[A figure with face paint carrying a puppet, and a boy with a gourd on his back, an '愛' (Love) kanji on his forehead, and dark circles around his eyes...]

  Link goward Temari’s dire. On the opposite side of the hallway, the two figures stood with their arms crossed, leaning casually against the wall, their cold gazes fixed on him.

  [Kankurō... and Gaara, I presume?]

  Temari seemed slightly surprised. “You’re not a Nara, are you?”

  Link gave her a frosty look, unwilling to tihe versation. Thoughts like these were best kept to oneself—speaking them aloud suggested ulterior motives, whether to gather intelligence or something else.

  Temari appeared unbothered by his ck of response, her expressioral as she returo her panions.

  Time passed quietly. The two groups of ninja maintained a clear boundary.

  Officially, cross-border missions for ninja were prohibited by treaty. However, as Sunagakure weakehe Daimyō of the Land of Wind began hiring Konoha shinobi for missions, g cost-effectiveness. This breach of the treaty naturally went unopposed by the Land of Fire.

  For Sunagakure, however, these years had been particurly challenging. It was telling that the Fourth Kazekage himself had to meet with a mere mert to iate.

  “Click!”

  The meeting room door opened. Baki exited first, followed by the Fourth Kazekage, now wearing his hat.

  Baki gnced briefly at Link before rejoining the three Sunagakure Genin. The Kazekage strode purposefully toward the stairs, not lingering.

  “iations with the Fourth Kazekage went smoothly,” Nara Ensui said casually as he emerged. He addressed his team, “Ohe discussions with the gold merts clude tomorrow or the day, we should be able to return early.”

  He added, “From this point forward, Sunagakure’s ninja will share responsibility for the t’s prote—until the mert leaves the Land of Wind.”

  Baki was simirly briefing the Sunagakure Genin, whose reas betrayed no surprise.

  Pg a hand on Link’s shoulder, Ensui advised, “Do your best to avoid flict.”

  The phrase "do your best" carried a deliberate nuanbsp;

  After a nod, Ensui dismissed his team to assume their respective guard positions.

  Meanwhile, the three Sunagakure Genin began moving as well. Temari waved briefly before heading downstairs with Kankurō.

  Gaara, however, lingered. His bloodshot eyes, filled with twisted killing i, sed the Konoha team before he finally disappeared down the hallway.

  “His eyes…” Iris murmured, a hint of unease in his voice. “It’s like he really wants to kill us.”

  Ami patted him reassuringly on the back. “Don’t overthink it. He has no reason to harm us, and even if he tries, it’s not like he could actually succeed.”

  [If I’m careless, even I might find him troublesome without transf...]

  Li his thoughts to himself.

  Ensui, however, paid no mind to the menag gnces from an allied vilge’s Genin.

  …

  Night, the Inn rooftop.

  The night sky was clear, stars twinkling brightly. A sharp wind blew through the air, carrying faint traces of sand.

  Despite the spring season, the desert’s evening chill was nearly freezing, a stark trast to the Land of Fire’s mild climate or the Land of Rivers’ seasonal crity.

  Link stood at the rooftop’s edge, his gaze sing the surroundings. Chakra signatures from within the Iered clearly in his enhanced sense.

  Since mastering Delicate Illness Extra Teique, Link’s ability to sense chakra had signifitly improved, making him a petent sensor ninja. While his range wasn’t massive, it easily enpassed the entire Inn. Even without active sensing, any unusual chakra fluctuation would alert him instantly.

  From this vantage point, he could quickly respond to disturbances anywhere in the building.

  “Shh~”

  Behind him, barely audible over the wind, a swirl of sand began to coalesbsp;

  “I don’t like the way you looked at me earlier,” the gourd-bearing boy said, his tone oddly detached as he formed from the sand using a Sand Body Flicker.

  “Is that so?”

  Link had already sehe chakra disturbance. Without any visible effort, he pleted a substitution and transformation teique, turning to face Gaara.

  “Well, I didn’t like yaze either.”

  Uhe moonlight, Gaara’s shadow extended unnaturally. Just beside it, another shadow subtly overpped.

  [Testing... Konoha's in...]

  Gaara’s thoughts betrayed his i. Raising his right hand, the sand in his gourd began to move.

  “Whoosh!”

  Link’s shadow rose into a three-dimensional form, poised but not attag—merely standing behind Gaara.

  “Rustle...”

  In response, Gaara’s Sand Shield activated, surrounding him in a protective shell of sand.

  Link remained uhe Sand Shield, while formidable, was not imperable.

  [Unless it’s pletely airtight and flush against your skin, against a shadow...]

  As Gaara’s haeo attack, Link’s shadow found its way through the smallest gaps in the shield.

  “Bang!”

  Gaara was sent flying as the shadow struck him with precise force, shattering the sand shield in the process. His body hit the ground hard, bounced once, and then nded with a dull thud.

  The shadow that had struck him returo its ft, two-dimensional form, slipping out of reach befaara’s sand could retaliate.

  “Crack...”

  Gaara slowly rose to his feet. A slight crack marred his cheek where he had been strubsp;

  Link stood calmly, hands at his sides. He hadn’t even drawn a kunai. His expression was cold and posed.

  Attag over a mere gnce seemed utterly illogical—though sidering Gaara’s tormented psyche as a Jinchūriki, perhaps it was uandable.

  Still, Link resolved to serve his chakra and avoid revealing too muo fshy teiques, no unnecessary damage...

  “I’ll kill you...” Gaara muttered, his bloodshot eyes bzing as he prepared to strike again.

  [Too slow...]

  Link’s refined bat instincts, honed against Jōni Gaara’s movements feeling sluggish.

  Befaara could plete his attack, Link’s shadow darted forward once more.

  “Swoosh!”