Chapter 486: Gaara
Although Tsunade quickly healed Rasa, at Nagasawa’s suggestion, Rasa concealed the information that he had recovered. To the outside, he continued to publicize that he was still seriously injured, only somewhat improved.
Nagasawa wanted to try and see whether he could use this method to fish out that attacker.
If the attacker wanted to kill the Kazekage, then he should not let go of this good opportunity while the Kazekage was injured.
If the attacker did not fall for it, then the attacker’s purpose would be hard to guess.
Was it because he simply thought Rasa did not look very good, so he had to hit him? Or was there some other reason? None of these were known.
However, what could be confirmed at present was that the attacker should no longer be in Sunagakure Village, or even in the Land of Wind.
During the investigation, Kakashi used the Summoning Technique to summon ninja dogs, first using the ninja dogs to find the other party’s position, and finally confirmed that the other party might already not be in the Land of Wind.
Fortunately, their main purpose was not to investigate the culprit, but to heal the Kazekage. And the Kazekage had already been healed, so their mission could be considered complete.
Nagasawa prepared to stay in Sunagakure Village for two weeks. If there were no major clues that could lock onto the culprit’s identity within two weeks, then they would treat the mission as complete and return to Konoha.
It would be fine to let Obito and Jiraiya, who were wandering around the ninja world, pay attention.
Nagasawa wandered inside Sunagakure Village with the face of an ordinary Chunin, and suddenly discovered several children playing football ahead.
Nagasawa did not pay attention and did not want to disturb the children’s happy play, preparing to go around them. As long as they were not naughty children, Nagasawa was still very loving.
As for naughty children, Nagasawa only wanted to say, he is still a child, so absolutely don’t let him off.
"Hm." Nagasawa suddenly discovered an unexpected existence.
A child with short red hair, wearing gray-green overalls, and with very thick dark circles on his face sat alone on a swing with his head lowered and eyes drooping, as if he were a child punished to stay alone after doing something wrong.
He sat alone on the swing, swaying slightly, holding a brown little bear in his arms, looking extremely lonely.
The distance between the children playing football and the child sitting on the swing was not far, yet it was as if they were two worlds. One was so lively and cheerful, and the other was so lonely and desolate.
Clearly, the distance between them did not even exceed fifteen meters.
Looking at those eyes comparable to a giant panda’s and that short red hair, Nagasawa recognized at a glance that this was Gaara when he was young.
From Nagasawa’s perspective, Gaara looked quite cute when he was young. His fair little face matched with those dark circles was rather adorable.
He did not know whether it was because of what he had experienced, but Nagasawa felt that Gaara looked a little fierce during the Chunin Exams. However, after he became Kazekage later, he became handsome again.
"Ah, the ball." Suddenly, the group of children playing football cried out in surprise. Nagasawa glanced over. The ball had been kicked onto the roof.
Just as Nagasawa was about to do a good deed, he suddenly stopped again, because someone else had made a move.
Gaara stretched out his hand, and a line formed from sand instantly condensed beside him. Gaara controlled the sand to take the ball down from the roof and placed it in his hand, then looked at the group of children playing football full of expectation.
’Uncle said everyone likes good people and good children. As long as I help them pick up the ball, they should bring me along to play.’ Gaara thought excitedly in his heart.
Gaara was very lonely because no one played with him. Even his older brother and sister were very cold toward him.
So Gaara longed for friendship. He also wanted to be like that group of children playing football, to have so many friends playing together, everyone happy together.
But was it a little greedy to have so many friends at once?
Just one. As long as there was one friend, as long as there was one person willing to play with him, it would be enough.
Gaara stood up. He held the ball and, full of expectation, stretched out his hand as he walked toward the children playing football.
"The ball." Gaara’s pale green eyes flashed under the sun. He was very expectant. As he walked forward, he reached out, wanting to hand the ball to those children playing football.
But what greeted Gaara was not everyone’s surprised gazes or thanks. The children playing football looked at Gaara with terrified eyes, as if they were looking at a monster whose entire body emitted a terrifying aura and was covered in red fur.
There was no friendship arriving as imagined, nor was there gratitude. What greeted Gaara were only one terrified gaze after another, and those cries of monster.
"A monster!"
"Everyone, run! So the legend of the dark-eyed monster is true."
Very clearly, Gaara, who had thick dark circles around his eyes and could control sand, had been treated by them as some monster from an urban legend.
The children playing football all scrambled to run behind them, as if there was a man-eating monster behind them.
"The ball..." Gaara watched the children playing football flee from here as if escaping a disaster, his voice becoming smaller and smaller until it disappeared.
Those terrified gazes were like one sharp sword after another piercing Gaara’s heart, stabbing him so painfully.
He did not understand why it was like this. Clearly, he had done what his uncle said. He helped them take the ball down and was even going to return the ball to them. He should be a good child.
But why, why was everyone unwilling to play with him and even called him a monster...
Clearly, everyone looked the same. He did not have one more hand or one more foot. Why was he the monster?
He did not understand, did not understand. He could not understand what all of this was.
He only wanted a friend willing to play with him. Why did it become like this?
The ball fell to the ground, and the little bear he had originally been holding also fell to the ground. Gaara somewhat weakly stretched out his hand and said in an almost pleading tone, "Don’t go..."
But how would the children dare to stay longer in front of a "monster"? Once Gaara said this, the children ran even faster.
It was unknown whether it was because it sensed its master’s will, or because being too sad caused the power within his body to go out of control.
The sand that Gaara had previously controlled to pick up the ball suddenly rushed toward the children. Its speed was extremely fast, like an arrow shot from a fully drawn bowstring.
Just as the bundle of sand was about to injure the children, Nagasawa made a move. He casually slapped the bundle of sand apart and resolved the crisis.
After resolving the danger, Nagasawa then smiled brightly and said, "He is not some monster. This is an innate talent."
Perhaps because Nagasawa was handsome and his sunny smile infected the children, the children stopped running away and all hid behind Nagasawa.
A boy with a little more courage boldly said, "He can control sand. No matter how you think about it, he’s different from us, right? And it’s black around his eyes too, exactly the same as the monster in the legend."
Hearing someone call him a monster again, Gaara, who had originally felt happy because of Nagasawa’s words, revealed a disappointed expression once more.
Thud! Nagasawa swiftly knocked that speaking boy with his finger.
"It hurts! Big Brother, why did you suddenly hit me?" That boy covered the place Nagasawa had just hit and asked.
"If someone scolded you as an idiot, what would you do?" Nagasawa asked that boy.
"Of course I’d scold or hit them back. Does that even need to be said?" The boy answered with an indignant face.
"Then that hit just now was done on behalf of the child you scolded as a monster." Nagasawa said with a smile.
"This... this is different." The boy was a little anxious, but for a moment, he could not say where it was different.
"Where is it different? Does he have one extra hand than you? Or one more head?" Nagasawa continued asking.
"He can control sand, and there’s a black circle around his eyes." The boy looked at Gaara and said as if playing spot the difference.
"So I said controlling sand is talent. I can also spit fire and summon water dragons. Am I a monster too?" Nagasawa performed Second Hokage’s Water Dragon Bullet on the spot. The huge water dragon appearing in the world startled the children, and then he also used a Fire Release.
"As for dark circles, try not sleeping all the time. You can have them too."
"Big Brother, that’s a ninja’s Ninjutsu." The boy seemed to know a little.
"Controlling fire and water makes someone a ninja, but controlling sand makes someone a monster. What kind of logic is that? Your Kazekage can even control Gold Dust. Then what is he, a unique monster?" Nagasawa asked with a smile.
"Of course the Kazekage is not a monster." The boy retorted, then thought hard for a while and felt that he had found the reason, saying, "Of course it’s because he is as small as us, yet has the ability to control sand. This is very abnormal, so he is a monster."
Thud! The boy was hit again.
"How many times do I have to say it before you remember? This is talent. There is a kind of person who is born with a kind of gift and has abilities ordinary people do not have."
After saying this, Nagasawa pulled Gaara over, then held Gaara and the boy’s hands, controlling them to touch each other’s faces.
Looking at Gaara’s somewhat confused and disappointed eyes, and feeling the touch in his hand that was the same as an ordinary person’s, this rather courageous boy was also at a loss for a moment.
"You see, isn’t it all the same? He’s right here, and it’s not like he ate you." Nagasawa said.
"Gaara, what do you usually like to eat?" Nagasawa asked.
"Liver paste, takoyaki ramen..." Gaara subconsciously answered. He had a very good impression of this unfamiliar ninja, because Nagasawa had been speaking for him all along.
Looking at the dazed Gaara, the children beside him finally discovered that this guy who seemed to be the legendary monster seemed to not be scary at all, and was also somewhat dazed.
"Where would there be so many monsters? If there were monsters, shouldn’t they have long since been eliminated by your Kazekage?" Nagasawa said.
After Nagasawa said this, they thought carefully and found that it indeed seemed to be the case.
Gaara silently controlled the sand to pick up the little bear and the ball, then held the ball and handed it to the children beside him.
"The ball."
But when Gaara displayed his ability to control sand, the children still subconsciously stepped back a few steps. This was fear toward the unknown.
Looking at the retreating children, the light in Gaara’s eyes grew dimmer and dimmer, but he still maintained the posture of handing over the ball.
Finally, the boy who had been talking to Nagasawa previously gritted his teeth and walked forward, arriving in front of Gaara. He took the ball, then loudly bowed and said, "Thank you. I’m sorry."
The other children looked at one another. Seeing that the boy was fine, they finally lowered their guard and walked over to stand together with that boy.
"Sorry, we called you such an ugly name."
"Thank you for helping us get the ball down. You really helped a lot."
The children apologized where they should apologize, thanked where they should thank, and the scene was very harmonious.
Nagasawa also smiled as he looked at this scene.
Children of this age did not understand anything and could not clearly distinguish right from wrong, but they also were not deliberately doing evil. They were truly afraid of Gaara. After all, rumors that Gaara was a monster were indeed circulating inside Sunagakure Village.
So Nagasawa chose to guide them, letting them know that Gaara was a child similar to them, only with a little special ability.
If blame was to be placed, it should be placed on Rasa, who allowed this kind of rumor to run rampant in the village, and maybe even pushed it along.
The sudden apology and thanks left Gaara somewhat at a loss. He tightly held the little bear and felt it was a little unreal.
Why did everyone suddenly stop being afraid of him and even say thank you to him?
Was it because of that big brother’s help?
Gaara looked gratefully at Nagasawa, then after brewing it for a while, he mustered his courage and said, "I-it’s fine, but can I play with you?"
The atmosphere instantly fell into silence once more. No one spoke.
Gaara looked at the silent crowd, and the expression on his face also changed toward disappointment again.
’Sure enough, in their hearts, they still treat me as a monster and don’t want to play with me.’
"It’s fine if you don’t want to. I... I think I’m hungry. I should go home..." Gaara forced a smile.
"Sure!" The rather courageous boy suddenly interrupted Gaara’s words. He opened his mouth and said, "Sure, but you can’t use that ability to control sand."
Hearing that someone agreed, Gaara instantly revealed a pleasantly surprised smile.
"Is it really okay?" He asked somewhat incredulously.
"Mm, it’s okay. My name is Kento. What’s your name?" Kento asked.
"I, my name is Gaara." Gaara was very excited. This was something that had never happened before.
"I suddenly remembered that my mom told me to go home before three in the afternoon. Sorry, let’s stop here today." Suddenly, a child said.
Then, as if it had caused a chain reaction, except for Kento, everyone suddenly had something to do and needed to go home.
"You all..." Kento also had not expected his friends to suddenly need to go home. This was obviously an excuse.
"You two have fun. We’ll go home first." The group of children waved to Kento and left.
Gaara was ultimately still too abnormal. Some people had not forgotten what had just happened. If Nagasawa had not suddenly appeared, someone would definitely have been injured.
It was no problem to have them say thanks or apologize, but playing together? Forget it.
Watching the children leave one by one until only Kento remained, Gaara lowered his head and said softly, "I’m sorry..."
He knew that it was all because of him that everyone left.
Kento patted Gaara’s shoulder and smiled, "What does this have to do with you? Didn’t they all have their own things to do? Since only two people are left, then there’s no way. Let’s play together next time if there’s a chance."
After saying this, Kento left with the ball, leaving only Gaara standing alone in place.
"Next time... when will next time be?" Gaara raised his head and looked at the sky.
"It won’t be too far away. You will soon find people willing to truly be friends with you." Nagasawa walked to Gaara’s side and said.
It still had to rely on Naruto’s social badass syndrome to cure him.
At this moment, a Sunagakure ninja suddenly appeared beside Gaara and looked at Nagasawa cautiously.
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