Chapter 280 - 280: 280 - Orochimaru... You know Nothing!!

He was still eating and watching the battle when, in the next instant, the figure below suddenly turned into a chunk of wood.

Orochimaru didn't rush in. Instead, he had the Third Kazekage puppet advance cautiously and probe the area for a long while before finally confirming one thing:

Roshi had already escaped.

Orochimaru wasn't irritated. He simply ordered the airship to slow down and head back toward the Land of Snow.

When he arrived, he wasn't surprised at all to hear that Jiraiya and the others had already left.

With the aerial fortress out on campaign, it was only natural that the forces left behind in the Land of Snow couldn't possibly hold Jiraiya's group. Orochimaru knew his old comrade's abilities all too well.

Not long after, news of the aerial fortress's destruction reached him.

Orochimaru showed no concern whatsoever about being blamed.

"That was a Wood Clone, Zetsu."

"It's perfectly normal not to be able to tell the difference."

"Besides, Konoha managed to bring Ōnoki from the Land of Earth into this. The final outcome has nothing to do with me."

"...The organization has lost its most effective aerial deterrent. The pressure from the Five Great Ninja Villages will only intensify from here," Zetsu reminded him. "You really think this has nothing to do with you, Orochimaru?"

"Hehehe... If that's how it is, then why doesn't the organization invest in my experiments?" Orochimaru chuckled. "Even if Hiruko completes his Chimera Technique, that's just a single combat asset."

"Shinno still has the Zero-Tails and one or two warships left."

"The support my research can offer is far greater than anything they can provide."

—

Naruto's second year at the Academy was a strange one. The Kumogakure exchange students, who were originally supposed to stay only half a year, returned again when the new term began.

Iruka-sensei had even held a farewell party at the end of the previous semester.

Naruto had been a little down about it at the time.

"Because they extended the exchange," Omoi muttered. "When we finally go back, we'll probably be treated like strangers since we've been gone so long... Actually, can we even go back? What if the village's forgotten about us...?"

"Maybe we won't be able to go back at all."

He was ridiculously pessimistic, but somehow not all that unpleasant to be around.

Now, well into the new term, another transfer student arrived—this one from Sunagakure. He had crimson hair, blue‑green eyes, no eyebrows, and a single kanji tattooed on his forehead.

His expression was ice‑cold.

The Konoha students, who were usually eager and noisy around new classmates, were unusually restrained. Soft whispers spread through the back rows, but nobody went up to greet him.

"Hey, Naruto," Shikamaru leaned over and whispered. "That Gaara guy... his aura is totally different from ours. It's better not to get involved with him."

The moment the words left his mouth, Shikamaru realized he'd made a mistake.

Naruto shot to his feet with such force that every head in the classroom turned.

"He's just a transfer student! You guys are being way too cowardly!"

The blond strode straight to the front of the room and stopped at Gaara's desk. He slammed both hands down on the tabletop with a sharp thud, striking what he was sure was an impressive pose.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, deliberately raising his voice. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I'm the Ninja who's going to win the Joint Combat Exercise and become the Hokage!"

Gaara slowly lifted his head.

His blue-green eyes were uncannily calm, betraying no emotion at all. He stared at Naruto in silence for a few seconds, then rose to his feet.

Naruto instinctively stepped back half a pace, then immediately shuffled forward again, as if trying to cover it up.

Gaara extended his right hand. "Hello. I am Gaara."

Naruto froze. He'd imagined all sorts of reactions, but not this.

"Ah, uh... H-hello!" he blurted, hastily reaching out. In his fluster, he stuck out his left hand instead, bumping awkwardly against Gaara's right.

"Whoa! Wrong hand!"

He yanked it back as if burned, flailed it in the air once, then finally thrust out his right hand.

Their hands clasped.

"I-I'm Uzumaki Naruto..." Naruto muttered, his voice dropping, a hint of embarrassment creeping in. "N-nice to meet you."

It was the first time anyone had greeted him so formally. Remembering his own over-the-top introduction, the tips of his ears turned red.

"Nice to meet you," Gaara replied, withdrawing his hand. He gave a small nod and sat down again.

Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... well, then!"

He was used to being laughed at or ignored. Yet here he was, treated with straightforward respect right when he'd been trying to show off.

Shikamaru was totally wrong... this transfer student seems like a pretty decent guy.

—

"How do you like the Ninja Academy?"

"It's fine," Gaara answered.

The Academy teachers all knew his circumstances. Even if they didn't say anything, there was almost always someone stationed outside the classroom during lessons, just in case.

Gaara didn't mind.

The students, though, were different. Even if they kept their distance for their own reasons, they didn't look at him with the same eyes he was used to in Sunagakure.

"One person came up and greeted me."

"Oh? Let me guess, was it Uzumaki Naruto?" Roshi asked.

"Yes, it was Uzumaki Naruto."

Just then came a knock at the office door, and Baki stepped inside.

He halted when he saw Gaara sitting across from Roshi.

"Well, that's all for today," Roshi said to Gaara.

Gaara nodded, stood up quietly, and walked toward the door. As he passed Baki, he didn't spare him a single glance, as if the man weren't even there. He slipped out and closed the door softly behind him.

Baki let out a silent sigh.

It really hadn't been that long.

"Roshi-san, that flying fortress has been destroyed." Baki had come to talk about Gaara. Before, Sunagakure's future had been uncertain, but now that things were different, the Village believed Gaara could return. "And..."

"Yes," Roshi cut in, not giving him a chance to continue. "There is something Kumogakure hopes to receive Sunagakure's assistance with."

"Even though that aerial fortress was destroyed, we can't be sure the enemy only had one. Nor can we be certain they don't have the capacity to build another somewhere outside our sight."

"The Raikage believes we should seize this opportunity and not allow the enemy to regroup so easily."

"Therefore, he hopes for the support of Sunagakure's aerial unit to step up harassment and suppression along the Land of Snow's borders."

Baki mulled this over. "Roshi-san, under your agreement with the Kazekage, the aerial unit's primary mission going forward was to help the Villages establish early warning systems."

"The Raikage has taken that into account, which is why he's willing to fund the expansion of Sunagakure's fleet," Roshi replied. "That way, you can strengthen your aerial forces while also carrying out the mission to suppress the Land of Snow."

"Since this plan benefits the entire ninja world, Konoha is also willing to invest resources," he added.

—

Treading on thin ice.

That was how Iruka viewed his own career.

He had experienced all kinds of incidents since he first became a teacher, but those were behind him now. Even when new transfer students arrived, he had more than enough experience to handle them.

Until Gaara appeared.

He was a key figure from the neighboring Hidden Sand Village, no less important than any of the other students in the class.

According to Ebisu, Gaara possessed a jutsu that could protect him automatically, so Iruka needed to be especially cautious with him. It was better not to rush into arranging taijutsu and combat training.

Iruka agreed—and acted accordingly.

Gaara cooperated as well. Those combat classes meant nothing to him; he had far more real experience with assassination attempts than anyone else there.

But to the Academy students, anyone who couldn't participate in combat training was the weakest of the weak. In Iruka's class, only Shion had been in that position before.

Now there was one more.

And this time, it was a boy.

Even the Konoha ruffians, usually harmless, began to make odd comments.

Things like, "He's so delicate," or "He's like a girl." Compared to the words "monster," "freak," or "weapon" that Gaara had grown used to hearing in Sunagakure, these remarks were not only harmless—they even felt strangely new.

His silence gradually made the other children believe their own judgments.

And so they grew bolder.

Until the next outdoor taijutsu training class.

The sun blazed overhead as the students on the training field split into pairs, practicing basic taijutsu sparring.

Sweat shone in the light. Shouts, the sound of bodies colliding, and the teacher's corrections mixed together, forming the most common scene at the Ninja Academy.

And Gaara, as always, stood alone in the shade of a tree.

"Hey, did you see? That transfer student from Sunagakure is skipping training again."

"A Sunagakure ninja who can't even attend taijutsu class—how lame."

"I heard it's just him, though. The other Sunagakure students are training normally…"

About five meters away from Gaara, four boys were stretching, talking in voices that weren't quite loud, but just clear enough for the boy sitting in the shade to hear.

The red-haired boy didn't feel their words were particularly hurtful—but before he could react, a blond figure jumped in front of him.

"Hey! Don't bully Gaara!"

"You don't know anything! Gaara… he must be sick!" Naruto shouted.

"No," Gaara said quietly from behind him.

The three boys facing Naruto burst out laughing. "See, Naruto? You're the one who doesn't know anything."

"Then… then he…" Naruto stammered, scrambling for an excuse. "Gaara didn't sleep well. Look, his eyes are so dark…"

"I slept very well," Gaara denied flatly.

Their laughter only grew louder. Naruto's shoulders stiffened and he spun around. "Why are you contradicting me, Gaara!"

Gaara met his eyes. "Because those aren't the reasons."

Being openly defended by someone his own age for the first time, Gaara felt strangely off-balance. He fell silent. Then, with a faint rustling sound, sand rose up from around his feet.

"The sand will protect me."

At that moment, Iruka finally noticed the commotion and hurried over.

"The reason Gaara isn't participating in training is because he can't fully control his jutsu yet," Iruka said, explaining the ability that had already been exposed. His tone was firm and serious. "If he trained with everyone right now, he might accidentally injure his classmates. This is to protect all of you. Understand?"

The boys glanced at each other, then lowered their heads. "We understand…"

Iruka led them a short distance away, scolded them quietly, then waved them back toward the training field.

Naruto, still lingering by the tree, reached out and poked the sand at Gaara's feet. "What's the use of sand like this? It's so fine."

Gaara said nothing.

"Does the sand show up whenever someone's about to touch you?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Then why is it there?"

Gaara's gaze dropped. Yashamaru had once told him it was his mother's love. But then, before dying, he'd said it was his mother's hatred—for him and for Sunagakure.

"It protects me," Gaara answered simply, stating only the fact.

"In that case, I'll train with Gaara!" Naruto jabbed a thumb at his own chest. "I'm a ninja who's gonna be a champion. I won't get hurt by mere sand."

Gaara shook his head again. He'd been in class long enough to know Naruto's current level.

"Naruto," Iruka cut in, sounding a bit exasperated, "it's good that you care about your classmates. But Gaara's combat training can only be done with special permission, understand?"

"Why! Iruka-sensei is so lame!"

A vein popped on Iruka's forehead. He grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar. "Go train properly first! Have you even mastered the Transformation Jutsu yet!"

"I'm gonna go find Roshi-nii! If he agrees, it'll definitely be fine!" Naruto kicked his legs in mid-air as Iruka hauled him away.

"Don't go bothering Captain Roshi for no reason, Naruto!"

As Iruka carried the struggling blond toward the other side of the training ground, Gaara slowly leaned back against the tree trunk, the rough bark pressing against his shoulders.

Response 5:

Class finally ended, and Temari came over to find him, Kankuro trailing behind.

"I will definitely get you into training, Gaara!"

The blond boy shouted the promise at Gaara, then turned and sprinted off.

Kankuro stared, stunned, at Naruto's disappearing back. Were Konoha people really all that bold?

Temari shot a sideways glance after Naruto as well, then looked back at Gaara. She asked softly, "Did you make any friends at school, Gaara?"

Gaara kept his eyes fixed in the direction Naruto had gone, the setting sun laying a warm glow over his teal irises. He stayed silent for so long that Temari thought he wouldn't respond at all, until he finally murmured:

"I don't know."

——

Roshi was in the middle of getting a shot.

After finishing his latest round of research, Kabuto had come to report to him. One of the items was a request for a blood sample.

"Regarding the control issue—based on your earlier idea about the connection between the Ōtsutsuki Clan and the God Tree," Kabuto began, adjusting his glasses, "if I implant your cells into the mother plant and then re-cultivate it, it might increase its recognition of you."

"Also, you've already obtained the One-Tails' chakra. To complete the experiment later, we'll need chakra from the other Tailed Beasts as well."

"If you need it, I can arrange it for you…" Kabuto understood perfectly that gathering Tailed Beast chakra was no easy task. But since he had taken over this experiment, he saw acquiring that chakra as part of his duty.

"...I will handle this matter."

The problem wasn't finding the Jinchuriki; it was how to approach them in the right way.

But before that, he might as well collect the Nine-Tails' chakra from Naruto first.

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