The Three Siblings Leave

Naruto felt no stirrings in his heart.

His intervention had not been impulsive. Konohamaru had been bullied, and given Naruto's current status and personality, it would have been stranger if he had not stepped in.

Konohamaru was his little brother, after all.

And who was Konohamaru?

The biological grandson of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, publicly hoisted up by a Sunagakure ninja on Konoha's streets.

As a Konoha ninja, Naruto had stepped forward to stop it with every justification on his side. No one could say a word against it.

With one move, he could earn Konohamaru's gratitude, score points with the Third Hokage's crystal ball for protecting a companion, and avoid revealing his true strength.

Three birds with one stone.

Kankuro froze for a beat before reacting.

"Brat, you..."

He had actually had his wrist locked by a brat who looked about Gaara's age.

Unable to save face, his right hand instinctively moved toward the puppet scroll on his back, his fingers already touching the cord binding it.

"You're planning to use Crow?"

Temari casually placed a hand on Kankuro's shoulder.

"Stop, Kankuro."

"But this brat..."

At that moment, a deep, icy voice came from above.

"Stop..."

Everyone looked up at once.

A red-haired figure had appeared at some point, crouching on a thick tree branch.

His arms were folded across his chest, and his pale green eyes were like two cold lamps.

The character for "love" was carved into his forehead.

Sasuke stood beneath another tree some distance away, his back pressed tightly against the trunk, his expression not looking too good.

He had arrived after Konohamaru bumped into Kankuro and had deliberately chosen a spot hidden in the tree shadows to observe the situation.

He had thought his hiding place was well concealed, but before the red-haired boy hanging upside down from the tree spoke, he had casually swept a glance in Sasuke's direction.

That glance made Sasuke's back turn slightly cold. He had known I was hiding here from the beginning.

"Disgrace to the village."

Gaara dropped silently from the tree. Sand spread beneath his feet and gathered again, as if supporting his body.

He stood before Kankuro, his tone as flat as though he were stating a fact. There was no anger in it, but that lack of anger made him all the more terrifying.

Kankuro's body jolted.

He knew his younger brother too well. The calmer Gaara sounded, the closer he was to losing control.

Cold sweat immediately seeped from his forehead and trickled down along the lines of purple paint.

He quickly put Konohamaru back on the ground and stepped back. The arrogance he had shown Naruto moments ago vanished completely.

"I... Gaara... this brat was the one who ran into me first. I just wanted him to apologize..."

"Shut up."

Gaara did not even look at him.

For Kankuro, that was already the greatest mercy. At least Gaara was still allowing him to remain standing.

Kankuro immediately clamped his mouth shut, not daring to say another word.

Gaara's gaze passed over Kankuro and landed on Sasuke in the distance.

He stared at Sasuke for several seconds, as though examining an interesting object.

Gaara's stare made Sasuke uncomfortable all over. Though his Sharingan had yet to activate, his body instinctively entered a defensive state.

"I'm a little interested in you."

Gaara spoke, his voice still devoid of emotion. "What is your name?"

Sasuke frowned.

He did not like being watched with that sort of gaze. It did not feel as though Gaara were looking at a person, but rather prey or a corpse.

But his pride would not allow him to show weakness before the other boy.

Sasuke lifted his chin and spoke coldly.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha Sasuke..."

Gaara repeated the name, as though tasting an unfamiliar food.

Then he shifted his gaze toward Naruto.

The way he looked at Naruto was different from the way he had looked at Sasuke.

When looking at Sasuke, he was a hunter assessing the value of his prey. When looking at Naruto, it was more like he had encountered one of his own kind.

"You noticed me long ago, didn't you?"

Gaara spoke slowly.

While he had been in the tree, he had sensed a perception sweep across him. It had been so light, nearly as easy to overlook as the sound of leaves falling to the ground, but he would not overlook it.

Shukaku's jinchuriki had honed his vigilance toward his surroundings through countless assassination attempts and sleepless nights.

"Give me your name."

"Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto met Gaara's gaze, his expression calm. "I did notice you beforehand."

"As for why, I think it's probably because we might be the same kind of people."

Naruto naturally knew about the One-Tailed Shukaku inside Gaara.

Shukaku constantly fought Gaara for control of his body, leaving Gaara too afraid to sleep. That was why his dark circles were so severe.

Naruto had the Nine-Tails inside him, but his seal was perfect, so he did not suffer from insomnia.

Moreover, Gaara had been raised as a weapon by his own father.

They were both tailed beast jinchuriki, so naturally, they were the same kind of people.

At this stage, Gaara had no positive identification with the concept of being a jinchuriki. The only identity he recognized was that of a lonely monster.

Naruto said this not to change Gaara's understanding, but to bind the label of monster to both of them.

That way, within Gaara's mental framework, Naruto would automatically be categorized as someone who shared his suffering.

For the Konoha Crush Plan later on, this was an extremely important piece of foreshadowing.

Gaara fell silent for a moment.

He looked into Naruto's eyes, trying to find even a trace of deception or hypocrisy, but he found none.

Naruto's gaze was clear. There was no fear, no disgust, and no deliberate ingratiation.

There was only the honesty one would show before someone just like oneself.

"The same kind of people?"

Gaara muttered those words, then turned his head away, his voice returning to its earlier near-indifference. "Hmph. Boring."

He turned around, sand flowing soundlessly beneath his feet. After taking several steps, Gaara slightly turned his head.

"Naruto Uzumaki, we'll meet at the Chūnin Exams."

Kankuro and Temari looked as though they had been granted a pardon. They exchanged a glance, then hurried after Gaara. The three Sunagakure ninjas gradually disappeared at the end of Konoha's street.

Before following Gaara, Temari did not forget to glance back at Naruto.

Only after the three of them disappeared from the street did Konohamaru seem to have the pause button released. He let out a long breath.

He jumped up on the spot. The fear of having been held in midair had already vanished to some unknown galaxy, replaced by glowing eyes full of admiration.

"Wow! Big Bro, you were so cool just now!"

"You rushed over in a flash! Before I could even blink, you'd already grabbed that big guy's wrist."

"When did you learn such an awesome move?"

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