Chapter 98 Central tower. The Four Purple Flame Formation stood tall, covering the entire tower. The ninjas traveled very fast, and the ten-kilometer radius did not delay everyone too much time. Soon the area around the central tower was filled with Genin teams, and even the examiners were kept out. The four yellow-haired men were guarding the four corners carelessly, without any defense around them, but as they were not sure what Naruto was thinking, no one dared to step forward. "I didn't expect Konoha to do something like this." A few kilometers away, Naruto and Temari were walking slowly towards the central tower, and Temari looked a little lost. She is only fifteen years old this year. As the oldest sister in the family, although taking on family responsibilities too early has made her more mature than her peers, there is still some naivety hidden in her heart. For example, regarding the alliance between Sunagakure and Konoha, in her eyes, allies should be friends.
Naruto could see the loss in her heart. In the original work, Temari was also troubled by the Konoha collapse plan. “Darkness and corruption are inevitable in any political body, but the root cause of this error lies not in politics but in the people who hold power.” Naruto said cheerfully: "So don't worry too much, the Sand Village isn't necessarily that clean." Temari's mouth twitched. Although there is nothing wrong with what he said, is it really okay for you to say this in front of me? "But I think you guys should also want an explanation for Konoha's Sunagakure alliance this time?" Naruto raised the corners of his lips slightly: "Why not consider our Kumogakure?" "Consider...what?" "Form an alliance!" "..." Temari was silent for a while. Let's say, is it possible that the reason why Sunagakure formed an alliance with Konoha is to guard against you, Kumogakure? "This kind of thing... I don't have the final say, but I can help you pass it on." Temari gave a dry laugh, not daring to agree easily. Naruto smiled slightly and said nothing more. He doesn't care whether to form an alliance or not. There is no benefit in forming an alliance with a poor, fence-sitter like the Sand Village. The reason for saying this is just to disgust Konoha and to sow discord between the two. On the way, he helped Temari and the other two capture a team of Konoha Genin. They came to the central tower, where Sasuke and Karin had been waiting for a long time. Beside Karin, a team of Genin from Yugenu Village were tied up like dumplings by the Diamond Seal. Seeing this, Naruto waved his hand, and his clone removed the barrier. Karin swung his dog chain and threw the three-person team into the tower gate.
Naruto and the other two followed in. Then Temari did the same thing and became the second team to pass. It was not until both teams entered the tower that Hongdou and other examiners appeared. boom-- With a loud bang, the tower door was blown open. Three Konoha ninjas were thrown into the tower and Deidara's team passed through. Then, Chojuro and his two extra teammates were thrown into the tower, and all three were covered in blood. Kimimaro's team passed. Four teams passed in succession, and without exception, they were all ninjas from other villages, which made the examiners anxious. The first day flew by, and except for four teams, no other teams made it through. It was not until the early morning of the next day that Hinata's team captured a group of Genin from the same village and entered the tower. In the afternoon, Neji's team came in with a group of Takigakure Genin. Compared to Team 8 where Hinata is, Team 3's strengths are not in wilderness survival and intelligence reconnaissance, so they spent a lot of time fighting. At the same time, in the Forest of Death. "Ugh--" Ino and Shikamaru sat by the river fishing, looking towards the tower and sighing together. Behind the two of them, Choji was eating grilled fish, looking a little haggard. They hadn't encountered an enemy for more than a day. Every time the enemy saw Ino, they turned and ran away like a mouse seeing a cat, running away for a long distance... As soon as they started chasing, the other side started fighting desperately. It's not about fighting hard, it's about running hard... And with a plump and round ninja like Choji, they couldn't catch him as a team. Besides, not to mention whether they can be caught, it is hard to say whether they can defeat the enemy with their current strength. “I can’t pass this exam…” Ino's eyes were dull: "I should have known that I shouldn't have been so stubborn. I'd better ask Naruto to help me." "Well... Actually this is good, I'll just consider it as a way to gain experience." Shikamaru supported his chin. He didn't really want to take the exam in the first place. "Really, you two guys, I wanted to show Naruto my progress!" Ino complained, looking aggrieved: "In the end, I didn't even make it through the second round..."
"Okay, don't be sad, it might not be a bad thing to stop here." Shikamaru said lazily, "None of the candidates here are simple. If nothing unexpected happens, even if we pass, we won't have any chance of winning the next exam." Ino curled her lips but didn't say anything. She is a perceptual ninja, so she naturally understood what Shikamaru said. She could even understand the opponent's strength more intuitively than Shikamaru. The Sand Village team, the Sound Village team, the Iwagakure team, and even Naruto's team. Even if we don't take Naruto into consideration, the weakest among these people should be at the level of a Chunin. Especially these team leaders, Gaara, Kimimaro, and Deidara, I'm afraid that ordinary jonin are no match for them. "I also want to follow Naruto's footsteps..." Ino said in a sad tone. "From a practical point of view, it is unlikely." Shikamaru shook his head. Although he really wanted to support Ino, he was powerless. After all, he was a strategic ninja, and Ino, Shika and Chou could only unleash their abilities when they got together. And at this stage... The strength of the three cannot be said to be strong, and Shikamaru's character is not very mature either. If he wants to form a decent fighting force, he will need some time to grow. Although he was somewhat unwilling, there was really nothing he could do. Because of the relationship between Naruto and Ino, other teams dared not approach them as if they were the plague, and this exam would end here. "In that case... Ino, can you let me take one of the pills?" asked Choji with drooling. "Ahhh, eat, eat, eat, all you know is eat!" Ino's roar echoed through the forest. Suddenly, the bushes not far away shook, and two Konoha ninjas appeared in front of the three people, carrying their injured teammates. "Well...how about we come and help you? But can you give us some medicine? My companion is injured..." "..." Half an hour later, the Pig, Deer and Butterfly team passed by. Ino happily rushed into the rest area, but was stopped by Karin. "My Lord is busy now, so it's inconvenient for me to see you." Xianglin blocked the door with her arms folded, her tone cold. Ino glanced at Karin unhappily, and without saying a word, turned and left. Although she was unhappy, she believed that Karin would not lie to her about such a thing. This is a very inexplicable intuition, just like the mutual respect between opponents. On the other hand, based on my understanding of Naruto, although that guy is easy to talk to everyone and looks lazy all day long, he will never allow others to interfere with his life and thoughts without permission. He will not tolerate any sand in this regard.
The last one to do this was Kusagakure, and the one before that was Jiraiya... If Karin really dares to do this, Ino can only wish her good luck. Karin also understood this very well, after all, she had been with Naruto longer than Ino. She did not lie to Ino, Naruto was indeed busy now. He is digging into the corner of Sand Village... "woke up?" "Um…" In the room, Naruto sat beside Gaara's bed. Gaara rubbed his eyes and sat up from the bed, looking very peaceful. "You slept for twenty-four hours, and woke up earlier than I expected." Naruto said cheerfully, "After so many years without sleep, I would have to sleep for at least a month." "how did you do it?" Gaara didn't respond. He just wanted to know how Naruto subdued Shukaku. "Maybe it's because I'm too strong?" Naruto smiled and spread his hands: "Since I destroyed the Kusagakure Village, no one has ever had any unpleasantness with me..." Temari and Kankuro's eyelids twitched as they listened to this. Naruto's behavior seemed like incitement to crime. "So as long as I'm strong enough, I can be like you?" Gaara looked at Naruto, his eyes full of curiosity. "Like me what?" “To be loved and needed.” This poor baby... Naruto sighed slightly, and Temari and Kankuro's eyes became sore when they heard it. "I've heard about you." Gaara said expressionlessly: "Even in the Sand Village, you are very famous." "That's great, do you want an autograph?" Naruto asked with interest as he took out a pen and paper. "I'm not talking about your identity as an artist..." Gaara paused for a moment, "I'm talking about your identity as a Jinchūriki, and the story of your leaving Konoha." "The only meaning of my existence is to survive as a weapon of war for the village. No one will love me, and I don't need to love anyone. I just need to... love myself."
“I don’t agree with the former, but I fully agree with the latter.” Naruto patted Gaara's shoulder and said, "If you don't need to love anyone, why do you want to be a weapon of war for the village?" Gaara frowned his non-existent eyebrows, looking a little troubled: "Is this the meaning of my existence?" Naruto asked curiously: "So who gave you this meaning? Why do you listen to the other party?" As if his inner weakness was touched, Gaara exuded a murderous aura. Snapped! Naruto slapped Gaara lightly on the back of his head, shattering the chakra that was gradually becoming violent in his body. Gaara looked at Naruto gloomily. He found that there was a super high-quality chakra running around in his body, causing his chakra to be unable to gather... This made him intuitively feel the gap in strength between the two. “There is nothing wrong with loving yourself. It is because of self-love that people develop the ability to love others.” Naruto said in a gentle tone: "And the so-called value of existence is definitely not given by others. As for being loved... maybe you have been loved from the beginning." "I... am loved?" The gloom on Gaara's face disappeared. He tilted his head. Perhaps because he had just woken up, the little red-haired boy still looked inexplicably cute. Naruto took out a kunai and gently stabbed Gaara's arm, but was blocked by a stream of yellow sand. "I am a member of the Uzumaki clan. I can sense the emotions and will contained in chakra." Naruto nodded his head gently with his fingertips: "There is a very warm chakra in your sand. It is a will that desires to protect." "Protect…" Gaara looked like his brain was overloaded, and he muttered to himself as he looked at the fine sand surrounding his hands. "Why? Don't you believe it?" Naruto suggested cheerfully: "It just so happens that I have mastered a forbidden technique called Impure World Reincarnation. As long as I have some information about the dead person's body, I can call that person back to the world. Why don't we summon the owner of this chakra back from the Pure Land? Why don't you ask him yourself?" Gaara nodded: "Thank you very much." "Hey Hey hey!" Temari's face darkened, "Hashidou Sack! Both of you!" Originally, she felt relieved to hear Naruto counseling Gaara. How come they started digging graves after just a few words? ! Can't you two show a little respect for the dead, you bastards! “No need to do that!” Temari slammed the iron fan to the ground and sighed softly. "Mom does love you, Gaara."
"Why do you say that?" Gaara had a blank expression on his face. He didn't really believe what Temari said, even though Temari was the only one who could influence him to a certain extent. "Because she is really a very gentle person." Temari looked helpless in response to Gaara's questioning. "Although I was not very old at that time, I still have some vague impressions. Later, I also tried to find out about my mother's image from other people. People said that she was a very gentle woman." As she said this, she glanced at Naruto, noticed his curious look, and turned her head away embarrassedly. "I used to... also wish my mother was by my side." "Is this so..." Gaara fell silent again. Today's update! Because I have been rereading Gaara's story, it took me a lot of time, so the number of words is only 3,600. I will add another 1,000 words tomorrow! (End of this chapter)