Takasaki, Takasaki Again

"He is indeed very important to me," Temari nodded.

She set down her bowl and chopsticks and stood up. "Father, one day, my strength will surpass that of the Tailed Beast."

Temari's eyes shimmered. "If that happens, I can become the Sand Village's human weapon, and I will be able to let my younger brother sleep peacefully."

With that said, Temari turned and headed upstairs toward her room.

Since Takasaki's whereabouts had yet to be uncovered, she needed to analyze the information regarding him through Takasaki's Diary once more.

She hadn't slept much last night.

Because Takasaki's second entry had appeared in the diary.

Her name wasn't mentioned in it, so she hadn't received another reward.

She could accept that.

The problem was, she had realized something far more important: the diary wasn't hers alone!

At the very least, that girl named Hinata had one too.

Furthermore, by actively approaching Takasaki, Hinata had successfully gotten him to mention her name in the diary multiple times, earning her extra rewards.

10% of her physical stamina.

If she could gain that much stamina, she would be able to cast several more Wind Style techniques when her chakra was depleted, significantly boosting her combat prowess.

If she could continuously obtain rewards, one day, her strength would be greater than that of a Tailed Beast!

The prerequisite was that she had to know exactly where Takasaki was so she could approach him and get him to write her name in the diary more often.

"Where on earth is this guy, Takasaki?"

"And that girl named Hinata—she's truly calculating."

Temari locked her door, drew the curtains, retrieved the diary from her consciousness space, and browsed through the entries again.

To be honest, seeing the frivolous words Takasaki had recorded in the diary still made a flicker of anger rise in her heart.

Takasaki had written that he wanted to marry her in the future.

Who did he think he was?

She was the daughter of the Kazekage of the Land of Wind, a woman of noble status. She was a virgin who had never even been in a relationship, never held another boy's hand, and still possessed her first kiss.

Given her status, she could be a match for any family among the Five Great Nations.

Yet, judging by the content of Takasaki's diary, he was merely a dead-last student at some Ninja Academy. How could he possibly be qualified to marry her?

The mere thought of Takasaki's earlier words about wanting to marry her gave her the urge to give him a sound beating.

Besides, this guy Takasaki was far from loyal!

He wasn't just pining for her; he was pining for many other girls as well.

He was truly bold and lecherous.

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock suddenly sounded at the door, followed by Kankuro's voice: "Temari, don't you need to make a bento for Gaara and take it to the training hall? After all, last time he lost control of the Tailed Beast inside him and started killing in the streets, it was you who brought him back to his senses. He seems to have a decent impression of you."

"You make the bento for Gaara; you can take it to him in a while."

"What about our ninjutsu training?"

"We'll train next time. I'm tired," Temari replied casually.

"Even our ninjutsu training... you're skipping that too?" Kankuro muttered outside the door.

Temari did not respond.

She had no heart for anything else.

Making bentos for Gaara, delivering them, and deliberately chatting with him—it was all just an effort to bridge the distance between them. She did it so that if Gaara were ever controlled by the Shukaku within him and triggered a riot, she could use their emotional bond to bring him back.

She knew Gaara had become somewhat dependent on her.

But her feelings for Gaara were, to a large extent, feigned.

After all, it was truly difficult for her to genuinely love the brother who had killed her mother.

Her ninjutsu training with Kankuro was one way to increase her strength.

But if she could grow stronger rapidly through the diary, she would have enough power to suppress the Shukaku within Gaara without needing to play the emotional card.

And as for her training with Kankuro, even if it did increase her strength, could it ever be as fast as the rewards from the diary?

The 10% increase in chakra she gained from Takasaki's first entry alone would have taken her at least three years of training with Kankuro to achieve.

Therefore, at this moment, Temari would rather spend her energy studying Takasaki's Diary and analyzing his location than doing anything else.

She certainly wanted to ask for help, but the problem was that the matter of the Diary could not be leaked, or she would die. Therefore, she had no choice but to study it all on her own.

Outside the room, Kankuro had not left. He curled his fingers and tapped lightly on Temari's door twice.

Before he could even speak.

From inside the room, Temari's impatient voice rang out: "Stop making noise!"

Kankuro suddenly felt a pang of distress in his heart.

He understood his older sister.

Temari was overbearing and short-tempered in front of others, but when it came to him, her younger brother, she would restrain her temper and appear incredibly tolerant.

This was not only true for him, but also for Gaara.

Yet, for the past few days, Kankuro could clearly sense that Temari was not as concerned about him as before.

It was as if she had placed her focus elsewhere.

"Did I behave poorly these past few days and make you angry? Or was it because I said you wouldn't become a ninja stronger than a Tailed Beast during dinner earlier that upset you?" Kankuro muttered outside the door.

Temari did not respond; she only felt that Kankuro was incredibly annoying.

It wasn't until Kankuro sighed and called out, "Sister."

That single word seemed to strike a soft spot in Temari's heart. She closed the Diary and said, "Alright, alright, stop fussing. Be good and go do your own things; I'm not angry with you."

"That's good then." Kankuro felt slightly better.

Just as he was about to leave, Temari suddenly called him back: "If Father receives any news about Takasaki, remember to notify me immediately."

Takasaki!

It was Takasaki again!