He steadied his jawbone, rubbed his swollen cheek, and complained.
"If I didn't hit hard, how would we fool the proctor?"
"About the belt... that was an accident. I didn't do it on purpose. Sorry."
"I don't care. You'd better forget it, too."
Temari pulled out some medicine and applied it to her cuts, then handed it to Daigan.
"Uchiha Sasuke has arrived. Stop wasting Chakra. The Chunin Exam isn't important anymore..."
If they kept going, Daigan could still fight, but Temari was right—it was better to end it quickly. Stamina needed time to recover, injuries needed treatment, and one of Daigan's key assets—his puppets—needed repairs.
Konoha's central area was vast, but at this moment, there weren't many Sand Ninja here. Among the Sand forces that had entered the main arena, the only one they could really count on was Baki.
Sunagakure's main force was still outside the village. Breaking through the outer barrier and defenses wasn't easy.
The only real help came from Orochimaru, the Sound Four, and the Sound Ninja led by Yakushi Kabuto.
Enemies were everywhere. This was no time to be willful.
The Chunin Exam—something he'd still wanted to show off in—ended in such a half-hearted, anticlimactic way.
Daigan couldn't help sighing. Sullen, he followed behind Temari toward the stairs.
Up ahead, Temari suddenly asked, "How did you judge positions so accurately? Don't tell me it was Chakra sensing. With Wind Release flying everywhere, even I can't do that. When your real body turns invisible, you should lose vision, and I'm sure there were no sand eyes around."
Under those conditions, Daigan shouldn't have been able to control his puppets at all. It was like fighting her evenly with his eyes closed—something he definitely couldn't do at his level.
"Secret," Daigan said, pouting stubbornly despite himself.
It should've been a chance to impress her. Give him just a bit more time and he could've won cleanly.
"Fine. Don't tell me," Temari snapped, then asked, "Hey—where are you going?"
At the top of the stairs, turning left led to the waiting rooms, while turning right led toward the medical room, the stands, and the main gate.
"I already lost. What's the point of going to the waiting room? It's cooler up in the stands. I'm going to go catch some wind."
"Do what you want. Stay sharp."
"Relax. Nothing's going to happen to me."
Daigan still sounded unwilling to accept it. "Today's win doesn't count. It was the situation. It's definitely not that I can't beat you."
"Yeah, yeah, you big idiot. Stop yapping. You're annoying," Temari said, disappearing around the corner into the waiting room.
It's about time. Time to run.
Another identical Substitute Puppet appeared beside Daigan. He dug out its left eyeball and swapped it with the left eyeball of the Substitute Puppet Temari had thrown on the ground.
When he finished, Daigan put away the extra Substitute Puppet he'd never shown anyone before and smiled smugly.
Who says you can only have one Substitute Puppet? If you've got money, you can have as many as you want...
If his real body's ability weren't currently limited to barely supporting a single "Third Eye," forcing him to swap the needed visual sense between slightly different puppet bodies, he wouldn't need to have them appear at the same time at all.
When necessary, he could also mix puppets and Shadow Clone Technique to fake a "real body." Some cards were still too early to reveal.
Had anyone seen through the tacit cooperation between him and Temari? Maybe. But what did it matter?
Daigan had already surrendered. The result was set. Talking about it changed nothing.
The real highlight was the upcoming clash between Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara. Who would care whether some Genin with no background and nothing special going for him had a trick up his sleeve?
In the eyes of the truly powerful, the entire Chunin Exam was never more than a sideshow.
Along the highest rear corridor of the stands, Daigan walked with the puppet doll Temari at his side. Near the opening, an Anbu in an animal mask was watching Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke down below, newly arrived.
The long-delayed second match was finally about to begin. With the long-awaited fight at hand, the stands surged with rising waves of cheers.
This place is too dangerous. Yakushi Kabuto is here, and there are too many Jonin...
With the Daimyo and so many dignitaries gathered, the VIP stands were guarded even more heavily. The civilian stands weren't safe either.
Let's go.
Daigan wasn't like Temari and Kankuro—he had no lingering hope for the Konoha Crush.
The flower of peace only bloomed when watered with blood. A land as full of conflict as the ninja world going more than a decade without war was simply too long.
So long people had started forgetting how terrifying war really was.
Daigan came in a rush, and he left in a rush. No one paid attention to a defeated Genin candidate.
All eyes were on the genius Uchiha Sasuke.
In just 1 month, Sasuke had learned to use Lightning Release to stimulate his body's cells and boost his reaction speed, perfectly reproducing the taijutsu Rock Lee had needed years to master. And beyond that, there was Lightning Release: Chidori—its power and spectacle left the crowd gaping.
Whether it was a Jinchuriki or Chidori, neither belonged on a stage like the Chunin Exam.
When Gaara's absolute defense was pierced by Chidori and his left shoulder was injured, he'd already spent too much Chakra to awaken One-Tailed Shukaku in time. His plan to use a tailed beast to create chaos and slaughter naturally fell apart.
The reason wasn't just that Uchiha Sasuke was genuinely strong enough to break Gaara's defense. The bigger problem was that Gaara had acted on his own, starting the transformation early instead of waiting for the signal to move according to plan.
Up in the stands, Yakushi Kabuto's Temple of Nirvana Technique had already been activated. The power of a large-scale A-rank genjutsu was more than most ninja could resist—let alone the fact that the vast majority here were ordinary civilians. One after another, they fell into sleep.
As the sudden upheaval left every side scrambling, smoke bombs erupted near the platform, and Orochimaru began to move.
Even if Gaara's attempt had failed, Orochimaru still had considerable confidence he could kill his teacher—the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Killing Fourth Kazekage Rasa in exchange for a slightly weaker but fully controllable Edo Tensei body wasn't as good, in Orochimaru's eyes, as doing this instead.
Keeping everything in his own hands was far more reliable than depending on a so-called ally.
Hidden behind the scenes, Daigan watched it all through the Sand Eye.
Baki and Shiranui Genma faced off. Kankuro and Temari were tasked with taking Gaara to a safe place for treatment, then returning once he improved, while Uchiha Sasuke was ordered to pursue Gaara.
Not long after, Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Haruno Sakura formed a squad under the guidance of the summoned ninja hound Pakkun and chased after them.
In the distance, a massive summoned snake smashed through the barrier's protection and crashed into Konoha's outer wall. The Konoha Crush had fully begun, plunging into white-hot intensity from the very start.
"This place is already too dangerous..."
Silently withdrawing his viewpoint, Daigan crouched in a towering tree a dozen meters outside the arena. He turned his head down toward the shadows below.
"But first, I've got to shake you off, you little bug."
From beneath the shade, Aburame Shino stared in Daigan's direction, his presence faint but unwavering.
"No matter how well you hide, your Chakra can't fool the Parasitic Destruction Insects. You sneaky Sand Ninja—whatever you're planning, I'll stop it."
"Planning something bad?"
Daigan threw back his head and laughed wildly, a rare look of arrogance on his face.
"Kid, this isn't a ninja game. It's war. People die. Are you ready?"
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