Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 372 The Welcome Ceremony of Sunagakure

The village, surrounded by yellow sand, seemed easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the high walls also restricted their development. Once inside the rock walls, one had a strong feeling of being trapped here.

The arrival of the three Konoha ninja stirred up the stagnant waters, and the previously still defensive forces suddenly began to move. Although Konoha and Sunagakure had ostensibly formed an alliance, this alliance stemmed from Sunagakure's crushing defeat in the Second Shinobi World War. The resource-scarce Land of Wind could not support the enormous expenses of training ninjas, so it had no choice but to negotiate peace with the Land of Fire, forming an alliance by ceding some of Sunagakure's resources.

The feelings of Sunagakure towards Konoha are very complex. The hatred of the older generation can easily be passed on to the younger generation, but they did lose their previous Kazekage in the Konoha Crush plan, and it was through Konoha that they learned the truth, thus preventing a greater tragedy from occurring.

Naruto, being a sensory-type, sensed the immense scale of the event as soon as he entered the village, and felt a strange sense of awe. He hadn't received this kind of treatment before; even the most unapproachable elders of Sunagakure treated him with deference. However, he didn't tell his teammates about this, instead quietly following behind the guide to avoid provoking anyone's sensitive nerves.

Before the group even reached the Kazekage Building, a sandstorm suddenly swept through the street. When they opened their eyes again, Gaara had indeed arrived.

Gaara looks much taller, and he's already wearing that deep red undershirt and Sunagakure-style vest. He looks exactly like the young Kazekage he remembers. But why are those dark circles under his eyes still so heavy? Is Shukaku still bothering him?

The arrival of the soon-to-be Kazekage startled Dingza, but he naturally saw the direction the other party glanced in upon arrival and immediately understood.

The reputation of Konoha might not be enough to warrant the Kazekage's personal audience; this young Kage was clearly there for Naruto.

"Welcome to Sunagakure Village."

"It is an honor to have Lord Kazekage come to receive me."

Gaara only turned his gaze to the team leader after seeing the smile on Naruto's face, and gave a very businesslike welcome. Then the scene became awkwardly tense.

The main problem is... Ding Zuo is quite old and has never seen anything like this before. He really doesn't know how to respond!

"From now on, I'll have to call you Lord Kazekage. Haven't I given you your promotion gift yet?" At this moment, Naruto stepped forward without hesitation to save his captain from dire straits.

Gaara seemed quite uncomfortable, even a little anxious, and said, "Naruto, you are my friend, and I still hope you can call me by my name directly. Gifts are not important; your presence at my inauguration ceremony is the best gift."

"The time has been confirmed? It's coming soon?"

Gaara nodded, almost naturally leading them towards the Kazekage Building. "The inauguration ceremony will be held before the Chunin Exams, and I was originally planning to invite you... to stay and watch the ceremony."

"Great! I haven't properly attended the Shadow's inauguration ceremony yet. I have to stay and learn from this; it might come in handy later."

"...Wasn't it you and Jiraiya who invited Lady Tsunade back?" Choza, who had almost become a background character, spoke up defiantly.

"I was at the hospital at the time, I didn't see it."

"Are you injured?"

"No, that's too strong. Even I can't handle it."

With Naruto's interruption, the awkward atmosphere disappeared, and the Kazekage and the Konoha ninjas walked happily down the streets of Sunagakure, which could be considered a pleasant story.

Mission handovers normally require a closed space, but hunting down rogue ninjas isn't exactly a top secret. Gaara didn't want Naruto to go through the trouble of writing that lousy report after his long journey, so he only asked about Centipede's situation before taking the mission briefing back. They turned a corner at the Kazekage Building and checked into the nearest VIP hotel.

It wasn't until Gaara was summoned away by his subordinates that Choza finally snapped out of his unease and immediately decided to return to his old friends to recount his experience. To be personally greeted by one of the Five Kage of another country was an immense honor, even if the other was a young man who hadn't yet officially assumed office; it was a privilege most ninjas would only dream of in their lifetime. He was actually benefiting from Naruto's influence; he hadn't expected Naruto and the Kazekage to have such a good relationship, even covering up the ambiguous situation of Naruto's disappearance.

"The desert jerky tastes pretty good, but it's a bit tough on the teeth." Naruto happily munched on the snacks Gaara had generously provided, then turned around to find one of his teammates secretly eyeing him and the other engrossed in writing and drawing, neither of them eating their pre-meal snacks.

Naruto could guess what Choza was thinking with his eyes closed; what he was more curious about was what Matsuri was writing.

“My brother said I should learn communication skills from you. It’s okay if I can’t learn them all, I can just take notes and learn slowly.” Ji’s tone was particularly serious, but the way she took notes was a bit unique. It was in the form of a comic strip, and she even drew the expressions of the two people greeting each other.

"...Your brother is in the southwest of Sunagakure, about three miles from us." Naruto mentioned something that Ji might be interested in, and sure enough, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Although the Hokage didn't specify a return date, is this delay really okay?" Despite his musings, Choza, a veteran ninja who had worked honestly for most of his life, valued rules and regulations highly. Naruto's decision to allow another village's Kage to stay for two days was indeed a bit excessive.

“It’s alright. It will take us at least two days to run back from Sunagakure to Konoha. If we stay for two days and then use the Thunder God Technique to go back, we won’t be overtime at all, right?” Naruto answered frankly and confidently, which inexplicably reminded Choza of an old friend.

Of course, this "old friend" wasn't Minato, but rather the more unconventional Kushina. She too disliked being tied down, and if she happened to have the opportunity to go on a mission with Minato, she would definitely wander around the surrounding area after the mission was completed before returning home. This always put Minato through a tough time, since coaxing someone home was quite an art.

Well, this is probably what young people should be like. I guess I'm getting old after all.