Chapter 59 Sweating profusely
Haruko had originally planned to visit Rock Lee with Naruto Uzumaki, but halfway there she suddenly caught sight of a figure that looked remarkably like Kakashi Hatake. Her eyes blazed with anger, and she told Naruto to go ahead while quickly chasing after him.
Kakashi Hatake, that heartless teacher!
Whether sensing her overwhelming killing intent or not, the figure quickened its pace, turned a few corners, and vanished in an instant.
Haruko Hayama, feeling embarrassed: ...As expected, going to someone's door to confront them is still the fastest way!
Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki, who had just arrived at the ward, saw Rock Lee sleeping and, in his clumsy manner, changed the water in the vase, just like Haruko Hayama.
Completely unaware that the door to the ward behind them was slowly opening, letting in a few fine grains of sand.
"What is that?!"
In an instant, Naruto was enveloped and bound by countless grains of sand. He kicked his leg as he was lifted into the air, trying to struggle, but the sand only tightened around him.
A red-haired boy carrying a huge gourd walked in from outside. He had dark circles around his eyes and a "love" character tattooed on his forehead.
"Who are you!" Naruto glared at him fiercely, unable to free his hands no matter what he did.
Gaara stood a few steps away from him, quietly observing him.
He recalled that Haruko Hayama, who had been talking and chatting with this blond-haired girl since the start of the exam, had not only failed to notice his presence throughout, but had even smiled and hugged her...
"Aaaaaah—!"
A throbbing pain shot through Gaara's head as he clutched his throbbing, throbbing head, and a series of horrific images from his childhood flashed through his mind.
More and more sand overflowed from the gourd, climbing up the ground and onto Naruto's body, almost engulfing him.
Suddenly, Gaara felt his limbs stiffen and he was unable to move.
"what you up to?"
Nara Shikamaru, who happened to be visiting Rock Lee, looked displeased and maintained his Shadow Imitation Technique.
Even though he couldn't move his body, Gaara remained completely calm and uttered chilling words.
"I want to kill him."
Nara Shikamaru's pupils contracted, but he forced himself to remain calm. "Why would you do something like this? Do you have a personal grudge against Naruto?"
“He… stole Haruko’s attention,” Gaara said, emphasizing each word.
Upon hearing Haruko Hayama's name from him, Nara Shikamaru could no longer hide his shock. Why was this guy connected to Haruko?!
Click—
The door to the ward was pushed open.
"Shikamaru?"
After bypassing Nara Shikamaru who was blocking the doorway, Haruko looked at the scene before her and belatedly realized that this was not an atmosphere conducive to friendly conversation.
Looking at the red-haired boy opposite her, and then at Naruto Uzumaki who was suspended in mid-air by sand, Haruko opened her mouth, then hesitated and asked, "Are you having a private fight?"
Nara Shikamaru yelled at her, "Haruko, back off! This guy is dangerous!"
Haruko...
Haruko...
Haruko is looking at me, she's looking at me...
Gaara stared intently at the girl who appeared opposite him, his gaze so terrifying it seemed he wanted to grind her into sand and put her into a gourd for his own exclusive use.
Sensing his intense gaze, Haruko carefully examined his appearance; he looked somewhat familiar…
"You are... Xiao Ai?"
"Little... Ai?" Nara Shikamaru's jaw dropped in shock. What a disgusting term!
Haruko could tell from his expression that he was internally criticizing her, so she took a few steps toward Gaara, who had been watching her ever since she came in.
"Wait for Haruko!"
Using a smile to ease Nara Shikamaru's tension, Haruko Hayama walked up to Gaara and turned to look at him. "It's alright, Shikamaru. I almost didn't recognize Gaara. I didn't expect him to come to Konoha this time."
Several years had passed, but the prominent "love" character on the upper right of Gaara's forehead instantly brought back memories of their first encounter for Haruko Hayama.
At her signal, Nara Shikamaru tentatively deactivated the Shadow Imitation Technique, but his wariness remained.
After regaining control of his body, Gaara stared at Haruko Hayama for a few seconds before finally retracting the sand that had been enveloping Naruto at her urging.
Finally able to breathe fresh air, Naruto Uzumaki fell to the ground and gasped for breath.
"Xiao Ai, it's been so long since we last saw each other! How about we grab something to eat? It's on me!"
The sand that had been collected took a detour on its return journey, quickly winding up Haruko's legs and around her waist.
Amidst gasps of surprise, Gaara grabbed Haruko Hayama, rushed to the window, and then leaped out, carrying Haruko Hayama with him.
Nara Shikamaru, who had no chance to stop them, chased after them to the window, and Uzumaki Naruto, who had caught his breath, followed.
But all that could be heard was Haruko's unfinished words: "Shikamaru, take care of Lee for now! Naruto, don't chase after us! Don't worry about me—"
Naruto Uzumaki paused just as he stepped out the window, while Shikamaru Nara clenched his fist and slammed it against the wall.
Meanwhile, Haruko Hayama, who had been taken away, was completely unaware that she had been kidnapped. Instead, she enthusiastically directed the kidnappers.
"There, there, fly that way!"
"I tried a super delicious beef tongue restaurant there before. The Sendai beef tongue and thick-cut beef tongue were all top-notch!"
"At the time, I thought that if Xiao Ai were here, she would definitely love it!"
After all, it was the first time she had ever met someone whose favorite food was beef tongue, which was quite unusual. So much so that every time she saw beef tongue afterward, she would think of Gaara, which could be considered a kind of longing.
Completely unaware of Haruko's contradictory thoughts that morning, Gaara thought: Haruko is thinking of me... Haruko is thinking of me...
Sitting behind the beef tongue shop, they ordered and began their usual routine of reminiscing.
"Is Ai here to participate in the Chunin Selection Exams? I can't believe I didn't even notice you were here. How awful!" Haruko Hayama said with a hint of regret.
"It's okay." Gaara certainly thought it was related, assuming that Haruko had forgotten about him after making other friends.
Thankfully... Haruko hasn't forgotten him.
As her gaze traced the now taller and less chubby Gaara across from her, Haruko couldn't help but recall their first meeting—
Six years ago, in order to carry out the "plan to promote the friendship between the main characters", Haruko Hayama subtly asked her father to take them on a trip. Coincidentally, there was a mission in the Land of Wind, Sunagakure, so the family packed their bags and set off.
The environment of Sunagakure Village was really hard to adapt to, with sand and dust flying everywhere in the air.
Haruko, who was out for a stroll, wandered over to an open space where many children were playing. They were throwing balls back and forth, laughing happily.
Only a small, seemingly out-of-place figure sat on the swing, looking at them with envious eyes.
The children playing accidentally kicked the ball against the wall. Just as they were wondering how to get it down, the ball was surrounded by floating sand and landed in the hand of a red-haired child who had just gotten off a swing.
He hesitated for a moment, then murmured, "This..."
"It's Gaara! Run!"
To his surprise, the children looked at him with fear, pushed each other, and hurriedly ran away, not even caring about the ball.
Watching their receding figures, the red-haired child's eyes widened, a hurt expression on his face, and he stood there holding the ball, at a loss.
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