Chapter 238 Konoha Has a Professional Coup Team
Looking at Gaara, who had fallen into a deep sleep and remained unresponsive, Temari's face showed an expression of disbelief and astonishment. Had the tailed beast inside Gaara been beaten so badly that it dared not emerge?
"I'm sorry, my brother just now..." After a while, Temari realized what Gaara had just done, and a hint of apology appeared on her face as she spoke to Naruto.
"Can you tell me what he went through?" Naruto put Gaara down and looked at Temari. "Why can I only feel the purest hatred in him?"
"He..." Temari hesitated upon hearing Naruto's question, but considering that Naruto was also a Jinchūriki and his mental state was much more stable than her brother's, Temari felt that Naruto could help her brother.
"That's a long story," Temari sighed, then began to recount Gaara's ordeal by the campfire. From losing his mother at birth to his father, the Fourth Kazekage, who treated him merely as a weapon for the village and constantly used assassinations to toughen him up.
"Damn it! Is your dad crazy?!" Naruto couldn't help but swear after hearing Gaara's story, his gaze towards Gaara filled with pity. Compared to Gaara's upbringing, even what he had endured before Kakashi took him in seemed insignificant.
Putting himself in Gaara's shoes, Naruto felt he probably wouldn't have survived to adulthood.
Temari and Kankuro fell silent. Although Naruto's behavior of cursing their father was unreasonable, from the perspective of an older sister and brother, they also felt their father was somewhat ill.
"Let's think about what we should do next," Temari said, changing the subject. "We don't know what the situation is like in the village. If we're both labeled as rogue ninja, going back would be like walking into a trap."
"And…" Temari sighed helplessly, "Even if we could return to the village, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to compete for the position of Fifth Kazekage. In that case, Gaara's crimes wouldn't be cleared."
"You want to be the Fifth Kazekage?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, only if I become the Fifth Kazekage can the village prevent the tailed beast from being removed from Gaara, thus saving his life. But now…" Temari said.
Since the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was killed by Gaara in a rampage, Temari has trained day and night to rapidly improve her strength. At 15 years old, Temari is already on the verge of becoming an elite Jonin. While she might not be quite qualified to become the Kazekage of a village, given the current situation in Sunagakure, if Gaara hadn't gone berserk again, Temari would have had a very good chance of becoming the Fifth Kazekage, after all, she is the princess of Sunagakure.
But now, all of that seems to have vanished. Even if Sunagakure doesn't label Temari and Gaara as rogue ninjas, they will likely be out of luck for the position of Fifth Kazekage after they return. As for Gaara, it seems that becoming a rogue ninja is his only remaining path.
"Being elected isn't the only way to become Kazekage," Naruto said casually, handing the two roasted gerbils.
"What did you say?" Temari frowned slightly as she looked at Naruto.
"You could stage a coup and take over," Naruto said, his mouth greasy after taking a bite of roasted gerbil.
"A coup?" Temari's pupils contracted.
"Isn't that right? Your father has been the Kazekage for so many years, he must have some connections, right? You, the Sand Village's eldest princess, could go back, rally them together, and with a little effort, taking over the Kazekage position wouldn't be entirely hopeless." Naruto said casually, completely ignoring Temari and Kankuro's shocked gazes.
Temari and Kankuro were dumbfounded by Naruto's words. Why did this person talk about a coup as casually as going downstairs to buy a watermelon?
"Who exactly are you?" Temari asked after taking a deep breath.
"Didn't I tell you? Uzumaki Naruto, a passing-by wandering ninja," Naruto said.
"Uzumaki...you're a member of the Uzumaki clan of Konoha? The tailed beast on your body...is it the Nine-Tails?" Temari's face showed shock again. During the battle, when Naruto introduced himself, she hadn't heard him clearly because of the urgency. But now that Naruto introduced himself again, she realized—Uzumaki, and a Jinchuriki—this guy could only be a Konoha ninja.
"Sort of." Naruto nodded frankly.
"Sort of?" Temari was confused by Naruto's wording and quickly asked.
At this moment, Naruto took out his headband, which was covered in black patterns from Sasuke's lightning strikes.
"So? You're a Konoha rogue ninja now?" Temari looked at the headband on Naruto's hand, her face full of black lines.
"Yeah." Naruto didn't bother to hide it.
"You, a Konoha rogue ninja, are suggesting I, a Sunagakure ninja, stage a coup to become Kazekage? Do you think that's appropriate?" Temari gritted her teeth and said speechlessly.
"What's wrong with this?" Naruto shrugged. "Didn't you want the Kazekage to save your brother? Now, besides a coup, do you have a better way?"
"You make it sound so simple," Temari said through gritted teeth. "This is a coup!"
"Huh? You don't know how to stage a coup?" Naruto was taken aback. Having been educated by Uchiha Touko since childhood, he assumed that the heirs of the ninja villages would all have some knowledge of this.
"Do you know how?" Temari asked, somewhat exasperated by Naruto's expression.
"Uh, I know a little, but not much," Naruto said, scratching his head.
Although Uchiha Touko had taught the three of them about this, compared to Neji and Sasuke, Naruto hadn't fully grasped it during the lesson. So, Naruto only had a superficial understanding of this aspect. He roughly knew that to successfully stage a coup, he needed to win over some people and suppress others, making as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible. As for the specifics of how to do it, Naruto thought that was too difficult for him.
"Then what's the point of all this?" Temari took a deep breath. If she didn't know she couldn't beat Naruto, she would have really wanted to slap him with her iron fan.
"Uh, how about I contact a strategist for you?" Naruto smiled awkwardly before speaking.
"A strategist?" Temari frowned upon hearing this.
"Yes, Konoha has a professional coup team," Naruto said. "With their help, they should be able to help you become the Fifth Kazekage."
"You, a rogue ninja, can actually get help from Konoha?" Temari was a little incredulous, but she was still slightly tempted by Naruto's suggestion, after all, it was the only way for Gaara to survive.
"Uh, my situation is a bit complicated, but if I ask Konoha for help, I can get the village's assistance," Naruto said vaguely without explaining his situation in detail.
"You..." Temari gave Naruto a deep look. It seemed that the defection of this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki from Konoha was not so simple.
"Well, how about you consider it?" Naruto said with a smile.
Naruto's purpose in traveling this time was to reduce the potential impact of future wars on the civilians of the ninja world. Now, with an opportunity to weaken the power of Sunagakure, he naturally wouldn't let it pass. As one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, Sunagakure would undoubtedly be an obstacle to Konoha's progress in the future. If they could weaken their power, then the faster Konoha could end the war, the less harm would be done to the civilians on the border between the two countries.
Furthermore, if Temari agreed to his plan, Konoha might also be able to use this opportunity to plant a spy within Sunagakure.
"You...you let me think about it," Temari said hesitantly.
"What are you still thinking about?" Naruto said with a smile. "Temari, you don't want your brother to end up like me, a rogue ninja, right?"
Temari: …
Temalie hesitated, then glanced back at the sleeping Gaara. After a while, she gritted her teeth and finally made up her mind. "When can the professional team you mentioned come?"
"Wait for me a moment." Naruto put down the grilled meat in his hand and formed a few hand seals. "I remember the hand seal for summoning Pakkun and the others is this…"
After a few tries, a cloud of smoke exploded in front of Naruto, and Pakkun, wearing a police uniform and the dog badge number 00001 on his chest, appeared in front of Naruto. When he appeared, Pakkun still had a piece of steak he hadn't finished eating in his mouth.
"Naruto?" Pakkun finally realized. After all, since he became the captain of the Konoha Police Force Dog Squad, Kakashi hadn't summoned him for a long time, except to deliver some important information. Moreover, this time it was Naruto who summoned him.
"Where am I? What are you doing?" Pakku finished his steak in three bites after landing, then looked around and asked, somewhat confused.
"Wait a moment, send a letter back to my teacher for me." Naruto said, then lay down on a nearby rock and began writing down his current situation in a letter before handing it to Pakku.
"Don't use a psychic for this kind of work next time. You and Kakashi, really, I'm a dog with some status now, is it appropriate for me to do this kind of work for you?" Pakku complained as he put away Naruto's letter.
"Okay, okay." Naruto nodded. "Please, Pakku."
After Pakku left, Temari looked at Naruto: "Is this all you need to do?"
"Yes, now we just need to wait for the professionals to arrive." Naruto said with a smile.
...
While Naruto and Temari were enjoying the cold desert winds, the team heading to the Land of Demons was also discussing the mission with Shion's guard, Azusa. Although their first meeting with their employer wasn't pleasant, they would do their best to complete the mission since they had already accepted it.
"Gentlemen of Konoha, I hope you won't take offense at the priestess's rudeness," Azusa said, offering tea to everyone in the reception room of the Land of Demons shrine before bowing deeply.
"Is your priestess always like this?" Sasuke asked, finishing his tea in one gulp and fiddling with the teacup for a moment.
"I'm truly sorry, priestess, but occasionally, like today, she foresees people's deaths," Azusa replied.
"Is that so? And the result?" Sasuke asked in a low voice.
"The priestess's prophecies have never failed so far," Azusa said.
"So, you also believe I will die on this mission?" Sasuke said with a cold smile.
"Although I hate to say it, it's the truth. The priestess saw through the fate that no one can escape," Azusa said
, her brows lowered. "Is that so? Haha… Hahaha." Sasuke suddenly shrugged and burst into laughter.
"Sasuke?" Neji turned to look at Sasuke, his face filled with worry. Ever since Naruto left, Neji had been very concerned about the mental state of his fellow disciple.
"It's alright," Sasuke waved at Neji with a smile. "I think everyone in the Land of Demons needs to attend a theological seminar at Nakagawa."
After saying this, Sasuke's smile instantly turned cold: "The ninjas of Konoha do not believe in any predetermined fate. If the fate you speak of wants me dead, then these eyes of mine will shatter that fate." As
Sasuke's words fell, the three tomoe in his eyes began to spin rapidly, transforming into the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Azusa looked into Sasuke's eyes, feeling an overwhelming pressure like a mountain.
"Go tell that priestess that we'll set off to seal that monster first thing tomorrow morning," Sasuke said calmly after deactivating his Mangekyou Sharingan. "Then, I'll tell her that the only value of the destiny she witnessed was that I shattered it with my own hands."
"Yes," Azusa replied after taking a deep breath.
…
Konoha, Uchiha clan territory. Uchiha Touko,
who had just finished work and spent some time shooting arrows in the backyard, had just put down his longbow when his butler reported that Pakkun had come looking for him.
After letting Pakkun in, Uchiha Touko received the letter Naruto had sent back. After reading it, he smiled, shook his head, and said, "This kid is really impolite. But, helping the princess return to her loyal Sunagakure? Interesting." Uchiha Touko
formed hand seals to summon a communication snake, then pulled out a sealing scroll, sealing a wisp of chakra inside. He then sent the communication snake, carrying the scroll, through Ryuchi Cave to the Land of Wind.
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(End of Chapter)