"Gaara! You're finally back."
The voice came from the very center of Sandthorn City. [T/N: It used to be Shaji City.]
There stood Haku and Kimimaro side by side, both wearing bright, excited smiles.
The two of them had come this time to test the correspondence between the external environment and the distribution of natural energy.
Time had flown by, and in the blink of an eye, five years had already passed.
Kimimaro had now grown into a handsome young man standing at one meter eighty.
As for Haku, it seemed like he had stopped growing, always remaining at a height of one meter sixty.
However, Haku didn't seem to mind this at all.
Gaara lightly leaped down from the air. The sand cushion beneath his feet instantly turned into countless grains of fine sand, which were quickly drawn back into the gourd on his back.
Looking at the familiar companions before him, his tense expression finally eased a little. The corners of his lips even lifted slightly, revealing a rare good mood.
He spoke, "I have some good news to tell you."
Haku and Kimimaro exchanged a glance, then said in unison, "We also have some good news to tell you!"
Gaara's face filled with surprise, and he couldn't help asking, "Could it be that the natural energy distribution here is much higher than in other places?"
Kimimaro, standing to the side, curved his lips into a faint smile and gently shook his head. He didn't try to build suspense and answered directly, "No. Lord Rengoku has returned."
Hearing this, Gaara's originally calm face instantly became incredibly expressive. First came sheer shock, as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
Then that shock quickly turned into uncontrollable joy, and he even lost his composure a little as he shouted, "Really!"
At this moment, Haku, who had been quietly standing beside them, nodded with certainty and said softly, "That's right, it's true. Lord Rengoku successfully crossed space and returned to Konoha this afternoon."
He paused, then explained, "This was personally brought to us by Lord Minato, who came using the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"Since you happened to be out on a reconnaissance mission at the time, Lord Minato didn't go out of his way to notify you."
Haku continued, "And Lord Minato also said that tomorrow morning, he'll take us back to Konoha together."
After hearing all this, Gaara began pacing back and forth quickly on the spot. From his slightly hurried steps, it was obvious that his emotions were still running high.
After a while, he stopped, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "You really didn't have to wait here for me. If you wanted to see Lord Rengoku sooner, you could have gone back ahead of time."
He knew very well that Haku and Kimimaro also deeply missed Lord Rengoku.
Haku smiled faintly and replied gently, "Lord Rengoku just got back today. He must have a lot of things to deal with."
"Even if we rushed back right now, we probably wouldn't be able to help much."
"Better to leave together tomorrow. It's only one extra day of waiting anyway."
At the end, he added, "After all, we're teammates."
Hearing Haku's thoughtful words, the smile on Gaara's face spread even wider.
That warm feeling of being constantly kept in his companions' thoughts made him feel especially good.
Coming back to himself, Gaara said to the two beside him, "Just now, during my reconnaissance, I found that Rasa is completely unable to control Shukaku. Just within this month alone, that tailed beast has already gone out of control multiple times."
At this point, Gaara paused briefly, then added, "Not long ago, it went berserk again and destroyed quite a few buildings in Sunagakure."
Hearing this, Haku, who had been standing quietly to the side, suddenly understood and thought to himself, 'So that's how it is. Now I finally understand why Gaara is so happy.'
Back then, when Gaara was still a jinchuriki, every single day he had to endure Rasa's insults and assassination attempts, while also facing the disgust and fear-filled gazes of countless villagers.
Those days were like a nightmare, unbearable to look back on.
But now the wheel had turned. The once-arrogant Rasa had actually become the jinchuriki of the One-Tail Shukaku, and likewise had no power to control that violent and overwhelming force.
This meant that all the suffering Gaara had endured in the past would now be personally experienced by Rasa, one by one.
Under such circumstances, Gaara would naturally feel a sense of release, and a pleased smile would appear on his face.
At this moment, Kimimaro stepped forward and gently patted Gaara on the shoulder, comforting him, "Lord Rengoku once said that Shukaku isn't all that useful. Compared to it, you're far more valuable."
Of course, Gaara understood what Kimimaro meant. He smiled and nodded, "Mm, don't worry. I know."
———
[Konoha Village, Hot Pot Restaurant]
For the entire evening, everyone ate and drank to their hearts' content, with laughter constantly filling the air.
As the clan head of the Uchiha, someone of high status, he naturally didn't need to pay out of his own pocket.
Even before the gathering had started, thoughtful clan members had already settled the bill for him in advance.
It's worth mentioning that although Rengoku hadn't shown himself for several years, his portrait had always been displayed high upon the Hokage Rock.
And his image was also printed on Konoha's currency, so even before he stepped out of the Uchiha district, sharp-eyed clan members had already recognized him at a glance.
To avoid unnecessary trouble and attention, Rengoku deliberately disguised his appearance when going out.
When others looked at his face, they would only feel as if a hazy shadow covered it, making his true features blurred and impossible to discern clearly.
As night grew deeper, after the group had eaten and drunk their fill, they filed out of the hot pot restaurant one after another.
Most of them headed toward the Uchiha district.
Only Naruto went in a completely different direction from everyone else.
Naruto grabbed Hinata's soft little hands and said his goodbye to her with a serious expression, "Don't worry, Hinata! Next time, once I learn how to do hair buns, I'll definitely style yours beautifully with my own hands!"
Hearing this, Hinata couldn't help lowering her head slightly, her face turning red.
But she still gave Naruto a soft response.
In truth, everyone else present clearly understood the special meaning behind the act of arranging someone's hair. Everyone except the simple and innocent Naruto, who had no clue at all.
Finally, Naruto waved his hand and said happily, "Alright! Then I'll head off first!"
Naruto ran off in a bit of a rush. He had to hurry back and ask his mom why everyone was acting so strangely about this.
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