The Hokage's office in the Leaf Village was completely different from what Gaara had imagined.
There was no chill of an interrogation room here, no cold iron tools of torture. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, spilling over the mountains of documents piled high on the desk.
Minato sat behind the desk, handling post-war paperwork.
His hands moved quickly, pen tip gliding across the paper with a soft rustling sound.
Shinju stood with his back to them, facing a massive map of the ninja world. His fingertip tapped rhythmically on the territory of the Land of Wind.
Gaara stood in the center of the office. He had followed behind Shinju and Minato when they entered, and now he kept silent.
He had just made a choice that would define his entire life, yet his heart was calm. A solid sense of certainty filled his body.
From now on, he would no longer be a mere weapon, nor a monster hated by everyone.
He would become a guardian. The price of protecting his village was to offer everything to the enemy of his past.
"Gaara."
Shinju's voice sounded. He turned around, a massive scroll in his hand.
The scroll was black, made of some special material. Golden ink lined its surface, forming an extremely complex communication formula.
"You've already made your choice. Now, let your village make theirs."
Shinju placed the scroll on the wide desk and unfurled it. Minato set down his pen.
He looked at the scroll and began to weave hand seals with both hands. After completing a long chain of seals, he pushed a surge of chakra into the center of the scroll.
The golden formula lines lit up at once. Light rose from the scroll's surface, gathered in midair, and formed a flowing curtain of radiance. The light screen flickered a few times; its hazy image gradually became clear.
What appeared was the conference room of the Sand Village.
Several gray-haired elders sat in their usual places, their faces unable to hide their anxiety and unease. At the head of the room sat the siblings Ebizō and Chiyo.
When they saw what was being projected on the light screen, every motion in the room came to an abrupt halt.
They saw the Hokage's office of the Leaf Village; they saw the Fourth Hokage, Minato, and the unfamiliar young man, Shinju.
And finally, they noticed Gaara standing at Shinju's side.
At the very end, all of their gazes converged on a man bound and restrained by two Leaf ANBU.
The man's hair was disheveled, his clothes in tatters, all vitality drained from him.
Their Kazekage, Rasa.
"Kazekage-sama!" one of the elders lost control of his emotions and cried out.
Chiyo's expression turned extremely ugly. Her fists clenched tight.
The worst outcome the Sand Village had feared… had become their reality.
Shinju gave Gaara a look. Gaara understood at once and stepped to the very front of the light screen. Now, every high-ranking member of the Sand Village could see him clearly.
"Elders." His voice, carried by the formula, echoed distinctly through the Sand Village's conference room.
"The war my father started has failed. The Sand Village has been defeated."
Everyone in the room had already been mentally prepared for this. But when the words came from Gaara's own mouth, the weight of the blow still made every heart sink.
"Rasa's era is over." Shinju's voice came from behind Gaara, completely devoid of emotional fluctuation. "He will pay the full price for his foolish decisions."
Shinju walked to Gaara's side and placed a hand on his shoulder. The gesture itself carried an unmistakable message.
"From this moment on, Gaara of the Desert will assume the position of Fifth Kazekage."
The words fell like a boulder dropped into the Sand Village conference room.
The chamber instantly erupted into a huge uproar.
"What?!"
"Let a jinchuriki become Kazekage? Are you joking?!"
"This is a plot by the Leaf! They want to control us!"
Several elders shot to their feet, emotions running high. Their furious gazes locked onto the light screen.
Ebizō raised his hand and pressed it downward.
The commotion stopped.
Ebizō's eyes fixed on the boy within the screen. This was the true orchestrator of everything.
"What does Konoha want?" Ebizō's voice was low.
Shinju spoke.
"From today onward, there will be no more 'Sand Village.' This place will become the 'Konoha Federation – Wind Capital.'"
"Your duty will no longer be raising shinobi for meaningless slaughter. You will mine the resources of the Land of Wind, and research more advanced puppets. You will contribute to the glory of the entire Federation."
"As compensation, Konoha will provide you absolute security—and a prosperous life."
After finishing, Shinju paused. His gaze swept across each elder's face through the light screen.
"This is an order. It is also… an opportunity."
Nobody in the Sand Village's conference room spoke.
The meaning was perfectly clear. Resistance meant annihilation. Obedience meant losing sovereignty and becoming a part of Konoha completely—a production base within the Federation.
They no longer had the power to choose.
Their Kazekage had been captured alive. The village's elite forces had been wiped out in Konoha's precise strike.
Konoha possessed this technology that allowed real-time communication across thousands of miles. The Sand's understanding of Konoha was still stuck ten years in the past.
Konoha had already advanced to a level they could no longer comprehend.
Chiyo's gaze settled on Gaara within the light screen. The look in that child's eyes had changed. The madness he once carried was gone—replaced by a sense of responsibility.
To keep struggling in a barren desert, to continue waging war for meager resources… that future had already reached its end.
Perhaps this was the only path left for the Sand Village.
Chiyo closed her eyes and let out a long breath. When she opened them again, she had made her decision.
"We… accept."
Those three words marked the end of an era. As her voice fell, the other elders lowered their heads.
In a corner of the Wind Capital's conference room, Temari was watching everything unfold through the light screen.
She saw her father being escorted like a criminal. She saw her younger brother being appointed as the new Kazekage by the enemy. She watched the fate of their village decided in just a few sentences.
Sadness and confusion tangled together inside her, yet a sense of release arose as well.
For a village long tormented by poverty and war, this might not be a bad thing. It might even be a chance to be reborn.
Minato picked up his pen again and began drafting the formal founding documents of the Federation on a new sheet of paper.
Gaara's respect for Shinju grew even deeper. With just a few sentences, this youth had reshaped the entire situation.
"Next, you will return to the Wind Capital with Konoha's advisory group," Shinju told Gaara. "You'll oversee the transfer of power and carry out the subsequent reforms. Remember your promise."
"Yes, Shinju-sama." Gaara replied respectfully.
The Sand Village's affairs were settled.
Shinju turned his thoughts to dealing with the Akatsuki. After all, they had still inserted some twists into this incident—but fortunately, both Hidan and Kakuzu had been captured.
"Father, the intel we obtained from Kakuzu has been confirmed."
Shinju tapped a point on the map labeled "Temple of Fire."
"Akatsuki's next target is Chiriku, one of the Guardian Twelve Ninja. What they're after is the head on his shoulders—and something hidden beneath the Temple of Fire."
Minato asked, "Is Kakuzu's intel reliable?"
Shinju smiled in response. "After being revived with Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation), most of his personal will has been erased. What's left of Kakuzu is basically just his combat instincts and his obsession with money. A puppet doesn't lie. Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu, used in the right place, is quite valuable."
Hearing this, Minato no longer had any doubts.
Against the Akatsuki, Konoha was no longer on the defensive.
The roles of attacker and defender… had already reversed.
(End of Chapter)
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