Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 49: The Sand Ninjas
Naruto could tell that this young man was not just arrogant, but also had the skills to back it up.
'That bundle wrapped on his back looks very suspicious… I wonder what that's for? It should be some sort of weapon.' He was curious to find out how different the techniques from foreign ninjas were.
There was also something else that caught his attention. "You mentioned something about an exam. What were you talking about?"
Both foreigners appeared to be surprised by the question.
"You don't know?..." The blonde girl glanced at her brother. "Kankuro, I don't think those genins are participants."
"Tsk… I should have guessed, they look so weak. They must be newbies then." Kankuro's expression changed to one of disappointment. "What a wast- ouch!"
A small rock hit his arm, and as a result, he let go of Konohamaru.
The little boy wasted no time getting away and took cover behind Sakura and Naruto.
"Some foreigners think they can come to our village and cause trouble?"
"Sasuke!" Sakura spotted the black-haired boy standing on top of a nearby tree branch. "So cool!"
"Damn it!, get down here you sneaky coward!" Kankuro went quickly from disappointment to anger.
"Mmm… he is not bad looking." The blonde girl muttered to herself.
"Not gonna come? Then I'll make you." Kankuro took off the bundle from his back and rested it on the ground.
The girl next to him made a panicked expression. "You want to use Karasu?! That's too much, we are going to get in trouble."
"That's enough, Kankuro."
They all turned their attention to the new voice and saw a red-haired boy, standing upside down on a branch close to Sasuke.
'I didn't even hear him appear…' Naruto realized that this boy was much more dangerous than the others. 'And by the face Sasuke is making, he didn't detect him either.'
"G-Gaara!" The two siblings began to panic.
Seeing the faces of the sand ninjas, it became obvious who was the one in charge.
"Getting lost on the first day and picking up a fight… you are making our village look bad, Kankuro." His voice sounded flat and without emotion.
"W-wait, I… I can expl-"
"Shut up, or I'll kill you right here."
They were surprised by the coldness displayed before them, especially so because it was directed at an ally of his.
"Sorry!" Kankuro immediately apologized, not wanting to suffer punishment from him.
"I'm sorry too." The blonde girl also said, just in case.
'They are completely terrified of that boy.' Naruto noticed. They were not trying to be respectful; they were just scared of being killed by this boy who was much younger than them.
As he studied the boy, Naruto began to feel something familiar about him but couldn't tell what it was.
The redhead must have noticed something and returned the stare, but soon lost interest in Naruto.
"I apologize to you all for my siblings' poor behavior." After saying those words, he disappeared from the branch where he was on, and in a gust of wind, he was in front of the other sand ninjas.
"Those three are siblings?" Sakura spoke her thoughts out loud.
It was a fair question since none of them looked alike.
"Let's go." Gaara ordered.
The group was about to turn on their heels when Sasuke spoke again.
"Wait!"
The leader stared at the young Uchiha with interest. "Is there something you need?"
"By the symbols on you, I can tell you come from the Sand Village. I want to know what is your purpose here."
"That's right! Even if our villages are allies, you can't just enter another's territory without permission." Sakura spoke to support Sasuke's words.
"Without permission? You guys really don't know anything?" The blonde girl asked.
"He said something about an exam before." Sakura pointed at Kankuro.
"The Chunnin exams, that is the purpose of our visit. And of course, we have the appropriate permissions." Gaara said with a calm voice.
"The Chunnin exams? Why would ninjas from another village come here for a promotion?" Naruto decided to ask since it didn't make sense to him.
"How come they didn't teach you this at the academy? The Chunnin exams always take place in a different village, and ninjas from all the nearby hidden villages will attend. The purpose of this is to improve the political relationships between the many different hidden villages." The blonde girl explained it to them with a tone of smugness and superiority.
"Political relationships? That sounds more like a show of power between hidden villages." Naruto spoke his thoughts.
"Well… there is a bit of that too." The girl admitted.
"If that is all… we must take our leave." Gaara appeared to be losing his patience, and his tone was becoming less polite and more hostile.
"Hey, before you leave, I want to know your name." Sasuke stepped closer.
"Me?…" The blonde girl smiled. "I am Tema-"
"No… him." Sasuke pointed at the one in the middle.
The boy stared back at Sasule with some mild interest."Gaara of the Desert… I am also curious about yours."
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Gaara repeated his name. His eyes stopped at Naruto for a moment while scanning over the group, but then he turned around without saying anything else to them. "Let's go." He spoke to his siblings and began to walk.
The other two followed him closely without saying a word.
'A promotion exam...I wonder if I can join already.' Naruto knew that to access this village's best secrets, he had to climb the ranks and he did not want to remain at the bottom for longer than necessary.
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