Facing danger causes an involuntary increase in heart rate, which can be mistaken for love in certain situations.
The battlefield holds not only friendship watered by blood but also love tested by life and death.
Isn't that what countless literary and film works say?
Daigan now just wanted to spit on those fabricated fantasies.
Talking about love and being lovey-dovey on the battlefield? Were you afraid you weren't dying fast enough?
Did you really think you had protagonist plot armor and the enemy would wait for you to finish your display of affection before killing you?
This wasn't a "hero saves beauty" brawl with street thugs. One moment of distraction, and the battlefield lovers would become battlefield skeletons.
"Capturing my heart... that's a phrase that gives me goosebumps! Although I don't know what moves you planned, I feel like they wouldn't be scenes I'd enjoy watching. Should I rejoice that I escaped that fate?"
"Is my pure boyish heart flowing down the drain just like that?"
As he spoke, Daigan's expression suddenly changed. He stopped and looked solemnly toward their rear diagonal.
"What is it... someone caught up?"
"Yeah."
Daigan formed seals with both hands, gathering chakra to adjust the orientation of the Sand Eye and observe the surroundings. He then changed direction, moving in a serpentine path while laying traps to delay movement.
"Is it trouble?"
"A bit hard to deal with, but not too troublesome yet!"
"You seem very nervous!"
The sun had long since passed its zenith, but it was the hottest time of year in the Land of Fire, and the heat remained intense.
Even in the relatively cool primeval forest, Daigan, having sprinted for a long time with a person on his back, was starting to sweat from his forehead.
Not only that, but sweat on his back had soaked his clothes.
Lying on Daigan's back, Temari clearly felt the dampness soaking through her white dress. The warm sweat seeping through her mesh armor made her feel very uncomfortable.
Daigan's exhaustion was partly due to the weather, but the pressure from the enemy was a significant factor.
At any other time, Temari would have disgustedly ridiculed him. But now, her attention was entirely captured by the incoming enemy.
"A defeated opponent..."
"But your expression doesn't look like nothing's wrong!" Temari patted Daigan's shoulder. "Put me down! Since we can't avoid them, block them here. Kankuro will have to handle Gaara's side."
"You really give your good brother difficult problems, handing the toughest opponent, Sasuke, to him..."
Daigan stopped and put Temari down, handing the Three-Moon Fan to the girl, whose footing was a bit unstable.
"Putting your own brother aside to stay and help... I'm truly moved to tears!"
"I just want to stop the enemy and buy time for Gaara's recovery..."
"Anyway, thank you..."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, a smiling Daigan suddenly grabbed Temari's right hand.
"What are you doing?"
Daigan's sudden movement startled Temari.
"Don't move!"
Daigan moved his fingers, using the sharp tip of the puppet's folding fan to prick the center of Temari's index finger. A stream of blood flowed out, running down the fan's ribs before seeping into the special material and being absorbed completely.
"What is this?"
"Inject a little chakra into the puppet to activate the chakra storage function..."
Skeptical, Temari pressed her palm against the forehead of the doll—which looked exactly like her, only much smaller. A strand of chakra was drawn out through her palm.
"That's enough, not too much!"
"What are you doing? Imitating my Substitute Puppet? But this is too small!"
"You don't understand!"
Daigan took out a styptic bandage and wrapped Temari's finger wound.
"Go find Kankuro. He needs you more..."
If being defeated by Naruto Uzumaki was just the trigger, then the warmth of the inexplicable blood bond with Temari and Kankuro was the key to Gaara's change of heart.
"Are you really okay?"
"I defeated the enemy once; a second time is nothing..."
Daigan patted his chest confidently, then waved his hand. The petite doll vanished, and in the blink of an eye, a phantom image of Temari, indistinguishable from the real person, appeared in its place.
"This... how did you do this?"
Aside from the eyes being slightly dull and lacking the spirited feeling of Temari herself, even the somewhat fierce angle of her brow was imitated perfectly.
"The magical art of light and shadow. I've only scratched the surface. No time to explain, go..."
"Alright then! Don't die. I still want to see how an idiot like you plans to capture my heart!"
With that, Temari didn't dally. She suppressed her chakra, used a secret medicine to mask her scent, and turned to leave.
Daigan waved, watching Temari disappear from sight.
The start of a romance often only requires a tiny bit of hope!
If he could, Daigan really wanted to carry Temari a bit further. Who knew when the next opportunity to have intimate contact with such a weak Temari would arise?
But he couldn't!
The Butterfly Effect had caused a cascade of unexpected consequences. Lady Saya teaming up for the Chunin Exam was clearly due to Daigan's influence.
The disturbances in the written test and the Forest of Death survival trial weren't obvious, but the disruption in the third test preliminaries was too great.
Shikamaru Nara's elimination was only a trivial part of it.
Because of Daigan's sneaky behavior, he had been targeted by Shino Aburame.
Since Hinata Hyuga hadn't been critically injured by Neji Hyuga, she hadn't suffered a relapse while watching the third test finals, nor had she received treatment from Kabuto Yakushi. Indirectly, this meant Kiba and Akamaru hadn't noticed the disguised Kabuto, so they hadn't been knocked out.
This series of changes meant that when Daigan fled, he was tracked by a relatively intact Team 8. He had wasted considerable chakra to temporarily shake them off, delaying his rendezvous with Temari and Kankuro. This resulted in him arriving late, only after Temari had already been defeated by Sasuke.
Another unfavorable effect was that Shino's relentless pursuit of Daigan meant he wasn't troubling Kankuro. Consequently, the pursuing Sasuke would face Kankuro and Gaara, and the outcome was entirely unpredictable.
Sasuke possessed Indra Chakra protecting his body, so his life shouldn't be in danger. But for Kankuro and Gaara, it was hard to say.
It wasn't that Daigan wanted to play the hero and stay behind alone; someone had to buy time for Gaara.
Although he was reluctant, the chance for all four of them to survive lay with the One-Tailed Shukaku. Otherwise, the three siblings plus Daigan wouldn't be enough to handle a swarm of Konoha Genin.
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