Chapter 291: Naruto's First Friend
No one had ever said those two simple words—"I understand"—to Gaara before. Not truthfully. Not about the dark, terrible curse that resided inside him.
Gaara looked at Naruto's genuinely compassionate, unblinking expression. He was dazed.
Naruto, sensing the silence, continued talking, his tone surprisingly soft, reflective.
"When I was a kid, Gaara, I was much more miserable than you, believe it."
Naruto clasped his hands behind his head, looking up at the high ceiling of the Uchiha mansion. A hint of self-mockery was in his tone, but no bitterness.
"Everyone in the Village avoided me. They whispered and pointed. They called me a 'demon fox' behind my back. They treated me like a disease."
"It was really, super lonely back then. No one played with me. No one was willing to talk to me. If I sat on a swing, other kids would leave."
"That old man, the Third Hokage, he kept talking about the 'Will of Fire,' but in reality, he kept me caged. I couldn't even eat my fill sometimes, so I had to rummage through trash cans and drink expired milk that others had thrown away."
Gaara remained silent. He didn't interrupt. He simply listened, his wide, green eyes focused on the loud Konoha ninja.
"But later, I met my teacher."
Naruto's expression softened, filled with sudden, intense warmth.
"He didn't treat me like a monster! He didn't avoid me! He took me as his disciple! He taught me the most powerful Ninjutsu and told me I wasn't just a container!"
"It turns out, Gaara, I wasn't a demon fox; I was Konoha's hero. The son of the Fourth Hokage!"
"From then on, I understood."
Naruto looked directly at Gaara. His blue eyes were incredibly serious, brimming with empathy and determination.
"We're not monsters, Gaara. We just have a rather troublesome, cranky tenant living inside our bodies. A lot of chakra, but a bad attitude."
"As long as we can find people who accept us... find our bonds... find something to protect... we can live better than anyone else!"
Gaara's body trembled almost imperceptibly. He felt a sudden, sharp, painful echo in his core.
Bonds...
He had only heard that word from Yashamaru. But in the end, Yashamaru used his own death to tell Gaara that he was not worthy of such a thing. That he was only meant to be loved by his mother's spirit, the sand.
"I... I don't have such a thing," Gaara's voice was dry, cracking slightly.
"Then go find it!" Naruto declared, as if it were the most natural, simplest thing in the world.
"Look, haven't I come all this way to find you now? Right here in this stupid Uchiha room?"
"From today on, I am your first friend, believe it!"
Friend?
Gaara stood rooted to the spot, stunned into silence. He didn't understand. Why would this loud, bright, arrogant, and yet strangely kind ninja... want to be his friend? Why would he risk it?
"I don't need one," Gaara coldly refused, his defense mechanism snapping back into place.
"That's not up to you!" Naruto declared domineeringly, leaning forward with his signature, blinding grin. "I've decided! You are Uzumaki Naruto's friend!"
With that, he pulled out a paper bag from his embrace, carefully unwrapping it.
"Ta-da!"
"Ichiraku Ramen's special char siu pork! I brought it especially! It's super delicious! Guaranteed to fix any bad mood!"
Naruto pushed the paper bag—warm, fragrant, and utterly out of place—in front of Gaara.
"Try it! My treat! If you eat this, we'll be officially good friends! It's a friendship pact!"
Gaara looked at the glistening char siu in front of him, then at the bright, genuine light in Naruto's eyes. He fell into a long, silent contemplation. He didn't understand this world. He only understood pain.
Not far away, hiding just around the corner of the corridor, Temari held her breath.
From the moment Gaara had left his cell, she had quietly, secretly followed him, terrified of what would happen.
Temari was worried. Especially in this hostile Uchiha Clan Territory, she was afraid that Gaara would lose control of his emotions, shatter his sand gourd, and cause irreparable trouble.
When she saw Uzumaki Naruto rush straight towards Gaara, her heart instantly leaped to her throat. Her hand had instinctively reached for the giant folding fan on her back.
This is it, she thought. He's going to attack Gaara.
But the next scene—the emotional barrage, the shameless confession of loneliness, the offer of ramen—completely stunned Temari.
That hyperactive idiot actually wanted to be friends with Gaara!
And Gaara, surprisingly, didn't immediately become violent and mad. He was... listening.
When did it start?
Perhaps, after coming to Konoha. Maybe, being utterly defeated, captured, and brought to Konoha... for them, at least for Gaara, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing...
Hokage Office.
Uchiha Akira leaned back in his large chair, resting with his eyes closed. He was in a brief moment of meditation.
In front of him stood a silent Anbu, the one responsible for discreetly monitoring Gaara's house arrest.
"That concludes the recent activities of the Sunagakure prisoner camp and the movements of Gaara and Temari." The Anbu respectfully finished his report.
"Tayu… well done."
Uchiha Akira slowly opened his eyes. He was not stingy with rewards for "those who know how to adapt" like Tayu (one of the captured Suna Jōnin who had sworn loyalty to Konoha).
The status of a Konoha Chūnin, plus the position of head of the labor reform department for the Suna prisoners, was enough to make all the wavering Sunagakure prisoners see the direction of the future: Loyalty to Konoha brought reward.
He believed that soon, those Sunagakure prisoners would gradually integrate into Konoha and become productive, loyal members of the annexed nation.
As for Gaara... Uchiha Akira smiled slightly.
"Naruto, that guy," he thought. "Truly is a born 'Talk no Jutsu King.' His primary affinity is indeed Wind Release."
"It seems the effect of his presence is even better than expected."
A soul twisted by hatred and loneliness most needed the sunshine provided by another equally lonely, yet determined, soul.
Of course, this alone was not enough.
Gaara was a powerful weapon, a controlled Jinchūriki, and keeping him under perpetual house arrest in the Uchiha Clan Territory was a profound waste of resources.
He must be integrated into Konoha. Allowed to personally experience Konoha's community life. Allowed to develop real bonds and a true sense of belonging.
Only then would Gaara willingly, and powerfully, serve Konoha.
"Call Kenji here," Uchiha Akira ordered indifferently.
"Yes!" The Anbu's figure flickered and disappeared from the spot.
A moment later.
The Uchiha Guard Captain, Uchiha Kenji, quickly walked into the office, his posture military sharp.
"Hokage-sama."
"Mm," Akira nodded.
"From today onwards, lift the house arrest on Gaara and Temari completely," Akira ordered directly.
Uchiha Kenji's eye flickered, processing the unexpected, potentially dangerous order, but he didn't ask further. He simply executed.
"Yes!"
"Also, you will arrange for the two of them to enter the Ninja Academy to study."
"What?"
Even Uchiha Kenji, who was usually perfectly calm, couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this order.
To let Sunagakure prisoners, the children of the former Kazekage, enter Konoha's Ninja Academy?
This... this is an unprecedented security risk! And highly irregular!
"Put them in the same class as Naruto," Akira added, noticing Kenji's hesitation.
Uchiha Kenji instantly understood Akira's true, deeper intention. This wasn't about security. It was about assimilation. About winning hearts.
"I understand," Uchiha Kenji immediately accepted the order. "I will go take care of the paperwork and arrangements now."
"Mm, go on." Akira waved his hand.
"Ninja Academy, huh..." he thought to himself.
"Let Gaara experience the life of a normal, accepted person. It is the fastest way to turn a captive into a loyal asset."
Half an hour later.
Uchiha Kenji walked into Gaara's room in the Uchiha mansion.
Behind him followed Temari, who had been called over from the adjacent room. Her face was still anxious, despite Naruto's visit.
"Hokage-sama has an order," Uchiha Kenji's voice rang out, formal and final.
"Effective immediately, the house arrest on both of you is lifted. You are free to move within the Uchiha Compound. Within Konoha, with supervision."
Upon hearing this, Temari's face immediately showed an expression of incredible, profound joy.
Free?
Gaara also raised his head, his sea-green eyes fluctuating slightly.
"Furthermore." Kenji continued.
"Hokage-sama orders that both of you will enter the Konoha Ninja Academy for your studies."
"Huh?!" Temari was the first to exclaim. Her joy instantly dissolved into utter confusion.
"Go... go to the Ninja Academy?"
She was dumbfounded. For her, a high-ranking Sunagakure shinobi and a prisoner, to go to Konoha's Ninja Academy? What kind of bizarre operation was this?
As for Gaara...
Study? He only needed to learn killing techniques. What use was an academy?
"This is an order," Uchiha Kenji said without a hint of doubt.
"You will be assigned to Uzumaki Naruto's class."
"All arrangements have been made. You report to the Academy tomorrow morning."
After speaking, Uchiha Kenji no longer paid attention to the two dumbfounded individuals. He simply turned and left, his duty complete.
After a long, shocked silence.
Temari murmured, walking over to the window. "I... I didn't mishear, did I? They want us to go to school? Like... like children?"
She glanced back at Gaara.
Gaara had his head bowed, making his expression unreadable.
Go to school... with that loud guy named Uzumaki Naruto... together?
Gaara suddenly felt a strange, unfamiliar, and deeply unsettling fluster deep in his chest.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]