapter 69: Should I Cripple Kankurō's Crow?
Naruto hadn't even spoken yet
when Inuzuka Kiba beside him couldn't hold back anymore. He shouted at Kankurō:
"Who do you think you are?!"
"Just because you're from another village you can act so arrogant?"
"Believe me or not—I'll beat you until you're looking for your teeth on the ground!"
"Woof woof!"
Akamaru bared his teeth and growled viciously.
Kankurō sneered with disdain.
"Heh heh heh… big talk for someone with no skill!"
"Brats like you—I beat one, I beat them all!"
Bang—
Akamaru transformed into Kiba's exact appearance.
Kiba narrowed his eyes and cracked his knuckles.
"You really need a lesson, huh? Otherwise you'll keep acting lawless?"
"Kiba—calm down. The Sand ninja in front of you isn't weak. Don't capsize in the gutter."
Aburame Shino appeared beside them at some point,
hands in his pockets, voice extremely calm.
No one knew when he had arrived.
But Naruto had noticed him the moment he appeared.
As for whether the others had sensed him—
Naruto had no idea.
Seeing Shino arrive,
Kiba instantly broke out in goosebumps.
"Holy crap, Shino—stay away from me!"
"Don't worry. Without my command, the bugs on me won't come out on their own."
Shino said indifferently.
Kiba's face immediately collapsed.
"Heaven, why did they pair me with you?!"
Shino subconsciously touched his nose.
"No idea."
"Hey…"
"Shino, can you just stay farther away? I'm not afraid of you—I'm afraid of your bugs."
"My bugs are very cute. They're all my little darlings. Nothing to be afraid of."
"Hey…"
"I don't care—just stay away from me."
Facing Kiba's request,
Shino only shrugged and ignored him.
But over there, Kankurō exploded in rage.
These Konoha brats
kept ignoring him again and again!
This made him furious.
"Enough! Shut up, all of you!"
"Damn it—stop yapping! Bunch of trash—you can come at me two at a time, or all at once."
As he spoke, Kankurō set down the thing on his back.
He pulled off the white cloth wrapped around it.
A four-armed, extremely ugly puppet appeared before everyone.
Kankurō's fingers twitched slightly.
Chakra threads moved, and Crow came to life.
Creak—creak
At this moment,
the lifeless puppet actually moved!
If you looked closely,
what controlled its movements were those nearly invisible thin blue chakra threads!
Except for Naruto,
the younger generation of Konoha genin—who were still quite inexperienced—were completely stunned.
What the hell is this thing?
They had never seen it before!
Not just seen—even among their peers, no one used this kind of ninjutsu.
Naruto rubbed his chin, watching Crow with great interest.
He wondered how many Rasengans
this thing could take.
Or how many Chidori strikes it could withstand.
If the area weren't so limited,
Naruto would've opened with a small-scale Great Waterfall Technique right now.
But the range was too big.
If he released it,
the entire village would probably be flooded.
A flood breaking the Dragon King Temple.
That was something Naruto really didn't want to do.
What about all his assets?
And his little wife's family home?
By then those would all be part of his father-in-law's dowry.
Ruining his little wife's dowry?
That would be insane.
It was like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.
Temari was stunned.
"Kankurō—are you seriously going to fight here?"
"Hurry up and wrap Crow back up!"
Kankurō acted like a rebellious kid who had never been beaten by society.
"Mind your own business?!"
"This is my problem!"
This wasn't like the future.
Though they were siblings,
right now they all found each other annoying.
Even though Temari treated her two younger brothers quite well,
there seemed to be a generational gap between them.
They just couldn't communicate.
"Akamaru! Let's go!"
Kiba shouted!
Akamaru—now in Kiba's form—barked twice.
Black insects emerged on Shino's body surface.
Upon closer look—
a dense swarm of bugs.
Tens of thousands!
Anyone with trypophobia
should stay far away from the Aburame clan.
Chōji also found Kankurō annoying.
He prepared to use Multi-Size Technique to help!
Seeing Shino voluntarily step in,
Kiba's face looked terrible.
Not because he hated Shino helping,
but because he hated those bugs.
One or two bugs were fine.
But thousands or tens of thousands?
That crossed the line.
Kiba swallowed hard.
"Shino—I appreciate the thought, but I can handle that guy myself!"
"No need for your help—thanks!"
"Put those bugs away quickly!"
Shino's eternally unchanging expression finally shifted slightly.
The corner of his mouth curved faintly.
"Don't be so distant. We're from the same village. I just don't like seeing my comrades being bullied."
Kiba didn't know if it was an illusion,
but he felt his teammate was a little… gay.
Temari sighed helplessly and shook her head. She took the giant fan from her back
and placed it in front of her.
As the older sister,
she couldn't just watch her little brother get bullied, right?
Kankurō was full of pride.
"I don't need your help! Dealing with them—I'm enough on my own!"
Temari's expression turned slightly serious!
"You're my little brother! Stop talking nonsense! I can't just watch you get beaten by outsiders, can I?"
At this moment Kankurō felt touched inside.
But he didn't show it and stayed silent.
"Stop it, Kankurō."
Gaara spoke while hanging upside down from a tree.
When he didn't speak, no one treated him as mute.
They just treated him as air.
Because clearly, no one had noticed Gaara hanging there.
That corner was far too hidden.
Kankurō's body instantly shuddered.
He had experienced his little brother's terror before.
Let him make it clear—he was not a sis-con.
But if he didn't listen to his brother,
the next person getting beaten would be him.
Kankurō didn't want to fight Gaara again.
"Hmph—consider yourselves lucky!"
Kankurō snorted coldly and covered Crow back up with the white cloth.
On the other side, Naruto felt a little regretful.
In the end, they didn't fight.
If they really had fought,
Naruto had 100% confidence that he could cripple Kankurō's Crow in the first exchange.
A puppeteer without a puppet
was just trash.
All his ninjutsu relied on the puppet to release.
No puppet?
Then no need to participate in the Chūnin Exams.
Pack your bags and go back where you came from.
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