Sasuke Uchiha was on his way back to Konoha, feeling mentally exhausted and with a strong urge to curse someone out.
His first ANBU assessment mission had ended here. As long as the ninja reviewing the mission back in the village had a brain, there was no way he would pass. Both the Hokage Guard Platoon and the ANBU squad agreed that the situation had to be reported to the village immediately.
Coincidentally, they chose to send Sasuke back, as he was the youngest and had a promising future ahead of him.
When the Hokage Guard Platoon and the ANBU arrived at the Land of Wind border, the Sand Village's defense post had already been destroyed. All that remained was a giant fist print cratered into it. Other than that, they found a lone ANBU member in a mask.
Tenzo had also lost track of the new Hokage.
The atmosphere between the groups instantly grew awkward, but the most important task was finding Naruto Uzumaki. For once, the ANBU and the Guard Platoon didn't argue. Unfortunately, at their speed, it would still take them a full day to reach the Sand Village. The defense post had been destroyed half a day ago.
Naruto's speed was more than double theirs. By now, he had probably already reached the Sand Village.
Their guess was correct.
Naruto had arrived at the Sand Village and was standing on its outer defense line. All around him, defeated Sand ninja lay scattered on the ground.
Naruto scanned the bodies until he found a Sand ninja who could still move and grabbed him by the collar. "Go get your Kazekage. Otherwise, the Sand Village will be wiped off the map today!"
"...You bastard! Go to hell!" the Sand ninja spat back, surprisingly defiant.
Naruto didn't bother with him. He grabbed the man's arm, broke it with a sharp twist, and tossed him toward the village. As the ninja scrambled away, Naruto said nonchalantly, "Even if Gaara does come out, there won't be a Sand Village anymore... Lying really doesn't feel good."
In the past, he had always spoken his mind. Now, his words were laced with purpose. In the fusion of his two personalities, the century of Hokage spiritual energy had been converted into the Tenseigan's visual power, allowing his younger, more impulsive nature to take the upper hand.
This was the part he couldn't control.
His personality had become somewhat split. One part of him envied the warmth in his memories, while the other was determined to destroy any enemy that stood in the way of his goal to unify the ninja world.
"Unify the ninja world, at all costs."
Naruto clenched his fist, persuading himself in a deep voice, "Think about what Sasuke said before he died in the future. Absolutely... absolutely... must not act on impulse..."
Inside the Sand Village, Gaara was busy honing his ninjutsu. The ninjas of the Kazekage Guard Platoon stayed far away from him, afraid their Kazekage might get a sudden inspiration and use them to test his jutsu.
Gaara manipulated layers of sand into a roiling sea, watching the panicked expressions of the guards in the distance. He sneered with disdain, "A bunch of trash... Are there no stronger ninjas in this village?"
"..."
No one dared to speak, though they were surely cursing him in their hearts. After all, if the Sand Village had a stronger ninja, the title of Fifth Kazekage wouldn't have fallen to a little bastard like Gaara.
"How boring..."
Gaara manipulated the sand beneath his feet, lifting himself into the air. Just as he was about to leave the village for the desert, he spotted the Jonin, Baki.
It had to be said, throughout the entire Sand Village, the only one Gaara respected was Baki. He was the only one who supported Gaara unconditionally and had also been his teacher.
Ever since Gaara became Kazekage, many in the Sand Village refused to obey him, seeing him as a calamity that endangered them all. Their fear and hatred were practically written on their faces. Even his own sister, Temari, and brother, Kankuro, were afraid of him, which only made Gaara look down on them.
In comparison, Baki's attitude was especially precious.
"Teacher, what's wrong?" Gaara manipulated the sand to fly over to Baki. "Is someone causing trouble in the village again?"
"No!" Baki's face was panicked. "Konoha... has sent someone!"
He had just received news that a blond boy from Konoha had come alone to the outskirts of the village and had single-handedly defeated their outer defense line. This was clearly an act of aggression.
Baki had known that Gaara's stunt—surrounding the Land of Wind's daimyo to demand military funds—would attract Konoha's attention sooner or later. He just hadn't expected their reaction to be so intense.
Shouldn't they have just sent someone to hold them accountable? The Sand Village could have pleaded poverty, they could have discussed it properly... Konoha had more missions than it could handle anyway. Giving the Land of Wind daimyo's missions back to the Sand Village would strengthen an ally, wouldn't it? At worst, the Sand could send a few teams to harass the Land of Stone.
However, the blond boy Konoha sent this time had the power to string up the One-Tail and beat it senseless. It didn't look like he was here for a nice chat.
A flash of killing intent crossed Gaara's face. "Teacher," he said coldly, "do you need me to go kill the Konoha ninja?"
"No, Gaara, don't do it!" Baki quickly grabbed his arm, instructing him seriously, "Both the Sand Village and you need time to grow. We absolutely cannot have a bigger conflict with Konoha right now. You must learn to endure..."
It wasn't that he was committed to enduring no matter what. Since the Konoha kid had defeated their defenses, Konoha should at least offer some compensation, right?
Otherwise, they risked losing an important ally. Of course, that was just a threat. The Sand Village's environment was harsh. Their only options were to attack Konoha to the east for resources—a move that had proven to be a suicide mission for every generation of Kazekage—or to live under Konoha's thumb, endure, and build up their strength.
Unfortunately, the Fourth Kazekage's death had dashed the Sand's hopes. The village could no longer create gold out of thin air and had to rely on Konoha's support to survive. Baki felt a pang of regret. If he had known this would happen, he would have sent people to Konoha to plead poverty first. It might have been humiliating, but did the Sand Village even have any face left to lose?
After hearing Baki's words, Gaara smirked, a smile that wasn't quite a smile. He manipulated the sand and flew towards the outside of the village. "I'll go take a look for myself... and see who exactly has come!"
Outside the Sand Village, Temari and Kankuro, following Baki's orders, had already rushed over with several teams of Sand ninja. When the siblings saw Naruto, their faces changed. During the Chunin Exams, they had personally seen this guy hold down Shukaku and beat it senseless, and even defeat Orochimaru.
"Naruto Uzumaki..." Temari gripped the giant fan on her back. "What are you doing in the Sand Village? Why did you attack our defense line without reason?"
"Because they told me to wait outside while they reported to Gaara..." Upon seeing Temari and Kankuro, Naruto lowered his head. He waved a hand, expressionlessly kicking a still-struggling Sand ninja away to demonstrate his coldness.
After a moment, Naruto slowly raised his head, a chilling smile on his lips. "But I don't want to wait."
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Bonus:
Nine-Tails: Feel good?
Naruto Uzumaki: A little...
Nine-Tails: Happy?
Naruto Uzumaki: A little...
Nine-Tails: How does it feel?
Naruto Uzumaki: No wonder Sasuke always likes to talk tough. It feels pretty good.