"Gaara!"
Inside the Konoha Village prison, the atmosphere was heavy. Although the true culprit was Orochimaru, the Hidden Sand Village's coordinated attack was an undeniable fact.
After Naruto rescued Temari and Kankuro from the snake venom and healed them, they were sent back here for temporary custody. Given their current status, Konoha would never have provided them with hospital beds if they hadn't been on the brink of death. Fortunately, both were now largely out of danger.
When the Konoha Ninja opened the cell door, Temari immediately rushed forward in a panic. She carefully examined her younger brother, finding that although his eyes were red and swollen, and his face still bore fresh tear stains, and his voice was choked, he had no obvious injuries. Her suspended heart finally settled, and she let out a long sigh of relief.
Standing behind her, Kankuro's face, in addition to the same worry as Temari, showed more shock and disbelief.
Is this Gaara? Gaara... can he actually cry? This fragile yet no longer cold younger brother in front of him was a stark contrast to the image of the bloodthirsty Asura he remembered, leaving him momentarily dazed.
"Thank you so much! Thank you... Thank you for saving Gaara..." Temari bowed deeply to Naruto, her voice filled with sincere gratitude. However, the words caught in her throat; she didn't know how to address this powerful yet young blonde, and her phrasing seemed a bit stiff.
"It's... it's nothing..." Naruto waved his hand, forcing a smile, but the smile looked somewhat stiff and unnatural.
This was not due to Temari's thanks, but because of the cold, clear prompt that had sounded in his mind shortly before, and the content that followed, which had shocked him to the core.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host: Your bond level with original character 'Gaara' has increased to level 100! (The relationship has undergone a fundamental qualitative change!)"
"Current relationship: Absolute Symbiosis."
"Relationship description: The other party has placed your existence at the very top of their life's meaning and value hierarchy. Your will shall become the highest principle of his actions, and your existence is his sole anchor for perceiving and understanding the world. This emotion has transcended ordinary dependence or trust, deepening into an inseparable state of absolute symbiosis."
"Reward points gained: 4600 points!"
"Note: The highest level for family members is level 7 and cannot undergo a qualitative change!"
Naruto didn't know why simply wanting to pull Gaara out of his distorted worldview, to show him that there were other possibilities, and to let him know that he was worth cherishing... had turned into this. This description made Naruto feel a little uneasy.
After some necessary post-war cleanup and initial interrogation work were completed, the Sunagakure prisoners would most likely be released and repatriated to the Land of Wind.
After all, maintaining the superficial alliance between the Great Ninja Villages involved complex political considerations... Naruto shook his head, deciding not to delve further into these headache-inducing matters.
Ultimately, it was all Orochimaru's fault... Naruto blamed the chaotic thoughts on the culprit.
However, before everything completely settled, Naruto himself still had a few urgent matters to attend to. Firstly, he had to clearly explain to the Third Hokage and Jiraiya about the 'dying message' Orochimaru had thrown out about his parentage just before his'sealing'.
Secondly, he urgently wanted to confirm the safety of his friends. Although there were strong individuals like Kakashi and Might Guy, the possibility of his companions encountering misfortune was extremely low, but he couldn't rest easy without seeing them with his own eyes.
Especially Satsuki... A strange concern arose in Naruto's heart. Even though they had only been apart for a few hours, it felt like he hadn't seen her in a long time... He felt a slight confusion about this overly strong longing, thinking that this idea was a bit dangerous.
"Naruto-sama!"
A slightly hurried voice interrupted his thoughts. A Konoha Ninja trotted up to him and reported respectfully.
"Hokage-sama has informed me that if you have finished your matters, please proceed immediately to the Hokage Building. Hokage-sama has important matters to discuss with you."
"...Huh? Me?" Naruto didn't react for a moment. "...I understand."
He found the title "-sama" very unfamiliar and awkward. He turned his head, watching this Chunin, who was clearly older than him, respectfully bow his head, and understood.
It seems... the power I displayed on the battlefield has completely changed some people's attitudes towards me. Receiving such formal treatment within Konoha Village was a first for him.
Naruto nodded to Temari one last time, preparing to turn and leave. However, his sleeve was suddenly tugged gently from behind. He turned back, meeting Gaara's eyes, which seemed to speak—clearly filled with anxiety and a plea of "Don't go."
"Gaara!"
Seeing this, Temari quickly stepped forward, somewhat awkwardly pulling her brother's hand gently from Naruto's sleeve, then immediately cast an apologetic glance at Naruto. But as soon as she looked up, she saw Gaara's other hand stubbornly and quietly re-grasping Naruto's clothes... "...Uh," Naruto looked at Gaara's eyes, like a small animal afraid of being abandoned, and his heart softened. He softened his voice and explained, "I'm just going to take care of some things, and I'll be back very soon, I promise. Don't worry, I'm right here in Konoha, I won't go far."
Hearing his assurance, Gaara slowly let go. However, the main reason he let go was that he realized he seemed to be causing trouble for Naruto, which made him feel a little uneasy.
Finally, under the astonished gazes of Temari and Kankuro, who looked as if they were seeing their brother for the first time, Naruto left the prison.
Walking back on the main street of Konoha, now that the attack was over, Naruto decided to go home first and drop off his belongings.
Returning to his small apartment, he took out the Pokémon egg with the strange green circular pattern from his sealing scroll and carefully placed it back into the special insulated incubator on his bedside table.
He wondered if keeping it in the sealing scroll counted as "carrying it with him"... Naruto muttered to himself, but anyway, after so many years, let alone signs of hatching, there hadn't been any movement at all.
Today was an exception. In the chaotic state of the Village under Ninja attack, he wouldn't dare leave such an important egg at home alone. Now that the battle was over and the crisis averted, he naturally had to release it from the storage scroll.
He reached out and gently stroked the large, warm eggshell, letting out a soft sigh. This was his future summoning beast partner... After all, whenever Naruto now used Mount Myōboku's summoning jutsu, he would summon the Great Toad Sage, which made Jiraiya completely unwilling to let Naruto touch Mount Myōboku's contract again.
Imagine, in the future, Satsuki standing on Aoda's head, Sakura on Katsuyu's body, he would also need to find some decent summoning beast to stand on, right... Of course, the deeper reason was Naruto's deep yearning for companionship with such pure and beautiful creatures from a utopia.
Even though so many years had passed, this egg remained completely still, but merely as an egg, Naruto had already invested deep feelings into it.
"Alright, I'm leaving..."
Naruto gently patted the eggshell, said goodbye as usual, and prepared to turn and leave.
Then—
"Crack."
An extremely faint, yet unusually clear crisp sound, came from behind him without warning.
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