Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 187-Awakening

Knock, knock knock, knock knock knock.

"Sir, there is a letter for you."

The voice definitely belonged to the inn's clerk, the manner of speaking still so proper. Information from Sunagakure wouldn't be delivered in such a haphazard way, and no one would send a letter to someone using a false identity. Maki sensed something was wrong, but inexplicably, he didn't refuse, instead going to open the door.

When he returned with the letter, his expression was utterly repulsive. The letter bore a large five-pointed star on its sealing wax, a common decorative motif on government buildings in this country. What did this mean? It meant they weren't undetected; rather, the other side had simply ignored them.

Four team members emerged from different blind spots. Of course, they wouldn't let the shop assistants see the scene of everyone gathering. They also saw the captain's solemn expression as he silently stared at the envelope that had no other distinguishing features.

"Mr. Maki: Hello. I never expected that we would meet in this desert. What a coincidence! We haven't seen each other for a long time since the meeting between Konoha and Sunagakure. How about we get together? I would like to invite you and your students to visit An-sing Koukan at 6 pm today. According to Kashiwagi, the specialties of the Land of Wind here are very authentic. We would like to try them as well."

Furthermore, we haven't informed Kashiwagi of your encampment location yet; we only borrowed envelopes, stationery, and sealing wax from him. The letter was delivered by my student, Naruto Uzumaki, as you know. We don't want any conflict with you, but Naruto mentioned he hasn't seen Gaara in a while and is worried about his seal. We felt it would be presumptuous to visit during a ninja mission, so we sent this letter specifically to ask for your understanding.

Your friend, Kakashi Hatake.

Maki slammed the letter on the table, nearly leaving a cut mark on the solid wood. He was somewhat angry, because the letter, though seemingly polite, was actually quite rude.

Gaara was the second to pick up the letter. His stable sleep over the years had brought him much peace, and he was gradually beginning to feel the indulgence and love from his older siblings. He was now able to read the letter with Temari, but their focus was completely different.

"Naruto is here?"

"Is this a threat?"

Hearing the siblings' drastically different questions, Maki felt a wave of dizziness wash over him again. He was just feeling indignant for Gaara, but the other guy didn't care at all! He even missed the culprit who had put him under someone else's control!

Temari also wanted to shake Gaara's collar to bring him to his senses. Of course, she was grateful to Naruto for allowing Gaara to finally live like a normal person, but on the Chunin Tournament, he had effortlessly trapped them, and that rather oppressive interrogation, even though he apologized afterward, she truly both loved and feared him, instinctively wanting to keep her distance.

However, she couldn't stop her younger brother's freebie-giving behavior at all.

"Gaara, don't forget who you are!" Maki tried his best to suppress his anger.

“Sunagakure and Konoha are allies now, so our meeting won’t affect anything,” Gaara defended himself expressionlessly. “Besides, he just wants to check on me, like a doctor’s follow-up appointment. I trust him.”

Maki ground his back teeth, but didn't argue further. He saw the expression on Gaara's face, that look of certainty that he was going to do something. The last time he saw that look was when the kid said, "I want to become the Kazekage." It was certainly a good ambition, much better than the Jinchuriki who only wanted to kill. But it also meant that Naruto Uzumaki had a huge influence on Gaara. To this day, he still couldn't understand whether there really were "best friends" in this world who had only met a few times and exchanged a few words.

“Kashiwa will be staying at the Lord’s Palace for a long time this afternoon, so there won’t be an opportunity to strike,” Gaara added. “Furthermore, I believe that this country has not become a vassal of the Land of Earth, and all its policies are guiding society towards peaceful development. As the leader of the Sunagakure Special Operations Division, I object to this mission. Kashiwa is a leader who advocates peace and autonomy. He will not compromise with the Land of Wind, nor will he be controlled by the Land of Earth. I believe that killing Kashiwa would be detrimental to the current Land of Wind.”

Everyone in the room was shocked; this was the first time Gaara had so clearly expressed his political stance.

"This is no joke. Questioning the daimyo's decrees is not something a ninja should do." Maki's brows furrowed deeply, he was extremely worried about his troublesome student.

“The Daimyo made his decision based on the information obtained by Sunagakure, and now it is certain that most of the information about the Land of Owls is wrong. We should present the correct information to him so that he can make a more correct decision.” Gaara did not back down. “I remember someone said that the Daimyo’s judgment was wrong a year ago, but now he has lost the courage to question it.”

"These are two different things!"

Maki stood up, and at the same time, the person opposite him also stood up. A ninja whose face was half-covered quickly stepped between the two and said to Maki, "Calm down, Maki. Didn't you complain to me before that Gaara doesn't like to express his opinions? Now that he's spoken, and he's quite right, why are you still angry?"

"Yura! Say less!" Maki glanced away awkwardly, then said seriously, "Whether it's pointing out the Daimyo's mistakes or admitting that Sunagakure's intelligence was flawed, it will damage the Daimyo's trust in us. Now is a critical time to repair relations! Our lineage finally rose to power during the Daimyo's major reshuffle of Sunagakure's high-ranking officials, how can we let such a small matter affect the Daimyo's trust in us?"

"Excuse me, are you referring to assassinating a national leader when you say 'small matter'?" Temari couldn't take it anymore, because Gaara's decision coincided with her own. Even with so many grand principles, she still felt that life was above all else.

"This country's land area is less than one-tenth of the Land of Wind!"

"But our actions will still cause chaos, and may even reignite war in countries that have finally achieved peace!" Temari was the most meticulous in her investigation. Perhaps because of her appearance, the old ladies especially liked her and often talked about old stories, with peace talks being the most frequently mentioned topic.

"We've been fighting here for 94 years, and it wasn't until last year that we finally shook hands and made peace. Do you think the government, which has worked so hard for this for so many years, would want to fight again?" Temari took a deep breath and said the words that had been stuck in her heart.

"Our mission is to destroy this place, not to save it from the Land of Earth."

"As the captain of the Wind God Squad, I also have questions about this mission. Please report this truthfully, Captain Maki."