Konoha Notes.

Chapter 507 The Path to Tomorrow

Chapter 507 The Path to Tomorrow

Naruto broke out in a sweat.

"Ah, hahaha—Brother Shuuji, what strange things are you saying?"

"Gathering intelligence is the prelude to starting a mission, Naruto," Shuji stated, stating common sense that every ninja should know.

"That's not fair!" Naruto took a step back, his finger sweeping across the other side. "Gaara and the others clearly know more, so why are they only talking about me!"

Xiu Si squatted down and got close to that guilty face.

"Daily attention and deliberate collection are two different things."

"The former is something that naturally settles down when people live under the same roof. As for the latter—"

The man suddenly said, "You're helping Sasuke with a mission, aren't you?"

Naruto's eyes rolled around.

That's it.

He readily admitted it.

Shuji stood up and went to Gaara's side.

"Naruto and Sasuke's relationship has suddenly improved, Gaara."

"My best friend has found an even better friend!"

He sighed softly.

"This kind of thing happens all the time. The niche of a sworn enemy naturally takes precedence over that of a good friend."

"Give it just one chance, and it will completely transform into seamless cooperation."

Gaara wore a thoughtful expression.

"Can enemies become closer than friends?"

"Yes," Shuuji nodded. "With friends, having one or two topics to talk about is enough."

"As an enemy, especially a powerful one, you must understand their every thought and predict their every move."

"Of course, it's a much closer relationship."

"Gaara, don't listen to Shuji's nonsense!" Naruto jumped up and down in a panic. "I just—I just—"

He frantically searched his mind for a suitable excuse, but the words seemed to have made a pact, refusing to come out at all.

"I just feel that new friends require more time than old friends," Shuuji continued, sowing discord.

"No!"

Gaara calmly replied, "It's alright, Naruto."

His statement pleased Naruto.

"We're still friends, right?"

"Of course, Gaara. Is that even a question?"

"That's fine," Gaara said. "You are my first friend."

Naruto's nose tingled: "Gaara—you too. The first person to truly acknowledge me, to not treat me like an idiot." He still remembered Gaara's outstretched hand when he felt like he was being provoked.

Gaara said, "I will return to Sunagakure. You, who want to become Hokage, need more companions."

"If you can become friends with your strongest competitor, you will definitely succeed."

The more Naruto listened, the more something seemed off.

He noticed that Temari had started looking at him like he was looking at trash.

Kankuro sneered from the side, "That's right. After all, we're just ninjas from Sunagakure. We can't offer much help to the future Hokage."

"Wait—that's not what I meant!" Naruto's voice changed.

Shuji placed his hand on Gaara's head and ruffled his red hair.

"This is the price of growing up. You've become even better, Gaara."

"Shuji-nii, please stop talking!"

Shuji immediately shut his mouth, but gave Naruto a smile.

Temari said coldly, "It's getting late, Naruto. I'll be starting work at the secret service tomorrow, and I have a lot of work to do. Why don't you head back first?"

Kankuro said, "Even Lord Shuji was told to shut up, so let's not give orders to the future Hokage, Temari."

Naruto was extremely anxious when he saw Shuuji turn around.

Naruto immediately pointed at Shuji: "Look at him! Shuji-nii-san has been secretly laughing the whole time!"

"This is his conspiracy!"

Shuji turned his head back, still smiling.

Kankuro remained unmoved: "You were the one who couldn't wait to shift the blame to Gaara just now, Naruto."

Naruto wanted to explain but didn't know how: "That's because—ahhh! I'll remember that, Shuuji-nii!"

He was about to run away.

"Can you come again tomorrow?" Gaara asked.

Naruto remained frozen in his starting position. Several expressions flashed across his face in an instant, and finally he turned around, forcing a smile.

See you at school tomorrow, Gaara.

The footsteps quickly disappeared into the night outside the wall.

Watching Naruto flee in disarray, Shuji said, "That one sentence was truly a fatal blow, Gaara."

Why?

"No one can resist such sincerity."

Gaara asked, "Is it the same for Shuji?"

The man lowered his head and thought for a moment.

"Me?" he said. "I'm probably more anthropomorphic."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged a glance. The word didn't fit their understanding, but neither of them questioned it.

Gaara just looked at Shuuji.

"What is Shuji afraid of?"

The courtyard fell silent.

"—Since when did you start asking questions like this?"

"Since I met you all."

Shuji did not answer his question; instead, he walked to the edge of the veranda and sat down.

"Shuji is very hard on himself," Gaara said.

The red-haired boy gathered up the sand scattered throughout the courtyard. The fine sand flowed along the ground, converging from all directions at his feet, finally curling up quietly into a ball.

"I hope to work in the Joint Affairs Bureau."

The shift in topic wasn't abrupt. Gaara isn't the type to dwell on the same thing over and over again.

"When?" Shuuji's tone returned to its usual gentleness.

"If possible, let's start tomorrow."

"Do you really care about losing a good friend? If you do, just beat up Naruto."

Gaara shook his head.

"I want to know what they're thinking. People of Sunagakure."

"Now is the best time. The Sand Village ninja who hates the secret service, the Sand Village ninja who likes the secret service, and the Sand Village ninja who betrayed Sand Village."

He looked at Xiu Si with his blue-green eyes.

"They are the people I will eventually face, and I am also the people they must face."

"A Jinchūriki who used to be unrestrained and had been away from the village for a long time."

Shuji said, "But this matter doesn't need to be addressed so soon."

Gaara said, "I hope that my fellow countrymen who are about to face their doom will be given a chance, just as I have been given one."

Shuji looked at Temari.

The blonde girl lowered her head, avoiding his gaze. Shuji had originally told her to keep that matter a secret as much as possible.

"Then let's go."

Upon hearing this, Kankuro also made a request: "Mr. Shuji, I—"

"Go ask Maki," Shuuji said.

"what?"

"Although I would be very happy to grant your wish to go out with your sister and brother."

"But if I agree to everything, wouldn't the Sand Village office become the Leaf Village office?"

'

"So, go and apply to Maki yourself."

>