Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro stood before their next target.
"Do you have to be so straightforward?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kankuro scoffed. "No wonder the other teams we encountered had no scrolls. You guys took them all!"
He turned to his teammates. "Gaara, Temari, don't waste time talking. Just take them down!"
Hearing this, Sasuke and Naruto tensed, slowly reaching for the kunai in their tool bags, ready to counter the attack.
On the Central Tower
Mitarashi Anko watched the scene through the surveillance monitors and turned to an invigilator. "If these two teams fight, which has the upper hand?"
The invigilator hesitated. "It's hard to say."
Another invigilator interjected. "According to Anbu's intel, the boy carrying the gourd is the son of the Fourth Kazekage. He's the One Tail Jinchūriki of the Sand Village. He came through the last exam without a scratch."
Anko's eyes widened. "A Jinchūriki? No wonder he's so good at manipulating sand. Looks like he has an automatic sand shield."
"This Sand team is among the strongest in the Chūnin Exams," another invigilator noted.
"Strong, huh?" Anko chuckled, looking at the screen where Morkel stood calmly. "But they don't even have two scrolls. The brats from Konoha might be the real ones to watch."
In the Shadows of the Central Tower
Kankuro loosened the human-shaped bundle on his back and unwrapped the white bandages, revealing a three-eyed, four-armed puppet.
Morkel raised an eyebrow. "What's the point of bringing a puppet into a fight? Are you trying to trade it for scrolls?"
Naruto laughed. "Yeah! What, is it supposed to scare us?"
Kankuro gritted his teeth. "You'll see just how powerful I am!"
With a flick of his fingers, he controlled the puppet with chakra strings. It lunged at Naruto with lightning speed.
Naruto, caught off guard, barely had time to react. Sasuke yanked him aside just in time and countered with a kick aimed at the puppet's head.
But the puppet was quick. Kankuro pulled it back, and as it retreated, its mouth opened, launching three kunai straight at Morkel.
Morkel remained calm, swiftly pulling out two shuriken from his tool bag.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
The first shuriken struck the kunai midair, deflecting them, while the second continued its trajectory toward Kankuro's face.
Naruto gasped. "Whoa! That was incredible!"
Morkel wasted no time. He swiftly performed a hand sign.
"Shuriken Clone Technique!"
Suddenly, the single shuriken multiplied into hundreds, raining down toward Kankuro.
Kankuro had no time to dodge. Just as it seemed he would be skewered, Gaara raised his hand.
A wall of sand shot up, intercepting the barrage of shuriken.
Kankuro exhaled in relief. "Thanks, Gaara!"
Gaara scowled. "You're in my way."
Sasuke glared at Naruto. "Are you stupid? That guy's a puppeteer. He fights using his puppet from a distance. They're dangerous."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, yeah, I get it."
Gaara then turned to Morkel, extending his fingers. "Fifty thousand. No more."
Morkel frowned. "Too low. No deal."
Gaara's aura darkened as he clenched his fists. Naruto and Sasuke subtly signaled Morkel to take the deal before things got worse.
Morkel ignored them and held up four fingers. "Add forty thousand, or I walk."
Gaara's fingers twitched. But he restrained himself. "Eighty thousand. Final offer."
Morkel smiled. "Deal."
He rummaged through his pile. "Do you need the Heaven or Earth scroll? The ones that fell on the ground or have a few scratches are cheaper."
Sasuke and Naruto facepalmed.
Temari sighed, but Gaara made the exchange. With their two scrolls, they headed for the tower.
On the way, Kankuro muttered, "That guy is annoying."
Temari, however, smirked. "I don't know. There's something about him. He's confident, strong..."
Kankuro rolled his eyes. "Don't fall for a Konoha guy."
"Give him a few years, and he'll shake the ninja world," Temari said.
Gaara added, "He has a massive chakra reserve."
Kankuro and Temari looked at him in surprise.
Gaara nodded. "He's a formidable opponent."
A Shadow Watches
Orochimaru, hidden within a tree, observed Morkel closely.
"The Third Hokage's Shuriken Clone Technique... and he mastered it so easily," he mused. "His talent and chakra levels might surpass Uchiha Sasuke's. If only he had a bloodline limit..."
The Next Customers
After Gaara's team left, another group arrived. It was Karin's team.
"I knew it! You're really selling scrolls here!" Karin exclaimed.
She was shocked by the number of scrolls piled up on Morkel's table.
"How much?" she asked.
"One hundred thousand each."
Her team gasped. "That's robbery!"
Morkel shrugged. "Eighty thousand. Final price."
Karin hesitated. "Uh… can we get a discount?"
Morkel sighed. "If you can't pay, work for it. Be my bodyguards. I'll give you a scroll after."
Karin's team eagerly agreed.
Trouble Arrives
Half an hour later, a new group approached—three Sound Ninjas.
Morkel immediately sensed hostility.
"Prepare for battle," he murmured to Naruto and Sasuke.
Seeing him stash the scrolls away, the Sound Ninja leader sneered. "Hey, why hide the scrolls? That's no way to do business."
"My business. My rules," Morkel shot back.
The Sound Ninjas exchanged glances.
"Enough talk!" Toss shouted, signaling the attack.
The Kusagakure bodyguards leaped forward, determined to prove their worth. Toss smirked and raised his hand.
A sharp soundwave erupted from his weapon, causing everyone to clutch their ears in pain.
Morkel pulled out a kunai and threw it at the sound device, but Sack countered by blasting it away with a high-pressure wind stream from the black holes in his palms.
Naruto gritted his teeth. "Their attacks are weird!"
Morkel narrowed his eyes. "They're modified. If I take out their hands, they're finished."
As he formed hand seals, Jin, the female Sound Ninja, hurled kunai at him.
Naruto moved to block them. "Morkel, watch out!"
But Morkel had already finished his jutsu.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
A massive wall of stone erupted between them, stopping the kunai mid-air.
The real battle had begun.
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