Konoha Notes

Chapter 285 Gaara

Having people following him was nothing new to Gaara; at least these people weren't throwing kunai or explosive tags at him yet.

Chiyo stopped Rasa's orders; her status as Kazekage, combined with her seniority as the village's most experienced elder, was somewhat useful.

But he still didn't like being followed by those people.

Those gazes, filled with either hatred or fear, still told me that Ai Luo was an unloved monster.

It doesn't matter.

Even if I'm the only one who loves myself, that's enough.

He walked alone on the edge of the village, away from those gazes, away from his sister's always seemingly reluctant care.

This area is more desolate than the central area, with lower buildings and stronger sandstorms.

Several villagers huddled in a corner, talking in hushed tones.

The wind carried fragments of words intermittently.

"...That person...is coming to the village again."

"The person who killed the Fourth Hokage?"

"But...I heard that in this war...he protected the lives of his comrades..."

"We're allies now, after all..."

Gaara stopped in his tracks.

He killed the Kazekage, the man he should have called his father.

His name is Shuuji.

He killed the Kazekage, yet protected Sunagakure? Why?
“Gaara.” A masked ANBU member from Sunagakure appeared beside him and said, “You should go back. There are important guests in the village; don’t wander around unnecessarily.”

Gaara didn't turn his head; his green eyes shifted very slightly in their sockets as he glanced toward the source of the sound.

The next instant, his body exploded into a cloud of fine quicksand, which fell down and merged into the ground, leaving only a small clump of sand being blown away by the wind.

The ANBU member looked ahead at the empty space, frowned beneath his mask, and with a swift movement, chased after Gaara's residence.
-
Under the scorching sun, a patch of striking green stood stubbornly in the experimental zone marked out outside Sunagakure Village.

Shuji squatted by the edge of the field, his fingers brushing against the slightly dry leaves of a sapling. Ebizo and several Sunagakure ninjas in charge of the project stood quietly behind him.

“The frequency of irrigation can be reduced appropriately,” Xiu Si said. “Their root systems are more drought-resistant than they appear. Too much water can actually cause root rot.”

"I will stay here for a few days. During this time, you can prepare any other questions about planting and submit them to me."

Ebizo's brow twitched: "You're really enthusiastic."

“I once had higher expectations for Sunagakure than for Kumogakure.” Shuuji stood up and dusted off his hands.

Ebizo chuckled softly: "As a Konoha ninja, you've managed to subdue Maki and the others so well. What, do you want to become the Kazekage?"

"If the ninjas of Sunagakure would so easily submit to a ninja from Konoha, Ebizo, you should reflect on whether something is wrong with Sunagakure itself."

He strode out of the test area, his voice carried on the wind:

"Don't waste my precious free time eating sand here."

"Unless there are special circumstances, I will no longer provide door-to-door service for free."

The daytime heat was quickly swallowed up by the night, and coolness seeped out from the depths of the sand.

Shuji sat at the table, flipping through the scrolls submitted by Sunagakure regarding the growth records of the tree species.

The wind howled outside the window, swirling up sand and gravel that gently tapped against the glass.

His fingers, which were turning the scroll, paused slightly, and he looked up.

Outside the window, an eye is watching the room.

Ninja Technique: The Third Eye

Bathed in the dim moonlight, the floating eye looked particularly eerie.

Xiu Si put down the scroll, picked up a notepad and pen from the side, and quickly wrote something. Then, he held up the note, facing the sandpiper outside the window.

【Hello】

A hint of doubt flickered in that eye, and more sand separated from around it, coalescing into a crooked question mark on the window.

Shuji picked up his pen again.

【greeting】

The sand grains swayed, and the question mark twisted slightly, as if emphasizing its bewilderment.

You've arrived! [This expresses a welcome]

The sand next to that eye suddenly stirred, the original question mark transforming into several sharp sand needles, pointing at Xiu Si's brow through the glass.

Faced with this minor threat, Shuji simply looked at the eye and continued writing.

Don't like being greeted?

The sand needle trembled slightly.

[First time meeting.]

Greetings are a basic courtesy in social interactions.

My name is Shuuji.

The sticky note was held up, revealing the last line of text.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment. The sharp tips of those sand needles, poised to strike, gradually became blunt and eventually dissipated completely, returning to their ordinary state as grains of sand and falling away.

In the shadows not far away, Gaara leaned against the cold earthen wall, his left hand tightly covering his left eye. His small head was tilted to one side, his face full of confusion.

He just wanted to see what the man who killed his father looked like.

That would be a strong person.

They might be the ones I need to kill in the future.

Because he is a weapon, a weapon used for killing, that's what Yashamaru said, and that's what his father said too.

Chiyo probably thought so too.

But why the greeting? Why the welcome?
Gaara had learned this knowledge, but this common sense had never applied in his world.

Everyone in the village knew him; they all knew he was "Gaara," a monster. But they never greeted him, much less revealed their own names.

So, now that this person, whom we might need to kill in the future, has extended a greeting... shouldn't we respond as well?
They follow the etiquette they've learned, but never successfully put it into practice.

Gaara manipulated the sand, forming several characters on the cold glass window: "My name is Gaara."

A response came quickly from the other end: [At night, an eye is watching from outside the window; it's a horror story.]

...A thriller plot?
Gaara manipulates sand to move across the glass: [What's the thriller part?]

The man seemed to think for a moment before writing it down for him: "[Situations that would be frightening.]"

"I see," Gaara realized. "My very existence is a source of horror."

This time, the reply was slower, and seemed to have been longer: "Your existence, compared to the scene that appeared before my eyes, might not be so terrifying."

He paused, then another line appeared: "Communicating solely through handwriting is very tiring, so I must continue working."

The eye on the window flickered, then slowly disappeared.

However, the next moment, a red-haired child appeared silently, hanging upside down in front of the window, his green eyes staring straight at the man inside the room.

The man's expression remained unchanged, and his eyes showed none of the fear or disgust he usually displayed.

Then he saw the man stand up, walk to the window, reach out, and open the window.

"Hello, Gaara." The man looked at him and extended his right hand.

Gaara's brain went blank for a moment.

"If the other person extends their hand, you can ignore it if they are wary, but you can extend your hand in return if they are friendly," the man advised.

The sand did not deploy a defense.

Therefore, it is not a state that requires vigilance.

So, Gaara hesitated for a moment, then extended his own small hand as well.

"Hello?"

He received an affirmative nod. His hand was lightly grasped by a warm hand, the touch brief and fleeting.

"Hello. So, you personally didn't scare me, it's not a horror story." The man nodded, concluding, "However, the people looking for you will be here soon."

"……goodbye?"

"See you."

The window was closed.

Gaara flipped and landed, leaning against the earthen wall, looking down at the hand that had just been held.

(End of this chapter)