Expectations Thwarted

Most of the qualified candidates were resting not far from the grounds, the chilling aura around Gaara was so intense that only Temari and Kankuro dared to stay close, jittery with apprehension.

The antisocial Sand Night Squad occupied another corner. The Sand Night sisters were not easy to get along with, and Ziro was a newly minted ninja who had entered through backdoor channels, so no one wanted to associate with them.

The others sat in sullen silence, some unable to bear it any longer and stepping out for air, until Daimaru arrived late, breaking the dreary atmosphere.

"Yo, Temari, fancy seeing you here!"

"Are you an idiot? Anyone who wins would end up here!"

Temari responded irritably, suddenly worried she might have spoken too loudly and disturbed Gaara.

Seeing Gaara, with his eyes closed and serene, showing no reaction, Temari breathed a sigh of relief.

"Stay away from me if you value your life!"

Temari hissed in a low voice, urging Daimaru to scram.

"Still so cold, huh? After knowing each other for over a decade, can't you be a bit nicer to me?"

"If you don't shut up, I'll—wait, what's that on your shoulder?"

Temari hadn't noticed from a distance, but as Daimaru approached, she spotted the ludicrously toy-like puppet, which bore an uncannily familiar form.

"Oh, this? You noticed!"

Daimaru lifted the meticulously crafted puppet with pride, grinning,

"My first puppet. What do you think? Pretty, isn't it?"

"You jerk!"

Temari's face flushed with anger, struggling to contain her fury, wanting to teach this shameless fool a lesson but also wary of Gaara's reaction.

Kankuro, rubbing his forehead in regret, sighed,

"You took so much material from me for this? You really are..."

Kankuro waved Daimaru away, indicating he should keep his distance,

"A disgrace to puppeteers!"

"Hey, Kankuro, we've got some history, you know. Isn't that a bit harsh?"

Daimaru protested loudly. He had just made a beautiful puppet, how did he end up with the ignominious title of 'disgrace to puppeteers'?

"Look at the figure, hair, skin, isn't each aspect flawless? Even the clothing and the fan are perfect replicas. Do you have any idea how much effort I put into this?"

Beyond the time and money invested, the search for the right materials, the patient carving and crafting, he couldn't begin to account for the labor and energy expended.

"I see!"

Temari glared at Daimaru through gritted teeth as if her gaze could kill,

"You went through all that trouble to observe my figure, hair, and skin. I should be so grateful."

"Temari, you're misunderstanding me..."

Daimaru sensed Temari's discontent,

"I didn't really go out of my way to look at your figure... No, that's not to say you're not attractive! I mean, you're beautiful, of course. But I absolutely didn't mean to desecrate you with a bad look..."

Daimaru's incoherent defense did nothing to cool Temari's anger, only fanning the flames.

"Are you insulting me?"

Temari swung her fan from behind her back, aiming to strike at the puppet Daimaru was showing off.

"No, don't!"

His labor of love couldn't just be destroyed like that; Daimaru pulled the puppet back into his arms, but he was struck by the heavy fan.

Bang!

Daimaru went flying, tumbling across the ground before coming to a stop.

Still fuming, Temari turned to Kankuro.

"I heard you helped that idiot, too. Did you want to see your sister make a fool of herself in public? We need to have a talk, Kankuro..."

"It's not my fault."

Kankuro hastily denied,

"Don't be rash, Temari. It was just a financial transaction between us, he bought some puppet materials from me..."

"Is that so?"

Temari eyed Kankuro suspiciously, leaning in close to his sweat-beaded forehead.

Just then, the previously still Gaara suddenly opened his eyes,

"Shut up, you're all too noisy."

His icy words immediately silenced Kankuro and Temari, who dared not make another peep.

On the other side, Daimaru struggled to his feet,

"Good thing it's not broken; fixing it would take who knows how long."

"What a spectacle!"

A familiar yet venomous tone reached Daimaru's ears,

"Did you really think someone like you could earn Temari's favor? Face reality, fool..."

"What's it to you?"

Daimaru brushed off the dust, carefully stowed his well-maintained puppet, and replied without looking up,

"Sand Night, if I hadn't introduced you to a teammate, you wouldn't have the privilege to stand here and mock. Is this how you treat your benefactor?"

"Benefactor? I believe I've already compensated you! It was just a transaction, what makes you think you can claim to be my benefactor?"

"Typical ungrateful princess!"

Daimaru sneered.

Looking at their squad, neither Sand Night nor Sana had a hair out of place, clearly having not fought, while Ziro looked battered and listless.

Noticing Daimaru's disdainful glance, Sand Night defensively claimed,

"I just wanted to gauge the strength of our new member. I didn't expect the carefully chosen team to fall short, beaten by a rookie..."

The first to face off, overconfident against Ziro, who was barely a ninja not long ago, was quickly concussed due to underestimation.

The second was more cautious but outmatched, quickly losing the ability to resist against Ziro's brute force.

The third was strong, a fitting final challenger, and gave Ziro a run for his money.

Unfortunately, the first two had fallen too quickly, bowing out before showcasing their true strength. Knowing there was no hope, they couldn't match Ziro's determination for victory.

In a battle of attrition, it was Ziro who had the last laugh.

"Stop your gloating, think about what you'll do for the Chunin Exam. Your opponents then won't be the green kids of today."

"You should worry about the two delicate girls you're protecting! With your strength, you're not capable of leading two deadweights..."

"I have faith in them. It's you who should worry about not embarrassing our village..."

"What gives you the right to talk to me? The disgrace of puppeteers!"

Sand Night's face began to sour,

"A puppet meant for combat turned into a toy, are you a child? Or is it because you know you can't win Temari's favor, you've created a doll to console your petty and shallow vanity?"