章節 28: Bullying the Weak
The puppet that had been lazing on Daimaru's shoulder sprang to life like an awakened miniature beauty, opening its animated eyes and glaring fiercely at Naruto, who was blissfully unaware of the danger he was in. Under the control of chakra strings, the petite puppet slowly rose, hovered in the air, and gracefully drew the three-star fan from its back, waving it elegantly.
Several wind attribute vacuum blades shot forth along the current of air, reaching the unsuspecting Naruto in the blink of an eye.
"Watch out, Naruto!" Sakura, with pink hair, reacted instantaneously, throwing several shuriken towards Daimaru and his stern-faced puppet to halt his advance.
At the same time, Sakura tackled Naruto to the ground, narrowly avoiding the slicing wind that grazed their hair. After the effortless strike, Daimaru didn't pursue further but merely swatted away the incoming shuriken. He watched as Naruto and Sakura were blown back, crashing into a wall along the roadside before coming to a stop.
"As I thought, hardly a challenge!" Yoru said with a smile.
"If all the Leaf Genin are like this, there's no need to worry about the Chunin Exams."
Senza tugged at Yoru's shoulder, signaling the young girl to speak less.
"It's normal for rookies to lack strength. The seasoned Genin of the Leaf should be a bit more impressive. By the way, Daimaru, can your puppet perform jutsu? It's my first time seeing this..."
Daimaru just smiled and remained silent, offering no further explanation.
How could a non-human puppet possess the ability to perform jutsu? The power displayed by the puppet Temari all came from Daimaru himself. The jutsu executed earlier, which resembled Temari's Wind Release: Scythe Weasel, was not exactly the same—it merely looked somewhat similar.
Daimaru wasn't interested in who was watching from the shadows, even if it included the Leaf Anbu secretly tailing Naruto, the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. As long as Daimaru was careful, they wouldn't make a move against him, a mere exam participant.
Sensing the commotion, a familiar set of footsteps approached from behind.
"Yo, Daimaru, you were all about keeping a low profile when outside the village. How come you've stirred up trouble as soon as you entered Konoha?"
"It's not my fault, Kankuro. They provoked me first. Some idiot wanted to touch my precious Temari!"
"Who's your precious?"
Temari spat lightly, arriving a step later. She glanced at the battle-ready miniature puppet and then with interest at the struggling Naruto and Sakura,
"Is it them? They seem so weak!"
Shaking his dizzy head, Naruto erupted in anger,
"You! Pretending to be a street performer and then ambushing me, that's despicable!"
Daimaru spread his hands in an exaggerated gesture,
"You all saw it, right? It wasn't my fault!"
Kankuro looked at the enraged Naruto as if he were an idiot,
"He does seem a bit punchable, but we should know when to stop. After all, this is Konoha, and bullying their ninjas isn't a good look."
Temari slowly stepped forward. Compared to Naruto, she actually wanted to teach Daimaru a lesson, but it would be embarrassing to have a Sand ninja infighting in public.
"Being dumb is one thing, but being short and having such bad taste in clothes, all that orange... Definitely not my type."
"Temari, you're here for the Chunin Exams, not to judge the attractiveness of Leaf boys! Girls should be more reserved."
Daimaru retracted his puppet, lightly dusting off any grime,
"Let's go. It's not good to be the center of attention here."
"That's true. Arguing with such a person would make us Sand ninjas seem petty."
Temari picked up the shuriken Daimaru had knocked away and casually tossed them, narrowly missing Naruto's hair,
"Here are your shuriken back. Don't be so naughty next time, okay? We've come a long way, and it's our first time in Konoha, so we're a bit nervous. We might have overreacted. Please forgive my unworthy compatriot!"
Watching the golden strands of hair float down and the mockingly smiling face approaching, Naruto instinctively nodded, too scared to do anything else.
"Good boy!"
Temari patted the stiff shoulder of Naruto,
"Let the bad feelings go. Until next time, little brother!"
As Temari turned and walked away, waving her hand, Daimaru also signaled Yoru and Senza to follow.
"Temari, when will you be as nice to me as you were to that kid we just met?"
"Maybe I'll shed a few tears of relief on your grave the day you die in battle..."
"That's cold-hearted!"
Daimaru pouted, draping an arm over Kankuro's shoulder and whispering,
"Hey, little uncle, you gotta help me out, or I'll spill all the embarrassing things you've done!"
"I haven't done anything like that! And please stop calling me little uncle. Temari might think I'm snitching on her to you!"
Ahead, Temari turned her head, smiling at the two men who were arm in arm,
"Could you keep your whispers down? Pretending not to hear is quite difficult!"
Kankuro disgustedly pried off Daimaru's hand, stepping aside.
"Naruto, let's play ninjas..."
Bang...
Kankuro stumbled as a small figure rushing towards them tumbled to the ground.
"Sorry, did I hurt you?"
Kankuro extended a hand to help the child up from the ground, but the pain from the collision and his naturally fierce face paint made him appear even more intimidating.
What would have been a simple encounter now seemed like a case of bullying by a bad boy picking on the small and weak.
"Are you okay?"
Kankuro tried to force a smile, only to make the scared child burst into tears.
In such situations, a champion of justice would inevitably appear.
"Hey, you freak, stay away from Konohamaru."
Behind them, a recovered Naruto shouted, and a wary Sakura also caught up.
"Freak, are you talking about me?"
Kankuro glanced at Temari, Yoru, Senza, and Daimaru, whose looks weren't particularly handsome but didn't spoil the village's scenery. His face soured even more.
Seeing a savior arrive, Konohamaru scrambled away from danger, hiding behind Naruto.
"Naruto, it was so scary. I just wanted to play ninjas with you, and I ran into a bad guy!"
"Ninja games?"
Yoru, who had been keenly observing the surroundings, tugged at Daimaru's sleeve,
"That guy's wearing a headband. He's an official ninja, right? Playing ninja games with little kids, isn't that kind of dumb?"
"He might have made a fake headband for himself!"
Before Daimaru could respond, Senza, unable to hold back her laughter, half-jokingly speculated.
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