"Sakura, do you understand now?" Kakashi looked at her and said, "On the battlefield, we might face many things that stir inner conflicts. But no matter what happens, you must never hesitate when dealing with enemies. Your mercy can often end up harming your teammates. Whether they're old or young, male or female, familiar or strangers, once they're confirmed as enemies, you must have the resolve to kill them without hesitation."
"I know, Kakashi-sensei. Lessons like this only need to happen once!"
A sharp glint appeared in Sakura's eyes as her right hand reached for the hilt of Starlit Night. "I won't allow anyone close to me to get hurt again because of my weakness!"
"If you've figured it out, can you help me up now?" Kakashi said, one eye rolled upward like a dead fish, his entire body limp like a dreamless loser. "I think I need to crash at the hospital for a few days!"
"Kakashi-sensei, you should eat more vitality-boosting food. It's embarrassing for a young guy like you to have stamina issues—it'll affect your married life."
"My kidneys are fine. No need for tonics."
"Kakashi-sensei, avoiding treatment due to embarrassment is never a good idea."
"Hehehe..."
Three people and one 'dreamless loser' gradually walked away, leaving behind the blazing fire consuming the bandit hideout.
Chapter 156: The Sand Trio [Mid]
"By the way, why does Zabuza use makeup instead of bandages?" Naruto frowned, clearly confused as he stepped out from a cosmetics shop together with Sakura. "Isn't he always wearing bandages covering his face?"
"That's because he feels it would be too shameful for the great Demon of the Hidden Mist, Momochi Zabuza, to work as a hospital orderly. To avoid being recognized, he came up with this idea!" Sakura explained while holding the sealing scroll filled with cosmetics. "Every day before heading to work, he has Haku do his makeup in a way that even familiar faces won't recognize him. Unfortunately, since he's tall and rather distinctive looking, it takes an enormous amount of cosmetics each time. And since their salaries haven't been paid yet, I'm helping buy supplies for them now!"
To avoid recognition, Zabuza even sealed his beloved Kubikiribocho inside a sealing scroll. Each day involved spending a significant amount of time on applying and removing makeup—an effort that didn't bother Haku at all, who actually enjoyed experimenting with different looks on Zabuza's face.
Chatting as they walked, the pair passed through an alley where suddenly a cry of pain rang out, immediately followed by a familiar voice desperately shouting.
"Let me go!" Konohamaru's tiny body dangled in someone's grip, his legs kicking helplessly in midair, his little face full of anger.
"Konohamaru?!" Sakura shouted and instantly threw a kunai without thinking twice.
"Big sis! They're bullying me!"
To dodge the incoming kunai, the attacker immediately dropped Konohamaru. As soon as his feet hit the ground, Konohamaru dashed behind Sakura and started whining.
"How did you provoke them?
Sakura asked in confusion. The mysterious figure wearing cat-like ear spikes who was holding Konohamaru was clearly Kankuro, and the other girl was Temari. As for Gaara—the national treasure miniature raccoon—he was hiding behind a tree watching the scene unfold.
In the original story, Konohamaru had been running from Sakura and accidentally bumped into Kankuro. She wasn't even chasing him anymore, so why did he still end up in trouble with Kankuro?
"I was just about to go eat when I turned this corner and ran straight into him! I already apologized, but he still insisted on punishing me!"
Konohamaru angrily explained. He wasn't that mischievous kid from the original story anymore—all the young kids in Konoha had more or less been tamed by Hinata. With Hinata watching over them, not a single troublemaker dared cause any trouble anymore. Therefore, after bumping into Kankuro earlier, Konohamaru had sincerely apologized. But unexpectedly, Kankuro still insisted on picking on him, which made Konohamaru feel genuinely wronged.
"You're from Sunagakure here to participate in the Chunin Exams, right?!" Sakura said with one eyebrow raised, looking at Kankuro whose face was painted up and had two cat-like ear spikes sticking up from his head. "Not bad! You've got guts, picking on people right here in Konoha Village!"
"He was the one who ran into me first!" Kankuro scoffed. In his impression, Konoha was a particularly weak ninja village that occupied the best geographical location. He believed it wouldn't dare retaliate so long as he acted tough enough.
"First off, he already apologized after colliding with you, yet you still insisted on bullying him," Sakura replied. With Hinata being Konohamaru's big sister figure, there was absolutely no way he'd lie. So that meant Kankuro was probably looking for an excuse to start something. "Secondly, I don't know where your courage comes from. Do you actually dare to bully the Third Hokage's official third-generation descendant (literally 'guansandai', referring to someone from a prestigious political lineage)—not just any descendant either—but the Third Hokage's only grandson? Kid, I bet you've never had the Third Hokage beat you with his staff for acting out—you should be careful what you wish for!"
Kankuro: "..."
At this moment both Kankuro and Temari felt their heads pounding. Who would have thought that picking on a little kid during a bad mood would turn out so terribly unlucky? They'd targeted an official third-generation descendant—not just any regular one either—but the Third Hokage's only grandson. If he went crying to the Third Hokage, it would be nothing short of a miracle if the old man let the matter drop. If this affected Sunagakure's plans, they wouldn't get off easily.
"This was Sand's fault. Kankuro, apologize."
A swirl of yellow sand danced through the air as Gaara appeared perched upside down on a large tree beside the alleyway, hanging there menacingly while emanating killing intent and bloodlust.
"Brother, don't you feel uncomfortable with blood rushing to your head?" Sakura's words immediately froze the atmosphere. "Although hanging upside down might look cool, it really damages your health. You could easily compress the blood vessels in your brain. If one ruptures under pressure, you'll probably spend the rest of your life bedridden, drooling with crossed eyes and a twisted face. Your whole image would be ruined forever!"
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