"You're like this, and Temari is acting weird too. Is there something you absolutely have to hide from us?"
"You overestimate me. I basically hang out with you guys; what could I possibly know?"
Aside from the vague warnings from Kankuro and Captain Otokaze, no one had ever said a word to Daimaru about the Konoha Crush.
He knew absolutely nothing about the specific plan, objectives, start time, or signal arrangements.
He had originally thought that since he had managed to sneak into the third test of the Chunin Exam, he would barely count as one of the combat assets in the main arena. As it turned out, he had overestimated himself.
"Only the strong have the freedom to know, while the weak can only live in deception."
"Are you saying we're too weak, so we're not qualified to know?" Sen asked in a dry voice.
"I'm the same. No different."
True enough. The lives of the Fourth Kazekage and his family were all placed on the table as chips. What did a mere genin with acceptable performance and a little potential amount to?
"Then we won't ask!"
Ninja needed to know when not to show too much curiosity.
The one who had just jumped out the window from the upper floor of Konoha Hospital to escape was likely Yakushi Kabuto, preparing to attack Uchiha Sasuke. One really couldn't let their guard down for a moment.
After last night, this joint Chunin Exam had effectively ended for the Sand ninja.
Peace is ending! The Chunin Exam... it was quite interesting. What a pity...
Taking advantage of the fact that the Sand candidates hadn't been sent back to Sunagakure yet, Daimaru visited his other eliminated compatriots.
He skipped the ones he wasn't close with, but he had to visit his "VIP client," the wealthy Miss Saya, who had come to take the Chunin Exam by accident because of Daimaru's influence.
However, Daimaru, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, visiting Miss Saya, who had almost no injuries, looked bizarre no matter how you looked at it.
"This is... Lord 'Red Sand Dust' taking time out of his busy schedule to visit an incompetent person defeated by a Konoha ninja. I'm truly flattered!"
"You really know how to joke. If Miss Saya is incompetent, the other Sand ninja wouldn't have the face to live."
"What are you here for?" Saya asked warily.
Except for "discussing business," this guy Daimaru really didn't interact much with people he wasn't familiar with.
"Don't push people away a thousand miles. I don't have any bad intentions; I just have a small matter to trouble Miss Saya with..."
Saya was already unhappy about losing to Aburame Shino due to carelessness. The thought that someone like Daimaru could advance while she had to pack up and go home made her mood even worse.
"Handle your own troubles. I don't have time right now..."
"We're so close..."
Daimaru had spent half a day getting close to the nurse at the front desk just to find out Miss Saya's room number. How could he give up just like that?
"I heard that Miss Saya made ample preparations for this Chunin Exam. Now..."
Daimaru gave a "you know what I mean" look and continued, "Since you won't be using them anyway—Military Rations Pills, trauma medicine, antidotes, storage scrolls, puppet-making materials, and so on—how about selling them to me?"
"Don't even think about it. Trying to loot a burning house again? I'd rather let them rot in my hands than sell them to you..."
"We're all compatriots of Sunagakure; how can you be so heartless? Help me out this time, and I'll owe you a favor. Go ask around—when has the iron-boned Daimaru ever owed anyone a favor?"
"What's your favor worth?"
Miss Saya wasn't that easy to fool. Even if she didn't have many friends and lacked a bit of common sense, she wasn't someone just anyone could swindle.
"We're all away from home and care about face; don't be so heartless! As long as this deal is made, no matter what it is, I will help you once. I guarantee it on my reputation as 'Red Sand Dust,' I will never break my word!"
Daimaru patted his chest solemnly, his mouth almost dry from talking. Unfortunately, Miss Saya had been tested for a long time and wasn't as easy to trust Daimaru as before.
"Sounds nice, but do you have the money to buy? Let me say this first: I won't need to fight for a while anyway, so I don't want any weird poisons or anything..."
"That's easy to discuss. As long as Miss Saya agrees to give me the things..."
Daimaru rubbed his hands nervously, his face piled with smiles. "I've been quite busy lately, so I haven't had time to make powerful poisons, and I certainly don't have any money..."
"Get lost..."
Miss Saya, who had been amenable just a moment ago, suddenly turned hostile. "After talking for so long, you want me to give you the things for free! On what basis? Just that foul mouth of yours?"
"Don't put it so harshly. I'm not asking for it for free; I can write an IOU..."
Writing a blank note wasn't a big deal; it wasn't like he owed money and wouldn't pay it back.
If he hadn't been unable to produce anything valuable right now, Daimaru wouldn't have brazenly come to ask for help.
To speed up ninjutsu training, one had to spend money.
With Uzumaki Naruto's chakra volume and stamina, he still needed Haruno Sakura's Military Rations Pills to assist him. Daimaru didn't have such an exaggerated constitution; without external help, he basically wouldn't be able to accomplish anything in half a month.
Daimaru skimmed through the information on the Shadow Clone Jutsu. As expected of a B-rank jutsu, it required forming eight hand seals within four seconds. There were quite a few other conditions as well. The learning difficulty wasn't too great, but it wasn't something one could learn casually either.
However, looking at Uzumaki Naruto's performance, the A-rank forbidden jutsu one level higher, Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, actually required only one seal. It was simply inconceivable.
Of course, Daimaru could understand how Uzumaki Naruto could learn the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu in half a night.
If control wasn't enough, make up for it with chakra volume. Quantity over quality was indeed quite effective for ninjutsu like Shadow Clones. Other techniques might not have such convenient conditions.
...
After much persuasion, Daimaru finally "borrowed" a batch of supplies from Miss Saya and returned to his ward to rest, satisfied.
Although he had written an IOU worth a fortune and agreed to some harsh conditions, none of that mattered. As long as he could safely survive the "Konoha Crush," owing a little money was no big deal. Repayment could be discussed when the time came.
It was still early, so Daimaru continued to look through the jutsu in the scroll Captain Otokaze had given him.
Categorically, there were two C-rank Wind Release jutsu: the long-range attack Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere and the close-range jutsu Wind Release: Gale Palm.
The jutsu ranks weren't high, but for Daimaru, who lacked offensive Wind Release jutsu, they were already quite good.
Aside from that, the only two Sand Manipulation secret techniques were the support jutsu for reconnaissance—Third Eye—and a Sand Body Flicker Technique, which was also a very useful jutsu.
Besides the five jutsu, there were just some insights and small tips on usage.
Overall, it was very valuable. Sand Manipulation: Third Eye was a rare long-distance reconnaissance secret technique. Combined with the Polarizing Light Killing Formation, it would be of great use.
Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere was the most presentable long-range attack jutsu Daimaru currently had. Up until now, the wind blades and whirlwinds he used with his puppet dolls were entirely cobbled together by brute-forcing chakra nature transformation. Moreover, their attack range was limited; they could count as mid-range attack jutsu at best.
Wind Release: Gale Palm was a close-range move that integrated offense and defense. It also had some clever uses, depending on personal habit.
As for the Sand Body Flicker Technique... he hadn't tried it, so he didn't know how effective it was yet, but it looked quite stylish when Gaara used it.
Five jutsu, all decent. With them, he would avoid many detours.
Except for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, although the others weren't terribly powerful jutsu, they were already very useful to Daimaru.
Whether a jutsu was strong or not depended on the person. The seven-year-old Uchiha Sasuke's Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique could only spit out a small flame, while Uchiha Madara could make the Allied Shinobi Forces piss themselves with a random Great Fireball.
For example, regarding Wind Release: Gale Palm, Daimaru looked at the "wind" formed by chakra nature transformation in his palm, then compressed it to the extreme before releasing it.
"Too simple!"
It was somewhat similar to the intermediate process Daimaru used for the Polarizing Light Killing Formation, so he understood how it worked at a glance. But Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere, which was also a C-rank jutsu, was far too unfriendly to Daimaru.
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