Chapter 199: The Sand That Protects
“Hey, what are you trying to do?”
Kankurō couldn’t understand what was going on, while Temari’s face showed only worry. But Kakashi and the ANBU had no patience for explanations.
In the end, they were invaders. Being alive to face negotiations was already more fortune than they deserved.
Otherwise, they would have joined their fallen Kage in death long ago.
“Why think of dying? Isn’t living better?”
Once everyone else had left, Gen simply walked inside. Gaara, however, acted as though he weren’t even there.
“Because there’s no meaning to living. My mother hated me, my father wanted to kill me, and everyone in the village treats me like a monster. I can’t find a reason to keep on living.”
Perhaps it was because the chakra of the One-Tail had been sealed, or perhaps because Kitagawa Gen had so easily defeated him—or maybe for some other reason—but at this moment, Gaara was willing to speak his heart.
“So then… are you a monster?”
Seeing that Kakashi had returned but chosen not to step closer, Gen tilted his head, asking the question curiously without a hint of pressure.
“Or rather—do you think you’re a monster?”
“I don’t know. I feel like I’m not…”
Gaara fell silent for a while before finally speaking, hesitantly.
“But there really is a monster inside me.”
“I’ve met plenty of people with monsters inside them. You’re not the first. In fact, one idiot like that is my friend.”
Gen laughed lightly. He knew exactly what someone like Gaara lacked—and more or less how to provide it.
Watching Gaara’s silence, filled with curiosity beneath it, Gen only shrugged and kept smiling.
“He’s got a monster inside him too. That monster torments him constantly. But unlike you, he—”
“Because he has friends like you?”
Gaara’s curious interruption made Gen shake his head.
“Yes… and no. He never complains about his situation. Even though he’s confused, even though he wonders why he ended up this way…"
"He always stays optimistic. Maybe, in secret, he cries or rages—but once he wipes his tears away, he grows stronger. Because he always holds to one belief.”
“A belief?”
“Yes. He refuses to wallow in self-pity. His belief drives him forward. That belief is to earn the recognition of everyone—and in the end, to become Hokage.”
“To… become Hokage?”
“Exactly. I’ve never been able to understand why he thinks that way. If I had gone through what he did, I’d be furious. But he’s different. Completely different.”
Gen paused for a moment.
Once, he had even wondered whether Naruto had been affected by Kotoamatsukami, or by the influence of Asura’s chakra.
But no matter what the truth was, Naruto was simply Naruto.
His nature, his attitude—they were just who he was. And he truly was Gen’s friend.
“I know you’re in pain, that you’re disappointed and suffering, filled with denial toward the whole world.”
Gen straightened his posture, looking Gaara in the eyes as he spoke softly.
“But don’t be so quick to deny everything. Didn’t you see just now how worried your sister was for you? And haven’t you noticed something else?”
“My… sister?”
Thinking of Temari—of all the moments in the past—Gaara’s expression turned dazed for a moment.
“And… noticed what?”
“Your sand.”
Kitagawa Gen lifted his hand, and at once, fine yellow grains rose around Gaara.
“Haven’t you noticed? This sand has chakra in it.”
“That’s the One-Tail’s power.”
Gaara shook his head—but Gen quickly cut him off.
“Wrong. It doesn’t come from the One-Tail. I defeated the One-Tail; I know its chakra. This chakra is different. It contains something… extraordinary.”
As he spoke, Gen guided the sand closer to Gaara.
In an instant, a surge of chakra shimmered across the grains.
Slowly, it gathered and condensed into the outline of a human figure.
“This chakra has always been there—watching over you, protecting you. It has nothing to do with the One-Tail.”
“T-This is…”
Gaara stared at the figure in utter disbelief.
His hand trembled as he reached out, wanting to touch it, yet fearing he might scatter the chakra with a single brush.
After a long moment, he whispered hoarsely: “But… why? Why is it like this?”
“Then why not set a goal for yourself? Give yourself a belief to hold onto?”
Gen understood the questions swirling in Gaara’s mind. All of it traced back to Rasa.
To test Gaara, he had deliberately sent Gaara’s uncle—the one person who had ever treated him kindly—to assassinate him.
And with that, he had spoken those cruel lies, pushing Gaara completely over the edge, driving him into what he had become now.
Perhaps this was the true burden a jinchūriki had to bear.
Though frankly, it was more like a descent into madness.
“Secrets often lie hidden in records and archives. But if you want to uncover them, you have to keep growing—perhaps even become a Kage.”
“Whether it’s to chase after those secrets or to earn the recognition of everyone, why not learn from my friend?”
“Choose a goal. Hold to your belief. Push forward.”
“Who knows—along the way, you might gain everything you’ve been searching for.”
Gen stopped there. Gaara, meanwhile, sat frozen, staring at the chakra figure before him.
His mind echoed with Gen’s words.
“A belief… a goal?”
In that moment, Gaara sank deep into thought. Yet in his eyes, a faint light seemed to appear.
Outside, Kakashi—who had circled back long ago—watched with a quiet smile.
“Gen… such a kind child.”
But as the smile lingered, it suddenly faded.
“Naruto? Hokage?”
“Does Naruto really… still have a chance?”
Naruto’s chances—whether he still had any at all, Kakashi couldn’t say.
But he did know that with Gaara caught up in this mess, there really did seem to be a sliver of hope to seize upon.
...
“So… Gen’s choice is that jinchūriki?”
Inside the ANBU laboratory, upon hearing Kakashi’s report, Senju Tobirama stroked his chin.
“A jinchūriki with such human weaknesses… indeed worth exploiting. His identity is special, but still worth considering.”
“Hey, can you stop being so calculating? Why must you twist everything into that kind of thinking?”
Senju Hashirama’s expression soured at his younger brother, feeling he was as cold as a machine.
“And Gen? Why isn’t he here?”
“First Hokage-sama, Gen went to meet with Naruto and the others. At the same time, he’s keeping an eye on Gaara. That’s why he asked me to come alone.”
Kakashi scratched his head, explaining helplessly.
“The truth is, he never really liked these kinds of meetings.”
“Well, what a coincidence—I don’t like them either.”
Hashirama crossed his arms and nodded, but Tobirama only shook his head.
“That must change. As a Kage, he should attend more briefings. Only then can he grasp the full scope of affairs. This way of his won’t do.”
“What, you expect him to turn into a cold machine like you?”
Hashirama grew even more displeased, glaring at his younger brother.
“You’ve been unbearable since childhood, always so damn annoying.”
“I never needed to be ‘adorable.’ As a child, my task was to secure our clan’s survival. Now, I must think of the village.”
Tobirama put down the work in his hands, his own irritation showing.
“Don’t think my way is wrong. On the contrary—under your care the village would collapse faster, whereas I can make it stronger.”
“You dare say that—killing comrades is supposed to make the village better?”
Hashirama shot to his feet, but Tobirama remained composed as ever.
“That matter… blame it on my dying too early.”
“What?”
“You think I was ignorant of their power? Why else do you think I gave them the Police Force? You really believe I did nothing?”
“Uh, you—”
“How laughable. What I aimed for was to make them part of Konoha. I needed their strength. I didn’t even kill Uchiha Setsuna!”
“…”
“Face reality. They’re not something you can settle with your slogans of love and peace. The only reason those words worked was because you were strong enough—not because they accepted you.”
Tobirama’s sharp retorts struck their mark, leaving Hashirama at a loss for words.
And the truth was undeniable. Though he loathed Uchiha Madara, that never meant he underestimated the Uchiha’s power.
Handing over an institution as vast as the Police Force had been his way to divide and absorb them, confident that his political skills could hold everything in balance.
But then came war, then a peace negotiation, then a sneak attack—and all his efforts were wasted.
He couldn’t even bring himself to point out how his disciples had failed to manage these things. Wouldn’t that only reveal his own failings as a sensei?
Hashirama opened his mouth, but in the end could only fall into frustrated silence.
Meanwhile Kakashi stood awkwardly on the side, not knowing what to do.
After all, it was two Hokage quarreling—brothers, no less. What could he possibly say?
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