EmotionalRockfish
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Heya. This chapter's been up a few days on tumblr already, but here you go! Chapter 5 should be completely finished in a few days.
Part 4 - Here
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Part 4 - Here
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If you exceeded the limit, what was left would only collapse. It was the same when it came to the dams of a person’s heart. But, because until now the man had continued to endure through absurdity, he thought that this would be forgiven, as had the woman. But, a shinobi who stopped enduring was not a shinobi.
Then, what became of shinobi who stopped enduring?
It was obvious.
They were prey.
・・・・・・・・
‘You’re going to chase after Hakuto alone…!?” When Gaara had proposed such a thing, Baki, quite honestly, had been unable to keep his surprise hidden. This was because it wasn’t a plan any normal leader would come up with.
But it seemed that Gaara was determined to do this.
“At least take two of my subordinates with you. But if you consider the scope of the surroundings, you’d really need three whole squads.”
“That won’t do.” The former subordinate shook his head, “If I did that, this would become a mission, and leaving a public record is undesirable.”
“…!”
Baki finally understood what Gaara was planning. If they left a record, this matter would find it’s way to the public. And if that happened, it wasn’t something something that would be on the news, but something that would get to the higher-ups of the village.
Though the wedding ceremony is yet to happen, the Kazekage was unable to protect the woman who will likely become his wife, the princess of the Houki clan. That is a great mistake, and cause for criticism.
Of course, Gaara was not a small man who held his reputation dear. What he worried about was the village becoming unstable and the easing of tensions he had worked towards collapsing, but that was it. If you called a person like that obsessed with power…
…Then say what you want.
That was the resolve reflected in Gaara’s eyes. His face was that of a man’s, not a boy’s.
“I understand. This situation is left to us alone. I will act as though nothing happened, but only until the morning.”
“That is correct. I will bring Hakuto back by sunrise.”
・・・・・・・・
“Are you leaving?” At the entrance of the oasis, a woman waited for Gaara.”If that’s the case, please allow me to join you.”
From behind the thick lenses of her glasses, she stared at Gaara with a look of strong will.
“I’m grateful for what you did, but-” Gaara’s words were interrupted by Shijima.
“This was my mission in the first place. Hakuto’s guards were all taken down, and while I received injuries, I should go.” As she spoke, she showed Gaara the injury on her side. She was talking about how the three chunin from the Houki clan who had been assigned to protect Hakuto had fainted without word and how she, who had barely held onto consciousness, had also been poisoned by a needle to her side.
“You’ll get in my way.” Gaara didn’t pause, and moved to walk past the kunoichi. But, Shijima caught onto his sleeve with a stubborn will.
“The poison has been removed, it wasn’t in any vital points anyway. And I’ve received medical attention, so I’ll be fine.”
“…” He’d wanted to push her aside and continue, but Gaara found himself unable to for some reason.
I see.
He remembered something. The voice of a ninja who cared deeply about others and was willing to sacrifice himself for them. He couldn’t see behind Shijima’s glasses, but her words, they were sincere.
“You remind me of someone.”
“What?”
“There’s a strange ninja who says things like you do, and is stubbornness is always difficult to handle. A person who’d chase after even if I was dead…”
“I don’t get what you’re saying.”
“What I’m saying is, turning you away has become difficult.” Gaara let out a small sigh.
But it wasn’t an uncomfortable sigh.
・・・・・・・・
“I see…” The elder had finished listening to the report and gave a satisfied nod. The elder was Tojuro, “Everything seems to be going accordingly.”
“Yes sir.” The one waiting before him was Kankuro’s subordinate, Maizuru. Tojuro prefered when the young ninja groveled before him. All the more when it was a good looking young man like this one.
Because he envied them.
He had once been the strongest taijutsu master in the sand village. And he wasn’t just skilled in taijutsu. In wind style jutsu, kuchiyose summoning and even genjutsu, he was the best in the field. However, above all else, it was his agility he was known for.
But, he had grown old.
His eyes could no perceive the world as he imagined, his legs would not let him soar, and his fingers wouldn’t move like he wanted them to anymore.
Even so, people continued to hold him as a hero even in his old age.
But, they’re not right.
It wasn’t as such.
Growing old meant stepping down.
It had meant descending from his position at the top little by little. There were many ninja that had surpassed the abilities of his aging body, but what was the consequence of that?
It seemed to be that he could no longer stand at the top like his younger self. However, just this was frustrating.
So, Tojuro detested the young ones.
Because, while were inferior to him now, one day they would come to surpass him.
So I’m going to continuing proving myself. As someone necessary to the village.
Tojuro gave Maizuru some instructions and leaned his body against the sofa in satisfaction.
・・・・・・・・
The desert night was cold.
There were no clouds, humidity, rivers, oceans or trees to retain the heat that rained down from the trees during the day. So, while the day was hot to cook a fried egg on a rock, the night grew cold enough to give you frostbite.
“It’s not like the land of fire can’t take over the land of wind. We just have no desire to.” The daimyo of the land of fire would often say, and it wasn’t unreasonable.
Gaara and Shijima ran through the desert with determination, as it began to grow cold. They weren’t using Gaara’s jutsu to fly across the desert for fear of being caught and in order to track the footprints left behind by the enemy accurately. It was also to preserve chakra.
“There, to the right of the sand dune. As expected, they seem to be heading to the border of the land of fire.”
It had only been a single ninja who had taken Hakuto. Gaara knew from the footprints in the sand. It was probably best to consider them skilled. While they had taken down Shijima and the other guards, they’re breathing hadn’t even hitched. They were also skilled enough to use wind release while they were running to hide their footprints.
“The enemy is unfortunate to have me following them.” Gaara was talking mostly to himself, but not out of arrogance. Sand, the sand of this desert specifically, was like Gaara’s family, and if it had been anyone else following the enemy, they definitely wouldn’t have been able to chase them through a huge desert like this without loosing them.
The ninja’s skill was definitely first-class.
With a rustling sound, the sand where Gaara walked shifted, and like they had been sung to, revealed the footprints below.
Sand didn’t lie.
“As they’re crossing the border, we’ll be passing the Houki clan’s land.”
“I see. You and the others are people originally from the land of fire, right?”
“…Yes.” Shijima’s facial expression darkened slightly
“Don’t worry. I’m not criticizing you. Just confirming facts. I presumed you’d be more familiar with the land, is all. Beyond here, is there a place we can hide?”
“About an hour away at a shinobi’s pacei. Some ruins of an ancient town. As it’s cursed land, it’s a place even looters won’t enter.”
“I see.” In the desert, there were many ancient ruins of now dead towns. In the distant past, they might have been made in a time when this land wasn’t a desert, but the details were not known. According to one theory, they come from a time of gods like Kaguya Ootsutsuki and the sage of six paths.
“Alright, let’s rest.”
“…Why would we do that? If we’re chasing after Hokuto-sama, we should hurry.”
Gaara reread the mission documents about Shijima that he’d received from Baki in his head. Most of her missions had been infiltration, assassination or guarding. As the Houki clan seemed to be secretive, the details of the missions had been suppressed.
Her mission experience outside of her clan is limited.
Gaara spotted a sand dune that was suitable, laid down a cloth, and sat down.
“Rest. Your body temperature has fallen below what you’d expect.”
“Uh…”
“Sit. Kazekage’s orders.” He didn’t like to use his authority as Kazekage, but Hakuto’s safety was a priority right now.
“I got that…” A little reserved, Shijima sat besides Gaara.
“This break will be good for us.”
Gaara took out a portable stove and hung a small kettle over the flame. In it, he poured the sufficient amount of water from his canteen and sugar, as well as mint and tea leaves. While he waited for the kettle to make it’s pleasant sound, Gaara looked up at the stars.
He didn’t really like or dislike the stars. They were an inseparable means of confirming your location in a barren desert. So, ninja of the desert like Gaara looked up at the stars habitually.
The land of wind’s sky was vast.
There were dirty clouds of dust close to the ground, but the sky was extremely clear. This was becuase there were no city lights or clouds to obstruct the view of the stars. Stars were like sand floating in the sky. They were cold, gave off no warmth, but were beautiful and didn’t pollute the sky like dirt.
Compared to that, we humans are the dirty ones.
The tea in the kettle began to boil. Gaara poured the hot tea into portable metal cups from above. This was in order to keep the tea leaves at the bottom of the kettle. If he didn’t do this, the tea would be powdery. You couldn’t drink tea with the dust from the leaves.
“Drink. Warm your body.”
“Yes sir.” When Gaara handed her the teacup, their fingers brushed against each others.
She really resembles Hakuto…
Under the light of the stars, Shijima really looked like Hakuto, minus the thick glasses.
They’re not just from the same clan. Gaara guessed, but he knew not to guess anything else. His family was complex, and he’d been hurt by this before, so he thought it wasn’t his business to assume things about the family matters of others.
“It’s warm…” While her glasses had fogged up, Shijima’s voice sounded a little relieved.
“It should be.” Gaara also took a sip. It tasted like sweet sugar, mint and tea leaves. It was a familiar taste of the desert.
“At night, people lose warmth and sugar from their bodies in the desert. The terrible thing is, it’s something you’re not aware of.”
“Not aware of? Was I… also not aware?”
“It happens to everyone. Even me.” Gaara took another sip of his tea, “The desert is not an environment where people can survive. So, people who are here lose control of their survival instincts and go mad. I’ve come to see many ninja from other villages die being unable to feel hot or cold.” Gaara was no exception, even with his absolute defence. It might be able to repel all attacks but it could not assure him victory.
“Because we can’t help it, we deal with it mechanically. Every two hours, we must take a break. We will rest and drink sweet tea. By doing this, we can deal with these things and make sure our bodies don’t start to break down.”
The wind coiled and the desert changed colour again.
“The ninja who took Hakuto isn’t taking breaks, but that can’t continue very long. Soon, they’ll be forced to take a break, In order for a shinobi to endure, it is not idealism that is necessary, but skill.”
“May I ask you something?” She looked into her half-empty cup like her eyes were looking into the distance.
“What is it?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“For the sake of the dignity of the sand village, and because I am Kazekage, and take responsibility for the future of the village.”
“Just that?”
“Of course, I think Hakuto’s situation should be handled cautiously. I don’t plan to leave it to others.” Gaara thought the order should have been different, that Hakuto should have taken priority, but he had too much honour to tell lies like that.
“Why did you ask?”
“…No, it was nothing.”
“Is that so? Then, we should get going. I expect us to catch up eventually.”
Standing up, Gaara gathered the leftover tea leaves from inside the kettle and threw them into the desert’s wind with a few exaggerated movements.
“Is that… a ninjutsu?”
“No, an incantation.” Gaara answered with a very serious face.
“An… incanation?”
“I learnt it from my sister, Temari. It’s something passed down through the Kazekage’s bloodline. You call upon the power of the desert spirits to protect someone important to you.”
“Is that so?” Shijima gave a tender smile, if only a little, “Then, I hope the desert spirits let us borrow their power and grant our wish - I will also devote the meagre abilities I have.”
“I’m relying on you.”
And the two’s shadows began to run again.
Then, what became of shinobi who stopped enduring?
It was obvious.
They were prey.
・・・・・・・・
‘You’re going to chase after Hakuto alone…!?” When Gaara had proposed such a thing, Baki, quite honestly, had been unable to keep his surprise hidden. This was because it wasn’t a plan any normal leader would come up with.
But it seemed that Gaara was determined to do this.
“At least take two of my subordinates with you. But if you consider the scope of the surroundings, you’d really need three whole squads.”
“That won’t do.” The former subordinate shook his head, “If I did that, this would become a mission, and leaving a public record is undesirable.”
“…!”
Baki finally understood what Gaara was planning. If they left a record, this matter would find it’s way to the public. And if that happened, it wasn’t something something that would be on the news, but something that would get to the higher-ups of the village.
Though the wedding ceremony is yet to happen, the Kazekage was unable to protect the woman who will likely become his wife, the princess of the Houki clan. That is a great mistake, and cause for criticism.
Of course, Gaara was not a small man who held his reputation dear. What he worried about was the village becoming unstable and the easing of tensions he had worked towards collapsing, but that was it. If you called a person like that obsessed with power…
…Then say what you want.
That was the resolve reflected in Gaara’s eyes. His face was that of a man’s, not a boy’s.
“I understand. This situation is left to us alone. I will act as though nothing happened, but only until the morning.”
“That is correct. I will bring Hakuto back by sunrise.”
・・・・・・・・
“Are you leaving?” At the entrance of the oasis, a woman waited for Gaara.”If that’s the case, please allow me to join you.”
From behind the thick lenses of her glasses, she stared at Gaara with a look of strong will.
“I’m grateful for what you did, but-” Gaara’s words were interrupted by Shijima.
“This was my mission in the first place. Hakuto’s guards were all taken down, and while I received injuries, I should go.” As she spoke, she showed Gaara the injury on her side. She was talking about how the three chunin from the Houki clan who had been assigned to protect Hakuto had fainted without word and how she, who had barely held onto consciousness, had also been poisoned by a needle to her side.
“You’ll get in my way.” Gaara didn’t pause, and moved to walk past the kunoichi. But, Shijima caught onto his sleeve with a stubborn will.
“The poison has been removed, it wasn’t in any vital points anyway. And I’ve received medical attention, so I’ll be fine.”
“…” He’d wanted to push her aside and continue, but Gaara found himself unable to for some reason.
I see.
He remembered something. The voice of a ninja who cared deeply about others and was willing to sacrifice himself for them. He couldn’t see behind Shijima’s glasses, but her words, they were sincere.
“You remind me of someone.”
“What?”
“There’s a strange ninja who says things like you do, and is stubbornness is always difficult to handle. A person who’d chase after even if I was dead…”
“I don’t get what you’re saying.”
“What I’m saying is, turning you away has become difficult.” Gaara let out a small sigh.
But it wasn’t an uncomfortable sigh.
・・・・・・・・
“I see…” The elder had finished listening to the report and gave a satisfied nod. The elder was Tojuro, “Everything seems to be going accordingly.”
“Yes sir.” The one waiting before him was Kankuro’s subordinate, Maizuru. Tojuro prefered when the young ninja groveled before him. All the more when it was a good looking young man like this one.
Because he envied them.
He had once been the strongest taijutsu master in the sand village. And he wasn’t just skilled in taijutsu. In wind style jutsu, kuchiyose summoning and even genjutsu, he was the best in the field. However, above all else, it was his agility he was known for.
But, he had grown old.
His eyes could no perceive the world as he imagined, his legs would not let him soar, and his fingers wouldn’t move like he wanted them to anymore.
Even so, people continued to hold him as a hero even in his old age.
But, they’re not right.
It wasn’t as such.
Growing old meant stepping down.
It had meant descending from his position at the top little by little. There were many ninja that had surpassed the abilities of his aging body, but what was the consequence of that?
It seemed to be that he could no longer stand at the top like his younger self. However, just this was frustrating.
So, Tojuro detested the young ones.
Because, while were inferior to him now, one day they would come to surpass him.
So I’m going to continuing proving myself. As someone necessary to the village.
Tojuro gave Maizuru some instructions and leaned his body against the sofa in satisfaction.
・・・・・・・・
The desert night was cold.
There were no clouds, humidity, rivers, oceans or trees to retain the heat that rained down from the trees during the day. So, while the day was hot to cook a fried egg on a rock, the night grew cold enough to give you frostbite.
“It’s not like the land of fire can’t take over the land of wind. We just have no desire to.” The daimyo of the land of fire would often say, and it wasn’t unreasonable.
Gaara and Shijima ran through the desert with determination, as it began to grow cold. They weren’t using Gaara’s jutsu to fly across the desert for fear of being caught and in order to track the footprints left behind by the enemy accurately. It was also to preserve chakra.
“There, to the right of the sand dune. As expected, they seem to be heading to the border of the land of fire.”
It had only been a single ninja who had taken Hakuto. Gaara knew from the footprints in the sand. It was probably best to consider them skilled. While they had taken down Shijima and the other guards, they’re breathing hadn’t even hitched. They were also skilled enough to use wind release while they were running to hide their footprints.
“The enemy is unfortunate to have me following them.” Gaara was talking mostly to himself, but not out of arrogance. Sand, the sand of this desert specifically, was like Gaara’s family, and if it had been anyone else following the enemy, they definitely wouldn’t have been able to chase them through a huge desert like this without loosing them.
The ninja’s skill was definitely first-class.
With a rustling sound, the sand where Gaara walked shifted, and like they had been sung to, revealed the footprints below.
Sand didn’t lie.
“As they’re crossing the border, we’ll be passing the Houki clan’s land.”
“I see. You and the others are people originally from the land of fire, right?”
“…Yes.” Shijima’s facial expression darkened slightly
“Don’t worry. I’m not criticizing you. Just confirming facts. I presumed you’d be more familiar with the land, is all. Beyond here, is there a place we can hide?”
“About an hour away at a shinobi’s pacei. Some ruins of an ancient town. As it’s cursed land, it’s a place even looters won’t enter.”
“I see.” In the desert, there were many ancient ruins of now dead towns. In the distant past, they might have been made in a time when this land wasn’t a desert, but the details were not known. According to one theory, they come from a time of gods like Kaguya Ootsutsuki and the sage of six paths.
“Alright, let’s rest.”
“…Why would we do that? If we’re chasing after Hokuto-sama, we should hurry.”
Gaara reread the mission documents about Shijima that he’d received from Baki in his head. Most of her missions had been infiltration, assassination or guarding. As the Houki clan seemed to be secretive, the details of the missions had been suppressed.
Her mission experience outside of her clan is limited.
Gaara spotted a sand dune that was suitable, laid down a cloth, and sat down.
“Rest. Your body temperature has fallen below what you’d expect.”
“Uh…”
“Sit. Kazekage’s orders.” He didn’t like to use his authority as Kazekage, but Hakuto’s safety was a priority right now.
“I got that…” A little reserved, Shijima sat besides Gaara.
“This break will be good for us.”
Gaara took out a portable stove and hung a small kettle over the flame. In it, he poured the sufficient amount of water from his canteen and sugar, as well as mint and tea leaves. While he waited for the kettle to make it’s pleasant sound, Gaara looked up at the stars.
He didn’t really like or dislike the stars. They were an inseparable means of confirming your location in a barren desert. So, ninja of the desert like Gaara looked up at the stars habitually.
The land of wind’s sky was vast.
There were dirty clouds of dust close to the ground, but the sky was extremely clear. This was becuase there were no city lights or clouds to obstruct the view of the stars. Stars were like sand floating in the sky. They were cold, gave off no warmth, but were beautiful and didn’t pollute the sky like dirt.
Compared to that, we humans are the dirty ones.
The tea in the kettle began to boil. Gaara poured the hot tea into portable metal cups from above. This was in order to keep the tea leaves at the bottom of the kettle. If he didn’t do this, the tea would be powdery. You couldn’t drink tea with the dust from the leaves.
“Drink. Warm your body.”
“Yes sir.” When Gaara handed her the teacup, their fingers brushed against each others.
She really resembles Hakuto…
Under the light of the stars, Shijima really looked like Hakuto, minus the thick glasses.
They’re not just from the same clan. Gaara guessed, but he knew not to guess anything else. His family was complex, and he’d been hurt by this before, so he thought it wasn’t his business to assume things about the family matters of others.
“It’s warm…” While her glasses had fogged up, Shijima’s voice sounded a little relieved.
“It should be.” Gaara also took a sip. It tasted like sweet sugar, mint and tea leaves. It was a familiar taste of the desert.
“At night, people lose warmth and sugar from their bodies in the desert. The terrible thing is, it’s something you’re not aware of.”
“Not aware of? Was I… also not aware?”
“It happens to everyone. Even me.” Gaara took another sip of his tea, “The desert is not an environment where people can survive. So, people who are here lose control of their survival instincts and go mad. I’ve come to see many ninja from other villages die being unable to feel hot or cold.” Gaara was no exception, even with his absolute defence. It might be able to repel all attacks but it could not assure him victory.
“Because we can’t help it, we deal with it mechanically. Every two hours, we must take a break. We will rest and drink sweet tea. By doing this, we can deal with these things and make sure our bodies don’t start to break down.”
The wind coiled and the desert changed colour again.
“The ninja who took Hakuto isn’t taking breaks, but that can’t continue very long. Soon, they’ll be forced to take a break, In order for a shinobi to endure, it is not idealism that is necessary, but skill.”
“May I ask you something?” She looked into her half-empty cup like her eyes were looking into the distance.
“What is it?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“For the sake of the dignity of the sand village, and because I am Kazekage, and take responsibility for the future of the village.”
“Just that?”
“Of course, I think Hakuto’s situation should be handled cautiously. I don’t plan to leave it to others.” Gaara thought the order should have been different, that Hakuto should have taken priority, but he had too much honour to tell lies like that.
“Why did you ask?”
“…No, it was nothing.”
“Is that so? Then, we should get going. I expect us to catch up eventually.”
Standing up, Gaara gathered the leftover tea leaves from inside the kettle and threw them into the desert’s wind with a few exaggerated movements.
“Is that… a ninjutsu?”
“No, an incantation.” Gaara answered with a very serious face.
“An… incanation?”
“I learnt it from my sister, Temari. It’s something passed down through the Kazekage’s bloodline. You call upon the power of the desert spirits to protect someone important to you.”
“Is that so?” Shijima gave a tender smile, if only a little, “Then, I hope the desert spirits let us borrow their power and grant our wish - I will also devote the meagre abilities I have.”
“I’m relying on you.”
And the two’s shadows began to run again.
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I didn’t think things would get this bad so quickly, jan. Having just returned to the sand village, Kankuro made a sour face.
“Kankuro-sama!” There were roughly twenty young ninja who had come to visit him. They were all his subordinates, raised after the fourth great ninja world war and under his care. You could say they were naive and nothing more than teenagers. “We have decided, after considering it for a while, that we can no longer obey the current regime.”
“Look at you, taking part in grand thing like this, jan.” Like this was nothing but a joke, Kankuro shook his head, but the young ninja’s eyes showed they were serious. He guessed it really was so.
“Under the excuse of easing tensions, we are given less work and the budget only decreases.”
“We can no longer continue to bear Gaara’s weak attitude towards the current regime.”
“While we endure difficult lives, he goes and has a flashy marriage meeting like that.”
“The only one who should lead us is you, Kankuro-sama, the eldest son of the previous Kazekage.”
“….” He understood their feelings. The daimyo considered the sand’s ninja as tools they could trade for profit. Actually, because of the easing of tensions, they were outsourcing missions to cheaper villages to save on costs. Of course, it was right for the people who collected taxes from the citizens to carefully consider where they used that money. But, it had been agreed since ancient times that shinobi would protect the country and Daimyo would control it.
Gaara was not powerless.
His younger brother had thought of a path where the people of the sand, the land of wind and the entire continent would be able to live well.
And step by step, he was getting closer.
But, he couldn’t satisfy everyone.
Gaara’s chosen path was of peace. Not the prosperity of their village only.
If there was another great ninja war and they defeated the other villages, taking the abundant land for themselves, then like the young ninja would say, they might be compensated that way. But, that would be winning above corpses and a glory that only served to sustain hatred. Furthermore, what would happen if they lost? If the village was defeated again, it would not be without it’s price. That was why Gaara had chosen pease - not from idealism, but from a realistic interest in his nation’s prosperity.
Cooperation with the other villages wasn’t profitable to begin with, but eventually, due to mutual relationships between them, the sand would prosper like it had never before. That was why Gaara had thought this way.
“You intend to kill Gaara, don’t you?”
“…!” There was a commotion amongst the young ninja.
Even those who hadn’t personally experienced the war knew of Gaara’s legendary fighting style. Gaara, who had fought a battle against Kaguya Ootsutsuki and her followers, those with the strength surpassing even the gods, and battled against puppets from the moon, was a Kazekage amongst Kazekage.
Their faith in Gaara, even when talking about a coup d’etat, was absolute.
“That’s… not what we’re planning to do at all.”
“Instead we think Gaara-sama should take the position of councilor, while you, Kankuro-sama, take over the position of Kazekage.”
“Realistically, we want to pull Gaara down from his political position.”
I see… this is something they’ve thought about, jan.
If that happened, the other villages would have difficulty seeing it as a coup d’etat. After all, if political changes in the sand happened like that, there’d be no reason for them to get involved.
“Kankuro-sama!”
When looked at in comparison to the others, the sand was a poor village. Of course, there were poorer villages. Kankuro thought that under Gaara’s rule, many things had improved. But, when the younger ninja interacted with the other villages, they realized their village was still poorer. And that caused them to envy the other ninja.
If Temari and Kankuro talked about the village’s situation, they’d say something like, “Things have really become better since the chunin exams, haven’t they?” But to the younger shinobi, they could only see what the village was like now.
“Kankuro-sama!”
“Kankuro-sama!”
“What have you decided?” Forty earnest eyes focused on Kankuro’s frozen form.
If he had to answer, then he had no choice.
・・・・・・・・
Gaara felt like he was looking at gravestones lined in a row. He knew why even looters didn’t approach these ruins.
He wondered if the rustling white grains of sand here were actually crystals of crumbling bones, and thought it was quite beautiful, and the concrete buildings that seemed to sprout out of the ground must have been as tall as skyscrapers when they’d been built by the ancient people.
Even now Gaara knew people had lived here.
Chairs that had not changed even now, bending steel pillars that would have most likely been streetlights, wide roads, vehicles left on rails without anyone riding them and computers buried amongst the sand…
He didn’t know where the people who had once lived here had gone. There was only a thick feeling of death, illuminated under the light of the stars and moon. It was a cemetery of white sand.
And in the centre, was Hakuto.
Besides her was an unfamiliar shinobi. If Gaara had to guess his age, he would have said he wasn’t that much older than himself. He had a medium build, but very well trained, and cut back black hair. He looked very similar to Gaara.
“Are you the one who kidnapped Hakuto?” She was not tied up, nor was she being carried. He hesitated to call it a kidnapping, but he had no other words.
A man and a woman. One would think it was something peculiar.
But, that was what he had to say because of his current position.
“I am Shigezane of the Houki clan.” The man wasn’t even hesitant and walked Gaara’s way with a clear gaze. As he treaded over the sand, his feet made resounding thuds.
“I have heard your name. A master of excavating metal from the earth.”
“To have been heard of is an honour. Of course, it wouldn’t have happened if I was unskilled in the jutsu I learnt from the fourth Kazekage.”
“Father praised your skill…” There were no lies in Gaara’s words. They’d never met, but the man who called himself Shigezane of the Houki clan was known as a user of a unique ninjutsu that allowed him to extract crystals from the earth, and it was useful for mineral collection and the destruction of fortifications. As a magnet release user, it was similar to the gold dust jutsu that his father had used to contribute financially to the village, and this man had learnt this technique from him.
Such an ironic situation.
Gaara’s jutsu was also influenced by his father, but his main characteristic was his ability to manipulate sand that he’d gained from being born a Jinchuriki.
One could say that out of the fourth Kazekage’s three children, none of them had inherited their father’s jutsu. So, the man before him being his father’s student made strange feelings rise inside Gaara.
“I don’t know who made you do this, but I do know what you’re doing is nothing but a trap. Do you really intend to die on a mission like this?”
The man’s gaze didn’t hold even the slightest bit of guilt. It was the gaze of a man who had decided to go head first into a dangerous situation. The look in his eyes were the same as Hakuto’s who stood besides him.
With that, Gaara understood.
“Gaara-sama! I’ll start ahead!”
“…!”
Shijima ran. With a houshuriken in her hand, while spawning a feint clone, leapt up from the glistening sand made of powdered crystals.
“Shigezane! You are a member of the Houki clan, and you will receive punishment for kidnapping the princess!” Like meteors, the houshuriken cut through the sky.
“Shijima?” Shigezane began to weave hand signs quickly.
Water style.
It was not a suitable style of jutsu in this desert, so users were rare.
However, we lack techniques to counter water style.
The sand began to sway.
Below our feet!
Gaara created a sand shield, but it was not enough to reach Shijima.
There was water. A spear of water from under the ground, to be exact, rose from beneath Shigezane feet. It was a high pressure blade of water.
The tunnels below them were full of combustible particles and gas, so a jutsu like this was necessary to stop sparks from igniting while digging through the bedrock. However, if you took a direct hit, it was a fact that this blade could cut through your muscles and bones.
Shijima’s houshuriken were demolsihed by Shigezane’s water. The wind sealed inside them exploded and weakened the force of the water’s current, but the attack still had enough strength to cut her clothes, scrape her skin and spray her blood.
“Damn it…” Gaara clicked his tongue and ran.
He didn’t want to see Shijima, who he’d brought along, die cruelly before his eyes, and while the correct course of action would probably be to sacrifice Shijima to see through Shigezane’s jutsu, that correct course of action could eat shit.
Gaara had never been the type of man who lived for the correct way of doing things.
He was a man who lived for the sake of love. And love was holding out your hand to anyone who needed it without compensation.
So Gaara ran.
“I’ll be taking your life!” Shigezane drew out more water.
“But that’s a simple attack.” With the sand shield turned at an accute angle, the attack was averted instead of received. Even with a water blade of this strength, if given an angle for its kinetic energy, it would loose it’s effectiveness.
The white sand around Gaara bloomed like a flower. Like a large rose.
The water continued to be repelled, until it became a storm, circling around Gaara. The sand and wind absorbed it easily, and it was unable to reach him.
A long distance battle would potentially endanger Hakuto. He’d end this in close combat.
With that decision, Gaara closed the gap between them.
Then, in that moment.
“Gaara-sama, Shijima, run!” Hakuto, who had been watching over the battle with a seemingly sad look on her face until now, yelled.
“Hakuto!” Shigezane was surprised. In a moment, he looked over his shoulder. And with that moment, Gaara used it to plan for his next move.
Shigezane weaved a new hand seal. Gaara could feel him gathering a huge amount of chakra.
A bold move, hey? Instantly Gaara prepared a defense. Then, with a groan, the sand beneath his feat began to shift.
Quicksand!?
Quicksand was a phenomenon where sand that absorbed water began to act like a fluid because of the water saturating the grains.
His attacks before the quicksand were just him preparing to saturate the sand!
Like a ship being dragged down by a giant whirlpool, Gaara’s body had quickly been dragged down, and the quicksand was already at his hips. If he didn’t defend himself, the quicksand would swallow him in an instant,
But escaping the sand was a problem. It was not a question of if he could repel the sand with shield, because the sand was his enemies. It was being controlled by Shigezane’s chakra, so regaining complete control would be impossible.
He did this on purpose…. the land itself was a trap!
But escaping wasn’t impossible. With only a bit of sand, Gaara could raise himself, and if he could jump out, he could escape. The fact was, he could do that easily.
But Gaara didn’t. Because it looked like Shijima had also been pulled into the quicksand. She’d been injured in the fight a few moments ago and it didn’t look like she could escape. If she stayed stuck in the sand, she wouldn’t be able to avoid suffocating.
Even if Gaara defeated Shigezane, he wouldn’t be able to save Shijima in time. If she sunk into the sand, Gaara wouldn’t be able to find her.
So, Gaara used his sand to make his way over to Shijima.
“Gaara-sama!? Why…?”
“Don’t talk.” While he gripped the sinking Shijima’s hands and held her close, he made a sand shield around them.
Breaking out of here by flying doesn’t seem like it’ll work…
“Hold your breath.” The whirlpool of sand swallowed them. Gaara had encased the two of them in a dome of sand, and as he tried to preserve air, they sunk through the darkness.
“Kankuro-sama!” There were roughly twenty young ninja who had come to visit him. They were all his subordinates, raised after the fourth great ninja world war and under his care. You could say they were naive and nothing more than teenagers. “We have decided, after considering it for a while, that we can no longer obey the current regime.”
“Look at you, taking part in grand thing like this, jan.” Like this was nothing but a joke, Kankuro shook his head, but the young ninja’s eyes showed they were serious. He guessed it really was so.
“Under the excuse of easing tensions, we are given less work and the budget only decreases.”
“We can no longer continue to bear Gaara’s weak attitude towards the current regime.”
“While we endure difficult lives, he goes and has a flashy marriage meeting like that.”
“The only one who should lead us is you, Kankuro-sama, the eldest son of the previous Kazekage.”
“….” He understood their feelings. The daimyo considered the sand’s ninja as tools they could trade for profit. Actually, because of the easing of tensions, they were outsourcing missions to cheaper villages to save on costs. Of course, it was right for the people who collected taxes from the citizens to carefully consider where they used that money. But, it had been agreed since ancient times that shinobi would protect the country and Daimyo would control it.
Gaara was not powerless.
His younger brother had thought of a path where the people of the sand, the land of wind and the entire continent would be able to live well.
And step by step, he was getting closer.
But, he couldn’t satisfy everyone.
Gaara’s chosen path was of peace. Not the prosperity of their village only.
If there was another great ninja war and they defeated the other villages, taking the abundant land for themselves, then like the young ninja would say, they might be compensated that way. But, that would be winning above corpses and a glory that only served to sustain hatred. Furthermore, what would happen if they lost? If the village was defeated again, it would not be without it’s price. That was why Gaara had chosen pease - not from idealism, but from a realistic interest in his nation’s prosperity.
Cooperation with the other villages wasn’t profitable to begin with, but eventually, due to mutual relationships between them, the sand would prosper like it had never before. That was why Gaara had thought this way.
“You intend to kill Gaara, don’t you?”
“…!” There was a commotion amongst the young ninja.
Even those who hadn’t personally experienced the war knew of Gaara’s legendary fighting style. Gaara, who had fought a battle against Kaguya Ootsutsuki and her followers, those with the strength surpassing even the gods, and battled against puppets from the moon, was a Kazekage amongst Kazekage.
Their faith in Gaara, even when talking about a coup d’etat, was absolute.
“That’s… not what we’re planning to do at all.”
“Instead we think Gaara-sama should take the position of councilor, while you, Kankuro-sama, take over the position of Kazekage.”
“Realistically, we want to pull Gaara down from his political position.”
I see… this is something they’ve thought about, jan.
If that happened, the other villages would have difficulty seeing it as a coup d’etat. After all, if political changes in the sand happened like that, there’d be no reason for them to get involved.
“Kankuro-sama!”
When looked at in comparison to the others, the sand was a poor village. Of course, there were poorer villages. Kankuro thought that under Gaara’s rule, many things had improved. But, when the younger ninja interacted with the other villages, they realized their village was still poorer. And that caused them to envy the other ninja.
If Temari and Kankuro talked about the village’s situation, they’d say something like, “Things have really become better since the chunin exams, haven’t they?” But to the younger shinobi, they could only see what the village was like now.
“Kankuro-sama!”
“Kankuro-sama!”
“What have you decided?” Forty earnest eyes focused on Kankuro’s frozen form.
If he had to answer, then he had no choice.
・・・・・・・・
Gaara felt like he was looking at gravestones lined in a row. He knew why even looters didn’t approach these ruins.
He wondered if the rustling white grains of sand here were actually crystals of crumbling bones, and thought it was quite beautiful, and the concrete buildings that seemed to sprout out of the ground must have been as tall as skyscrapers when they’d been built by the ancient people.
Even now Gaara knew people had lived here.
Chairs that had not changed even now, bending steel pillars that would have most likely been streetlights, wide roads, vehicles left on rails without anyone riding them and computers buried amongst the sand…
He didn’t know where the people who had once lived here had gone. There was only a thick feeling of death, illuminated under the light of the stars and moon. It was a cemetery of white sand.
And in the centre, was Hakuto.
Besides her was an unfamiliar shinobi. If Gaara had to guess his age, he would have said he wasn’t that much older than himself. He had a medium build, but very well trained, and cut back black hair. He looked very similar to Gaara.
“Are you the one who kidnapped Hakuto?” She was not tied up, nor was she being carried. He hesitated to call it a kidnapping, but he had no other words.
A man and a woman. One would think it was something peculiar.
But, that was what he had to say because of his current position.
“I am Shigezane of the Houki clan.” The man wasn’t even hesitant and walked Gaara’s way with a clear gaze. As he treaded over the sand, his feet made resounding thuds.
“I have heard your name. A master of excavating metal from the earth.”
“To have been heard of is an honour. Of course, it wouldn’t have happened if I was unskilled in the jutsu I learnt from the fourth Kazekage.”
“Father praised your skill…” There were no lies in Gaara’s words. They’d never met, but the man who called himself Shigezane of the Houki clan was known as a user of a unique ninjutsu that allowed him to extract crystals from the earth, and it was useful for mineral collection and the destruction of fortifications. As a magnet release user, it was similar to the gold dust jutsu that his father had used to contribute financially to the village, and this man had learnt this technique from him.
Such an ironic situation.
Gaara’s jutsu was also influenced by his father, but his main characteristic was his ability to manipulate sand that he’d gained from being born a Jinchuriki.
One could say that out of the fourth Kazekage’s three children, none of them had inherited their father’s jutsu. So, the man before him being his father’s student made strange feelings rise inside Gaara.
“I don’t know who made you do this, but I do know what you’re doing is nothing but a trap. Do you really intend to die on a mission like this?”
The man’s gaze didn’t hold even the slightest bit of guilt. It was the gaze of a man who had decided to go head first into a dangerous situation. The look in his eyes were the same as Hakuto’s who stood besides him.
With that, Gaara understood.
“Gaara-sama! I’ll start ahead!”
“…!”
Shijima ran. With a houshuriken in her hand, while spawning a feint clone, leapt up from the glistening sand made of powdered crystals.
“Shigezane! You are a member of the Houki clan, and you will receive punishment for kidnapping the princess!” Like meteors, the houshuriken cut through the sky.
“Shijima?” Shigezane began to weave hand signs quickly.
Water style.
It was not a suitable style of jutsu in this desert, so users were rare.
However, we lack techniques to counter water style.
The sand began to sway.
Below our feet!
Gaara created a sand shield, but it was not enough to reach Shijima.
There was water. A spear of water from under the ground, to be exact, rose from beneath Shigezane feet. It was a high pressure blade of water.
The tunnels below them were full of combustible particles and gas, so a jutsu like this was necessary to stop sparks from igniting while digging through the bedrock. However, if you took a direct hit, it was a fact that this blade could cut through your muscles and bones.
Shijima’s houshuriken were demolsihed by Shigezane’s water. The wind sealed inside them exploded and weakened the force of the water’s current, but the attack still had enough strength to cut her clothes, scrape her skin and spray her blood.
“Damn it…” Gaara clicked his tongue and ran.
He didn’t want to see Shijima, who he’d brought along, die cruelly before his eyes, and while the correct course of action would probably be to sacrifice Shijima to see through Shigezane’s jutsu, that correct course of action could eat shit.
Gaara had never been the type of man who lived for the correct way of doing things.
He was a man who lived for the sake of love. And love was holding out your hand to anyone who needed it without compensation.
So Gaara ran.
“I’ll be taking your life!” Shigezane drew out more water.
“But that’s a simple attack.” With the sand shield turned at an accute angle, the attack was averted instead of received. Even with a water blade of this strength, if given an angle for its kinetic energy, it would loose it’s effectiveness.
The white sand around Gaara bloomed like a flower. Like a large rose.
The water continued to be repelled, until it became a storm, circling around Gaara. The sand and wind absorbed it easily, and it was unable to reach him.
A long distance battle would potentially endanger Hakuto. He’d end this in close combat.
With that decision, Gaara closed the gap between them.
Then, in that moment.
“Gaara-sama, Shijima, run!” Hakuto, who had been watching over the battle with a seemingly sad look on her face until now, yelled.
“Hakuto!” Shigezane was surprised. In a moment, he looked over his shoulder. And with that moment, Gaara used it to plan for his next move.
Shigezane weaved a new hand seal. Gaara could feel him gathering a huge amount of chakra.
A bold move, hey? Instantly Gaara prepared a defense. Then, with a groan, the sand beneath his feat began to shift.
Quicksand!?
Quicksand was a phenomenon where sand that absorbed water began to act like a fluid because of the water saturating the grains.
His attacks before the quicksand were just him preparing to saturate the sand!
Like a ship being dragged down by a giant whirlpool, Gaara’s body had quickly been dragged down, and the quicksand was already at his hips. If he didn’t defend himself, the quicksand would swallow him in an instant,
But escaping the sand was a problem. It was not a question of if he could repel the sand with shield, because the sand was his enemies. It was being controlled by Shigezane’s chakra, so regaining complete control would be impossible.
He did this on purpose…. the land itself was a trap!
But escaping wasn’t impossible. With only a bit of sand, Gaara could raise himself, and if he could jump out, he could escape. The fact was, he could do that easily.
But Gaara didn’t. Because it looked like Shijima had also been pulled into the quicksand. She’d been injured in the fight a few moments ago and it didn’t look like she could escape. If she stayed stuck in the sand, she wouldn’t be able to avoid suffocating.
Even if Gaara defeated Shigezane, he wouldn’t be able to save Shijima in time. If she sunk into the sand, Gaara wouldn’t be able to find her.
So, Gaara used his sand to make his way over to Shijima.
“Gaara-sama!? Why…?”
“Don’t talk.” While he gripped the sinking Shijima’s hands and held her close, he made a sand shield around them.
Breaking out of here by flying doesn’t seem like it’ll work…
“Hold your breath.” The whirlpool of sand swallowed them. Gaara had encased the two of them in a dome of sand, and as he tried to preserve air, they sunk through the darkness.
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“I understand.” Kankuro had awoken from his careful deliberation and gave a definite nod in agreement.
“Oh!”
“Kankuro-sama!”
“Kankuro-sama!”
“To install Gaara as Kazekage, me and the others didn’t just stick within the limitations, jan. This is just a repeat, right?”
“Thank you very much!” Cried a crowd of joyous voices.
He couldn’t turn back now.
“Have you guys come up with a specific plan yet?”
“Of course.”
Kankuro saw the plans presented before him and sighed internally. It was a classic textbook example of how to capture a village. It had all the basic, important points, but lacked any creativity. That was to say, it lacked any adjustments for surprise developments. A development like Naruto Uzumaki, for example.
Kankuro made some corrections with a red pen and returned the plan.
“I understand this, but you’ll have to promise me something. No blood will be spilt. If blood is spilt, we’ll be asking for revenge. To the end, we will peacefully gain control of the higher-ups and take over Gaara’s position.”
“Understood!”
“Who planned this?”
“I was me.” A proud Maizuru took a step forward. His cheeks were flushed.
“I see. I understand your feelings well. You won’t do anything bad, right?” As the crowd cheered again, Kankuro looked up, at a sky he couldn’t see.
He couldn’t return to those peaceful days now.
・・・・・・・・
…Darkness.
…….Deep darkness.
It was filled with something thick and red.
It was blood.
The stench of blood had always surrounded a young Gaara.
“Why… am I different to everyone else?” He had been born a Jinchuriki and the son of the Kazekage, but even though he’d been his father, he had ordered Gaara’s assassination many times. So, Gaara knew no other way of interacting with people besides hurting them.
He wondered how many he had killed.
There were people who he had killed simply because he didn’t like them, and those he had killed for missions. While his uncle Yashamaru had taken care of him like a foster parent, when he had become another assassin, he also became another person Gaara had killed.
He couldn’t judge right and wrong, good and evil.
But, he did nothing but kill.
Kill, kill and continue to kill. literally piling up bodies.
That had been loving himself - at least, he had thought so.
・・・・・・・・
When Gaara woke up, he saw the face of a beautiful woman before his eyes.
“…Hakuto?”
“You’ve woken up, Gaara-sama?” It was Shijima who had been looking after Gaara.
“Shijima? I’m sorry.” Even Gaara, ignorant of the ways of the world, could understand that mixing up a woman’s face with another’s was insincere.
“No… you waking up is more important.”
It seemed he’d used an unexpected amount of chakra. His body felt heavy.
“Where is this place?”
“Seems to be an underground cavity. It seems the flowing sand took us here, where the underground water came from.”
Gaara’s eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness. Shijima held an emergency light stick in her hands, allowing Gaara to see the silhouettes of the ancient buildings. The sky was no where in sight.
It seemed they’d sunk quite deep.
“How long have we been here?”
“About three hours.”
“I see.” Adjusting his breathing, Gaara waited for his chakra to recover.
Hakuto hadn’t been injured before. She probably wouldn’t be killed immediately. There was still time until sunrise. They didn’t need to rush in this situation.
“Can I ask you something?”
“If it’s something I can answer.”
“Why did you save me?” Shijima seemed puzzled from the bottom of her heart. She’d probably expected that he’d abandon her back there. She wouldn’t have been sad about it, because that was what ninja were like. It was the mission first, then yourself. It was natural to think in such a way.
“There’s no reason.”
“No reason… ! There was no value in you risking the life of the woman who’ll become your wife, and yourself, to save me! I’m just an ordinary ninja…!”
“Hey.” Those words made Gaara agitated, just a little, “Don’t say that the value of a life is something that changes depending on the person it belongs to.”
“Huh?’
“Everyone’s life is worth the same. Not to mention, if you are a citizen of the sand village, you are a part of my family.” An anger rose inside Gaara that he couldn’t understand, “Certainly, there are times when ninja of higher standing have ordered their subordinates to die, but that is all while they hope to the very end that there’s a chance of survival. Certain death and suicide are different, and entrusting difficult missions to those you believe in is different to standing by and letting someone die.”
“That… I know that. But, this fight had your honour on the line, Gaara-sama. If people find out you let the woman you’re supposed to marry get away…”
“I know what will happen. Those who do not think well of me will use this as propaganda… no, they probably planned it this way.”
“If so, then why?”
“Because I thought I wanted to save you.” Gaara looked into the eye’s behind Shijima’s glasses. “In days gone by, amidst the fighting of the Konoha Crush plan, I met a man. Naruto Uzumaki. He was an awefully strange ninja.”
“The legendary…”
“His jutsu and knowledge were awful. He was different to me, able to live like a human despite being born a Jinchuriki… and he was a complete idiot. At least, I thought so.”
That had been a time when they were still young. A memory of the chunin exams. The Gaara of that time had participated in the chunin exams as a spy, ready to bring down Konoha from the inside.
“But, this Naruto… he fought against me. He taught me what it meant to live, the value of pain… and what it meant to love someone.”
It was a dear memory. And it wasn’t just Naruto. It had been Rock Lee. Sakura Haruno. Shikamaru Nara, who would soon become his brother in law. Temari and Kankuro. All of them had helped him, even while they’d been afraid of him.
Everyone had been so young.
“I met that man, and I realized how to love a world beyond myself, and someday, I hope to love someone like my mother and siblings love me. The reason I can wish for this is Naruto.”
There had been a light in the darkness.
And that light had been Naruto.
・・・・・・・・
There was a dream Gaara remembered even now. The dream he’d had while under the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
His father had been there, his mother had been there, his uncle had been there, and his young self. untainted by blood, had been there. So had Naruto, his friend.
The strange thing was, he hadn’t dreamt of something like a lover, high status or fame as a ninja. But, he’d been very, very happy.
He didn’t regret abandoning that dream.
He believed that living as things were now, in reality and not in a dream, was a future he had chosen himself.
However, what had made his dream so great, had been Naruto.
If he had never met Naruto, without a doubt, he would have never experienced that genjutsu, and the happiness of friendship.
And, it was a fact that he had many friends and family by his side now.
・・・・・・・・
“Naruto did such a thing with no gain. Killing an enemy like me would have been a good idea. But, he didn’t do that. So…” Gaara then gave a wry smile, “…I thought I wanted to do something without reason.” Saying the words, he certainly sounded ridiculous.
But, it was strangely refreshing.
“Do something… without reason?”
“Yes. Like the wind that crosses this desert, binding nothing, yet loving everything… the truth is, I thought I wanted to try living in such a way.”
“…Is that so?” Shijima looked like she was gazing into the distance and she nodded.
“But, I can’t do it. I have too many things I can’t throw away and too many things to protect.”
“You are Kazekage.” Shijima smiled. It was different to Hakuto’s and Temari’s smiles. Vaguely, Gaara thought for only a moment that it resembled his mother’s smile from long ago, but he thought that might have been what Temari called a ‘mother complex’.
“I am also like that.” Shijima traced the edges of her glasses with her fingers. “I am…” She removed them.
Her eyes were closed. Her smiling face was just like Hakuto’s, except a little sadder.
“In order to obtain Konoha’s hiden jutsu, the Sharingan, and to study such a thing, my body was sacrificed.”
“…Orochimaru?”
“Yes.”
Orochimaru was a legendary Konoha ninja, turnt evil, who had killed the sand’s previous Kazekage and impersonated him, while carrying out experiments. They didn’t know all the details even now, but for one of those test subjects to be right before him…
“The experiment ended in failure. I sealed my own eyes. Because I don’t have the skill to control the doujutsu. So I entrusted the matter of the clan’s successor to my younger sister, Hakuto.”
So, that was why she wore those bulky glasses. He could see why she wore them even in battle, if such a thing was the case. They were used to curb the doujutsu she couldn’t control.
“Why… are you telling me this?” Even if they were from the same village, one didn’t carelessly reveal their jutsu to others. That was an ironclad rule of being a ninja.
Because revealing the secrets to your jutsu was like entrusting someone with your life.
“I also want to do something without reason… is that bad?” Shijima stood. Illuminated by the light, she looked beautiful.
“No.” Gaara also stood up. “It’s not bad.”
“We’ll be able to find the path out of this cavern using wind release. I’ll guide us.”
“I’m relying on you. I want to conserve as much chakra as possible.” His fatigue had drifted somewhere distant.
It was time to continue their chase.
“Oh!”
“Kankuro-sama!”
“Kankuro-sama!”
“To install Gaara as Kazekage, me and the others didn’t just stick within the limitations, jan. This is just a repeat, right?”
“Thank you very much!” Cried a crowd of joyous voices.
He couldn’t turn back now.
“Have you guys come up with a specific plan yet?”
“Of course.”
Kankuro saw the plans presented before him and sighed internally. It was a classic textbook example of how to capture a village. It had all the basic, important points, but lacked any creativity. That was to say, it lacked any adjustments for surprise developments. A development like Naruto Uzumaki, for example.
Kankuro made some corrections with a red pen and returned the plan.
“I understand this, but you’ll have to promise me something. No blood will be spilt. If blood is spilt, we’ll be asking for revenge. To the end, we will peacefully gain control of the higher-ups and take over Gaara’s position.”
“Understood!”
“Who planned this?”
“I was me.” A proud Maizuru took a step forward. His cheeks were flushed.
“I see. I understand your feelings well. You won’t do anything bad, right?” As the crowd cheered again, Kankuro looked up, at a sky he couldn’t see.
He couldn’t return to those peaceful days now.
・・・・・・・・
…Darkness.
…….Deep darkness.
It was filled with something thick and red.
It was blood.
The stench of blood had always surrounded a young Gaara.
“Why… am I different to everyone else?” He had been born a Jinchuriki and the son of the Kazekage, but even though he’d been his father, he had ordered Gaara’s assassination many times. So, Gaara knew no other way of interacting with people besides hurting them.
He wondered how many he had killed.
There were people who he had killed simply because he didn’t like them, and those he had killed for missions. While his uncle Yashamaru had taken care of him like a foster parent, when he had become another assassin, he also became another person Gaara had killed.
He couldn’t judge right and wrong, good and evil.
But, he did nothing but kill.
Kill, kill and continue to kill. literally piling up bodies.
That had been loving himself - at least, he had thought so.
・・・・・・・・
When Gaara woke up, he saw the face of a beautiful woman before his eyes.
“…Hakuto?”
“You’ve woken up, Gaara-sama?” It was Shijima who had been looking after Gaara.
“Shijima? I’m sorry.” Even Gaara, ignorant of the ways of the world, could understand that mixing up a woman’s face with another’s was insincere.
“No… you waking up is more important.”
It seemed he’d used an unexpected amount of chakra. His body felt heavy.
“Where is this place?”
“Seems to be an underground cavity. It seems the flowing sand took us here, where the underground water came from.”
Gaara’s eyes had finally adjusted to the darkness. Shijima held an emergency light stick in her hands, allowing Gaara to see the silhouettes of the ancient buildings. The sky was no where in sight.
It seemed they’d sunk quite deep.
“How long have we been here?”
“About three hours.”
“I see.” Adjusting his breathing, Gaara waited for his chakra to recover.
Hakuto hadn’t been injured before. She probably wouldn’t be killed immediately. There was still time until sunrise. They didn’t need to rush in this situation.
“Can I ask you something?”
“If it’s something I can answer.”
“Why did you save me?” Shijima seemed puzzled from the bottom of her heart. She’d probably expected that he’d abandon her back there. She wouldn’t have been sad about it, because that was what ninja were like. It was the mission first, then yourself. It was natural to think in such a way.
“There’s no reason.”
“No reason… ! There was no value in you risking the life of the woman who’ll become your wife, and yourself, to save me! I’m just an ordinary ninja…!”
“Hey.” Those words made Gaara agitated, just a little, “Don’t say that the value of a life is something that changes depending on the person it belongs to.”
“Huh?’
“Everyone’s life is worth the same. Not to mention, if you are a citizen of the sand village, you are a part of my family.” An anger rose inside Gaara that he couldn’t understand, “Certainly, there are times when ninja of higher standing have ordered their subordinates to die, but that is all while they hope to the very end that there’s a chance of survival. Certain death and suicide are different, and entrusting difficult missions to those you believe in is different to standing by and letting someone die.”
“That… I know that. But, this fight had your honour on the line, Gaara-sama. If people find out you let the woman you’re supposed to marry get away…”
“I know what will happen. Those who do not think well of me will use this as propaganda… no, they probably planned it this way.”
“If so, then why?”
“Because I thought I wanted to save you.” Gaara looked into the eye’s behind Shijima’s glasses. “In days gone by, amidst the fighting of the Konoha Crush plan, I met a man. Naruto Uzumaki. He was an awefully strange ninja.”
“The legendary…”
“His jutsu and knowledge were awful. He was different to me, able to live like a human despite being born a Jinchuriki… and he was a complete idiot. At least, I thought so.”
That had been a time when they were still young. A memory of the chunin exams. The Gaara of that time had participated in the chunin exams as a spy, ready to bring down Konoha from the inside.
“But, this Naruto… he fought against me. He taught me what it meant to live, the value of pain… and what it meant to love someone.”
It was a dear memory. And it wasn’t just Naruto. It had been Rock Lee. Sakura Haruno. Shikamaru Nara, who would soon become his brother in law. Temari and Kankuro. All of them had helped him, even while they’d been afraid of him.
Everyone had been so young.
“I met that man, and I realized how to love a world beyond myself, and someday, I hope to love someone like my mother and siblings love me. The reason I can wish for this is Naruto.”
There had been a light in the darkness.
And that light had been Naruto.
・・・・・・・・
There was a dream Gaara remembered even now. The dream he’d had while under the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
His father had been there, his mother had been there, his uncle had been there, and his young self. untainted by blood, had been there. So had Naruto, his friend.
The strange thing was, he hadn’t dreamt of something like a lover, high status or fame as a ninja. But, he’d been very, very happy.
He didn’t regret abandoning that dream.
He believed that living as things were now, in reality and not in a dream, was a future he had chosen himself.
However, what had made his dream so great, had been Naruto.
If he had never met Naruto, without a doubt, he would have never experienced that genjutsu, and the happiness of friendship.
And, it was a fact that he had many friends and family by his side now.
・・・・・・・・
“Naruto did such a thing with no gain. Killing an enemy like me would have been a good idea. But, he didn’t do that. So…” Gaara then gave a wry smile, “…I thought I wanted to do something without reason.” Saying the words, he certainly sounded ridiculous.
But, it was strangely refreshing.
“Do something… without reason?”
“Yes. Like the wind that crosses this desert, binding nothing, yet loving everything… the truth is, I thought I wanted to try living in such a way.”
“…Is that so?” Shijima looked like she was gazing into the distance and she nodded.
“But, I can’t do it. I have too many things I can’t throw away and too many things to protect.”
“You are Kazekage.” Shijima smiled. It was different to Hakuto’s and Temari’s smiles. Vaguely, Gaara thought for only a moment that it resembled his mother’s smile from long ago, but he thought that might have been what Temari called a ‘mother complex’.
“I am also like that.” Shijima traced the edges of her glasses with her fingers. “I am…” She removed them.
Her eyes were closed. Her smiling face was just like Hakuto’s, except a little sadder.
“In order to obtain Konoha’s hiden jutsu, the Sharingan, and to study such a thing, my body was sacrificed.”
“…Orochimaru?”
“Yes.”
Orochimaru was a legendary Konoha ninja, turnt evil, who had killed the sand’s previous Kazekage and impersonated him, while carrying out experiments. They didn’t know all the details even now, but for one of those test subjects to be right before him…
“The experiment ended in failure. I sealed my own eyes. Because I don’t have the skill to control the doujutsu. So I entrusted the matter of the clan’s successor to my younger sister, Hakuto.”
So, that was why she wore those bulky glasses. He could see why she wore them even in battle, if such a thing was the case. They were used to curb the doujutsu she couldn’t control.
“Why… are you telling me this?” Even if they were from the same village, one didn’t carelessly reveal their jutsu to others. That was an ironclad rule of being a ninja.
Because revealing the secrets to your jutsu was like entrusting someone with your life.
“I also want to do something without reason… is that bad?” Shijima stood. Illuminated by the light, she looked beautiful.
“No.” Gaara also stood up. “It’s not bad.”
“We’ll be able to find the path out of this cavern using wind release. I’ll guide us.”
“I’m relying on you. I want to conserve as much chakra as possible.” His fatigue had drifted somewhere distant.
It was time to continue their chase.
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