Shira

Damn, he's getting his butt kicked... If I help him out now... He'll owe me big time.

Yes, that's a good idea. I'll have him teach me taijutsu with the favor that I gain. I must be a genius for coming up with such great plans.

Patting myself on the back, I sent my sand through a small crack under the door. It started piling up until it became a massive claw.

The woman seemed to notice and she freaked out. Shira was also scared, but he was too injured to move.

Without giving her time to react, I willed the sand to grab her by the arms and legs. She tried resisting, but it was futile. My heart-sand is not to be underestimated.

I raised her up and slammed her on the ground repeatedly. Shira looked on with horror as the woman screamed in pain.

To not alert anyone, I filled her mouth with sand and continued with the beating until she was knocked out cold.

I might have been a bit rough there, but this woman is a kid-beater. I have no mercy for such people.

After double checking with my third-eye that no one else was present, I stealthily entered the tavern. Shira had curled himself into a ball and was crying in fear.

I mean, a gigantic sand-monster just clobbered the woman that beat him up. He probably thought that he was next in line. Can't blame him.

Through my directions, the sand in the room hovered around me and formed the shape of a gourd. I attached it to my back and walked up to Shira.

He had seen what I just did, and was staring at me with a wide-eyed expression. He then pointed at the woman.

"D-did you do that?"

Smirking, I nodded my head. Shira seemed to realize and got up. He dusted himself off and bowed, ignoring the pain of his injuries.

"Thank you! I, Shira, shall engrave your kindness in my heart forever! May I know your name?"

Oh god, he speaks so formally... If I remember correctly, he was sent here by his parents from the country-side. It must be a defense mechanism to not offend anyone here and stay safe.

Well, you're safe with me bud. Shira is one of the only characters in Naruto that seemed to know what loyalty was. I like people like him, who are not evil at heart.

Sadly, there aren't many like him.

"My name is Gaara. Nice to mee you."

He doesn't seem to recognize my name. That's good.

"Nice to meet you, Gaara-san!"

"Just call me Gaara. Are you hurt? here's some ointment."

I took out a small container that Yashamaru had given to me before leaving in case of injuries. It had pretty good healing capabilities.

"Th-This... It's too precious. I cannot accept it."

Shira looked resolute, but I could see a tinge of desire in his eyes when he looked at the ointment in my hand. What a hassle.

"Then... Consider it you owing me another favor. Just use it, I don't care."

This is how you deal with these types of people. They won't accept gifts no matter what.

He looked at me with doubt... But took the ointment after awhile, relieving me.

...

Suddenly, I heard a sinister voice that subconsciously made my mouth go dry.

"Hihihihihihi... you really are a strong one, to defeat that Gorilla woman so easily... Hihihihi"

Feeling my scalp tingle, I raised a sand guard around me. Not forgetting to encapsulate Shira in a thick layer of sand.

"To be honest, I don't like her much... But she paid me to protect her so..."

As I scanned my surroundings, I found nothing. Apart from the big woman and Shira, no one else seemed to be here.

Where did that voice come from?

Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind and I looked upwards.

There was a person stuck to the ceiling... Wait, no... That's not a person. That's a puppet. And a big one at that.

Its face was horrible, looking like it had been melted. Due to this, part of its exoskeleton was visible, making it nightmare-inducing.

It only had a few strands of hair, and its big arms were covered in metallic spikes. They shone with an ominous glint.

Seemingly realizing that I had found it, the puppet pushed its legs against the roof and propelled itself towards me. It was preparing a direct punch.

Reacting quickly, I raised my hands and formed a sand-shield to cushion the impact. As soon as the two collided, I felt the immense strength behind that punch.

It's no joke.

Not wasting the opportunity, I waved my hands and tried to grab the arm of the puppet with the sand. I wasn't fast enough though, and it jumped out of the way.

"Tch... Almost."

I looked at it with visible frustration.

The puppet seemed warier now, and it backed away before standing still. The sinister voice then sounded in my ears once more.

"You're tougher than you look... I didn't think that a mere kid could react to Mezawari's speed. Much less block one of its punches."

(AN: Mezawari literally means eyesore in Japanese. It's the name of the puppet.)

Staying silent, I looked directly at the puppet while trying to find the origin of the voice... My concentration peaking.

As if noticing my actions, the voice appeared again, this time sounding loud and shrill. My ears hurt from the volume.

"HIHIHIHI! Do you really think that you can find me?! Keep trying!"

Focusing, I noticed that his voice was constantly changing its origin. Either he's constantly moving... Or he's using some kind of Jutsu to randomize the sound location.

Either way... This is going to be hard to deal with.

The puppet then started making weird noises, bringing my attention back to it. As I watched, it's mouth opened wide, and a massive metallic needle came out of it.

Without warning, the puppet then started flying to me at full speed, with the needle still in its mouth.

"Take this! If you can stop Mezawari's brute strength, then let's see how you deal with its piercing attack!"

Feeling my scalp tingle once more, I controlled the sand and swiftly created a layered shield. The first few layers contained normal sand, while the last ones were made of my special heart-sand.

Upon impact, the needle didn't go very deep... Stopping relatively early. I controlled the sand to wrap around the puppet, but then, it started rotating at fast speeds.

"DIE!"

Oh crap.