Baki was startled, not because Gaara's words were ridiculous.
Rather, this fact has always been a source of pain for all the Sunagakure residents.
The disappearance of the Third Kazekage plunged the entire Sunagakure into despair, and the village's decision-making power began to be dispersed among the higher-ups at that time.
Moreover, to be fair, there were some odd things about the Fourth Kazekage after he woke up.
Gaara could see Baki's expression clearly.
Without speaking, no amount of words can compare to Baki's own clear thinking.
After a long while, Baki finally looked at Gaara, the boy who had always been regarded as a weapon.
At this moment, his eyes no longer held the madness and indifference of the past, but only a maturity and composure that did not belong to a young man.
Just like... the Fourth who had just taken office back then.
However, as time went by, the Fourth Kazekage of the past lost that expression.
Things changed after the higher-ups forced him to relinquish some power and the Daimyo of the Land of Wind stopped funding Sunagakure's military.
"Are you really so sure I can convince the elder?"
Although Chiyo and Ebizo do not concern themselves with politics, there are some matters that even the previous Fourth Kazekage had to consult with them about.
Baki was a little confused as to why Gaara was so certain.
"Because you are one of the Fourth Kazekage's most trusted subordinates, and one of the few Jonin in Sunagakure who has the opportunity to Jonin the two elders."
Gaara paused here. "And... he's someone I can trust now."
Although Baki, as his mentor Jonin, hadn't taught him anything, he was able to recognize the person before him.
They are willing to sacrifice themselves for Sunagakure.
Baki fell silent, pondering the feasibility of everything.
However, some of the actions taken by the Fourth after waking up did indeed seem strange to him.
"Don't worry about it too much; you can simply treat it as asking the elders for instructions."
Gaara interrupted Baki's thoughts, offering a different perspective on the person before him.
"It only takes a few days to go back and forth. Even with some delays, that'll be enough time for you to return."
Baki took a deep breath and finally nodded. "I will go, but you..."
Gaara the One-Tail Jinchuriki, Gaara was indeed not very comfortable leaving him alone in Konoha.
Don't worry, I can't leave.
Gaara slowly withdrew the sand flow, opened the window, and looked at the various people on the street not far away.
"Furthermore, I will protect Kankuro and Temari. It is my responsibility as the son of the Kazekage to prevent the destruction of Sunagakure here."
Okay, actually Gaara knows that if he doesn't say it...
Baki will not leave with peace of mind.
Sure enough, Baki was completely shocked when he heard this.
This boy, who was regarded as a weapon, was now actually thinking about the safety of the village.
But looking into Gaara's eyes, Baki couldn't help but believe it.
"I understand." Baki's face was full of seriousness. "It will take at least two days to reach the village."
"Until then, I'll keep all the Sunagakure people in the guesthouse."
Gaara said that although he could make people obey by instilling fear, he did not want to do so.
Baki nodded, then turned to leave.
"Oh, right, we can go to Kazekage's Office; there's a secret room there."
Thump--
Baki stopped. This matter...
"Take care on your journey, Mr. Baki."
Gaara said something calmly, and Baki didn't say anything more.
"Gaara?"
Temari walked in; Baki had just said a bunch of strange things, leaving her completely confused.
"Don't worry, it's alright."
Gaara remained calm; he simply had a gut feeling that he wouldn't die because of this.
It could be said that this intuition was given to him by Hagoromo, and he wanted to use this intuition to protect Temari and Kankuro.
--
Konoha completely ignored Baki's departure.
Meanwhile, Hagoromo was busy with the cultivation of her disciples, and the results were quite good.
At the very least, Hagoromo saw some gains, and most importantly, he gained Naruto and Sasuke.
I successfully cultivated the Sage Mode, although it cannot be activated instantly and has a time limit.
But that's enough to give them a big step forward.
As a result, Hagoromo's stats finally saw a long-awaited major boost.
[Disciple Naruto Uzumaki diligently trained and successfully mastered Sage Mode. As a disciple returning to his master, he receives the following rewards: Chakra +5000, and all Chakra attribute values +10.]
[Disciple Sasuke Uchiha diligently trained and successfully mastered Sage Mode. Rewards for his disciple's return to master: Chakra +5000, attribute Nature Transformation value +10]
The rewards are decent; some players who were previously stuck at the Proficient can now advance to Mastery.
The terms "Transcendent" and "Mastery" are indicated by a "+" symbol.
His Chakra also surged by 10,000, almost equivalent to several months' worth of class rewards.
The drop rate remains very high.
The reward was generous, although it wasn't a significant boost for Hagoromo at this moment.
However, he felt exceptionally refreshed, since once the value rose, there was no possibility of it decreasing.
However, they did not slack off because of this. As soon as Naruto and Sasuke completed Sage Mode, they immediately dragged him to practice techniques that might have been risky in the past.
This also led to a fusion of their techniques.
In terms of destructive power, it's not much different from Neji's Spiral Impact Flow technique.
The days flew by in this busy atmosphere.
During this time, Hagoromo went to an underground base, where she met Orochimaru had almost fully recovered.
"Hehe, junior brother, you've got quite the inclination to come here."
Bound by Sealing Jutsu, and guarded by members of the Anbu Guard.
Orochimaru, however, seemed completely unconcerned, and spoke as he looked at Hagoromo in front of him.
"Haven't you said anything yet?"
Hagoromo looked at the Anbu beside her and asked.
The Anbu being questioned shook his head. For nearly a month, no one had been able to get anything out of Orochimaru.
The secret techniques of the Yamanaka Clan cannot be performed while sealed.
Therefore, Orochimaru could only be imprisoned here, while Kabuto Yakushi and the three Sound Ninja were imprisoned separately in other locations.
As for that Sakon, I didn't see it, and there's no need to pay attention to it.
"Nothing to say?"
Hagoromo approached Orochimaru, his gaze indifferent.
"Oh? What did you say?"
Orochimaru smirked, his gaze fixed on Hagoromo.
If before it was purely for Sasuke, now he has another goal.
That was the Hagoromo before her eyes.
"Never mind."
Hagoromo shook her head. It would be strange if this guy could say it so easily.
He turned around and thought about leaving.
"Junior brother, what kind of wind do you think will blow through the Shinobi World?"
Behind me, Orochimaru's hoarse voice came.
Hagoromo turned his head and stared at Orochimaru for a long time.
"I don't know, but the winds in Konoha will keep blowing."
He then ignored Orochimaru and left the underground base.
Orochimaru was taken aback by this answer, then burst into laughter.
"Interesting."