Here's @riojiyo131, your trusted writer.
You can now get early access up to Chapter 126 of Re: Naruto Uzumaki on my Patreon.
Up to Chapter 44 of Satoru Senju: Conquering the Omniverse is also available.
Lastly, I've launched a new story titled Marvel: Star Wars System, which already has 5 chapters published.
Each chapter averages around 5,000 words.
patreon/riojiyo131
I won't bother you any further—hope you enjoy the chapter…
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It was five days of travel with barely any rest until they reached the Land of Wind.
And with every kiloter that brought them closer to Sunagakure, Karura beca more anxious, more excited.
She couldn't stop talking about her children, about Kankurō, her firstborn, about Temari, her strong and intelligent girl… and about Gaara, whom she had barely been able to hold in her arms before dying.
Naruto had told her everything he knew about Gaara's childhood.
He didn't leave out a single detail.
And the more Karura listened, the more her hatred toward her ex-husband grew. Rasa. The Fourth Kazekage.
Knowing that Gaara had grown up alone, rejected by everyone—even by those who were supposed to protect him—broke her heart.
Isolated. Afraid. Used as a weapon.
But the worst, the cruelest part, was that they made him believe that she, his mother, despised him.
Kankurō and Temari didn't have it easy either. Their childhood, though not as extre as their younger brother's, was far from what they deserved as the children of the village leader.
Naruto also told her about Yashamaru.
Karura's brother.
The man Rasa entrusted to care for Gaara.
Yashamaru taught him the basics of emotions, physical wounds and soul pain, and also about love. He was the only adult with whom Gaara felt anything close to a bond.
Until Rasa sent him to kill him.
He ordered him to assassinate his own nephew, claiming the boy was too dangerous, that his powers were uncontrollable. That he threatened the stability of the village.
And Yashamaru… obeyed.
Not out of fear, but out of revenge.
According to his final words, he blad Gaara for the death of his sister, Karura.
The assassination attempt failed. Gaara seriously injured him. And before dying, Yashamaru confessed everything, including the aning of the na Karura had given him.
Gaara. "A demon who only loves himself."
Naruto also explained that the plan was never to eliminate the boy. Rasa just wanted to test Shukaku's stability. For him, Yashamaru was just another pawn.
Karura listened in silence… until Naruto finished talking about her brother.
"Yashamaru…" she murmured, clenching her fists tightly, fingers trembling with rage.
Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't hate him," he said calmly. "It wasn't his fault. It was the Kazekage's. Rasa's."
Karura looked up, surprised.
"But he… he tried to kill Gaara... My son…"
"Rasa manipulated him," Naruto interrupted. "At first, Yashamaru refused. He didn't want to hurt Gaara. But Rasa forced him. Yashamaru was ANBU, and his right hand. He had no choice."
Karura was silent for a mont.
"Then… he…?"
Naruto nodded.
"Yashamaru loved Gaara. He was the first to realize that your love protected him. That it lived in the sand that always surrounded him."
Karura's eyes sparkled with restrained tears. She stopped just before crossing the last dune that separated them from Sunagakure. The village gates were already visible in the distance.
She turned to Naruto, determined.
"Expel him," she whispered. "Please… don't let Rasa return."
Naruto watched her for a few seconds, silently, then gently shook his head.
"I have a better idea," he said, giving a half-smile, and resud walking without stopping.
Karura followed him, her step firm, her heart racing, nervous.
As they moved forward, Naruto looked up, focusing on the chat group.
[Naruto Uzumaki: Indra, I need your help with sothing.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: Mmh? What is it? I still owe you for leaving alone with Asura. Just tell what you need.]
[Naruto Uzumaki: Oh, how cooperative. I expected more resistance.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: You're confusing with Madara-chan. She's a total tsundere. Loves being begged.]
[Madara Uchiha: INDRA!! I knew I shouldn't spend so much ti with you.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: Oh, Naruto… you have no idea about the hilarious stories she's told . We've beco super close.]
[Madara Uchiha: YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO REVEAL WHAT WE TALK ABOUT!!]
[Hashirama Senju: I want to know too.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: You shut up.]
[Hashirama Senju: …]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: Don't worry, Madara-chan. I was just teasing. I won't say anything. Friends keep secrets.]
[Madara Uchiha: Good… for a mont I was scared.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: Although I'd love to tell that ti when—]
[Madara Uchiha: INDRA!!]
[Naruto Uzumaki: Can we focus? I'm slowly being surrounded by Sunagakure ninjas. I don't have much ti.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: Tch. Lately you barely have ti to talk…]
[Madara Uchiha: Even I'm starting to miss you, brat. Fighting with Tobirama all the ti is boring now.]
[Tobirama Senju: I still enjoy picking on you just like the first day.]
[Madara Uchiha: …]
[Naruto Uzumaki: I'm flattered, ladies, but I'm still busy. Indra, can I leave Rasa in your hands? Give him the welco we gave Hiruzen.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: That's needing my help? Sounds more like a gift. Don't worry, I'll take care of it.]
[Madara Uchiha: I'll help her. I'm tired of torturing that sack of bones.]
[Naruto Uzumaki: Great. All yours. You have one week to break him ntally.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: I'll have him broken in a few hours.]
[Madara Uchiha: A week? Isn't that too much for sothing so easy?]
[Naruto Uzumaki: I don't just want to break him. I want him to suffer.]
[Madara Uchiha: This conversation is hilarious… You do know that Rasa is only muted, right? He can still read our chat.]
[Indra Ōtsutsuki: I know. Let's let him digest it for a while. It'll be fun to see his face when he realizes that, against us, no trick will save him from what's coming.]
[Naruto Uzumaki: Great. Have fun.]
Naruto disconnected from the group after settling the matter with Rasa.
Just like with Hiruzen, Rasa would also be subjected to a period of torture. It wouldn't be imdiate, but he wouldn't be able to escape it.
Both would share the sa fate. Both would be completely broken ntally, reduced to shadows of what they once were.
Naruto was in no rush. He knew that, sooner or later, they would reach the point where their only way out would be to surrender. And at that mont, they would give him everything. Their knowledge. Their power.
And then, when they had nothing more to offer, Naruto would expel them. Both of them. Without a second's hesitation.
It would've been easy to get rid of them from the beginning, right when they appeared in the group.
But Naruto wasn't going to waste the opportunity to beco stronger.
Even if his strength wouldn't increase significantly.
As Naruto thought in silence, the group finally reached the gates of Sunagakure.
The village entrance, known as the Suna Ravine, was a narrow, dark, and damp passage. Massive slabs of stone and sand rose on either side, naturally overlapping, creating an imposing corridor that served as the only access and exit route.
As expected, it was heavily guarded by ninjas watching every move.
As soon as they tried to take a step forward, a kunai embedded itself in the ground in front of them, stopping them.
A group of ninjas appeared in front of the team, while others erged from the flanks, surrounding them.
"Naruto Uzumaki?" asked a firm voice.
Baki, the Jōnin-Sensei of Gaara, Temari, and Kankurō, erged from among the other Ninjas, with a surprised expression.
"Oh, you… the guy who helped Orochimaru almost destroy Konoha," Naruto replied disdainfully, pretending not to rember his na, focusing on the events during the Chūnin Exams.
Baki's face hardened. A vein visibly pulsed on his forehead.
"And you're the thief of Shukaku. The one who almost killed Gaara…"
Karura, who was behind Naruto, looked at him confused.
She had heard that Naruto had saved her son, not that he had almost killed him.
Well… Naruto had told the story slightly changing that part…
"Sotis you have to hit a child so they learn, you know?" Naruto answered, casting a significant look more at Karura than at Baki.
"Konoha hasn't inford us that they'd send ninjas to Sunagakure. Are you here to return Shukaku?" asked Baki, not relaxing his stance.
Naruto rolled his eyes.
He couldn't help but look at him with annoyance after he ntioned Shukaku.
"Sunagakure will never recover Shukaku. The Tailed Beasts belong to no one…"
"To no one… or just to you? Is that what you're implying?" Baki interrupted, frowning.
"Well… sothing like that. You could say I'm like their big brother, you know? I'm the one who protects them from people like you, the bullies."
Baki looked at him even more puzzled, not fully understanding his words.
Naruto thought about explaining it but gave up due to the complexity.
The Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo, was considered the father of the Tailed Beasts. And as the reincarnation of Asura, Hagoromo's son, wasn't he also part of the family? Half-brother, at least. But it wasn't worth explaining all that.
He didn't have to either…
"I don't think Sunagakure is as useless as it seems…" Naruto comnted sarcastically. His mockery ignited the tension among the surrounding ninjas; many clenched their teeth, on the verge of drawing weapons. "Have you heard about the current situation in Konoha?"
Everyone in the Elental Nations knew about the strange phenonon occurring. Many important and powerful figures from Konoha had mysteriously co back to life.
So believed it was the result of dark experints, others suspected a forbidden technique.
Baki nodded gravely. He was aware of the situation.
"Well, it's not just people from Konoha who've returned," Naruto added, stepping aside and revealing the figure who accompanied him, behind him.
"K-Karura-sama…?" Baki whispered, paralyzed, imdiately recognizing the wife of the Fourth Kazekage.
Murmurs spread like wildfire among the Suna ninjas. Everyone stared at her, stunned.
"Surprise," said Karura with a tense smile, opening her arms.
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