Chapter 76: Xiao Ai's Arrival

  Since the mission in Wave Country ended, the atmosphere between Sasuke and Naruto has been very subtle, always making a fuss over each other. It's probably because of that thing in Wave Country that they're embarrassed about. After that, Naruto often delayed the progress of completing tasks, although it was like this before too. For example, helping someone pull out weeds, but ended up pulling out the medicinal herbs the client had planted instead. Picking up trash from the river, but slipped and almost fell off a cliff. Or for instance, helping to walk a dog, but just had to choose the biggest one, and was pulled into a minefield by the dog and almost got blown up. Clearly it was supposed to be walking the dog, but in reality the dog was walking him instead.

  Afternoon mission ended, Naruto and Sasuke got into it again. Sasuke said a few simple words that shut Naruto up, but what annoyed Sasuke was that he was stuck doing such low-level missions and couldn't get stronger. Then Haruno Sakura wanted to go on a date with Sasuke, but was crushed by his response "You're just like Naruto" and "Don't bother me, go practice your ninjutsu instead. Honestly, you're not even as strong as Naruto".

  "Hey, idiot! Don't dawdle, let's go home!" Sasuke walked a few steps forward before turning around, only to find that his companion had no intention of following him and was instead munching on the three-colored dumplings he hated the most.

  "Hey~~~" The "hey" was dragged out, and after slowly finishing the last dumpling, I walked towards Sasuke at a leisurely pace. Honestly, I've always wanted to ask why they all call me an idiot or a fool. Shigure has said it before, Sasuke has said it before, even Itachi-nii-san has said it... am I really that stupid?

  "Go home? What does Sasuke mean by that?" Naruto immediately caught onto the key phrase and jumped out to ask.

  "Shut up, you super big idiot."

  "Sasuke, what did you just say?!"

  I glanced at the two of them and sighed again in my heart, they started arguing again. In the past, they would have a big fight every three days and a small one every two days, but now they are always fighting "Ah... I've been living with Sasuke since we were kids."

  "What?! You two are living together?!" Naruto and Haruno Sakura exclaimed in unison, their eyes wide with shock.

  "...... Is that so? Is there something wrong with it?" Blinking a few times to confirm that I didn't say anything wrong, but their expressions seemed to suggest that I had said something wrong.

  "......I'm going back." Sasuke looked at the person who was still in a daze with a helpless gaze, let out a silent sigh, and then turned around to leave.

  After seeing off Sosuke, a square paper box with two holes and rock pattern appeared, following Naruto. Then the Konoha Maru Corps arrived. After that, Haruno Sakura stared at Naruto with a fierce look as if she wanted to swallow him alive, seemingly still bothered by the two words Sosuke said to her. Konohamaru seemed to have misunderstood Sakura's intention and asked Naruto if Sakura was his girlfriend. Then Naruto was knocked flying by Sakura's Heavenly Body Revolving Star Fist, actually she has a natural talent for physical strength.

  It's actually quite good to watch, really. For example, looking at Haruno Sakura with a vein bulging on her forehead, chasing after Naruto and Konohamaru like a Rakshasa. Then there's the scene where Konohamaru crashes into a weirdly dressed old man... it seems that around this time, the Chunin exams are about to take place, so this old man is probably Sai's older brother...... the difference is really big.

  I stared at the eccentrically dressed uncle and the woman next to him for a while, this uncle should be Xiao Ai's brother. The strange and ancient costume he wore was the traditional attire of a puppeteer - a cat ear cloak. The strange patterns painted on his face were made with oil paint, and it seemed that these patterns represented the level of the puppeteer. On his back was the 'Crow' that Scorpion had made before leaving Suna Village, if Scorpion saw it, he would only get a cold hum. But looking at him bullying the child so arrogantly, how humiliating, is he really Xiao Ai's brother?

  Her gaze turned to the handball standing beside him, Handball's words inherited most of her mother Karyo's genes, a beautiful girl. At first glance, she felt like an older sister, giving people a very mature feeling.

  He came to his senses and heard Kankurō say with disdain, "You're really disgusting. I hate dwarfs the most... especially young ones who are so arrogant. It makes me want to kill you..."

  Who's the dwarf? Who is this uncle calling a dwarf?! And saying he'll kill us?! Uncle, don't think that just because you're Xiao Ai's brother I won't touch you! The dark red eyes were filled with murderous intent, and his forehead was almost entirely crimson.

  Just as he was about to go forward and twist the uncle's neck, Kuranosuke led Mokubei's hand and was pushed open by a stone, and the rolling stones still had remnants of crimson blood, showing the magnitude of the force.

  "What the hell are you doing causing trouble in someone else's village? Get out!" He looked up to see Sasuke sitting on a branch, his obsidian-like pupils gleaming with sharp light, and then crushed the stone he was playing with into powder, which made Haruno Sakura scream repeatedly below.

  "Hey! Get down, you little devil. I'm the one who hates your kind of cleverness the most." Kankurou took off the 'Crow' from his back with an unresolved resentful look.

  "Kankurō, stop. You'll bring shame to our village." A sudden voice intervened, causing everyone to halt their movements, and after a second of silence, the faces of the crowd turned to shock.

  "I, I love Luo." Kan Kurou turned his head slightly, and everyone in the room could see that this big uncle was afraid of Xiao Ai. However, it's quite interesting to see a brother being afraid of his younger brother.

  Sasuke warily watched Iruka, who had suddenly appeared not far from him, and Iruka also noticed Sasuke, who could easily injure Kankuro with a stone.

  "You'll only bring shame to the village, what did you think we came here for?" Xiao Ai said with a cold face while hanging upside down from a tree, looking at Kan Kurō below.

  "Listen, I love Luo... they were the ones who started it..." Kōkurō unconsciously found an excuse for himself, unaware that Xia Ai hated it when others lied to him.

  "Shut up! Or I'll kill you." Xiao Ai's green eyes stared at Kan Kurō coldly, without a hint of emotional fluctuation, making him feel like he had fallen into an icy cave.

  "I understand, it's my fault. Sorry, I'm really sorry." Kōkichi apologized in a panic, with a cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

  "Sorry about that." Xiao Ai turned around and apologized to Sasuke and the others, I raised a smile, Xiao Ai was still as cute as ever, I loved him the most~~

  In an instant, Iro transformed into sand and fell to the ground. However, the next scene stunned everyone present, especially Kankurō and Temari. Because there was a person who wasn't afraid of death and directly pounced on Iro's body, even rubbing against him twice in the process. They didn't dare look at what happened next, it must have been extremely terrifying.

  "Hehe, little Ai, long time no see! Are you doing well? Has anyone been bullying you?" Xiong hugged Little Ai tightly. It had only been a few months since they last met, but the contrast in their heights was even more striking now, as Little Ai only reached up to his chest.

  “…Akane, you've changed clothes. But it's too revealing, change into something else.” Iro was taken aback by the person who suddenly hugged him, but the familiar feeling from the person's body, the unusual fragrance, and the inexplicable power that made him feel calm and at peace told him who this person was. A hint of warmth appeared on his refined, icy face, but his green eyes glanced down, and his face immediately turned cold again, because he saw the person's white, slender legs, and the skirt was so short.

  "Aw! But this outfit looks great and is also convenient for activities." I got down from Xiaoming's back, pouting and complaining.

  "Your sleeves are too long, you'll trip and fall." Ira glanced at the clothes the girl was wearing, with kimono-style sleeve cuffs that reached down to her calves, which were completely impractical for moving around... although they really did look cute.

  A bright red crossroads appeared on his forehead again, Xiao Ai, are you saying I'm short? "...... What kind of clothes won't hinder hands and feet?"

  "She and her are like that." Luo simply pointed at Chunye Sakura and Temari.

  "I think both of these are too revealing and ugly. So, Xiao Ai's request is rejected, and I'm not going to get hurt anyway." Turning my head to look at Chunye Sakura and Temari's clothes, the cheongsam-style dress does look good, but for someone of my height, it's still a no-go.

  Not far away, the crowd that had come back to their senses stared at the two interacting people, with mouths agape as if they could swallow duck eggs. Kankuro and Temari were shocked because Gaara actually cared about someone, and it was a girl who looked extremely cute and sweet. Asuma and others were shocked because Akane's expression was so rich, and she directly hugged him, who exactly were those people?

  "Hold on, judging from your headbands, you're ninjas from the Sand Village. But I thought the Fire Country and Wind Country were allied nations? According to the treaty between the two countries, ninjas aren't allowed to enter each other's countries freely. State your purpose, or don't think about leaving." Haruno Sakura was the first to react, then stepped forward to question them.

  "They're here for the Chunin Selection Exams, Haruno Sakura." He glanced at her vigilant face and then started eating a string of dumplings.

  "What's this Chunin Selection Exam all about?" Naruto asked with a puzzled expression.

  "Brother, if we pass this exam, we can be promoted from genin to chunin." Konohamaru looked at Naruto with a hint of disdain, even a little kid like him knew that, but their leader didn't know it at all.

  "Really? Then I'll give it a try too!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, clenching his fist.

  "Hey! I'm talking to you, what's your name?" Sasuke jumped down from the tree, slightly furrowing his brow. Although he didn't understand how that idiot could know these Sand ninjas, she and that Gaara were standing together in a very irritating way.

  "Is that a question for me?" Handa's face showed a slight expectation as he looked at Sasuke, and another person fell under Sasuke's good looks.

  "No, it's the one beside him with a gourd on his back."

  "Sand Waterfall, I'm a bit interested in you too. What's your name?" Gaara gazed calmly at the young man in front of him, his attention focused on his eyes.

  "Uzumaki Sasuke."

  "Alright, that's all for the introduction. Sasuke, I'm not going home today, nya nya~~ Little Ai, I'll tell you that Konoha has a lot of delicious food, I'll take you to visit Konoha." With that, he used 'Instant Body Movement Alice' and instantly transferred with Little Ai.

  "Hmph!" Sosuke gazed at the spot where the two had vanished into thin air, a layer of gloom settling on his face. On one hand, he felt that his own strength was insufficient; on the other, he couldn't shake off an inexplicable sense of discontent.

  "Sasuke, I will never lose to you!"

  "What's the point of bringing this up suddenly?"

  …………

  "What do you think?" On a nearby tree, there were three suspicious figures whispering to each other.

  "There's nothing particularly remarkable about them, but be careful of the girl with black hair and brown hair from Konoha, as well as the one with the gourd on her back. These three are worth paying attention to."

  "Not just two people. Don't attack that brown-haired girl, the portrait confirms it's her, this is an order from Lord Orochimaru."