Naruto Hiden - Volume 2 - Chapter 7

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Temari stood behind Gaara’s back, watching his crimson hair swaying in the wind. Looking at him, she thought to herself that her little brother had really grown splendidly.

They were standing on top of a hill, gazing down at the brilliant view of Suna from above. The people in their village called this hill “the wind’s reading spot” because the wind never stopped blowing up here, all year round. Temari knew very well that Gaara was the only one who came up here despite the strong wind to enjoy the view of the village.

“Do you need anything, nee-san?” Gaara asked. He tilted his head back to look at her, and Temari could see the lone kanji for ‘love’ that was tattooed onto his forehead.

Several years ago, if anyone in the village had heard the name “Gaara” they would shudder in fear. But look at her little brother now. He was the leader of Suna, and a vital authority in the alliance holding all shinobi together. Gaara had become an existence the Shinobi World couldn’t do without.

It was all thanks to Naruto.

Gaara had a bijuu inside him ever since he was born, all throughout his childhood. He used to believe in “loving only oneself” and had accepted the rest of the world to be his enemy, not letting anyone near. The old Gaara hadn’t even let his elder sister Temari or older brother Kankurou anywhere near entering his heart. Even if he didn’t say it out loud, his whole body, his actions of losing himself in the throes of bloodlust, all the things he did transmitted those words loud and clear.

Naruto was the only one who had managed to reach Gaara.

Naruto simply couldn’t abandon Gaara, not when he was a fellow jinchuuriki who’d lived the same life he had. After exchanging blows in a fierce battle that surpassed the limits of normal humans, the two slowly came to understand each other. When Gaara’s bijuu was removed from his body by the Akatsuki and he was on the brink of death, Naruto had pumped as much of his own chakra into him as he could, not holding back in the slightest. Gaara had recognised him as a ‘friend’.

Gaara had been changing ever since he met Naruto. His cold demeanour disappeared. The way he treated and spoke to Temari and Kankurou changed. His attitude towards the village changed. His feelings towards the people in their village changed.

And in the end, Gaara was recognised by everyone.

Temari was eternally grateful to Naruto for that. She thought that the village of Konoha overall was likeable. Their villagers held a strong pride as shinobi, and many of them were logical people.

Suddenly, that guy’s face flashed across her mind. There was a stinging pain inside Temari’s chest all of a sudden, and she irritably clicked her tongue.

“Is something wrong, neesan?”

“Eh? No…”

Gaara was looking at her, worry transparent in his eyes. Temari could feel his concern so keenly that it hurt, and looked away from his gaze.

The village of Suna was always parched for water. Being right in the middle of the desert, it never rained. And sand always got mixed in with the wind as well.

“I got a little sand in my eye, that’s all.”

“That’s rare.” Gaara mildly said. “That doesn’t usually happen to you, neesan.”

“Th- that’s true…”

Those born in Suna were accustomed to the relationship between its sand and wind, used to handling it. Even in a dust storm, no suna-nin’s eyes would ever sting because of sand.

Temari’s line about ‘sand getting in her eyes’ was a blatant lie and excuse.

“Shikamaru…” Gaara suddenly said that guy’s name, and Temari was caught so off guard she couldn’t stop herself from stiffening.

Although his sister had stiffened up as if in response to an enemy attack, Gaara didn’t say anything about her sudden guarded posture, and simply went on speaking indifferently.

“I feel like he’s been behaving strangely lately. The last time I saw him at the Union’s Headquarters, it seemed like his heart wasn’t in his actions. I got the feeling he was working himself too hard.”

“You think so too, huh.” Temari said.

Gaara nodded. “I used to not care about other people, but now I’m extremely careful to take notice of others’ behaviour and appearances. Maybe that’s why I’m sensitive to the movement of other’s hearts.”

Of course, her brother was, at the root, a very serious person. Once he believed he should do something, he put his all into diligently carrying it out. It was because of that he was able to open his heart to everyone so completely.

It wasn’t a surprise that her brother should notice the subtle changes in Shikamaru’s behaviour, when he was so careful about reading others in general.

“He’s hiding something.”

“Mm…” Temari let out a sound of agreement.

“He’s someone who thinks about the future of the Union and shinobi over all more seriously than anyone else.” Gaara said. “I don’t think he would do anything that could threaten the Union.”

Gaara was referencing the fact that each hidden village participating in the Union had the duty to report any problems inside or outside their jurisdiction. He was also referencing the fact that both he and Temari had noticed Shikamaru was holding back reporting some situation happening in Konoha. Any problem that made him act like that was very likely a problem that affected all the shinobi villages.

“Do you have any idea what he could be holding back, neesan?”

“I wonder if I do.”

It was natural that Gaara would ask her. Temari was the one who worked with Shikamaru the most within the entire Union.

“It’s not that I don’t have an idea what it is…” Temari said. “I’m just not sure if I’m right.”

Gaara nodded, silently listening.

“He’d been seriously investigating the shinobi who went missing in action during the war, and the recent cases of missing-nin in the villages.”

At Temari’s reply, Gaara took his eyes off her and gazed down at the village again. A furrow came between his brows.

He was thinking.

The wind suddenly picked up. Bits of sand scraped across their foreheads, a familiar pain.

“Let’s ask Naruto.” Gaara murmured. “Will you go, neesan?”

“Yes.” Temari was startled by how eager her voice sounded.

“Of course, you should ask Kakashi too, but he’ll definitely find a way to avoid answering, so ask Naruto about Shikamaru first.” Gaara said, “If it turns out that Shikamaru’s confronting a grave situation, then we must do nothing less than try to save him with our full strength. If you feel like shinobi from Suna are needed, take as many with you as you need.”

“…Shikamaru’s a shinobi of Konoha, you know?”

“We’re long past the era where we care about things like ‘Suna shinobi’ or ‘Konoha shinobi’. He’s a man who’s necessary to the Union. It’s natural that we would support him.”

“…Thank you.”

“This isn’t something you need to thank me for, neesan.”

One small tear had slipped its way down Temari’s cheek. Impatiently wiping it away, she looked at her little brother with a wide grin.

“Somehow, the sand keeps getting in my eyes today.”

*

“Hey Sakura-chan, are you listening?” Naruto irritably asked, leaning his elbows against a pile of books that came all the way up to his chest. He was speaking to Sakura’s back as she was rushing along the length of the bookshelf that covered the wall.

“Ya know, Sai hasn’t been around for over a month now, and Shikamaru’s suddenly turned incredibly cold and stiff around me. Hey, don’t you think he’s hiding something from me?”

“I don’t!”

Sakura’s exasperated voice made Naruto wince.

“What happened to your mission?”

“It ended today.”

“Then quickly go to Ichiraku’s, eat some ramen, head home and sleep!”

“Whaaaaat, but it’s been so long since you stopped by the Hokage Residence. You’ve finally shown your face…You’re acting so cold as an original member of team 7.”

Sakura furiously turned around to face her pouting friend.

“Right now, I’m already overwhelmed with working with Tsunade-sama on developing a system for medicinal jutsu, as well as working on the structure of the Union’s system. I’ve got to go through documents left over from Tsunade-sama’s time as Hokage! I don’t have any free time! I can’t listen to your gossiping! Understand?”

Huffing, she turned back to face the shelves.

“Besides, haven’t you been hanging out with Hinata lately? Wouldn’t it be a better idea to go and have her listen to you properly instead of bothering me?”

“What? Are you jealous?”

Sakura turned around with a furious expression, her fist slamming against Naruto’s head.

“Obviously not! I decided to wait for Sasuke-kun, you know!”

“Y-yes ma’am…” Naruto answered. Suddenly his eyes changed to look a bit more serious, and Sakura, noticing, paid a little more attention to what he was saying.

“But lately, ya know, I’ve just had this really bad feeling.”

“Is the Nine Tails making a fuss?”

The Nine Tails was still living inside Naruto. There were also remnants of the other 8 bijuu inside him as well. In that way, you could say he was a human pillar for the power of the Ten Tails. In the last war, Obito had become a human pillar for the Ten Tails and gained chakra rivalling that of the Sage of the Six Paths. Naruto, who’d taken the bijuu into him as well, had some of the Sage’s power even now. His ‘bad feelings’ were different from a normal human’s, and Sakura knew it too.

“Don’t you think you’re misunderstanding something?”

“You’re cruel, giving my judgement zero trust…” Naruto muttered, flopping onto the floor in a sulk.

“It’s because if you are rightly worried, there’s nothing you can do. Both Sai and Shikamaru are brilliant shinobi. Even if they end up in a situation where need your help, then they’ll ask for it. And if they can’t, then the Hokage will tell you to go save them.”

“Ehhh, I can’t trust Kakashi-sensei to know when to do that.”

“You’re much worse than he is!” Sakura exploded, giving him a kick in the shin. Naruto shot back to his feet, wearily keeping a distance.

“Stop talking about things you can’t help, and concentrate on your missions. That’s what Sai and Shikamaru would both want you to do.Especially Shikamaru. He’s been working himself to the bone in the Union and the village so you can become Hokage! You can’t let all that be in vain.”

“I know he’s working for me…but that’s exactly why I’m worried, ya know.”

Sakura let out a sigh.

“Get a hold of yourself. They’re comrades who’ve believed in you all this time, they’re not gonna die meaningless deaths.”

“Don’t talk so ominously about death!”

“Oh, for goodness sake! I say one thing you get upset, I say another you still get upset. You’re being a real pain, ya know!” Sakura used Naruto’s own phrase against him. “Go home and sleep!”

Sakura threw Naruto out of the room.