Kakashi shook his head, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation. He glanced at his watch and asked, "Come to think of it, where's Anko? She's usually such a fiery girl."
"Who knows? Maybe something came up," Ibiki replied. "But aren't you usually more interested in what's happening outside?"
Kakashi didn't respond, burying his gaze in Make-Out Paradise.
Outside, separated only by a door, the tense atmosphere hadn't faded at all.
Many had originally just been waiting for news about the next exam, but now they'd become interested in the unfolding situation.
"Are you trying to provoke Sunagakure?" Temari immediately swung open her giant fan in response.
Shikamaru shook his head, speaking in his usual lazy tone. "No, that's not our intention. But before anything else, shouldn't you let go of your Grass Village friend?"
Following Shikamaru's words, people finally noticed that the ninja trapped in sand was from the Grass Village.
In fact, this time there were only six participants from the Grass Village.
Compared to powerful villages like Konoha and Sunagakure, the Grass Village could practically be ignored.
Yet on the surface, even major nations couldn't openly show disregard for smaller countries. After all, no nation could afford the consequences of making enemies everywhere.
Much less these young Genin who certainly didn't have the luxury of arrogance.
Although it was the newly promoted Konoha Genin surrounding the three Sand ninjas, they had sufficient justification for their actions.
With one sentence, Shikamaru turned the moral high ground in their favor.
For a moment, Temari wasn't sure how to respond. She turned toward Gaara, hoping to receive some instruction from him.
After all, he was the core of the entire team—whatever decision he made, no one could stop him.
"Are you threatening me?" Gaara's voice carried a subtle trace of killing intent.
In the original story, Orochimaru's mere presence had been enough for Sasuke to witness his own death.
Gaara might not have reached that level, but those surrounding him still felt the terrifying sensation of having their lives controlled by another.
He was Gaara—never backing down, never yielding to threats.
"They didn't mean to threaten you," Shiki Uzumaki stepped in front of Gaara, bearing the brunt of his killer intent alone.
Damn it, Shiki Uzumaki has become this strong? Sasuke thought in surprise. He always regarded Shiki Uzumaki as his rival and had recently believed himself stronger than him.
Yet when facing Gaara, he still couldn't help trembling.
Shiki, however, appeared completely unaffected. Although he didn't believe himself incapable of defeating Gaara, at least in terms of inner strength, he had already lost to this man.
Once Gaara stopped glaring at Konoha's Twelve Guardians, they finally let out a breath of relief.
Especially Sakura, who initially lacked the courage to step forward.
Seeing everyone around her step forward, she had followed suit with some effort.
But now, Shiki's upright figure standing firm without flinching left an indelible mark deep within her heart.
Normally, his plain white shirt wouldn't even be called snow-white. The black sword sheathed on his back looked ordinary too. Under normal circumstances, no one would guess he was a swordsman.
A swordsman should appear sharp and fierce, like Seiji.
Yet Shiki was usually warm like sunshine. Only when the moment called for responsibility would he reveal his true strength and charisma.
"Shiki is the coolest."
Ino instinctively made this judgment and spoke these words aloud.
But at this moment, no one argued with her—not even Sasuke, who was overshadowed by Shiki's brilliance.
"What a truly admirable sight. I should work harder too, just like Shiki," Kiba Inuzuka sighed emotionally, while Akamaru obediently barked twice from atop his head.
However, everyone's attention naturally focused on the two individuals at the center.
Gaara and Shiki Uzumaki—if they gave the order, the Genin participants from both Konoha and Sunagakure attending the Chunin Exams would immediately engage in battle.
Over time, this conflict had grown far beyond just Shiki Uzumaki and Gaara.
It had now become a matter of honor for the two Ninja Villages. Although Gaara was generally feared by all in his own village,
At this moment, he was indeed the most qualified representative of Sunagakure.
As for those few Grass Ninja candidates, comparatively speaking, they seemed to care little about the confrontation.
Of course, this might also be because the Village Hidden in the Grass had only sent two teams in total.
One team clearly came with hostile intentions.
Their leader especially—he kept licking his lips like a snake, giving off a creepy vibe.
The other team was the Grass Ninja squad whose member had just been wrapped up in sand moments ago.
This latter group appeared quite ordinary overall; what stood out was mainly the girl with red hair.
Among everyone gathered here, apparently only three people had red hair.
The other two redheads—Shiki Uzumaki and Gaara—showed extremely powerful presences.
This girl, however, seemed far more fragile in contrast. Wearing glasses, she wasn't particularly attractive—just average-looking, like Miko.
She watched anxiously at her teammate suspended midair inside the cocoon of sand, then turned her gaze toward the battlefield below.
"Why hasn't the fight started yet?" someone murmured in low complaint—it didn't involve them directly, but they were clearly hoping to witness an entertaining spectacle.
Suddenly though, a shadow appeared behind him.
"If you're so eager for a fight, how about I give you one?"
A crisp yet teasing female voice rang out, instantly halting every person present.
Everyone followed the sound, discovering a woman clad in a grayish-white jacket, looking unusually energetic and sharp—who had somehow arrived there unnoticed.
"I'm your examiner for the next exam—Anko Mitarashi!"
Such overwhelming dominance and confidence could hardly be matched.
At that moment, Anko Mitarashi resembled a wild rose covered in thorns—untamed yet exuding her unique fragrance wherever she stood.
Zhishu even felt like, right then and there, Anko Mitarashi could've stolen his heart.
Anko then rubbed the back of her head and said, "Well… sorry about being late today. Something kind of came up last minute."
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