Aoki Yoru instantly appeared before him, the five fingers of his right hand wreathed in Chakra, and slammed them hard into Gaara's lower abdomen.
"Five Elements Seal!"
Immediately, the Tailed Beast form covering Gaara's body retracted, and he collapsed straight to the ground.
At this moment, the Ichibi inside Gaara was raging in impotent fury, cursing Aoki Yoru incessantly. Gaara had already lost his sanity; with just a little provocation, it would have had a chance to emerge, perhaps even regain its freedom.
But that bastard had ruined everything, and even placed a seal on Gaara that restricted its entire body. Now, it felt as if it had been sealed back inside a teapot; it was utterly miserable.
"Gaara!" Temari cried out, running up to embrace him.
"Rest assured, he's just asleep. After all, guests are guests, and you are welcome to Konoha."
Aoki Yoru turned and left, heading toward Tenten's weapon shop; he had run out of explosive tags and needed to restock.
"By the way, Nao and Chino, don't play too late! Get home early!" Aoki Yoru's voice drifted from afar.
At this moment, Team 7 and Konohamaru and his friends had not yet recovered from what had just happened; the events had been too overwhelming for them to process.
The little ones stared at Aoki Yoru's retreating back with stars in their eyes—he was just too cool.
'Was that really Ninjutsu?' the three members of Team 7 wondered simultaneously.
"Hey, do you guys know where that guy comes from?"
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white, his teeth gritted, and anger and unwillingness churned in his eyes as he turned to ask Chino and the others.
That person wasn't much older than him, yet the gap between them was so vast.
Then what about Uchiha Itachi's strength? Wouldn't it be worlds apart? What, then, was the point of his efforts all these years? When would he be able to avenge his clan?
"I know, I know!" Chino raised her little hand proudly.
Ever since she was saved by Aoki Yoru, she had been paying attention to him. Imitating the tone of an adult, she clasped her hands behind her back and began to narrate.
"What? He and his teammates defeated a Kage-level powerhouse when he was only thirteen? And they were Kakashi-sensei's students, only two years ahead of us?" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed in unison, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Kakashi-sensei looks so frail; how could he possibly train such a powerhouse?" Sakura muttered, clenching her fist.
"Ah! I remember now! No wonder he looked so familiar; he's the big brother who treated me to Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto slapped his own forehead and laughed. "No wonder he's so strong, because he's a good guy!"
Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Is there any causal relationship between those two things?"
Sasuke ignored the two goofballs and walked toward the training ground with a look of unwillingness on his face; he was still too weak, and he couldn't slack off.
Meanwhile, on his way to the weapon shop, Aoki Yoru was quite satisfied with his display of dominance. That move was extremely effective for clearing out small fry; it was practically the Ninja World's version of Conqueror's Haki.
At the same time, he couldn't help but inwardly grumble about the Third Hokage; that old geezer certainly moved fast.
After he brought Nao home, she was a bit reserved at first, but she soon opened up, especially after making friends with Chino. The two of them would run around together every day whenever they had free time.
He didn't expect them to get mixed up with Konohamaru and his friends. If anyone told him the Third Hokage didn't have a hand in that, he wouldn't believe it even if he died.
Look at the playmates he had prepared for Konohamaru: Moegi possessed the First Hokage's Wood Release, and Ise Udon possessed a mutated Water Release.
Neither of them were simple characters; if nurtured properly, they would eventually become powerful figures who would make a name for themselves.
As for Nao and Chino—one from the Senju Clan, and the other from the Uzumaki Clan and a backup Jinchuriki—there was no way the Third Hokage would let them slip by.
Childhood friendships were always pure and firm, and would not fade with the passage of time.
Aoki Yoru now admired the Third Hokage a little. 'When parents love their children, they plan for their long-term future.'
He had already laid the foundation for Konohamaru to become Hokage.
As for the fact that Gaara was the Ichibi Jinchuriki, he didn't intend to tell the Third Hokage. There were Anbu protecting Naruto present, and for all he knew, the old geezer was probably spying with his crystal ball right then.
Aoki Yoru had guessed correctly; the Hokage had indeed seen everything that had just happened.
"Aoki Yoru's strength has grown again!" Exhaling a puff of smoke, the Third Hokage couldn't help but sigh.
As a Professor of Ninjutsu, he couldn't even discern the principle behind the technique Aoki Yoru had just used, only speculating that it was related to spiritual energy.
"What exactly is Sunagakure planning? As allies, they sent a Tailed Beast to Konoha without saying a word."
He wouldn't believe for a second that Sunagakure was just here to participate in the Chunin Exams, but he couldn't fathom their reason for causing trouble either.
Konoha had just repelled Kumogakure; to outsiders, they were at the peak of their military strength and morale. What was Sunagakure's confidence based on?
After pondering for a long time, the Third Hokage raised his head and spoke to the empty air:
"Someone, send more men to monitor those Sunagakure representatives. Also, notify the Anbu to increase surveillance and see what on earth Sunagakure is up to."
He didn't care that there was no response and lowered his head to ponder again; as Hokage, he had to be prepared to deal with all kinds of potential emergencies.
...
"Ah!"
Aoki Yoru kept yawning. He had been researching the Sealing Technique given to him by Uzumaki Ming until dawn and hadn't slept much at all. He glanced at Kakashi, who was leaning against a tree trunk.
"Kakashi-sensei, why did you call me here?"
"You've already seen Naruto and the others. I've registered them for the Chunin Exams, so please go to the trouble of helping to guide them over the next few days," Kakashi said listlessly.
Aoki Yoru looked at the frail and lethargic Kakashi before him. He had been shocked when they first met—how had he ended up like this after not seeing him for only half a year? Had he encountered some powerful enemy?
"Ah! Kakashi-sensei actually arrived early! And Aoki-senpai is here too!" Naruto was not only shocked but looked as if he had seen a ghost.
Sasuke also looked surprised to see Kakashi arrive early. "Hmph! Did the sun rise in the west today?"
"Well! Since you all know each other, there's no need for small talk. Aoki will be guiding you for this period!" Kakashi said absent-mindedly, not moving an inch as he leaned against the tree.
Aoki Yoru stepped forward and raised his hand to greet them: "Then, I'll be looking after you for the next few days."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Yoru." Kakashi said, jumping onto a tree branch, pulling a book from his bosom, and opening it impatiently.
"Hehehe!!!"
Then, an ambiguous, lecherous laugh escaped his lips.
Aoki Yoru stared at the four big characters on the cover, 'Young Madam Bai Jie,' his mouth twitching as he looked at Kakashi with a speechless expression.
Good grief, no wonder he was so lethargic and gaunt; it turned out that reading this masterpiece was the reason.
But just what kind of intensity was he using this book with to break through the regenerative capabilities of White Zetsu cells and end up in such a sorry state?
You have to realize, even if you were critically injured, it could save you!
Kakashi's condition looked as if he had unleashed dozens of S-rank forbidden Ninjutsu in a short period of time.