"You're here already," Naruto said, looking up to see Kankuro standing on the rooftop of a nearby building, grinning down at them all. "Gaara heard you'd arrived and sent me personally to pick you up. What's wrong? Didn't you know how to reach him?"
Naruto shook his head.
"I got called here on short notice again," Kankuro said as he jumped down and shook Naruto's hand. "It's good to see you again. How's everyone back home?"
As he spoke, Kankuro began leading them through the streets toward the Kazekage building.
Smiling, Kankuro continued, "Well, Gaara... He's still the same old Gaara—I don't even know how to describe him. Temari just got back from Konoha after a diplomatic mission, and she's still furious with you."
"I was just out on a mission..." Naruto replied awkwardly, knowing full well how much Temari hated not being able to find him. "Why would she be angry about that?"
Kankuro laughed harder.
"No, it's not about that. She flipped out when she heard you were dead, only to find out later you weren't dead at all—you just vanished without even stopping by Konoha. Actually, she just got back not too long ago, so—" Kankuro glanced at the position of the sun, "you've still got about four hours before she stirs. You'd better have a good explanation ready by then."
Naruto groaned under his breath.
"Believe me, I had my reasons. I need to talk to Gaara."
Kankuro noticed the serious look on Naruto's face and realized there must be something very important he needed to discuss with Gaara.
"And who are these two?" Kankuro asked, glancing at the two masked guards standing beside Naruto.
Naruto turned and motioned for them to pull down their hoods.
"This is Sai, and this is Maki. They're my teammates—they'll be joining me on missions from now on."
******
"Naruto, it's good to see you," Gaara said with his usual calm demeanor. "Many people in both Konoha and Sunagakure have been worried about your safety—even me." He folded his hands on the table, shifting into an official tone. "So, how have you been lately?"
Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets and started recounting everything that had happened to the red-haired Jinchuriki.
"I wish I could say everything's fine, but I can't lie to you—we don't need that kind of pretense between us. The truth is, I've run into some trouble recently, and I need your help, Gaara."
Gaara didn't show any signs of surprise, though hearing Naruto ask directly for assistance did catch him slightly off guard. Although they were friends, shinobi villages rarely helped each other officially.
Still, Gaara didn't see this as an official request—it felt more like a personal matter. As long as it wouldn't drag his village into anything dangerous, he was inclined to help Naruto.
"What do you need from me?"
Naruto decided to cut straight to the chase.
"I'll say it plainly. Three years ago, you nearly became a... no offense intended."
"Understood."
"Gaara replied, "I'm not proud of that past, but it happened, and I can't act like it never did."
Naruto nodded in agreement with Gaara's view before continuing,
"I brought this up not to discuss the past, but to make a point—you used to be the worst case among the jinchuriki, yet now you've become the Kazekage. To get there, you must have won the trust of most people in your village, and to do that, you had to prove you were no longer controlled by the One-Tail." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I want to know how you completely controlled Shukaku."
Kankuro looked at Naruto, then at Gaara, who was staring at the blond boy before finally answering,
"I couldn't do it, Naruto."
Naruto sighed.
"Is it a village secret? Well, forget it—I was just asking out of curiosity anyway. Thanks for listening to me."
"No, Naruto, he doesn't mean it like that," Kankuro interrupted. "He didn't withhold the information because it's some kind of secret—he truly couldn't do it."
Naruto grew even more confused, forcing Gaara to explain,
"I don't fully control Shukaku. Although I can suppress it, once I start using its power, Shukaku's will takes over. I could end up hurting innocent people—people I want to protect. Now, I can control parts of Shukaku's body for attacks, but I still haven't fully mastered my tailed beast."
"I think you've got it under control pretty well," Naruto muttered glumly. "You can use its full power when needed, but I can't—how did you manage that?"
Gaara thought for a moment.
"I constantly fight against Shukaku, driving it from my mind to prevent it from continuously influencing my thoughts."
Naruto replied expressionlessly,
"You mean fighting it inside your head? Making it vanish from your mind on its own? Man, I'm talking about an actual fight—I have to break the seal and fight Kurama to get full control over him."
An uneasy silence settled over the room until Kankuro finally broke it.
"That's terrifying."
Continuing his brother's words, Gaara added,
"I'm sorry I couldn't help, Naruto. Why'd you even ask me this in the first place?"
Naruto sighed, resting his hands behind his head.
"First, I can't return to Konoha right now—at least not yet. After everything that happened, going back would just get me yelled at worse than getting caught in the rain. Second, the other villages where the remaining jinchuriki live are all too far away. I figured Sunagakure might be a good choice since you guys probably know how to handle tailed beast powers—but obviously, I was wrong. Third... I came here to warn you."
"Warn me?" Gaara repeated. "Warn me about what?"
Naruto fixed him with a serious stare.
"Let me warn you, watch out for the man who defeated both me and Master Jiraiya. He didn't just beat us—he utterly destroyed us, as if we had no power at all against him. He's the leader of Akatsuki, Pain."
"He has six bodies, each one extremely powerful. I don't know much about him myself. But promise—I'll make sure you're the first to know the second I find anything else, Gaara."
Gaara nodded.
"I will, Naruto. I became Kazekage not to relax and take it easy, but to act. I'll start training and get ready. You can stay here for now. Where are you headed next?"
"The east," Naruto replied. "We'll be passing through the Land of Fire. We're leaving tonight—we'll be long gone by dawn. Thanks, Gaara."
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