Baki had been the one who asked to see him.
Yet now, standing face-to-face, the Sunagakure jōnin found himself with almost nothing to say.
—How is your health?
—Are you adapting well to the training?
—Is there anything you need?
The questions that finally left his mouth were the most ordinary, routine concerns. Dry and hollow. Even he could hear how colorless they sounded.
What unsettled him even more was Gaara's response.
No silence. No hostility. The red-haired boy simply lifted his turquoise eyes and answered calmly, one line at a time.
"Very well."
"Adapting."
"No."
Each reply was short but complete. Not perfunctory—just… normal.
So normal it made Baki's chest tighten.
Was this really Gaara?
What had Konoha given him?
For a moment, Baki even wondered if the boy in front of him was just a transformation jutsu, some trick by Konoha to deceive him.
Until now, including what he'd just seen, Gaara hadn't used his trademark Sand Manipulation Jutsu even once. Instead, he was trading blows with his fists, striking and defending in solid, deliberate movements.
The thoughts piled up in his mind but stayed there. He didn't dare voice them. He couldn't.
Roshi stood off to the side.
He leaned quietly against the railing, eyes fixed on the training grounds below, as if politely giving them space to talk.
But at this distance, Baki knew he could hear every word.
Phrases like "remember your identity" or "don't forget where you come from"—in this atmosphere, he couldn't force out even one.
"...That's good, then," Baki managed in the end.
Gaara waited a few seconds, making sure Baki had nothing more to add. Then he gave a small nod and turned to walk over to Roshi.
Roshi was still looking down.
He watched Sasuke move, and he watched Naruto move.
Both boys had noticed him. The difference was that after Sasuke shifted his position a few steps, he withdrew back into his own brooding silence.
The blond one jumped, waved at him, then, after receiving a nod from Roshi, went back to what he was doing.
"Naruto has improved greatly," Gaara said quietly as he came to stand beside him.
Roshi didn't turn his head. "Do you think he's ready to join the Special Training Class now?"
Gaara fell silent for a moment.
"I hope he can join," he said at last, his words slow, as if feeling out each one. "But perhaps... it's better if he doesn't join right now."
Roshi turned his face slightly to look at him.
Meeting his gaze, Gaara went on, "He is... my... friend."
"I want Naruto to achieve his wishes. He wants to join the special training class to become stronger and to prove himself." Gaara's eyes dropped back to the field. "But his ultimate goal is to become the champion of the Martial Arts Tournament, to become Hokage."
"So..."
He searched for the most accurate words.
"The pace of the special training class right now is too fast. If Naruto joins now, he'll just get swept up in the race and ignore what he truly needs to improve."
"He'll only focus on winning—and forget how not to lose."
As Roshi listened, the usual stillness on his face eased, a faint warmth surfacing beneath the calm.
He lifted a hand and gently patted Gaara's shoulder.
"You've already learned to think about 'what's better' from someone else's perspective, Gaara."
Gaara raised his head.
He didn't smile, but the tension in his cheeks loosened slightly, the hard line of his mouth softening.
Sunlight slid into his eyes, laying a thin, hazy glow across them.
A short distance away, Baki stood watching.
He was supposed to be here, yet it somehow felt like he didn't belong.
He and Gaara were the ones from Sunagakure, but right now, he felt strangely unnecessary.
Especially when it came to these topics—about comrades, about growth, about how to become a better person.
A tight, stifling awkwardness pressed down on Baki's chest.
He didn't even dare imagine how Gaara, if he went back to Sunagakure now—to that land of ceaseless sandstorms where everyone had always seen him as a monster—would look at everything there.
Or how he would see… Sunagakure itself, after being treated like that.
"Temari and Kankuro," Baki heard himself say, his voice dry. "They're in class now too, right? May I… go see them, Roshi?"
"Of course."
Roshi raised his hand. From the corner of the corridor, Ebisu stepped into view, the lenses of his sunglasses catching the light.
"Ebisu-san, please escort Jōnin Baki."
"Yes."
Ebisu bowed, then moved aside to lead the way. Baki followed, his footsteps heavy. As they neared the end of the corridor, he looked back—
Roshi and Gaara, one tall and one short, stood side by side at the railing, their backs drenched in sunlight.
Baki turned away.
His footsteps gradually faded, vanishing around the stairwell corner.
Gaara kept his gaze on the training field and asked quietly, "Was Baki worried about me?"
"There are forces now that specifically target Tailed Beasts," Roshi replied. "In a sense, what I'm doing is similar. But you really have become a target. Be careful."
Silence settled over them again.
This time, it was longer and heavier. Yet Gaara's expression wasn't tense; he only looked thoughtful, as if turning something over in his mind.
"Konoha and Sunagakure are different," Gaara said suddenly.
"People here are in a hurry too. Sasuke is in a hurry, Neji is too… A lot of people are in a hurry to get stronger."
"But many talented people… don't seem to be in a hurry."
He pointed toward Shikamaru, who was sparring with Kiba, quickly lost, and then drifted off to stand in a shaded spot that wasn't too hot.
Roshi followed his gaze and let out a quiet chuckle.
"That's because how they see their future is different."
"Shikamaru more or less knows how his path will unfold. He knows where he's starting from. His clan, his intellect—those have already laid down a road for him. Even if he doesn't sprint, it still won't be too bad."
Whether his grades at the Academy are good or bad, as long as he masters what he needs to, it won't really change his future. He can afford to relax, slack off, and just wait.
Roshi's gaze swept over the other students on the training field.
"There are also those who, even with average marks, are confident they'll 'become a ninja.'"
"They know that even if they stay Genin forever, or even if they never become proper shinobi, they can still find a place in Konoha and still live their lives."
His voice dropped slightly.
"But some people don't have that kind of freedom."
"They look ahead to tomorrow, next month, next year—and all they can see might be a dead end."
Gaara listened in silence. After a long pause, he asked, "Was Father that kind of person?"
Roshi didn't answer right away.
He looked toward the distant Hokage Rock, at the stone faces lit by the sun, as if lost in memories.
"Rasa," he said at last, very softly. "He was indeed a man in a hurry."
Gaara lowered his eyes.
"If I go back to Sunagakure and become Kazekage, will I also be in a hurry like Father?"
"Rasa only saw one path," Roshi replied.
"But Sunagakure's future isn't limited to a single road. Even if the goal is just 'making Sunagakure better,' there's more than one way to reach it."
He reached out and rested his hand on Gaara's shoulder again.
"You'll find your own path."
"You won't become him."
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