Before the Truth Comes to Light

"What... what exactly is this...?"

Temari stood at the entrance to the basement, looking at everything before her, her voice filled with barely suppressed disbelief.

Her gaze swept over the large workbench, over the neatly arranged components—golden hair, a familiar face, a torso, limbs, and those unsettling mechanical structures.

Her mind went completely blank.

"Kankuro! What... what did you do?!"

Her voice was almost broken. Although she didn't understand why Naruto and Satsuki would suddenly appear here in the middle of the night, she couldn't care less about that now.

All she could see was the sight before her eyes—her brother was creating a puppet that looked exactly like a Hero of Konoha and the most important ally of Sunagakure!

Is this guy trying to completely destroy the relationship that Konoha and Sunagakure have worked so hard to build up?!

Just then, a figure slowly emerged from behind her.

Gaara.

He felt as if every step he took was on the edge of a knife. His usually calm and composed face now showed an indescribable expression—panic, tension, helplessness, and a resigned despair.

He stared at Naruto standing by the workbench, at the blond youth, and a thought raced through his mind.

It seems I still can't have two Naruto at the same time...

... Wait a minute! What am I thinking?!

Gaara shook his head vigorously, trying to shake off the jumbled thoughts. But the more he tried to calm down, the more chaotic his mind became.

If Naruto knew about his obsession, his dependence, and how he made a room full of clay figures of him because he couldn't see him, and even made his brother his puppet—wouldn't Naruto feel like he couldn't even be friends with him anymore?

This thought was like a bucket of ice water, chilling him to the bone.

"You don't need to ask him that."

A cold voice interrupted Temari's questioning.

Satsuki slowly turned around, her eyes, now back to black, looking at Temari. "I can still distinguish between the main culprit and the tool."

As she spoke, her gaze passed over Temari and landed on the figure standing at the top of the stairs.

Satsuki gazed intently at Gaara, "I want to ask—"

"Why does the Fifth Kazekage of Sand Village want a puppet in the likeness of my husband?"

"Wh... what?!"

Temari was completely stunned. Her eyes widened, and her mind was a complete mess.

Why Gaara want Naruto's puppet?

The question had just surfaced in her mind when, in the next instant, a scene suddenly flashed into her mind—that day, she and Kankuro burst into the room and found Gaara locked in his room, neither eating nor drinking, but simply using sand to mold... a room full of small Naruto figurines.

Those countless figures, each in a different pose, all facing the center of the room... Naruto.

Temari's face turned deathly pale.

"I..." Gaara began.

His voice was a little dry and strained, but he tried to appear calm. "I just... because..."

"I just want to see Naruto even when he 'Naruto not around."

He answered very properly and seriously, with the sincerity of a primary school student answering a teacher's question.

But only he knew that his back was soaked with cold sweat.

Naruto paused for a moment.

Looking at Gaara's earnest face and those calm eyes, his tense nerves slowly relaxed.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had been overthinking things; all that obsession and over-reliance was just the longing between friends.

Gaara has never had many friends growing up, so it's understandable that he values his first friend so much.

"Oh... so that's how it is."

Naruto smiled with relief. "Looks like I've really been too busy lately and haven't seen you much... Gaara."

He spoke with a sincere sense of apology.

However.

The moment he finished speaking, Gaara's body trembled violently.

That's an uncontrollable instinctive reaction only someone whose conscience is tormented by lying would have.

Satsuki stood still, her eyes quietly gazing at Gaara.

She watched his body tremble as Naruto apologized, watched the expression on his face—a struggle to maintain composure that couldn't hide his guilt—and watched the fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

She understood.

There's no need for guessing or doubting anymore; it's completely clear and beyond question.

She understood why she had been so agitated when she heard the noise outside Gaara's room.

It wasn't just ordinary agitation—it was her intuition telling her that something was wrong, that something was desecrating her Naruto.

Now she knows.

That thing on the table now... isn't the first puppet Kankuro made.

"Oh, right, Gaara."

Satsuki spoke again, her voice sounding casual, without questioning or accusation, carrying a hint of barely perceptible concern. But the underlying tone of her voice was icy, chilling to the bone.

Naruto and I heard some noises outside your room.

"I never expected this. It seems you've finally found happiness."

These words were spoken so softly and casually, yet they nearly made Ai Luo's heart stop beating.

He felt his legs go weak, and he almost collapsed to his knees.

secret.

Were all those secrets he desperately tried to hide, those secrets that absolutely could not see the light of day, discovered?

Gaara's mind went blank, with only one thought swirling wildly within him.

It's over, it's all over.

His gaze instantly changed. A desperate plea appeared in his dark green eyes. He looked at Satsuki, his eyes silently imploring her—please don't tell anyone, please don't let Naruto know, please don't take away the warmth I've finally found!

But Satsuki didn't stop.

"Introduce yourself to us, Gaara." Her voice remained calm. "Your lover is in your room, isn't he?"

This statement, step by step, drove Gaara to the brink of despair.

"Oh... oh, right."

Naruto's voice rang out from the side, filled with genuine surprise and curiosity.

"I never expected you to have a girlfriend! Can you introduce her to me? I'm really curious, what kind of girl could you fall for?"

He smiled, his azure eyes filled with kindness and blessings, completely unaware that Gaara was on the verge of collapse.

Gaara looked at Naruto's sincere face and those unguarded eyes, and felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly.

It's completely over.

Naruto didn't know.

Naruto knew nothing.

But he'll find out soon enough.

He will soon find out what the "lover" in his room really is.

He will soon find out the extent of his obsession with him.

He will soon...

Temari stood to the side, her expression shifting from astonishment to deeper confusion.

She stared at Gaara, at her brother's deathly pale face, her mind a jumbled mess.

Gaara has a lover? Isn't that just gossip circulating in the village?

If Gaara really did have a lover, and right here in this house, in his room—how could his older sister, living under the same roof, not know?

Temari frowned deeply; she was certain that she had never heard any sounds about her lover coming from Gaara's room.

Never.