Chapter 343: Chapter – 339 “This” or [That]
"Normal Conversation" [Secret words hidden in that conversation.]
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Halfway through his way to the guest house of the third section, Kazekage could already see the huge figure of Ichibi raging all over. Realizing his mistake, he sighed, 'It seems that we have no other choice now!'
The appearance of Ichibi implies that Gaara truly failed the test.
Now the biggest problem that Suna will be facing is not only the obvious suppression of Ichibi that is raging and causing destruction but also figuring out how to pass on the news of the death of two messengers to Konoha.
The two messengers have obviously been considered to be dead by now, after all, surviving the attack of a Bijuu is not something just anyone can do! If anything, those two shinobi might as well have been eaten by Ichibi, so finding their corpse would also be next to impossible. This further complicates the problem.
Everyone was worried, even more, worried about the safety of two Konoha messengers rather than the lives of villagers who were in the midst of that chaos caused by Ichibi.
Every time an attack from Ichibi destroyed houses, the earth shook, both people were being trampled on like ants and property was being damaged relentlessly.
Roar!
With another roar, one more block collapsed into ruins.
Just as everyone was about to close in, the figure of Ichibi suddenly came to a halt, he no longer destroyed anything, only a second afterward the figure of Ichibi began to shrink and gradually disappeared.
"What's happening, is Gaara regaining control over Ichibi?" – Including Kazekage, everyone was surprised. That was the only logical conclusion, but neither of them was sure as there were still many buildings obstructing their view as such, they can't know the exact situation.
"Hurry up, maybe the situation is still salvageable." – Everyone nodded to Pakura's words and hurriedly.
The Guest House was already completely destroyed, and the entire third section was a burning mess. But strangely enough, not many corpses were present here, a few were there but that number was too low, probably around a dozen at max.
The number of injured was quite a lot, but those injuries mostly seemed curable, nothing too much.
Everyone was confused, this situation was beyond their cognition. They heard that when Kyuubi went violent in Konoha, or when Hachibi went rogue in Kumo, the number of deaths was astronomical, but only about a dozen here? Such a number was too low, so doubts started to sprout.
One of the Anbu shinobi asked a villager who was conscious, "What happened here, where did the Ichibi go?"
The villager didn't speak much, he just pointed his hand forward.
Chiyo frowned but she did not pressure the guy who might have witnessed the horror of a Bijuu up close.
Everyone rushed in the direction pointed by that villager, and they were highly surprised by what they saw there.
Surprised because hundreds of villagers stood in a semi-circle around a crater, around the same crater at the center of which young Gaara lied unconscious, maybe he was asleep? But also surprised because there stood two shinobi in non-Suna shinobi gear who seemed to be analyzing Gaara's condition.
From their forehead protector, it wasn't hard to judge that these two are Konoha Shinobi.
The expression of both of them seemed very calm, as whatever happened just a few minutes ago did not faze them at all.
Pakura immediately recognized the identity of the two and nodded to herself in understanding why Ichibi was so easily suppressed. Easing her worries, she muttered, "Figures, if the two messengers who came to the village were none other than Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Kuroto."
The expressions of others were not as calm as hers, but they did not have much time to think things through.
The arrival of Rasa was obviously noticed by everyone, and they all immediately ignored Gaara and looked towards their Kazekage, demanding an explanation why such a monster suddenly appeared in the middle of the village, and in the middle of the night no less.
Meanwhile, Pakura took the charge and instructed all the Anbu and Suna Shinobi to clean things up, and Chiyo went to the villagers to explain the situation and take care of their injuries, Kazekage Rasa, himself walked towards the crater.
Perhaps it was because he had forgotten who Uchiha Shisui is that he panicked a little too much.
In the Shinobi world, the name of Uchiha Shisui is currently very loud, much more loud compare to the other three members of Konoha Anbu Team-11.
After all, Uchiha Shisui is undoubtedly one of the strongest Konoha Shinobi. And that's why Rasa too can understand what exactly happened here, and why exactly was Ichibi suppressed before it could cause too many losses to Suna.
At the same time, he can't help but have a deep fear of Mangekyou Sharingan.
Bijuu and their Jinchuriki are the strategic weapons of various Shinobi Villages, and those same strategic weapons that are feared by everyone, including the host villages themselves are nothing in the face of an Uchiha with Mangekyou Sharingan.
Suppressing the uneasiness in his heart, Rasa came over at the center of the crater and glanced at the figure of Gaara was lying unconscious. Only for a moment, his eyes lingered on the wound on Gaara's shoulder then he turned towards Uchiha Shisui and Hyuga Kuroto who stood in silence.
Kazekage Rasa bowed and spoke, "Please forgive me for what happened tonight, I did not expect that the Jinchuriki would suddenly lose control and cause havoc."
Shisui waved his hands to and fro with a flustered expression, "No-no-no, no need to worry Kazekage-dono, a Kage must never bow his head to anyone, much less shinobi of some other village, we of Konoha perfectly understand the risks that come with a Jinchuriki, there is always a possibility that they will lose control and the Bijuu sealed inside will take over, besides, Suna and Konoha are allies, so that's no big deal, we should be glad that nothing too serious happened."
Kazekage nodded with a serious expression, "Indeed, I am grateful for your understanding Shisui-dono, and despite this being a matter completely unrelated to the two of you, and despite not having any need, the two of you suppressed the Ichibi and saved many lives for my village, for that, I, no, for that, Sunagakure will always be grateful of the two of you."
Shisui shook his head, "Ahh, the lives of people were saved by Kuroto-san, I only suppressed Ichibi, the lives of people were saved by him, so if anyone that Kazekage-dono should be grateful to for saving the lives of the people of your village then it is him, not me."
Kazekage looked at Hyuga Kuroto with a surprised expression but bowed nonetheless.
Kuroto nodded and deliberately pointed out indirectly, "It's alright, it was somewhat my fault that the kid lost control in the first place if I hadn't injured him in the act of self-defense, maybe he wouldn't have lost control, so I too apologize for that."
Initially, Kuroto wanted to use Ichibi to cause mayhem over the entire Suna leaving extremely deep scars over the village, similar to what Obito did to Konoha using Kyuubi but considering the upcoming planned raid on Akatsuki Kuroto decided not to. If Suna were to suffer here as seriously as Konoha did, and that too at such a time, then there's no telling what would be Iwagakure's move. The hostility between Suna and Iwa is pretty clear, so the raid planned on Akatsuki might just get limited to Konoha and Kumo, and that would result in failure without a doubt.
So instead of causing any large-scale loss of lives of the people of Sunagakure, Kuroto made sure that Ichibi causes a lot of damage to the property, making things more believable, and Suna still being grateful to the two, besides this way Kuroto and Shisui can play a hero in the hearts of a greater number of people.
People who have faced death up close will always be more grateful to the ones who saved their lives in the face of death.
Hearing Kuroto's words, Kazekage had an awkward expression.
Kazekage expected this to be Uchiha Shisui's work alone, but now it seems that Uchiha Shisui only suppressed Ichibi with a Genjutsu, meanwhile, it was Hyuga Kuroto who did all of the work of saving the lives of the residents.
At the same time, Kazekage's last bit of hesitation in regards to Gaara also disappeared when he looked at the state of the third section.
Next, he instructed two Anbu Shinobi to seal Gaara's Chakra and put him in a prison cell.
With that out of the way, Hyuga Kuroto and Uchiha Shisui were led to another Guest House, where they patiently waited for the Kazekage to take care of all the matters and then visit them.
Kazekage Rasa did not make Kuroto and Shisui wait for too long, and soon after dealing with all the matters as well as passing on the instructions to Pakura as well as other elders, he came to the Guest House.
"Thank you for waiting." – Rasa said.
Kuroto and Shisui nodded, "It's alright… we are thankful that Kazekage-dono can make some time in his schedule."
Kazekage nodded, and then questioned, "So, I was informed that you both are here with Hokage-dono's message regarding the Joint Chunin Exams, is that right?"
Kuroto and Shisui looked at each other, then Kuroto took out his scroll from his shinobi bag, and passed it on to Kazekage, "This scroll enlists the details of the Joint Chunin Exam proposed by Hokage-sama."
Rasa nodded and took the scroll from Kuroto's hands. After making sure that the Scroll was not rigged, he made a particular hand seal that lifted the seal on the scroll. Next, he unfolded the scroll and read the content.
As he read through the content, Kazekage's face showed a mix of a lot of expressions, from his initial confusion to a serious expression, then to a surprise which soon turned into shock.
Rasa was most surprised by the news of the death of Hanzo of the Salamander.
Why are other Shinobi Villages unwilling to provoke Amegakure? Obviously because of the existence of Hanzo, even if the man might have gotten old compared to his youth, but he still had enough name and fear that nobody wants to cause trouble in Amegakure if they don't have to.
And now Kazekage is learning that Hanzo is dead, dead for quite a few years, and dead at the hands of the leader of the Akatsuki Organization, it is natural for him to be shocked.
With a serious expression, Rasa lifted his head, and asked the two, "Is the news true and verified?"
Kuroto and Shisui nodded, "The news is true and verified, for this reason, Hokage-sama has the following plans that are enlisted in the scroll, please read them carefully, we must hurry as soon as we can, otherwise it will be too late."
Kazekage nodded and continued reading the information.
Because of the existence of Sasori, there is simply no possibility of reconciliation between Sunagakure and Akatsuki.
For one, Sandaime Kazekage was his Sensei (Assumed) so avenging his Sensei's murder is necessary, as such he must get rid of Sasori.
After reading the entire information on the scroll, Rasa destroyed it immediately then spoke after some consideration, "So aside from us and Konoha, only Kumo is in talks with in regards to the participation in the joint Chunin Exams?" [So aside from us and Konoha, only Kumo will be part of the raid on Akatsuki?]
Kuroto nodded, "The reasons for not approaching Kirigakure and Iwagakure, as well as other shinobi villages for the joint Chunin Exams, should have been described in the scroll." [The reason why Kirigakure and Iwagakure as well as other shinobi villages are not to be approached should have been described in the scroll.]
Rasa nodded, there was no further need to describe. He has already read that there are details of Akatsuki having some contacts with Iwagakure and Kirigakure, so neither of these two shinobi villages can be trusted for Hokage's plans.
"And is the matter of 'Hiding like a Mole Technique' true? Who is going to be the candidate?" [Is the information about spies true? Who is Sasori's spy in Suna?]
"Unsure, but Hokage-sama hopes that one of the Jonin of Suna can do so." – answered Kuruto. [Not exactly sure, but is one of the Jonin of your village.]
Kazekage nodded, "I will think about it." [I will check and confirm.]
Shisui said, "Please do not reveal the matter of 'Hiding like a Mole Technique' to anyone before the Chunin exams commence, we want to keep it a secret until the first round of Chunin exams is finished" [Please do not reveal the matter of the spy until the raid on Akatsuki is over, we do not want to alert Akatsuki before that by any means.]
Kazekage thought about it and nodded, "It seems reasonable, alright." Then Kazekage took out a scroll and after writing a response on the scroll he sealed it and passed it on to Kuroto, "Pass on this scroll of Hokage-dono, we of the Suna agree to participate in the Joint Chunin Exams, for some further discussions I will personally meet Hokage-dono at the agreed time and place to discuss the specific action plan." [Alright we of Suna agree to participate in the Raid against Akatsuki, and to discuss the specific action plan I will personally meet Hokage-dono.]
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Read up to Chapter - 593 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations
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Chapter 344: Chapter – 340 Gaara’s Execution
Next Morning, Sunagakure.
Inside a dark prison cell, a young kid sat in the shadows with his hands around his knees and his face buried between his legs.
This kid is obviously Gaara, the youngest child of Yondaime Kazekage, the Jinchuriki of Ichibi.
After his maternal uncle's failed assassination attempt and the poisonous words from him, Gaara fell into darkness and swore to live only for himself, to only love himself.
It matters not if he was hated by the world for being a monster…
If they think he is a monster then he will be the worst monster they could have ever imagined.
When the two messengers from Konoha came to Sunagakure Gaara once spotted them from afar. From the way they were being treated it seemed as if both of them are pretty important. And when Gaara wanted to destroy Sunagakure he thought to start with by killing the two important Konoha Shinobi, this way even if he fails to destroy the village on his own, Konoha will obviously not forgive Suna.
But unfortunately, his big plan stopped even before it began. His impenetrable sand armor was easily broken through by one of them while the other suppressed him using a mere Genjutsu.
What happened today made Gaara feel powerless and hopeless, with the utter defeat Gaara even lost the qualifications to be a monster that he is feared as.
At the same time, he fell into confusion… He is unable to think anything, he can't understand why he was born? What is the purpose of his existence? If he doesn't have any qualification to be loved and also doesn't have the qualification to be hated, then why does he exist in the first place?
Does it really matter whether he is alive or dead???
Gaara can't think of anything, nothing matters to him anymore… life, death, love, hate… nothing… he felt empty within… it's as if his spiritual sustenance has already collapsed.
If Gaara was in such turmoil then why did Ichibi not take over?
Two reasons:
First, because Gaara's chakra is currently sealed, and until that seal is lifted nothing can be done, not even the Bijuu's chakra can be accessed.
The second reason, Ichibi was obviously afraid of the Mangekyou Sharingan of the shinobi named Uchiha Shisui, so he dared not take over the boy's body and silently sat within while he also watched the boy's thoughts who seemed to be in deep thoughts pondering over the purpose of his existence.
At this moment, the gate of the cell was opened and Kazekage Rasa walked in.
Nobody followed him, he wanted some time alone with the child.
Gaara heard the sound of the cell opening but he did not bother to raise his head to see who has come, it didn't matter to him.
Kazekage looked at Gaara, who was curled up in a dark corner, it seemed that the child had already blended with darkness, became part of the emptiness.
Rasa had a surge of various emotions on his face, for a moment there was a cold face, filled with killing intent to execute Gaara here and now, then at the next moment, there were traces of hesitation.
Rasa's responsibilities as the Kazekage were conflicting with his identity as Gara's father.
Gaara's loss of control over his emotions disappointed him, and the disappointment was only worse when he was casually suppressed by Uchiha Shisui alone.
As the Kazekage, Rasa knows that Suna can no longer afford Gaara's existence. Every time Gaara rampages it brings great losses to Suna. The only excuse he has been using to keep Gaara alive was his worth as a weapon… but that too seemed useless.
'It's time to finish this all!' – Rasa suppressed his parental side for his duties of the Kazekage, for the sake of his village Gaara can no longer be allowed to live.
With his expression turned into indifference, Rasa asked Gaara, "Are there any lasts words that you have?"
But Gaara was silent, he did not even bother to lift his head, nor did he care, or perhaps he did not even notice Rasa's existence because his mind was clouded with emptiness.
Rasa waited, but receiving no reply from Gaara, he turned around and left.
Around half an hour later, a team of Anbu came to the prison cell and took Gaara outside. The indifferent Child posed no resistance, nor did he have any power to resist.
Being dragged along all the way, the team of Anbu brought Gaara outside the village and tied him to a wooden pillar in the middle of the desert.
On a distant Sand Dune, Rasa, Chiyo, Ebizo, Pakura as well as some other elders of the Suna Council stood, looking at the child tied to the wooden pillar.
This part of the desert is Suna's execution rounds, and Gaara is brought here to be executed of course.
If it was a few days ago, even if Gaara had failed the test, Rasa might not have been so much anxious to execute Gaara, but with him agreeing to participate in the "Joint Chunin Exams" Suna will make declare open enmity towards Akatsuki Organization, and who knows how much troubles will be followed then. In such a Suna can not keep Gaara who can so easily lose control over himself alive, the danger of Uchiha Shinichi is too much. Moreover, with one of the Jonin being a traitor, there is no telling what might happen. So Gaara has to be executed.
After tying Gaara to the wooden pillar, the Anbu team immediately rushed back.
At this time, Rasa spoke out loud for Gaara to hear, "Gaara, for the act of killing shinobi and the people of the village, you are to be executed, are there any last wishes that you have before y our death?"
"..." – No response.
Rasa waited for exactly two minutes and receiving no reply from Gaara, he signaled towards the Anbu vice-captain, "Execute him!"
The vice-captain of the Anbu nodded and signaled the team of Anbu waiting for the call.
Sunagakure's method of executing people is very simple.
The method involves tying the person at the wooden pillar then raining hundreds of Shuriken on him.
The Anbu upon receiving the signal immediately shot hundreds of Shuriken on Gaara.
Gaara who stood alone in the middle of the desert did not even flinch upon noticing the incoming rain of Shurikens and there was even a trace of relief on his face, 'Perhaps death is the only meaning left for me.'
But the Bijuu sealed inside him did not think the same, he did not want to die… even if nine Bijuus are masses of Chakra and will eventually come back to life but this does not mean that they are willing to accept death.
Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh… Whoosh…
Feeling threatened for his life, Ichibi roared, cursed, threatened, and struggled so much, but ultimately to no avail. He was unable to take control of Gaara's body.
Pierce… blood-splattered… cut… tuk… tuk... pierce… pierce… pierce… pierce…
First the heart… then at the hands… legs… chest… in the left eye, then the right eye… left thigh, right thigh… one after another Shuriken pierced through the child, cutting through the flesh, splattering blood… over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and… leaving no part of his body intact.
But no trace of struggle… Only a relief as his breath ceased to exist, all signs of life disappeared…
"It's over…" – murmured Rasa.
But it was far from over… as soon as Gaara died, raging winds started blowing all over the desert… soon a storm started with that wooden post as the center started… the storm soon turned into a sand storm… so large and so massive that it seemed that nothing would survive in it, yet it was not doing any damage… but the storm was uncontrollable.
"What's happening…? Did he not die?" – one of the elders questioned while trying to maintain his balance amidst the raging storm winds.
Pakura who was nearby sensed and then said, "No, he is dead… Look around, the Sand storm is not doing any damage… nor…"
Chiyo said, "Perhaps it's the result of Ichibi's death? Bijuus are forces of nature… and it's possible that there are some effects upon their death… So, it's possible that the desert is mourning Ichibi's death."
Following Chiyo's words, everyone thought about it and it seemed reasonable…
After some time passed, the sandstorm subsided and the surroundings returned to silence.
Kazekage instructed the Anbu, "Verify if he is dead or not."
The Anbu captain nodded and went forward with a team of Anbu following behind her.
Pakura went forward and verified, Gaara was still tied to the wooden pillar was indeed dead… his body no longer had any signs of life.
After verifying this, she returned back and nodded, "He is indeed dead…"
Rasa sighed and spoke with some complex emotions, "Burn his body… do not even leave the ashes…"
Pakura nodded and signaled the Anbu shinobi to do so.
With that out of the way, Kazekage and several others turned around and left.
Nobody noted the cold smirk that Pakura had at this moment, 'Manipulating the Suna elders to execute Gaara?! I hope you know what you are doing Kuroto-sama!'
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Read up to Chapter - 594 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations
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