Naruto didn't know that Elder El was secretly part of Umbrella. If he had, he probably would have only sighed in amazement.
Transform the Shinobi World, chase dreams of longevity, and witness everything from the summit!
With a clear goal and plan in mind, Naruto no longer felt lost.
Even if the road ahead was rough, so what? That, too, was part of the fun of life.
At this moment, Naruto had already reached the Oasis to rest. Upon entering, he used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as an ordinary man from the Land of Wind.
In modern terms, it was the kind of "average face" you could find anywhere—unremarkable, blending into a crowd, looking like everyone and no one at the same time.
Certainly nothing like you, dear reader, so handsome and unique!
After a short rest, Naruto continued on toward Sunagakure.
He didn't use his flight ability; conserving chakra was more important. Even though he carried not only his own reserves but also a portion of Kurama's chakra, he had to use it sparingly. If trouble arose, having extra chakra would be his greatest reassurance.
Before departing, Naruto had even applied a sealing technique to mask his chakra signature, preventing detection-type sensory ninjutsu from picking it up. The seal would last for about a month before dissipating, but that was more than enough.
Moving quickly, Naruto let himself feel the pulse of the wind as he traveled—yet it didn't help.
The "Heaven Rewards Diligence" ability, as he had named it, didn't seem to apply to his Shadow Clones.
…
After a full day of travel, Naruto finally reached the outskirts of Sunagakure. Now, his movements became more cautious.
The village housed a large number of shinobi. While Naruto didn't fear them outright, chakra spent was chakra gone—it wouldn't recover instantly.
"Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage!"
The jutsu activated, and the earth swallowed him, carrying him beneath the desert sands like a submarine gliding through water.
Once directly under Sunagakure, Naruto activated Kagura's Mind Eye, a rare sensory ability inherited from the Uzumaki bloodline. It was less a simple ninjutsu and more an instinctive gift, one that only a few in the clan could master.
Its range was vast, and if Naruto knew a target's chakra signature, he could pinpoint them with remarkable accuracy.
In his case, his reference point was the overwhelming chakra of Kurama within him. Though Shukaku's chakra was different from Kurama's, both were tailed beasts—distinct from the chakra of ordinary shinobi. That made tracking far easier while also conserving energy.
Naruto closed his eyes briefly, focusing.
A few seconds later, his eyes snapped open, and the corners of his mouth curved upward.
"Found him."
Using Earth Release once more, he stealthily moved toward Gaara's location. Thanks to his sealing technique, his chakra signature was nearly impossible to detect—so long as he didn't create too much noise.
What surprised Naruto, however, was that there seemed to be no shinobi stationed to monitor Gaara's residence.
Then he thought about it, and it made sense.
Anyone sent to "keep watch" might be discovered and killed by Gaara himself. After all, at this point, Gaara was still consumed by bloodlust and loneliness.
Thinking of Gaara's circumstances, Naruto couldn't help but shake his head. Ambition and cruelty had scarred nearly every jinchūriki. Their fates were almost always tragic.
Power—especially power one couldn't control—was terrifying.
And Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, was perhaps the worst example of a father. Instead of guiding Gaara, he had repeatedly sent assassins to attack him, believing that surviving such ordeals would force Gaara to master Shukaku's power.
A brilliant idea… in the worst possible sense.
That relentless cycle drove Gaara deeper into isolation, shaping him into a boy who sought acknowledgment only through killing.
Rejected by his father, betrayed by his uncle under orders from the Kazekage himself—Gaara grew up believing that his very existence had no meaning.
Gaara believed it with all his heart—
Even his brother and sister feared him.
The villagers dreaded his very existence.
Step by step, this isolation pushed Gaara deeper into darkness.
He was, in many ways, a mirror of Naruto—what Naruto might have become if he had succumbed to despair.
If Naruto himself had been swallowed by darkness, he might have felt a deeper kinship with Gaara, their shared suffering as jinchūriki binding them together.
But in his previous life, Naruto had never lost himself to that darkness—perhaps due to the guiding influence of Asura's chakra.
And yet, in this life, Naruto had never once sensed Asura's chakra within him. No whisper, no presence, no influence.
Maybe he was still too weak to perceive it.
Naruto did not surface from underground. It was already nearing evening; appearing now risked drawing attention, even if no one seemed to be watching Gaara at the moment.
From his observations, Gaara lived in an isolated building, set apart from others—most likely because of his identity. The Kazekage, Rasa, was nowhere in sight, probably either holed up in the Kazekage's office or searching for gold in the desert.
Temari and Kankurō weren't present either.
It was, in fact, the perfect time to get close to Gaara.
Still, Naruto did not act recklessly. Instead, he waited for nightfall.
Night was the best moment to approach.
Sunagakure's sealing technique was crude. Whenever Gaara fell asleep, Shukaku fought him for control of his body, leaking chakra through the flaws in the seal.
That flaw was also the reason for the deep, heavy rings beneath Gaara's eyes—eyes that made him look like a small panda.
When night finally came, Naruto spotted Temari and Kankurō returning. They looked noticeably younger than he remembered from the original timeline.
Temari should be around thirteen, Kankurō about twelve, while Gaara was roughly Naruto's age—ten.
Temari wore the standard shinobi mesh armor beneath her outer clothes. Even at her young age, her long legs caught Naruto's eye for a moment, earning a silent click of his tongue.
The three siblings did not share a room; Gaara's quarters were set farther apart.
Naruto, disguised as a small stone on the rooftop, suddenly noticed Temari preparing to bathe near an open window. She carelessly faced the outside, unaware of his vantage point.
A flash of pale skin made Naruto's face redden. He quickly looked away, muttering to himself in embarrassment. Poor Shikamaru—if he ever found out about this, he'd probably just sigh and say, "Troublesome… but are you being polite?"
Pushing aside the awkwardness, Naruto focused on his task, waiting patiently as Temari and Kankurō eventually fell asleep.
When the moon rose high, Gaara stirred uneasily in his room.
Damn Ichibi…
He glared up at the ceiling, straining to resist the beast's restless chakra.
And then—
A voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.
"Who?!"
Gaara snapped upright, his sharp gaze sweeping the room.
The voice came again, calm yet provoking:
"If you dare… come alone to the desert outside."
Suspicion and rage swelled in Gaara's chest. Was this another assassin sent by his father?
Murderous intent flooded through him.
Without hesitation, Gaara leapt from the window, vanishing into the night. The curtains fluttered in his wake, stirred by the desert wind—or perhaps by his passing touch.
...
TN:
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