Since Gaara had appeared, Shikamaru's plan to injure Kankurō and Temari — thereby preventing Gaara from participating in the Chūnin Exams — had failed. Even if they fought one-on-one, the outcome wasn't certain. In fact, Shikamaru was still a step behind Gaara in terms of strength. With Gaara present, both Kankurō and Temari could perform at full strength, meaning they wouldn't be forced into close combat — their weak point — which would've been Shikamaru's advantage.
So, seeing Gaara leave with Kankurō and Temari, Shikamaru didn't stop them.
"Damn it! That opera-singing fat guy just walked off like that." Naruto fumed as he watched the three Sand Genin leave after simply asking for Shikamaru's name, completely ignoring him. "What a lack of vision."
But then he remembered what Temari had said earlier. He clapped his hands excitedly and muttered to himself, "They're going to participate in the Chūnin Exams! I'll enter too — and I'll win!"
"What do you think, Konohamaru?" Naruto turned to the side, only to find Konohamaru tearfully glaring at him with resentment.
"Nii-chan... you're so lame. I'm so disappointed in you!" Now that the tense atmosphere had lifted, Konohamaru couldn't hold back his fear anymore. As tears streamed down his face, he pointed at Naruto, sobbing.
"Ah, don't say that, Konohamaru. I swear I'll beat up that opera-singing fat guy during the Chūnin Exams and make it up to you!" Naruto quickly squatted down beside Konohamaru, plastering on a goofy grin and trying to cheer him up.
Ignoring Naruto's antics, Sakura walked over to Shikamaru, who was still staring in the direction the Sand trio had gone. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.
"I'm fine." Shikamaru seemed to snap back to reality. He smiled at Sakura, then glanced at Naruto comforting Konohamaru and warned, "Those three Sand Genin are strong. If you guys plan to join the Chūnin Exams, be careful around them."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Naruto scratched his head, looking confused. "That fat guy and the girl with the fan weren't your match even when they teamed up. What's the big deal?"
"Or are you just trying to brag?" Naruto squinted at Shikamaru, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Did you forget how you just got knocked down?" Sakura turned back and scolded Naruto, then apologized to Shikamaru on his behalf.
"No, it's not that I'm much stronger than them," Shikamaru explained to Naruto and Sakura. "That guy in the black jumpsuit with makeup — he's a puppeteer from Sunagakure. He's not good at taijutsu."
"Puppeteer?" Except for Sakura, everyone — Naruto, Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi — looked confused.
Seeing their puzzled expressions, Shikamaru explained, "Puppeteers use chakra threads to control puppet dolls like marionettes. These puppets are often loaded with hidden weapons and usually laced with poison, making them very hard to deal with. Their strength mostly depends on their puppets. That thing Kankurō carried on his back, all wrapped in bandages — that was probably his puppet. I didn't give him the chance to use it, which is why I could suppress him. But if you want more details on puppeteers, you should ask Kakashi-sensei — he knows more than I do."
"Shikamaru-nii, how do you know all this?" Konohamaru had somehow wandered over and was now looking up at Shikamaru with admiration.
"..." Sakura facepalmed. Exasperated, she told Naruto and the others, "We learned this in the Ninja Academy! It's in the Tools & Weapons section of the textbook!"
"Oh! I remember now!" Naruto clapped his fist into his palm in fake realization. But knowing him, Sakura didn't bother calling him out.
"Konohamaru, are those your teammates?" Shikamaru turned to gently ruffle Konohamaru's hair. "You've got exams coming up. I promised Asuma-sensei I'd coach you for the next week. Bring them along, too."
"Okay, Shikamaru-nii!" Konohamaru beamed, waving Udon and Moegi over. Then he leaned close to Naruto and whispered with a smirk, "I won't get in your way!" — clearly hinting at alone time with Sakura.
"I'm heading off, Sakura, Naruto." Shikamaru looked pensively in the direction of the woods. "If you're taking the Chūnin Exams, be careful of foreign shinobi. A lot of them resent the Hidden Leaf and harbor hostility."
…
"Interesting."
In the thicket by the street — the direction Shikamaru had looked earlier — three figures, two males and one female, sat or stood among the trees. The one in the middle, hunched over with a cloak draped on his back, had his head wrapped tightly in bandages, revealing only one eye. This was Dosu Kinuta.
"He might have noticed us," said Kin Tsuchi, the black-haired girl standing nearby.
"Sasuke doesn't seem to be around," added Zaku Abumi, the spiky-haired youth.
All three wore forehead protectors marked with a musical note — the genin team from Otogakure sent to take the Chūnin Exams.
"Whatever." Dosu spoke lowly, watching Shikamaru leave. "But keep an eye on that ponytail guy."
"He looks like he's good at taijutsu," Zaku said, recalling Shikamaru's fight with Kankurō and Temari.
"Maybe. But our real target is Uchiha Sasuke. That guy's strong, so let's not provoke him unnecessarily," Dosu said, cracking his neck uncomfortably.
Zaku cracked his knuckles and sneered, "That depends on whether he knows his place."
"Then we'll just kill him." Dosu said calmly. Otogakure, founded by Orochimaru, was infamous for its brutal internal selection process. Even though these three were only genin, they had survived countless deadly trials and didn't see other genin as worthy opponents.
…
A few days later, at the Konoha Training Grounds.
"In battle, saving a bit of chakra could mean being able to cast one more jutsu," Shikamaru was explaining to Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi. "That's why chakra control is important."
"Shikamaru!" Choji and Ino had arrived and greeted him. "You're here early."
Becoming a genin or even a jōnin in the Hidden Leaf didn't mean no more missions. There were monthly quotas. This day happened to be the one scheduled for Team 10 to assemble.
"Not that early," Shikamaru replied, pointing to the kids. "These are Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi."
"Hello, Ino-oneechan! Hi, Choji-nii!" Moegi cheerfully greeted them, followed by Udon and Konohamaru.
As they were chatting, Asuma arrived from the path outside the training grounds. Unlike Kakashi's laid-back demeanor, Asuma maintained a relaxed atmosphere through patience and effort.
After greeting everyone, Asuma unexpectedly announced that Team 10 wouldn't be going to the mission center today. Instead, he pulled out three slips of paper from his ninja pouch and handed them to Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji.
In the upper-left corner of each slip was a large kanji for "忍" (Shinobi), enclosed in a white-bordered circle...