Temari

Naruto glanced at the silent Temari and deliberately said, "You seem pretty afraid of him. That guy's expression is indeed terrifying. Could he be someone with a really nasty personality? If that's true, being his companion must be hard on you."

Faced with Naruto's well-meaning comfort, though he knew nothing of the difficulties hidden within others' hearts—

Temari came back to her senses and immediately retorted, "Gaara isn't what you think he is. Gaara is just bad at socializing... He lives a very lonely life..."

By the end, an almost imperceptible note of self-reproach had entered Temari's voice.

Naruto gave Temari a deep look.

No wonder that during the Chunin Ninja Exams in the original story, when Gaara had still been trapped in a mire of loneliness and pain, unable to free himself—

Temari had been able to restrain Gaara's actions to some extent.

Gentle, steadfast, and deeply devoted to family—

—after speaking with Temari for a while, that was how Naruto defined her character.

It was only natural to fear the gloomy, vicious Gaara.

Anyone would have felt the same.

But Temari's fear was simply fear; she had never shown Gaara even the slightest malice.

As the eldest sister, she was thoughtful and had never regarded Gaara as a monster.

Unlike Kankuro, who resented Gaara for causing their mother's death.

All three siblings had lost their mother, yet Temari had never selfishly thought that Gaara, her youngest brother, had killed her.

She understood the pain of losing a mother, so she understood Gaara's loneliness even better.

If Iruka Umino had redeemed Naruto in the original story—

Then Temari, who had never given up on Gaara and loved her youngest brother with sincere familial affection in place of their mother—

She was Gaara's salvation.

The Naruto of the original story had merely, from the perspective of someone who shared the experience of being a Tailed Beast Jinchūriki, allowed Gaara to see Temari's love for him clearly.

He made Gaara understand that he was not truly alone, and that as a Jinchūriki, he was equally worthy of being loved.

"Lonely, huh... Then I'll become his friend."

Faced with Naruto's sudden decision, Temari stared at him, looking at the boy before her whose smile was a little foolish.

"You don't believe me?"

Noticing Temari's gaze, Naruto held out his right hand, curled his fingers into a fist, and presented it to her. "Then let's make a promise. My ninja way is 'I always keep my word.'"

"Why would you do something like that? We've only just met."

Temari was curious about Naruto's reason for making such a choice.

Because Temari's initiative in speaking to him had puzzled him, he had deliberately acted innocent to test her.

Of course, Naruto would not tell Temari the truth. After all, his ninja way did not include "speaking his mind."

"Konoha and Sunagakure are allies to begin with. Isn't helping each other only natural?" Naruto still wore that innocent smile. "Besides, I'll definitely become Hokage someday!"

At Naruto's answer, Temari's eyelids lowered slightly, and her mood visibly sank.

So that was it.

Seeing Temari's reaction to his answer—

Naruto finally understood why Temari had taken the initiative to speak with him.

Fifteen-year-old Temari was indeed more mature in her thinking than Konoha's Twelve Elites, who were still much younger now.

But Temari was still a girl, and her perspective remained limited by her youth.

The innocence of her heart had not yet been worn away.

She still tended to imagine complicated matters in simple terms.

Kankuro, Gaara, and Temari.

Among the three siblings, only Temari disapproved of her "father's" Konoha Destruction Plan.

Deep down, she still subconsciously regarded Konoha as an ally.

And the truth was exactly as Naruto had guessed.

Temari quickly adjusted her mood and looked at Naruto's outstretched fist before her.

In Temari's eyes, the current stable alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure was vital to the Land of Wind.

The Land of Wind had been severely weakened by the war, and its geography had always placed it at a disadvantage compared to the other four great nations.

It therefore needed a stable environment even more, along with time to heal the wounds left by war.

But Temari was also a qualified ninja.

Even if Temari's kind nature urged her to persuade Naruto to stay away from Gaara—

When faced with orders she could not approve of, Temari would still fulfill her duty as a ninja and accept missions for the sake of her village and country.

She did not mind having her hands stained with blood, but neither would she slaughter innocents indiscriminately.

"What's your name?"

Temari asked Naruto's name.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto Uzumaki, someone with your personality won't survive long in the ninja world."

Temari criticized Naruto's kindness without holding back.

Yet she still extended her hand, clenched it into a fist, and held it out toward Naruto as well.

Their fists bumped together, sealing their "promise."

"But thank you anyway."

Drawing back her hand, Temari smiled faintly at Naruto. "This is the first time I've heard someone say they wanted to be Gaara's friend."

For the moment, Temari set aside her rationality and showed Naruto her emotional side.

As Gaara's sister, Naruto's words had truly made her happy.

Naruto answered Temari with a smile as well.

She really was... pure.

Naruto inconspicuously glanced at the hand Temari had withdrawn.

Sometimes, interacting with people using the personality of the original Naruto produced unexpectedly remarkable results.

He wondered whether it was because of Asura's chakra.

After all, the Sage of Six Paths' two sons—

Indra represented the terrifying power that could turn anything into possibility;

While Asura possessed a powerful unifying force rooted in the "love" of the world, capable of earning the recognition of others.

However, Naruto had not said he would become Gaara's friend merely to win Temari's favor.

The matter itself had simply been a spur-of-the-moment idea after Temari approached him.

Naruto had merely combined it with memories from his previous life and correctly guessed Temari's personality.

Then he had taken advantage of it.

The current Gaara was immersed in darkness, a bloodthirsty madman through and through.

But Gaara also valued the last remnants of familial affection between himself, Temari, and Kankuro—though the current Gaara might not necessarily understand why the two of them were so important to him.

If Naruto was unlucky enough to confront Gaara later—

He could use Temari to restrain Gaara's actions to a certain extent.

The contingency he had arranged for Yakushi Kabuto earlier had been deliberate.

As for Temari, who had come to him of her own accord, the contingency Naruto set up on her was entirely a convenient coincidence.

There was no conflict of interest between Naruto and Gaara.

But Gaara was, after all, the One-Tail's Jinchūriki.

Naruto needed to consider whether Gaara's reckless actions during the Chunin Ninja Exams would affect Naruto's plan to defect from Konoha.

Since Temari had approached him on her own initiative, Naruto did not mind leaving a Flying Thunder God Mark on her as well, to deal with any unexpected situations that might arise next.

Having prepared for "what came next," Naruto focused his attention on "the present."

His conversation with Temari had not taken much time.

But it had been enough for the five minutes allotted to drawing seat numbers to pass unnoticed.

The Chunin examiners had already taken their seats side by side against the wall of the examination room, completing their preparations for proctoring.

"Keep quiet!"

Only the chief examiner, Ibiki Morino, remained standing on the podium.

The entire examination room lay within his sight.

All the examinees had taken their assigned seats according to their seat numbers.

The ninja teams that had originally consisted of three people had been randomly scattered into different seats, surrounded by unfamiliar strangers.

Ibiki Morino took out a piece of white chalk and wrote on the blackboard.

"Now, I will explain the rules of the first test!"