Chapter 532: The Power of a Mother and a Best Friend
As a puppet master, Kankurō understood better than anyone that a craftsman must first sharpen his tools. Following Konohamaru's many suggestions, he began creating his own puppet.
The two of them worked with reckless dedication, day and night without rest.
At last, after using Crow (Karasu), Black Ant (Kuroari), and Salamander (Sanshōuo) as references, Kankurō completed a puppet entirely of his own design.
He named it—Roast Chicken.
Although he claimed it was modeled after all three, it was actually based primarily on Black Ant.
Crow was an offensive puppet.
Salamander was a defensive puppet.
Only Black Ant specialized in capturing enemies.
Black Ant's usual method of attack was to open its enormous body and trap its target inside.
If the captive needed to be interrogated, they would be left alive.
If not, Kankurō would directly use his puppet technique—Black Secret Technique: One Shot.
Blades hidden within Black Ant would thrust through the gaps inside the puppet, instantly killing whoever was trapped within.
Black Secret Technique: One Shot was much like a magician's trick of stabbing swords into a box.
The difference was that Kankurō's version used real blades.
And whenever necessary, Kankurō himself could also hide inside the puppet, allowing him to perform maneuvers similar to the Substitution Technique.
Likewise, Roast Chicken, which Kankurō had built based on Black Ant, possessed similar functions.
Under Kankurō's control, he climbed inside Roast Chicken and sealed himself within.
This time, however, the things inside that attacked him were no longer blades.
Instead, they were soft... objects.
Konohamaru stood outside, watching Roast Chicken tremble continuously.
Just from the violent shaking, he could already sense how excited Kankurō was inside.
To protect his dignity, Kankurō had even lined the puppet with soundproofing material.
So whether he was shouting or screaming inside, Konohamaru couldn't hear a thing.
Only now did Kankurō finally realize something.
His original Black Secret Technique: One Shot hadn't truly lived up to its name.
This newly created Roast Chicken puppet...
This was what deserved to be called Black Secret Technique: One Shot.
Click.
Bang.
A few minutes later, the front hatch of Roast Chicken opened and slammed heavily onto the ground.
After releasing his armor, Kankurō immediately sat down cross-legged and began trying to gather natural energy.
If one looked carefully, they would notice that his hair was still slightly wet.
When designing Roast Chicken, Kankurō had even thoughtfully added a self-cleaning function for afterward.
That way, he wouldn't be left feeling uncomfortable all over, unable to calm himself enough to enter Sage Mode—even after reaching the Sage state.
Of course, he could afford to do this because the environment of the Land of Wind had been gradually improving.
Otherwise, water would still have been far too precious to waste.
Konohamaru opened his mouth, wanting to ask how it had gone, but held himself back.
He couldn't interrupt.
This was the critical moment.
Everything depended on this.
With nothing else to do, Konohamaru began examining the internal structure of Roast Chicken.
Even though he had witnessed its creation from start to finish, and had even helped design it himself, seeing the finished product still left him amazed by the craftsmanship.
He couldn't help thinking that if this puppet were ever used against shinobi like his grandfather Sarutobi Hiruzen or Jiraiya, then even without using it to help someone enter Sage Mode, simply trapping an enemy inside would make it an absolutely terrifying weapon.
Meanwhile, Kankurō's training had finally gotten on track.
But on the other side, Gaara and Naruto still hadn't made any progress.
For much the same reason as Kankurō, Gaara had been personally selected by Rasa as the ideal Jinchūriki.
His physical condition was naturally exceptional.
As a result, he faced the exact same problem as Kankurō—He couldn't quickly enter Sage Mode.
In fact, his situation was even worse.
Kankurō had at least been a fairly ordinary shinobi, aside from the face paint.
Gaara was different.
He had once been mentally unstable, burdened with severe psychological trauma.
Although becoming Kazekage had allowed him to overcome most of his emotional scars, the wounds deep inside his heart still remained.
Naruto spent the entire day training with Gaara.
Every attempt took Gaara a very long time before he could barely enter the required state.
Because it took so long to reach it, the state itself lasted only briefly, making it impossible for him to proceed into Sage Mode.
Gaara could only continue trying on his own.
As for Naruto?
Naruto had already fallen asleep on the sofa.
Unlike Konohamaru, Naruto couldn't come up with any clever solution for Gaara.
His head was filled with only one thought, 'What should I eat tonight? Yeah... what should I eat?'
Honestly, considering how Naruto had taught Konohamaru the Rasengan, no one should expect him to offer any constructive advice.
Naruto's greatest strength was his unpredictability.
Unfortunately, it only worked for himself.
Gaara had no choice but to find a solution on his own.
At this moment, the scene shifted to the original story.
Episode 252 of the anime: "The Kazekage Returns."
It was the ending of the Rescue Gaara arc, after Chiyo had revived Gaara, when Naruto and the Konoha group were saying goodbye before leaving.
While bidding farewell, Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly and said, "Normally... we're supposed to shake hands when saying goodbye, right? But I'm not really good at shaking hands."
That line was simply unbelievable.
Who says they're "bad at shaking hands"?
The moment Naruto said it, it gave off an oddly coy feeling, almost like he was acting spoiled.
Hearing that, Gaara smiled knowingly and took the initiative to extend his hand.
'If you won't make the first move, then I will.'
Yet Naruto still stood there motionless, staring blankly.
Gaara became even more proactive.
Using his sand, he gently pushed Naruto's hand forward and completed the handshake himself.
That sand...
was Gaara's mother's protection.
It represented the power of his mother.
It was as though his mother herself were witnessing the moment Gaara had finally found a precious friend and was watching him shake hands with that friend.
Anyone seeing that scene couldn't help but think—
'Wait... what?!'
Of course, no one ever said anything outright.
They only felt an incredibly strong sense that... something was going on.
Now, back in the room.
After hesitating for a moment, Gaara walked over to the sofa.
Just like during that farewell in the original story, he used his sand to gently guide Naruto's hand.
Mm.
Gaara definitely just wanted to shake hands...
Right?
...Right?
...
The sand represented his mother, Karura.
Combined with Naruto's hand...
These were the two most important people in Gaara's life.
Very soon, Gaara completed the first step toward entering Sage Mode.
He sat down cross-legged and began sensing the natural energy.
Every bit of this was witnessed clearly by Tokiwa, who was hiding outside the window and keeping watch.
At that moment, Tokiwa clutched her head, wishing she could gouge out her own eyes.
She had always assumed that Naruto—the embodiment of Konoha's bonds—would be the proactive one.
Never had she imagined that the exact opposite was true.
She had heard the rumors long ago.
That naturally flirtatious Uzumaki Naruto was only proactive in the beginning.
Once he'd won someone over, he would immediately start acting dense and become completely passive.
It had been that way with Uchiha Sasuke.
And now...
Even Kazekage Gaara was the same.
It was terrifying.
(End of this chapter)