Testing
Lin Ke glanced in Temari's direction. On the other side of the corridor, her two companions were leaning against the wall on either side, arms crossed, looking over with cold eyes.
Kankuro and Gaara, huh?
Temari was slightly surprised and said, "Isn't it Nara?"
Lin Ke looked at her coldly, without any desire to continue speaking. These things were better left unsaid, as speaking them aloud would imply an ulterior motive.
Was she probing for information, or...?
Temari seemed to have realized she had overstepped, and retreated back to her two companions without any change in expression.
Time flowed quietly. The ninjas from both villages were clearly separated. In reality, according to the treaty, ninjas from the two countries were not allowed to cross the border easily. However, with the weakening of the Sand Ninja Village, more and more Konoha Village ninjas were crossing the border to carry out missions—
Because the Land of Wind daimyo believed that hiring Konoha Village was more cost-effective while cutting military spending, the Land of Wind took the initiative to break some agreements of the treaty, and the Land of Fire had no reason to refuse.
Only the Sand Ninja Village had been having a very difficult time in recent years. Otherwise, the village's Kage wouldn't need to personally meet with a mere wealthy merchant.
"Click~" The door opened, and Maki came out first, followed by the Fourth Kazekage, who had put his hat back on.
After coming out, Maki specifically glanced at Lin Ke and stood with the three Sand Ninja Village Genin, while the Fourth Kazekage went straight to the stairwell and left.
"The negotiation with the Fourth Kazekage went smoothly." Nara Yan Shui came out last, speaking to his three subordinates in a relaxed tone, "Perhaps we can return early after the discussions with all the gold merchants are finished in the next day or two."
He added, "From now on, the Sand Ninja Village ninjas will take over the task of guarding with us—"
"Until the client leaves the Land of Wind."
Over there, Maki was also communicating with the three Sand Ninja Village Genin, but judging from their expressions, they didn't seem surprised.
Nara Yan Shui reached out and placed his hand on Lin Ke's shoulder, saying, "Try to avoid any conflicts as much as possible."
It was 'as much as possible' rather than 'absolutely'.
With that, he nodded, signaling the three to disperse and stand guard.
The three Sand Ninja Village Genin on the opposite side had already begun to move. Temari, carrying her fan, waved her hand and turned to go downstairs with the paint-faced man carrying the puppet.
The gourd-carrying youth, suspected to be Gaara, lagged behind, turning his head to sweep the three Konoha Village ninjas with eyes full of twisted murderous intent, before disappearing at the end of the corridor.
"That guy's eyes..." Yuan Wei was stunned, "It's like he really wants to kill us."
Xia patted his back, saying, "Don't be nervous, he has no reason to attack us, and it's impossible for us to be killed by him."
If I'm careless, even I would have some trouble facing Gaara without transforming...
Lin Ke thought silently, not saying it out loud.
Nara Yan Shui didn't care about the murderous gaze from the allied village's Genin—
He would find it strange if he thought his subordinates would be affected by a Genin.
The three Konoha Village ninjas also began to move, quickly dispersing throughout the hotel to stand guard, with the two Jonin from different villages staying by the Land of Fire merchant's side.
...
—Night, the hotel rooftop.
"Whoosh~" Tonight, the moon and stars were sparse, and the sky was cloudless. The biting cold wind blew, carrying some indistinguishable sand and dust in the air, creating a whistling sound.
Even though it was already spring, the days were hot while the nights could reach single-digit temperatures, a stark contrast to the Land of Fire, which had spring-like weather all year round, and the Land of Rivers, which had distinct seasons.
Lin Ke stood on the edge, looking down from above, quietly standing guard. In his perception, clusters of Chakra were very clear within the hotel.
Since learning the Mystical Palm Technique, the first half of the Chakra perception techniques had almost turned him into a qualified sensory ninja, coupled with the existence of the shadow.
His perception range wasn't very large, but covering a hotel was no problem. Even without actively using Chakra to sense, abnormal Chakra fluctuations would directly alarm him, so there was no need to personally guard any particular location.
In this situation, being at a high place made it easier to support any location at any time.
"Sha~"
Under the cover of the wind, not far behind him, a mass of sand quickly condensed.
"I really hate... your gaze during the day." The gourd-carrying youth, who had appeared on the rooftop using the Sand Body Flicker, spoke in a strange tone.
"Is that so?" Lin Ke had long since discovered this guy's Chakra fluctuations. He had already quietly completed the use of the Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu, and turned around to look over, saying, "I also hate your gaze just as much."
On the ground illuminated by the bright moonlight, next to the shadow of the gourd-carrying youth, another almost overlapping shadow appeared.
Probing... the Konoha Chunin...
The task flashed through the gourd-carrying boy's mind, and he raised his right hand.
"Chi~" A shadow stood upright, not attacking, merely standing behind him.
"Sha~" The gourd instantly turned into sand, forming an oval-shaped eggshell that enveloped most of him.
Lin Ke still didn't move. The Sand Shield certainly looked sturdy and activated autonomously, but—
Unless you're completely sealed, a shield that sticks to the skin, it's useless against the shadow...
Just a split second before the gourd-carrying boy's hand was about to grab something, the shadow flowed into the shield through a gap.
"Bang!" The boy flew horizontally, the Sand Shield was directly shattered, and he bounced after hitting the ground before finally landing.
The shadow that kicked him flew out and turned into a two-dimensional form again, avoiding being grasped by the suddenly gathered sand that tried to kill it.
"Ka~" The gourd-carrying boy slowly got up after landing, a few cracks appearing on his kicked cheek.
Lin Ke lowered his hand, not even taking out a Kunai, his expression still calm.
Just because of a glance during the day, he came to kill me? Isn't that a bit illogical? Even if—
Okay, the opponent is Gaara, a Jinchuriki almost tortured into a psychopath by Shukaku, so it seems reasonable for him to do this.
Anyway, conserve Chakra, don't reveal too much information, 'try' not to cause conflict, don't use large-scale Ninjutsu...
"Kill you..." the gourd-carrying boy muttered, bloodshot eyes appearing, reaching out to attack.
Too slow...
Lin Ke was perhaps used to fighting Jonin, and at this moment, he subtly felt that Gaara's attack speed, which showed absolute dominance in the Chunin Exams in the manga, was somewhat slow.
The shadow's movement speed in two dimensions depends on the main body, and after more than two months of special training, he could be considered strong among Chunin with just his Taijutsu. In less than a second, it was enough for the shadow to sneak over again and launch an attack to interrupt the gourd-carrying boy who was about to attack.
"Chi!"
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