Chapter 24: Waking Up from a Dying Dream, Realizing I'm the Clown. 

Honestly, this is a personal attack. Naruto was speechless after being mocked by Kurama and could only sit on the ground, thinking about life and wondering who the 'duck' Kurama mentioned was.

If it were Sakura, that would be great, hehe~

In his inner world, Kurama couldn't help but twitch his mouth at Naruto's silly smile. Really, only Hinata could like someone like Naruto...

Wait, Kurama suddenly thought of the girls in the theater and fell into deep thought.

After a long time, Kurama suddenly realized something.

Oh boy, the joke's on me.

But never mind, three matches are over, and now the most important thing is the highly anticipated Uchiha Sasuke. No one wants to miss the upcoming match. Although there was a bit of unpleasantness in the last match, it doesn't matter, the most important person is about to take the stage.

Everyone was staring at the competition field below. As Shikamaru and Temari left, the field became empty again, and everyone eagerly awaited the person who was about to appear.

Shiranui Genma stood in the middle of the field with a senbon in his mouth, looking up at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed deeply and then shook his head lightly.

"Not here yet?" Shiranui Genma was also helpless. He took the senbon out of his mouth and was about to say something when a gust of yellow sand flashed before his eyes.

Shiranui Genma's pupils shrank slightly, and he instinctively looked behind him, only to see Gaara standing with his arms crossed, carrying a gourd on his back, and looking at him with a calm expression.

It was strange. Although Gaara's face showed no expression, Shiranui Genma felt like he was facing a beast, a beast with no reason and only a desire to kill. This made his muscles tense up instinctively.

Kazekage looked at this scene with a smile: "It seems Gaara can't wait any longer. Hokage-sama, where is Uchiha Sasuke?"

"He should be here soon." Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly. He felt an even stronger killing intent from Gaara than last time. "Kazekage-sama, your village's Genin seems a bit strange."

Don't worry, he won't evolve... oh, never mind.

Kazekage's smile became mysterious: "Maybe it's because of the previous missions that affected his mindset."

Would such an influence result in such a strong killing intent? Sarutobi Hiruzen pursed his lips. He obviously didn't believe it. If Kazekage told him Gaara would evolve, it would be more believable.

Shiranui Genma took a discreet breath, put the senbon back in his mouth, and said to Gaara, "Uchiha Sasuke hasn't arrived yet. I was about to announce your victory."

"No need," Gaara replied coldly, his eyes almost emotionless as he looked at Shiranui Genma. "I can wait."

Shiranui Genma was silent for a moment, then instinctively glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen in the distance.

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave him a discreet nod.

Shiranui Genma understood and said, "Since you, the contestant, have no objections, we will wait for ten minutes according to the competition rules. If Uchiha Sasuke doesn't come in ten minutes, his qualification will be canceled."

Gaara's eyes darkened slightly, then he seemed to think of something and turned to look at the preparation area: "Then let me fight that Uzumaki Naruto."

Kill him, I want to kill him. His blood must be delicious.

"Heh." Shiranui Genma chuckled, "Okay."

Originally, Gaara and Sasuke's match was the second one. Although the order changed, the schedule didn't. The winner between these two would fight the winner of the first match, which was Naruto. If Sasuke really lost his qualification, Gaara's next match would be against Naruto.

Satisfied with the response, Gaara closed his eyes and stood still. The yellow sand completely returned to the gourd, and he stood there quietly as if in meditation.

If he didn't have that cold killing intent, it would be more peaceful.

As Shiranui Genma announced a ten-minute wait, it was clear that the audience was unhappy. They started throwing water bottles, popcorn, and tissues into the arena. However, these were just ordinary people, and their throws couldn't reach the center of the arena, let alone hit anyone.

They were just venting their frustration.

As time passed during this wait, the ten minutes were up.

Gaara almost opened his eyes right on time, and his killing intent became even stronger. However, this time, his target was no longer Sasuke, but Naruto in the preparation area.

Shiranui Genma sighed. 

What could he do at this moment? He couldn't even come up with a reason for the absence, so he could only raise his right hand and announce slowly amidst the audience's dissatisfaction and agitation: "I declare, Uchiha Sasuke is absent, disqu..."

At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kazekage, Asuma, Guy, and some perceptive ninjas all had their eyes light up simultaneously, focusing on the center of the arena.

As their gazes fell, a whirlwind suddenly rose from the ground, blowing the scattered items in the arena everywhere. At the same time, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared in the whirlwind, along with a very annoying voice: "We are on time."

The whirlwind suddenly dissipated, and Kakashi, holding "Icha-Icha Paradise," covered the lower half of his face, his eyes squinting with a smile.

Beside him, Sasuke rolled his eyes: "Kakashi, if I get disqualified, I'll fight you to the death."

Who knows what's wrong with this guy's head? Knowing they were running out of time, he still insisted on buying the latest volume of "Make-Out Paradise." They could have arrived before the second exam, but now, because of a book, he almost got disqualified.

Thinking about this made Sasuke angry. There's no way he could be nice to Kakashi.

Shiranui Genma was almost moved to tears. Kakashi-senpai, when will you ever stop being late? Do you know that if you didn't bring Uchiha Sasuke here, I would have been warmly greeted by the audience?

Kakashi had no awareness of being late. Instead, he cheerfully greeted Shiranui Genma: "Yo, Genma, Sasuke's qualification hasn't been canceled, right?"

Shiranui Genma's face stiffened, then he sighed silently: "No."

If you were three seconds later, it would have been.

"Now it's his match against Sunagakure Ninja Gaara. Since you're here, get ready," Shiranui Genma said.

"Okay." Sasuke nodded without hesitation, then turned to face Gaara, who was standing not far away. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Gaara's expression didn't change. He still had that cold, indifferent look: "Let's start quickly... I can't wait to offer you to my mother."

Sasuke's lips curled into a confident smile, and his eyes burned with determination: "Yeah."

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