Naruto: If I ask you to kill Sasuke, you will become a succubus?

I laughed: "Teacher Itachi! You really... you really, really believe in Sasuke."

"Because I know...he's a good kid."

"Actually, he didn't tell me that." Thinking of the memory at that time, I subconsciously touched my lips again: "He didn't say anything at that time... Actually, I can only think about it myself..."

"I'm curious," Teacher Itachi said, "How did you come to this conclusion?"

If I want to explain my mental journey at that time, I have to start from when Sasuke asked me to be shy...

That's too complicated.

"Well, it's a long story, Itachi-sensei. I'll tell you when I have time. Although we've finished talking to Naruto, we still have to apologize to Shikamaru... and thank everyone who came to rescue us... There are still many, many things to do..."

Itachi-sensei was very considerate of me: "Don't worry."

"Well, let's go. As for this matter, since whatever I think may not be right, I might as well ask Sasuke directly next time I meet him why he did that."

"Just ask directly..."

"how?"

"You and he have a really good relationship."

"As long as he's still the Sasuke I know." I paused, "I hope he... doesn't change."

……

After Itachi-sensei and I returned to where everyone was stationed, Naruto and I looked at each other first. I smiled at him and he grinned back at me.

Then, my eyes fell on Shikamaru. Although I wanted to talk to him alone, leaving the people of the Sand Village aside like this would not only be rude, but would also easily arouse suspicion.

Let's talk to Shikamaru after we have negotiated with the people from the Sand Village.

"I'm sorry. When Naruto and Shikamaru found me, I wasn't sure whether all the members of Akatsuki had left. In order to cover up the fact that Itachi was controlled by me, I could only continue to pretend that I was controlled by Itachi, so... I caused harm to them. I heard that Naruto died because of this... I must give him an explanation first." I looked at Grandma Chiyo and Lord Kankuro, "But I should also thank you. Thank you very much for the help of Sand Village."

Kankuro sighed, "No, actually...we didn't do anything."

Granny Chiyo said directly: "If it weren't for the news about my grandson, I wouldn't have come out even if the little girl who was acting as Kazekage begged me. So you don't have to thank me. I didn't come here for you or the One-Tail Jinchuriki - that guy wasn't a ninja from the Sand Village anymore."

"Gaara has a name." I said, "Please don't call him the One-Tail Jinchuriki so disrespectfully."

Grandma Chiyo said unexpectedly: "You are different from what I imagined. I thought that the miko who can see into people's hearts and tricked away the One-Tailed Jinchuriki - well, the woman named Gaara should be a more cunning, colder and smoother person."

"Cheating?... Rather than saying that I tricked Gaara away, it's better to say that you, the Sand Village, didn't realize that you lost such an outstanding genius because of your own arrogance and ignorance."

"Why, you didn't come to thank us? Are you here to quarrel with us?"

"I just hope you can put yourself in their shoes. If someone treated someone you valued like this - for example, if I heard that your grandson is the Scorpion of the Red Sand, would you feel angry and dissatisfied as well?"

Gaara, Shiro, and Neji walked up behind me, and Gaara whispered, "Asaro..."

"It's okay," I turned to smile at him, "I can handle it."

"Hmph." Granny Chiyo looked at him, then at the direction where Naruto was - the people of Konoha were paying close attention to this place. "It's okay for Konoha... They have been naive for too long in a peaceful environment, so it's understandable that they treat Jinchūriki differently, but your attitude towards Jinchūriki in the Hidden Mist Village has become so gentle as well?"

"Konoha treats its Jinchūriki no differently. Naruto is treated the way he is now because of his continued efforts, not because the people of Konoha are better or more reasonable than those of other places. It's because he is unique." I said, "Besides, the Hidden Mist Village is no longer the bloody mist village it used to be."

At this point, I felt like the conversation was drifting away from thanking you, so I tried to pull it back: "Sorry... My job is usually to fight outside, so I'm not very good at diplomatic rhetoric... But anyway, I am indeed grateful to you two."

"This is what I should have done," Kankuro said with a wry smile, "Gaara is our younger brother. He was kidnapped. As an older brother and sister, of course we should do everything we can to rescue him."

We are family, but I, an outsider, need to express my gratitude for helping Gaara...

Kankuro-sama's feelings must be very complicated at this moment.

As I thought about this, I turned back to look at Gaara, wondering if his relationship with his brother had improved.

Gaara whispered to Kankuro, "Thank you."

Kankuro: “!!”

"...And Temari, please convey my thanks to you."

"Why don't you go meet her in person?" Kankuro suggested cautiously, as if the longer his tone was soft enough, the less likely Gaara would reject him. "She must be very worried about you, and would like to meet you and confirm your condition with her own eyes..."

Gaara seemed to need to think about it, and when he didn't answer for a moment, I thought it might be better to let Kankuro talk to him alone later.

"No matter what the intention is, no matter what the reasons are for the two of you to take action, the Sand Village did respond to the request for help from the Mist Village. In order to repay this favor, I promise on behalf of the Mist Village... I will defeat the Red Sand Scorpion and send him to the Sand Village."

Granny Chiyo was startled: "You mean Scorpion?!"

"To be honest, the reason I came to the Land of Grass is because I got the trace of a member of the Akatsuki organization - it was Scorpion of the Red Sand. If the information is correct and we don't expose him and alert him, he will appear tomorrow."

I said, "I didn't know before that he happened to be your grandson, Chiyo-chan, so I was planning to kill him and give him to Kankuro."

Kankuro was stunned: "Eh? Give it to me?"

"Yes, I got the information. Scorpion transformed his body into a puppet. After his death, his body can be completely transformed into a powerful puppet. Lord Kankuro...ah, sorry, I said the wrong thing. Kankuro is an excellent puppeteer. This is the most suitable gift."

Grandma Chiyo angrily said, "You're going to give my grandson away as a gift?!"

"So after knowing that he is your grandson, I changed my mind. I will spare his life."

If I kill the scorpion in front of Grandma Chiyo, she may not help me. Instead, it may become a time bomb. It would be better to tell her that I will help her catch the scorpion. She is more likely to help me.

"But..." I said, "It was Temari-sama who gave the order to rescue, so I will still leave Scorpion to Kankuro. How Scorpion will be decided will all depend on the Kazekage of the Sand Village."

Judging from what Grandma Chiyo said just now, that it was useless for the Kazekage to beg her for help, Temari doesn't seem to be so adept at managing the Sand Village.

But this is easy to understand. She is too young. Many older senior executives are her elders. They have watched her grow up from a child and can't help but look down on her.

If she can make good use of the gift of Scorpion, considering how much Grandma Chiyo values ​​Scorpion, then in the future at least Grandma Chiyo will have to bow to her.

Then the power behind this highly respected elder will at least no longer hinder Temari.

Moreover, Scorpion was a traitor, so even if he was killed, Granny Chiyo wouldn't be able to say anything. But I am willing to spare his life, which can be considered a gift to Granny Chiyo.

Kankuro widened his eyes in slight surprise. He had obviously figured this out. How could Grandma Chiyo not react?

"Heh..." She laughed. I wasn't sure if she was laughing out of anger. "Temari has found a good ally."

Granny Chiyo looked at me seriously and said, "Can you promise that Scorpion will be handed over alive to our Sand Village?"

"No one can guarantee the outcome of the battle 100%, but I will do my best. I also hope that the two from the Sand Village can do their best to help us achieve our common goal."

"Kankurō!" Granny Chiyo said sternly, "What are you still standing there for! Go and rest your puppets and prepare for battle tomorrow!"

Kankuro: “Eh? Ah…”

He looked at Gaara hesitantly, "…Gaara, I want to talk to you alone."

Gaara said calmly, "What do you want to talk about? If you want me to go back to the Sand Village, forget it."

"...No, as an older brother, I just want to know how my younger brother is doing out there."

Gaara hesitated, "Where shall we talk?"

Seeing that he agreed, Kankuro was overjoyed and said, "Granny Chiyo, I will go to you to sort out the equipment as soon as I finish talking to Gaara!"

He pointed in another direction and said, "Let's go for a walk in the forest over there."

The matter of Sand Village has been resolved, and I finally face Konoha again.

Shikamaru smiled at me and said, "You are very handsome, as expected of the person in charge of the insect nest of the Hidden Mist Village."

Naruto was stunned: "Wow - the way Chaolu spoke just now... I have never seen Chaolu like that before..."

I laughed awkwardly and said, "Please spare me. I'm really not good at diplomatic rhetoric, so I just say what I want to say directly. If anything goes wrong, Bai will help me make up for it. Mr. Zabuza said that it's fine for me to be like this, so I don't need to change. I will just be responsible for exerting pressure during negotiations, hahahahaha."

"Cough." Bai coughed dryly behind me, reminding me that the negotiation plan of the Hidden Mist Village was somewhat confidential and should not be disclosed casually.

"But..." I whispered, "They all know my true self. I can't pretend in front of them..."

"So," Shikamaru smiled, "are we going to talk about the thank you gift to Konoha now?"