Naruto had promised Gaara he'd find someone so Gaara could join the training. But after leaving the academy gates and running around the village for a while, one thing became painfully clear:
He had absolutely no idea where to find Roshi.
Whether it was at the academy, at Ichiraku, or somewhere in the Venue District, Naruto had always just happened to bump into the man. He'd never actually gone looking for him.
At times like this, Naruto always turned to one person for help: Shikamaru. He found him in a small park near the school, lounging around with Choji.
"Huh?" Shikamaru frowned. "You want to find Lord Roshi? You still haven't forgotten that nonsense?"
"Didn't Iruka-sensei already say it?" Choji chimed in from the side. "Gaara can't join the training because he can't control his own technique. It's for everyone's safety."
"But... but..." Naruto lowered his head. "Every time there's a Taijutsu class or a training session, Gaara is just watching."
"He must want to participate if he's always like that."
Shikamaru let out a long sigh. "Even so, do you really think someone that important would listen to a Ninja Academy student?"
"Roshi-nii is different!" Naruto said, face serious. "He'll definitely listen!"
"Even if he would listen, you have to actually meet him first," Shikamaru replied lazily. "To see someone at that level, you need to apply in advance. Ninja Academy brats like us won't even make it onto the reception list—"
He suddenly broke off. Naruto was squinting at him, eyes narrowed, scanning Shikamaru's face up and down.
The look made Shikamaru uneasy.
"Hey, why are you staring at me like that...?"
"Your father," Naruto said, enunciating each word, "can meet Roshi-nii, right?"
"He should... Hey!"
Naruto pressed his hands together in a pleading gesture. "Please, Shikamaru! Help me talk to your dad and tell him I have something really important to discuss with Roshi-nii!"
"No." Shikamaru refused without a moment's hesitation.
With everything going on in the Land of Snow, Shikaku was already swamped. From Shikamaru's point of view, Naruto's request was completely unreasonable.
"Let's go, Choji."
Choji glanced at Naruto, then at Shikamaru, then silently followed after his friend.
Naruto watched their backs as they walked away, biting his lip hard.
Gaara... he was just like Naruto used to be: lonely, isolated, wanting to be part of everyone else, but always pushed away.
"Wait!"
Naruto shouted and ran after Shikamaru and Choji.
Shikamaru slowed his pace, and Choji stopped as well, rustling open a fresh bag of chips.
"You don't get it at all, Naruto." Shikamaru turned around, his tone unusually serious. "This isn't about who you ask for help. The problem is that Gaara's level of danger is beyond what the teachers can handle."
"Our training goes on because the teachers, as instructors and guardians, can control the damage no matter what happens."
"But Gaara is completely different, you get that, right? Naruto, it's not for any other reason than this: you, me, and even Sasuke—we'd all be completely helpless in a fight against him."
Naruto protested, flustered. "Gaara isn't that kind of person."
"It has nothing to do with what kind of person he is." Shikamaru met Naruto's eyes. "It's simply that we're too weak, and he doesn't have the ability to control himself."
Naruto's mind went blank.
Shikamaru scratched his head with a sigh. "That's how it is, so just give up."
He dropped the idea of walking away and stayed nearby, hands shoved into his pockets. Choji held out a chip to Naruto, but Naruto didn't take it.
"It's not that there's absolutely no room for change."
A calm, steady voice came from the park entrance.
All three of them turned at once.
Nara Shikaku was standing there.
"Dad?" Shikamaru blinked, a little surprised. "You're free today?"
"Yeah, I've mostly wrapped things up for now." Shikaku walked over, nodding to Choji first before ruffling Shikamaru's hair. "I was planning to pick you up and take you home."
"But I happened to overhear a bit of your conversation."
Shikamaru's lips twitched. 'Overheard' huh? He knew perfectly well his old man had come over late just to see how he would deal with this.
"Roshi just got back to the Hokage's office. He's there right now."
Naruto, however, just stood there, shoulders slumped. "But… what Shikamaru said…"
"He's right," Shikaku admitted. "But if Gaara truly couldn't control himself at all, do you think he'd be allowed to attend the Ninja Academy in the first place? The one who approved that was Roshi."
With that, Shikaku stopped. He didn't like meddling in kids' matters. He'd only cut in because his son's answer left too little room for possibility—and because of the village's plans.
"It's time to head home. Shikamaru, Choji, you're coming too."
After the three of them left, Naruto stayed where he was, turning Shikaku's words over in his mind.
Then he suddenly bolted toward the Hokage Building.
—
Getting into the Hokage Building was easy enough. When Naruto stepped into the Hokage's office, he saw two people inside.
One of them was very familiar—her face carved into the Hokage Rock.
"Fifth… Sis?" Naruto's greeting made the Fifth Hokage nod in satisfaction.
"What is it, Naruto?" Tsunade asked.
Naruto turned to Roshi. "I'm here to ask Roshi-nii to agree to let Gaara join the combat training."
Shikaku's words had lit a spark of hope, and Naruto's eyes were fixed on Roshi, full of expectation.
"No."
Roshi's reply was nothing like what Naruto had imagined.
"Eh—?!" The hope on Naruto's face shattered. "W-Why?! Didn't Shikamaru's dad say that Gaara coming to the Academy was something Roshi-nii agreed to?"
"That's exactly right," Roshi said calmly. "And the order not to let him participate in training—that was mine as well."
"… " Naruto opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
"However, since you came here for this, I'll give you another option," Roshi said calmly. "Gaara can't join regular training because he can't control his power yet. So you'll be his sparring partner until he can handle his sand during ordinary taijutsu exchanges."
Naruto's eyes lit up again.
"Really?!"
"This will take up all your time after class," Roshi reminded him. "But since this is what you asked for, that shouldn't be a problem, right, Naruto?"
"Yeah! No problem at all!" Naruto nodded so hard his blond hair bounced. "Thank you, Roshi-nii!"
Once he had permission, he spun around and bolted for the door. At the threshold, he dug his heels in, turned back, and yelled, "I'm gonna tell Gaara the news right now!"
The door slammed shut with a bang, and his footsteps quickly faded down the corridor.
Silence settled back over the office.
Tsunade eyed the still-quivering door and raised an eyebrow. "Does he even know where Gaara is?"
"Probably not," Roshi replied.
"He's always in such a rush," Tsunade muttered. "Since you promised that training, go supervise it yourself. Besides, didn't you just say you were planning to collect some Nine-Tails chakra?"
That was exactly what Roshi had told her before Naruto came in.
They had talked about other matters as well.
"But about that experiment of yours… be careful when you're gathering the other Tailed Beasts' chakra," Tsunade warned. "If something goes wrong, cleaning up the mess won't be easy."
"I know."
"Takigakure has always closed itself off. It's not easy to get in." Tsunade tapped a drafted document on her desk. "Under the name of the 'Joint Affairs Bureau Defense Cooperation and Exchange,' the village will send a formal proposal first, to test the waters. This is the safer approach."
"Okay."
The Fifth Hokage shot him a glare. "Say thank you. I'm helping you deal with your problem here."
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Respected Lady Tsunade."
Only then did Tsunade look satisfied.
—
Screams and sycophantic cheers were part of Sasuke's daily school life; accepting challenges and defeating every challenger was another part of his academy career.
A fight with Hyuga Neji had been on the agenda for a long time, but it had never actually happened.
There were plenty of reasons. The teachers had become much stricter about private duels, probably worried that the students from Kumogakure would get beaten up.
Since there were no chances to fight at school, Sasuke wasn't impatient. Lately, when people came to visit his father, talk about the Hyuga Clan had become less frequent, while talk about the Hokage and the village had increased.
At the same time, his confusion about another person was growing day by day.
"Roshi-nii agreed to let me train with Gaara, Shikamaru!"
That idiot was shouting again from across the way—but this time, Sasuke's attention wasn't on him. It was on the red-haired boy.
For some reason, he always had opinions about red hair, but the feeling Gaara gave off was completely different from Karin's.
This was someone worth fighting—and someone he'd have to fight very carefully.
"Hehehe, doesn't this mean Roshi-nii thinks I'm stronger than Sasuke?" Naruto said, planting his hands on his hips.
The classroom instantly fell silent, then filled with a wave of hushed whispers. Almost every gaze shifted toward Naruto—and, subconsciously, toward Sasuke as well.
Disbelief, doubt, scrutiny… Sasuke could feel all of it in those stares. Even Ino Yamanaka and the others were looking uncertain, as if asking, "In what way is Naruto stronger than Sasuke?"
His lips pressed into a thin line.
That man—Konoha's hero—whose status seemed second only to the Hokage, yet who was talked about among the clans even more than the Hokage himself.
--------------------------------
AN: Check out my P@treon For +100 extra chapters.
Thank You For your Support!!
[email protected]/noviceauthor777