Daigan spoke with genuine delight.
"This isn't for you. Once you're involved, nobody can stay out of it.
"You... you could have stayed far away."
Temari rubbed her slightly reddened wrist and shot Daigan, who was grinning like an idiot, an annoyed look.
"If you die, your mother will be heartbroken."
"If you die, I'll be heartbroken too. Like, the kind where I cry my eyes out. So we both have to make it back alive—and Kankuro too—and Gaara..."
"Who cares about you, you idiot..."
A whirlwind danced in place, shredding Daigan's lightless zone. Temari stood, slammed the door, and left.
"What did I say wrong this time?"
Staring at the ward—just tidied up, now a mess again—Daigan muttered with a pained expression, then quietly pressed the ward's service bell for assistance.
No matter what, he'd finally exchanged some thoughts about the Konoha Crush plan with someone in the know. Acting on his own assumptions had been stupid. On a battlefield where "two villages clash," you needed mutual support to gain more chances to survive.
Kaoru, a female nurse over 28, was mainly responsible for caring for the severely injured Konoha Genin Rock Lee.
Highly experienced, Kaoru was extremely dissatisfied with this thick-browed boy—his body was riddled with damage, and he still refused to behave, constantly sneaking out to train taijutsu.
Even when restrained in the ward, if you looked away for a moment, he couldn't stay still. He'd do push-ups, leg swings, punching and kicking—dangerous movements.
His injuries had originally been expected to heal in under two months, but because his wounds kept splitting open, Rock Lee's bed-rest period had to be extended.
Compared with Daigan's clean and straightforward fractures, Rock Lee's multiple lacerations were far more complicated. Some injuries were in critical locations, and even with Konoha's medical ninja standards, they didn't dare operate casually.
In less than a month, Rock Lee had undergone at least five minor surgeries. The troublesome nature of the injuries was one thing; Rock Lee's lack of cooperation was another, driving everyone up the wall.
Even with such a difficult patient, Sister Kaoru still did her utmost to help this thick-browed boy who practically radiated foolishness.
Nurse Otohame was much better off. That Sand Ninja wasn't exactly an obedient kid either, but at least she didn't cause too many headaches.
Still, a few nights ago—after Miss Otohame got off shift—that Daigan had caused quite a bit of trouble. The orderly ward had somehow turned into something like a tornado had swept through it, and the on-duty Sister Kaoru had flown into a rage.
After spending ages cleaning it up, Sister Kaoru couldn't help worrying about her daughter, who had just started at the ninja academy.
If ninjas these days were all such strange characters—withdrawn, clueless, and spoiled—could her shy little girl really become a ninja?
Today was Rock Lee's full-body checkup again. When Sister Kaoru pushed open the ward door, she saw the empty bed at a glance—and the open window.
"That idiot. He snuck out by jumping the window again. This time I'm going to make him pay!"
She'd thought the thick-browed boy had finally behaved for a few days and learned how hard the nurses worked to care for him. Instead, he pulled this stunt.
And Rock Lee—currently bearing the nurses' resentment—was out in the crowd on crutches, craning his neck as he watched the Fourth Kazekage and his party walk through Konoha's main gate in the distance.
Genin who'd only graduated one or two years ago had seen very few ninja from other villages, much less someone on par with the Hokage.
At this moment, Lord Kazekage wasn't riding in any carriage. He arrived on foot in a plainly modest manner, wearing the Kazekage hat and a light-colored cloak, his face covered by a black cloth with not a single feature revealed.
There were only two accompanying guards. One was clearly a puppeteer, with the distinctive facial markings; the other was expressionless, eyes slightly narrowed, killing intent sharp enough to bite.
They trailed two or three steps behind, guarding their leader from left and right.
"So that's the Kazekage? His aura's incredible—completely different from the kind Third Hokage!"
Rock Lee blurted out his impression.
Compared to the extravagant, wasteful pomp of the various countries' Daimyo who had arrived earlier, the Fourth Kazekage was already extremely low-key.
Among the five great villages, it had been many years since a village's Kage had entered another village.
Aside from the Five Kage Summit, meetings between Kage basically only happened on battlefields, where they tried to kill each other.
"Konoha ninja like watching the spectacle too?"
Not far away, Daigan stood with his arms crossed. He turned his head and looked at Rock Lee's eager face.
Besides a bunch of civilians, quite a few Konoha ninja were scattered nearby, subtly observing the Kazekage's arrival.
"Daigan, are your injuries already healed?"
"The Chunin Exam is about to start. How could I still not be healed? Thanks to you, I suffered plenty!"
"A hot-blooded battle of youth doesn't have room for tender feelings. Getting injured is normal, isn't it? I think you should've adapted to that long ago..."
"I don't want to adapt to broken arms and legs."
Daigan curled his lip and looked toward the Konoha advisor Mitokado Homura, who was greeting the Kazekage in the distance. After some brief pleasantries, Homura escorted the Kazekage's party into the pre-arranged VIP building.
At the Fourth Kazekage's instruction, no one was received except Baki.
Temari and Kankuro, who had planned to see their father, were both turned away. Gaara simply didn't show up at all—probably because, in his heart, there had never been such a thing as a father.
"Showing up a whole day late—no sense of time at all."
Daigan couldn't help muttering.
"You're that rude even to your own village's Kage?"
Rock Lee hadn't expected Daigan's sharp tongue to apply to everyone equally.
"Kage?"
Daigan snorted.
"Sure, let's say he is. It's getting late. I'm going back to prepare, then I'll head to the exam!"
He turned and left.
Late, and arriving right as the Chunin Exam is about to begin—so it's to conceal things? Minimize contact time to avoid exposing his identity.
Who could have imagined that the Kazekage had already been murdered and replaced—someone else brazenly entering Konoha under his name, preparing to commit wrongdoing?
"Hey, Daigan! Don't forget our promise to have another match!"
Rock Lee shouted behind him. Daigan waved in reply.
"I won't forget. If there's a chance..."
Avoiding the crowd, Daigan returned to the inn where he was staying.
The hospital ward was inconvenient. Two days earlier, Daigan had moved out in advance to make final preparations.
After packing, Daigan knocked on the door to the room where Kankuro and Temari were resting.
Temari, the older sister, was wiping down the Three-Moon Fan with a piece of velvet cloth. Kankuro, the younger brother, was adjusting his puppet crow.
As for Gaara, he was probably sitting silently on some rooftop all night again.
"Time to go. Pack up and move out!"
"Don't act like you're the leader giving orders!"
Temari slung the Three-Moon Fan onto her back, displeased as she watched Kankuro dawdle while wrapping bandages around his puppet.
"Let's go..."
Months of preparation—life or death—would be decided today.
Along the way, the three didn't speak. They went straight to the Chunin Exam finals arena.
There was still some time before the start, but many spectators had already arrived.
Unexpectedly, Gaara was already there waiting early, as if he couldn't wait another second to see blood.
Aburame Shino and Hyuga Neji frowned and kept their distance from Gaara's murderous aura. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke still hadn't arrived.
Also, the sickly chief proctor from the third test preliminaries, Gekko Hayate, was nowhere to be seen—replaced by Shiranui Genma, a senbon clenched between his teeth...
-----
Read up to 20 advanced chapters on my P@treon.
[email protected]/fanfictionsimp