Just when things were about to wrap up for Naruto and the others, Shindai suddenly stepped in. He kicked Gaara—who was hanging upside down on a tree showing off—right onto the ground and began stomping on his head.
Everyone was stunned.
Kankuro and Temari especially were completely frozen.
"You! What are you doing? Let go of Gaara!"
Shindai lit a cigarette and said with a smug attitude, "What does it look like? Can't you see I'm beating him up? You're Rasa's three kids, right? Where's that bastard Rasa? Isn't he here yet?"
Suddenly, Shindai grinned maliciously. "Hey, you guys wonder what would happen if Rasa found out all three of his kids died by my hands? Do you think he'd go crazy?"
Kankuro and Temari's eyes filled with fear.
Naruto whispered quietly, "It seems like this Rasa is also an enemy of Shindai's brother. How come Shindai has enemies everywhere? First those Mist ninja last time, now this Rasa guy—who exactly is he anyway?"
Sasuke replied, "I've heard about him before. He's apparently the Kazekage of Sunagakure."
Sakura twitched at the corner of her mouth and said, "Last time Shindai and Kakashi-sensei went straight after the Mizukage. Now the Kazekage also has a grudge against him? Seems like..."
Sakura didn't finish her sentence, but she was thinking how much of a trouble magnet Shindai really was.
"Shindai?!"
Upon hearing Naruto and the others calling him by name, Kankuro and Temari's expressions turned into disbelief.
Shindai sneered, "What? You actually know who I am? Never thought that would be the case. I figured my name would've been a taboo in Sunagakure. Are those two old bastards Chiyo and Ebizō still alive? Don't let me get the chance, or else I swear I'll kill them both!"
Naruto whispered again, "Who exactly are Chiyo and Ebizō anyway?"
Sasuke and Sakura exchanged speechless glances. How were they supposed to know?
Gaara, who was being stomped on by Shindai's foot, let out a deep growl as he tried to struggle free. Sand from his gourd floated out and automatically attacked Shindai.
"Your Magnet Release isn't even impressive. Besides, those sands inside your gourd aren't yours anyway."
After forming a hand seal, Shindai rendered Gaara's sand useless, causing it to fall helplessly to the ground.
Shindai stomped on Gaara twice more, making him roar even louder.
"What are you roaring for?!"
He lifted his foot again, preparing to stomp on Gaara once more.
At that moment, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Konohamaru couldn't help but feel sympathy for Gaara.
Right as Shindai was about to land the next stomp, a figure suddenly appeared behind him. Grabbing Shindai's shoulder, the person spoke solemnly, "Shindai, don't push too far. We came to Konoha to take part in the Chunin Exams. If you keep going like this, you'll damage relations between our villages!"
This person is Gaara's team leader, Baki.
Shindai exhaled a puff of smoke disdainfully, "Who said you could touch me?"
In the next second, Baki was forcefully pinned flat onto the ground.
Shindai then turned his attention to Baki, mercilessly kicking his head.
"What do you think you're doing? How dare you touch me! Don't you know I'm a germophobe? And don't even think about framing me with false accusations. This isn't personal revenge—I'm protecting Lord Third Hokage's grandson! That kid with all the face paint dares to pick on the Hokage's grandson? Are you saying Konoha has no one left?"
Kankuro and Temari turned toward the seemingly oblivious Konohamaru in disbelief. They never expected he was actually the grandson of Konoha's Third Hokage.
Naruto and his companions all thought the same thing: This was clearly personal revenge for Shindai—they'd sooner eat sand than admit it aloud.
When kicking Gaara, Shindai held back some force, but when kicking Baki, there was absolutely no restraint whatsoever.
Blow after blow rained down mercilessly. Soon, Baki's head swelled grotesquely, blood pouring from his nose and mouth.
Kankuro and Temari hurriedly apologized, "We're wrong! It's our fault! Please stop beating him!"
Shindai snorted disdainfully, "Hmph! Do you really think telling me to stop will make me stop? Not only do you lack that authority—even if that bastard Rasa himself knelt before me, he still wouldn't have the right to stop me!"
"Shindai?"
At the alley entrance appeared a group of people—members from Konoha's Military Police Force.
Leading them was someone particularly familiar to Shindai—Akimichi Tsubaki.
Since many shinobi from other villages had arrived in Konoha recently, the Military Police Force had increased their patrol frequency.
Tsubaki approached with his men, frowning as he looked at the swollen heads of Baki and Gaara. He asked, "Shindai, why are you beating them? Huh? Shinobi from Sunagakure? Remember, you can't take personal revenge now. They're here for the Chunin Exams."
Seeing the forehead protectors identifying them as Sunagakure shinobi, and knowing Shindai's petty nature along with Sunagakure's past false accusations against him, Tsubaki immediately guessed that Shindai was seeking retaliation.
Shindai declared righteously, "Hey! How could I ever engage in personal vendettas? These Sunagakure bastards were acting suspiciously, daring to attack Konohamaru! Don't forget Konohamaru is Lord Third Hokage's grandson! How could I possibly allow these Sunagakure trash to bully Konohamaru?"
Shindai added another kick to Baki's abdomen, "Tsubaki, there's no need to thank me. This is simply my duty as a Konoha shinobi. I've already captured them for you. In fact, I was planning to hand them over to you personally, so since you're here now, this works out perfectly."
Naruto and his companions twitched at the corner of their mouths. What shamelessness!
If Akimichi Tsubaki and his squad hadn't shown up just then, Baki would've kept getting beaten within an inch of his life.
Akimichi Tsubaki questioned, "Is what Shindai said really true?"
Naruto and the others immediately chimed in.
"That guy with face paint attacked Konohamaru!"
"And the girl with the fan slapped him too!"
"Shindai's telling the truth!"
Akimichi Tsubaki turned to Konohamaru. Immediately Konohamaru said, "I accidentally bumped into him while playing with Naruto and Sakura, and then he grabbed my collar and lifted me up! Shindai's telling the truth!"
Akimichi Tsubaki naturally favored his own side. If Shindai had lied, he would've simply dismissed it, but since he was telling the truth, there was no need.
Akimichi Tsubaki waved his hand: "Escort these four back to the Konoha Military Police Force."
Temari panicked: "We're here for the Chunin Exams! And we're not Konoha ninjas—you have no right to detain us!"
Akimichi Tsubaki replied sternly, "You may be from Sunagakure, but this is Konoha. You must follow our rules here! Your status as Sunagakure shinobi doesn't give you free reign to act recklessly in Konoha!"
Members of the Konoha Military Police Force grabbed Baki and Gaara, who were nearly unconscious, and took them away with Kankuro and Temari toward the headquarters.
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