A Sudden Turn: Sand's Suspicions, and Temari Could Only Apologize

Only Temari and Naruto were in the meeting room. He made no attempt to hide his exhaustion; walking back and forth every Tenten was simply too mentally taxing.

He always appeared energetic in front of Hinata and Ino, even when he was very tired, he would force himself to talk and only go home to rest after spending time with the two of them.

Now that they had arrived at Sunagakure, and there was no one else in the meeting room, Naruto simply lay down on the table and went to sleep.

"Let me know before you arrive."

"Okay!" Temari was a little reserved, but after thinking it over, she got up and went out to give a few instructions.

When she entered the meeting room again, she found that Naruto seemed to have fallen asleep. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed; she had originally wanted to talk to Naruto, but now it was impossible.

About twenty minutes later, before Temari could call him, Naruto woke up on his own. He couldn't help it; lying on the table was tiring, far less comfortable than a bed.

"Has anyone arrived?" he asked, rubbing his eyes, clearly exhausted.

He propped himself up on one arm, almost burying his head in the crook of his arm, obscuring most of his face. In this position, his body leaned forward, his shoulder blades protruding, revealing the lines of his jaw and his bulging, explosively powerful back.

Temari glanced at it, her mind went blank, and she bit her lower lip.

"What?"

"Have they arrived yet?" Naruto asked again, looking up at her with a weary expression.

"Not yet." Temari stood there, her mind filled with images from her dreams. She swallowed hard, and only after speaking did she suddenly realize what she had said.

He seems very sleepy?

"How about we postpone the meeting? You should go wash up and rest first," Temari said with concern. "You look very tired. I can take you there."

"No need, let's talk about it after we finish this." Naruto's voice was a little hoarse. His attention wasn't on Temari; he was still scheming in his mind about how to get Shukaku.

The fusion between Shukaku and Gaara is not very harmonious, far less so than that of the previous Jinchuriki Bunpuku. Currently, Gaara has to pay a price for using Shukaku's power.

The price is insomnia. Shukaku isn't a good bird; it has accepted its status as a tool. But that doesn't mean it will obediently follow orders; it will still cause trouble from time to time.

Although taking away Shukaku would not affect Gaara's sand control, since Shukaku was completely sealed inside Gaara's body, it was purely a sealing object.

But Naruto was too embarrassed to ask to borrow the Tailed Beast inside you, at least the higher-ups in Sunagakure would never agree to such an absurd and rude request.

The Tailed Beast are a secret weapon of Sunagakure, used to maintain balance with the other villages. Naruto alone could never take Shukaku away.

So from the very beginning, he never considered using conventional methods.

A short while later, Gaara and a group of high-ranking Sand appeared in the conference room. Gaara looked more mature than before. He met Naruto's gaze as he entered, and they exchanged a slight nod as a greeting.

Although Temari doesn't wield much real power, she's still qualified to attend meetings of the Sand's high-ranking officials. Naruto looked around but didn't see Kankuro; he was probably fiddling with his dolls somewhere again.

Sand Jonin Baki was also present, sitting beside Gaara. As the Kazekage's teacher, after Gaara's successful ascension to the throne, his status in Sand was no different from that of Crown Prince's tutor in ancient times.

Not only did his career rise steadily, but he also experienced the feeling of going from a peasant in the morning to a high-ranking official in the evening.

Even from a distance, Naruto could see the noble aura emanating from Baki. He silently marked him in his mind: this man must die.

There was no particular reason why Baki killed Gekko Hayate. But then Uzuki Yugao came to him seeking help and showed sufficient sincerity, so Baki deserved to die.

If you take what others have done in this way, then this is just another ordinary thing for you.

Since Baki was willing to kill Gekko Hayate for the sake of the village's interests, even if it was under Orochimaru's guidance, it's normal for Baki to be killed by someone else.

When you're constantly wandering the martial world, you're bound to get hurt; there's no logic to life and death.

Baki Naruto at him, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable. However, he didn't take it to heart and didn't even look Naruto in the eye.

Temari someone to inform Gaara, Gaara then informed the higher-ups of Sand. This relay process naturally took some time.

Even knowing that Naruto was there to deliver intelligence, the Sand's higher-ups still wore sour expressions. After sitting down with serious faces, they didn't rush to ask questions, but instead scrutinized Naruto together.

Temari sensed something was amiss and her heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Gaara and then at Baki. Gaara's expression remained unchanged; he seemed to be deep in thought.

Just now, Naruto only told Temari that he had information about the person behind White Zetsu and knew that person's next move.

That's why Temari put aside her romantic feelings and quickly sent someone to inform Gaara. She knew she didn't have the authority to convene a meeting of the Sand leadership, so she only sent someone to inform Gaara.

As for what Gaara does, that's none of her business.

When they had been waiting for a long time and still hadn't seen anyone, Temari had already guessed that Gaara was probably summoning the higher-ups, but she didn't expect the higher-ups to react this way.

Time ticked by, and no one spoke in the conference room. Kazekage, the Gaara, remained silent, as did the higher-ups, so Naruto had no reason to rush in.

The almost palpable silence made Temari suffocated, and a look of worry crept onto her face. She was anxious, yet had no idea what had happened.

After a long while, just as Temari was about to speak, a high-ranking member of Sand broke the silence.

"Konohagakure's Jinchuriki, what information have you brought to Sand?"

"Hmm." Naruto's expression didn't improve when he heard the Jinchuriki. He glanced at the higher-up and said, "The one who controls the White Zetsu is Orochimaru, a former subordinate of Kabuto."

"We already know this news," Baki said.

"You know?" Naruto was slightly surprised.

"Yes, the Land of Water just shared intelligence." Baki nodded. "The Mizukage severely injured Kabuto is currently fleeing in the Land of Water."

Upon hearing this, Naruto did not respond; the other party clearly did not want to reveal too much.

The problem is that this information is obviously false. It's impossible for Mizukage Mei Terumi to have seriously injured Kabuto, or rather, Kabuto wanted Mei Terumi to think that she had seriously injured him.

Orochimaru and Kabuto's research has already reached the soul level, so severely injuring or even killing Kabuto is not that simple.

However, Naruto did not voice his doubts. Instead, he observed the expressions of the Sand's higher-ups and sensed a hint of distrust.

"Konohagakure and Sand are allies, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Baki replied.

In this conference room, it seemed everyone had been Shizune, with only Baki speaking as their mouthpiece. Everyone else, except Temari and Gaara, seemed to be sizing him up.

Gaara sat in the Kazekage's seat, seemingly lost in thought, his head slightly lowered as he stared at the intricately textured surface of the long table, his brow furrowed.

"Kabuto has a backup plan; he's preparing an army of Impure World Reincarnation," Naruto said.

"The White Zetsu has already retreated from the Land of Land of Wind's territory, Kabuto has been defeated," Baki interrupted Naruto, speaking with some impatience.

"What you're saying has no evidence. The current situation is that Kabuto no longer has the ability to control White Zetsu. The momentum of the war has been brought under control, but Konohagakure doesn't seem to have any intention of withdrawing its troops from the border."

As he said this, Baki stared sharply at Naruto.

In that instant, Naruto suddenly understood why these high-ranking officials had such strange expressions. They were a bunch of idiots. They thought Konohagakure was going to use the war as an excuse to break their agreement and attack the Land of Wind.

Are all those high-ranking officials brainless? All they think about is backstabbing and scheming, willing to use the worst possible malice to speculate about their allies. While Konohagakure isn't exactly a saint either, the problem is their intelligence is wrong!

Konohagakure likely trusted Naruto's intelligence more and didn't easily retreat despite the White Zetsu's departure. After all, Shikaku Nara was a seasoned strategist and worried about potential misinformation from the Land of Water.

Currently, the damage caused by the White Zetsu the Shinobi World is not too great; on the contrary, this has pushed the military forces of various countries to the front lines.

When the White Zetsu launched a fierce attack, the Five Great Nations united in their hatred of the enemy and resisted the White Zetsu together, forging a defensive line for the Shinobi World.

With White Zetsu's retreat, the enemy was gone, but they could see the neighboring country's ninja forces across several lines of defense. The group exchanged glances, and a sense of unease began to creep in.

Those guys on the other side aren't exactly friendly, are they? What if they cross the border in the middle of the night and launch a full-scale attack?

It's understandable to have such thoughts, after all, the Five Great Nations have always been so aggressive, and whenever they can catch their breath, they think about whether they can cut a piece of flesh off their neighbors.

Naruto hadn't expected Kabuto to pull such a stunt, which, by a twist of fate, actually achieved its intended effect of undermining the enemy's strength. With the Five Great Nations locked in a standoff, Kabuto was the one who benefited most.

So, what did Kabuto lose? He only lost some skin fragments, which is nothing to the snake-skinned monster.

Raw grass, extremely raw grass.

Naruto had originally appeared in Sunagakure without warning to deliver intelligence, and the more he rushed, the more urgent the information seemed. But now that White Zetsu had escaped, the two sides were left in a standoff.

The current situation is that Sand wants to withdraw its troops to regroup, Konohagakure stationed in the wild. And at this very moment, Naruto inadvertently appears in Sand.

Without any warning or preparation.

Before Kabuto's defeat, Naruto was an ally of the allied nation; now the enemy has vanished. How terrifying is it that an ally has silently appeared at your own stronghold?

The faces of these high-ranking officials were deathly grim. Their eyes were fixed on Naruto, scrutinizing him as if he were the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, reborn. That madman had done the same thing before, launching sneak attacks on the enemy's rear base.

"Do you really believe that Kabuto will be defeated?" Naruto took a deep breath and said seriously, "He is Orochimaru's subordinate and has inherited Orochimaru's true teachings."

"Not only that, he's a genius no less than Orochimaru, and far more Orochimaru. This person used to..."

"No matter what, Kabuto used to belong to Konohagakure, right?" a high-ranking member of Sand said. "Orochimaru was also a rogue ninja of Konohagakure, as was Itachi Uchiha in the past, including Sasuke Uchiha now."

"The Shinobi World is in such chaos, isn't it because your Konohagakure couldn't control its ninjas that this situation has arisen?"

"What you're saying has nothing to do with today's events. We're talking about Kabuto, not Konohagakure's rogue ninja," Naruto said coldly. "I'm just here to deliver information. If you have any complaints, you can discuss them with Konohagakure."

"Do you suspect that the Mizukage gave us false information?" Baki retorted.

"It's not fake information. Is it possible that Kabuto has a strong self-healing ability? What is a serious injury in the eyes of ordinary people is nothing to Kabuto?" Naruto said, suppressing his temper.

"Impossible. We in Sand also have Anbu. Kabuto is just a medical-nin," Baki said. "In any case, the current situation is that Konohagakure will not withdraw its troops."

"The Kabuto of him."

"Forget it, I'm not going to talk about it anymore." Naruto leaned back, his chair sliding a little away from the table, looking like he was so tired he wanted to just give up.

"There's something I'm concerned about: why did you come to deliver intelligence at this time?" Baki asked.

"Think whatever you want."

"It's not that we're being paranoid; we at Sand still cherish our alliance with Konohagakure," Baki said, carefully choosing his words. "It's just that the situation is rather sensitive right now, especially since you are Konohagakure's Jinchuriki."

"I'm not Jinchuriki anymore, not for a long time," Naruto corrected, glancing at Baki and thinking to himself, "You just wait, you'd better take turns keeping watch with your left and right eyes while you sleep."

The atmosphere became tense again. Naruto's gaze turned hostile as he considered whether to overturn the table.

"Alright, let's stop here for now." Gaara stood up. "I believe in Konohagakure, and I'm willing to believe in Naruto Uzumaki. Let's call it a day."

The high-ranking officials of Sand stood up with dark faces and left in groups of three or five.

Gaara remained standing in the same spot, smiled apologetically at Naruto, and said...

"It's almost lunchtime, let's eat first."

"No need, I'm not leaving for now." Naruto sighed. "Arrange a place for me to stay, we can talk about it later."

Before Gaara could agree, Temari spoke first.

"I'll arrange it; I happen to have nothing to do right now."

Gaara didn't think too much about it, figuring it was appropriate for Temari to make the arrangements. After all, a conflict had almost broken out just now, and with Temari keeping an eye on things, he wasn't worried about higher-ups stirring things up.

~~

"Come with me, this is it." Temari took the key and pushed open the door. It was a luxury apartment, specially used by Sand to receive VIPs.

With that, Temari turned and dismissed the maid who was following her.

A relaxed smile appeared on her face, but as soon as she turned around, she found that Naruto had already gone in, and instead of lingering on the sofa, he went straight into the bathroom.

Temari paused, about to step over, when she suddenly remembered the door was open. So she quietly closed the door, her heart pounding for a moment, before slowly walking towards the bathroom.

The sound of rushing water filled the air. Temari bit her lower lip and spoke through the glass bathroom door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect things to turn out like that today."