Naruto : Akatsuki Bizzare Strategist!

After hearing Naruto's speech, Gaara felt deeply moved.

As for exactly why he was moved, he would need to think of a reason later.

For now, the mere fact that Naruto had opened his heart to him was already enough.

"Uh… what Naruto means is that, as a jinchūriki, if you ever feel too much pressure, Lord Kazekage, you can use his methods to relieve some stress instead of letting everything build up inside."

Sensing the increasingly strange atmosphere, Kakashi's mind raced before he stepped forward and supplied an explanation for Naruto.

Nobody present truly believed it.

Still, it gave everyone a graceful way to move on.

At last, they reached the actual subject.

Promoting Sage Mode.

Not that Sage Mode promotion sounded particularly respectable either.

And after Naruto's disastrous opening performance, any discussion of its training method sounded even less respectable than usual.

"W-what?"

Gaara instinctively assumed Naruto was still joking with him.

He turned toward Kakashi for confirmation, only to see Kakashi nod, indicating that Naruto was completely serious.

"If necessary, Konohamaru and I can demonstrate the method," Kakashi added.

"That won't be necessary. I believe Naruto."

Gaara interrupted him before he could finish and stared directly at Naruto.

"Naruto, who do you think would be suitable to become Sunagakure's senjutsu instructor?"

"Uh… heh-heh. If you ask me that…"

Naruto scratched his head and laughed awkwardly under Gaara's intense gaze.

He barely knew any Sunagakure ninja.

How the hell was he supposed to answer?

"I think you should select a group of outstanding ninja and have them all train together. That's what Iwagakure did.

"Whoever succeeds first can become the village's senjutsu instructor."

After thinking for a moment, Naruto offered a solution.

"Outstanding ninja…"

Gaara considered it.

"Then I should be able to train too, shouldn't I?"

The moment Sage Mode had first been mentioned, Temari had immediately remembered the temporary experience Makoto once gave her.

Gaara, meanwhile, had only just remembered that he had experienced something similar as well.

That was the difference between how highly certain people ranked in someone's heart.

In every possible sense.

"Of course you can!"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"But Gaara, you need to remember that you're a jinchūriki. While practicing Sage Mode, you absolutely must not allow your Tailed Beast to participate."

"A Tailed Beast can't replace a summon as a senjutsu assistant."

With a completely solemn expression, Naruto repeated the misinformation Kurama had fed him.

"Is that so? I understand."

Gaara nodded slightly.

"My relationship with Shukaku is no longer particularly bad. He shouldn't interfere with my training."

The "senjutsu" Gaara had previously experienced through Makoto consisted of pure natural energy.

It was fundamentally different from Sage Mode, which combined natural energy with chakra.

Therefore, Gaara had no way to determine whether Naruto's explanation was true.

And if he could not tell?

Naturally, he would trust Naruto without reservation.

What else was he supposed to do?

"Um… you all keep talking. I have something to handle, so I'll leave first."

Temari awkwardly threw out an excuse and departed.

Nobody stopped her or questioned it.

It was true that both men and women could practice Sage Mode.

But that only applied while discussing the theory.

Once the practical training began, some privacy was still necessary.

After Temari left, Naruto visibly relaxed.

For some reason, he always felt uncomfortable when girls were present.

Being alone with other boys was much more relaxing and natural.

Besides, the way Temari had been staring at him reminded Naruto of Sakura.

It was the kind of look that said she wanted to beat him half to death and knock the shit straight out of him.

"Naruto, remember our bet. Kakashi is serving as our witness, and I trust his impartiality. I'll be leaving too."

Tokiwa left that sentence behind and followed Temari out of the training ground.

Tokiwa was a middle-aged woman, so her situation was naturally different from Temari's.

Even if she remained and watched the men train, they would be the ones who should feel embarrassed.

That was precisely why she could not stay.

She needed to leave Naruto and Gaara enough room to perform freely.

After catching up to Temari, Tokiwa openly explained the bet she had made with Naruto and invited her to help witness it.

In essence, she wanted Temari's cooperation.

The training ground was only a temporary location.

Tokiwa did not believe they would actually begin practicing Sage Mode outdoors in broad daylight.

Surely they would find a private room.

Tokiwa was unfamiliar with Sunagakure, so she needed a local guide—preferably one with status and authority—if she wanted to monitor Naruto's group.

Temari was curious but too embarrassed to watch personally.

Tokiwa could handle the observation and describe everything afterward.

Everyone would get what they wanted.

A perfect win-win arrangement.

…

Back at the training ground, Kankurō looked suspiciously at Naruto after hearing Tokiwa mention a bet.

"A bet? What bet?"

"It's… it's about how long it'll take me to teach you Sage Mode. Yeah, that's it."

Naruto strained so hard to produce the excuse that he looked constipated.

Afraid Kankurō might question him further, he hurriedly turned toward Kakashi and Konohamaru.

"Kakashi-sensei, Konohamaru, Konoha and Sunagakure are allies! And Gaara and I are beloved friends and family! We have to do everything we can to help them master Sage Mode as quickly as possible!"

"…"

"Kakashi-sensei, Konohamaru, listen…"

When neither responded, Naruto pulled them both close and began whispering.

The terms of the bet had been discussed publicly.

But only Kakashi and Konohamaru knew what had later been added as the wager.

"Our next destination is Kirigakure. I heard they've been heavily developing beach resorts, and even Granny Chiyo from Sunagakure went there on vacation.

"Whoever loses the bet has to cover every expense for the winner's entire stay in Kirigakure…"

"…What does that have to do with us?"

Kakashi and Konohamaru exchanged glances.

Still, the mention of a vacation immediately tempted them.

They had been sleeping outdoors and traveling halfway around the shinobi world.

They deserved to enjoy themselves a little.

"When I spend the money, you two can enjoy everything with me."

Naruto raised his chin proudly.

"That works? Naruto-aniki, you're—"

"Wait, Konohamaru."

Kakashi grabbed Konohamaru, who had genuinely begun discussing the idea with Naruto, and shook his head.

Only then did Konohamaru realize something was wrong.

Naruto was currently pretending that the bet concerned Sage Mode training.

But the real bet was about whether Gaara was a bond-type shinobi.

They could at least work hard to improve their chances of mastering Sage Mode.

But when it came to Gaara's bonds…

The intelligent Kakashi and Konohamaru already believed the outcome had been decided.

The two exchanged looks and sighed.

Fine.

They would agree for now and see what Naruto planned to do next.

Once they nodded, Naruto turned around in satisfaction and faced Gaara and Kankurō.

"Alright, they agreed!

"Gaara, I'll teach you personally. Konohamaru, you teach Kankurō. Kakashi-sensei, you can handle everyone else~"

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