Chapter 43: The Heir and the Outcast
After Gaara appeared, a blonde girl carrying a large black fan on her back slowly came into everyone's view.
That girl was Gaara and Kankuro's teammate—Gaara's older sister, Temari.
Seeing Gaara's group appear, Neji Hyuga and Tenten immediately jumped down from the tree and landed next to Rock Lee. They looked at Gaara warily.
Rock Lee also looked at Gaara with some surprise. He hadn't expected Gaara to block his attack so easily.
But soon, a fighting spirit ignited in Lee's eyes. He wanted to rush at Gaara again and fight him.
Just as Lee was about to make his move, Neji suddenly reached out and stopped him.
"Wait, Lee."
Lee looked at Neji, confused.
Neji Hyuga had already activated his Byakugan at some point. Under the enhancement of his chakra, veins had bulged around his eyes. He was watching Gaara intently.
But what Neji saw made him freeze. His eyes slowly widened in shock.
Under Neji's observation, Gaara's chakra was unusually massive. It simply wasn't comparable to an ordinary person.
Not only that, but this chakra wasn't just huge. It was also filled with a bloodthirsty and violent aura, as if it were suppressing a desire to kill. It lurked within Gaara, and sensing it made Neji very uncomfortable.
Realizing that Gaara was not someone to be taken lightly, Neji took a breath, looked at Gaara solemnly, and said:
"This person is not simple. Lee, don't act recklessly."
Lee was stunned for a moment. Seeing Neji's serious expression, he immediately understood that the Gaara in front of him was no ordinary person.
Neji was a genius of the Hyuga clan. His strength and intelligence were far superior to most of their peers. It was rare for him to be this cautious.
The fact that Neji was being so careful was enough to show that Gaara was dangerous.
Still, this only made Lee's fighting spirit burn hotter. He wanted even more to fight Gaara and prove his own strength.
Seeing that Lee and his teammates Neji and Tenten didn't intend to make any more moves, Gaara snorted coldly and withdrew his sand.
Then Gaara said lightly:
"Kankuro. This is Konoha. Don't act recklessly."
Hearing Gaara's words, Kankuro flinched. He looked like a mouse seeing a cat.
He nodded quickly, put down the struggling Konohamaru, stood behind Gaara, and said quietly:
"Yes."
Gaara glanced at the terrified Konohamaru, snorted coldly, and said dismissively:
"He's just an ant. Not worth your time."
Kankuro broke out in a cold sweat and didn't dare make a sound.
Konohamaru, now free from Kankuro's grip, glanced at Gaara and Kankuro with some fear and ran toward the Konoha shinobi.
"Let's go."
Seeing that Lee and Neji weren't going to fight, and the matter here was settled, Gaara lost interest in staying. He turned to leave.
But just as Gaara was about to walk away, an angry shout drew everyone's attention.
After Konohamaru escaped from Kankuro, he didn't run to Neji and the others. Instead, he ran to Naruto and his teammates nearby.
Then Konohamaru glared at Naruto with dissatisfaction and shouted angrily:
"Why didn't you save me?"
"Aren't you a Konoha shinobi? You coward! You don't deserve to be a Konoha shinobi!"
Konohamaru looked at Naruto with fury.
In his eyes, Naruto and the others had been right there. They had seen everything, but they hadn't done anything. They had chosen to stand by and watch. That made him very angry.
After all, from the perspective of someone who wasn't even a genin yet, he couldn't tell that Neji and Lee in the tree had arrived much earlier. All he saw was Naruto nearby, watching him get caught and not saving him.
Konohamaru glared at Naruto angrily and yelled.
Hearing Konohamaru run up to him and shout at him like that, Naruto paused for a moment.
He was a bit surprised to see Konohamaru—this pushy child.
But Naruto wasn't in a hurry to get angry. Instead, he looked at Konohamaru calmly and said lightly:
"Why should I save you?"
What Naruto said made Konohamaru freeze. Then Konohamaru looked at Naruto even more angrily and shouted:
"Why shouldn't you save me? I'm the Third Hokage's grandson—Sarutobi Hiruzen's grandson! Saving me is an honor!"
"This is Konoha. When you see people from other villages bullying someone from Konoha, shouldn't you do something?"
Hearing Konohamaru's words, Naruto couldn't help but sneer. He looked at Konohamaru indifferently and asked bluntly:
"Really? Just because you're the Third Hokage's grandson, I'm supposed to save you?"
"But in my eyes, all of this is your own fault. You bumped into them, but you didn't apologize. Instead, you tried to use the fact that this is Konoha to intimidate them and cover up your mistake. Is this the style of the Third Hokage's grandson? It's truly impressive."
The conversation between the two drew everyone's attention. Even Gaara and his team stopped to watch the scene.
Temari, the long-legged kunoichi standing next to Gaara, looked at Naruto with great interest after hearing his words. She was deeply curious about him.
What Naruto said wasn't unreasonable.
Konohamaru had accidentally bumped into someone first. He didn't apologize. Instead, he tried to use Konoha's name to intimidate foreign ninja. His rude and disrespectful attitude was truly arrogant.
But unfortunately, the person Konohamaru had bumped into wasn't someone who could be scared off by Konoha's name. He had bumped into the ruthless son of the Fourth Kazekage—the heir of Sunagakure's ruling family.
The other party wanted to teach Konohamaru a lesson and show him what proper manners looked like.
If Kankuro had actually wanted to hurt Konohamaru, he wouldn't have waited for Neji and the others to show up.
Besides, as Konohamaru himself had said, this was Konoha.
Kankuro wasn't foolish enough to start a conflict between Suna and Konoha right before the Chunin Exam, causing unnecessary trouble and disrupting their plans.
This had originally been a minor, insignificant incident. It would have passed as just something to watch for entertainment.
Naruto hadn't wanted to get involved in this kind of thing. He didn't like Konoha to begin with, and seeing that Konohamaru was just a child, he hadn't wanted to say anything.
But since Konohamaru had taken the initiative to come after him, Naruto would mercilessly show him the real facts and truth.