Chapter 248: Gaara
Sand Village.
In the high-level meeting room.
Several elders were fiercely debating the question of whether Gaara was suitable to be the Kazekage.
"In the history of our Sand Village, there is no precedent for a Jinchuriki to serve as 'Kazekage'," a young advisor said with a tight frown. "To rashly set such a precedent in the ninja world is probably not good. There is the warning example of the Mist Village—"
"Yura, as a young person, you are too bound by conventions. Besides, the Mist Village has always been mysterious, and their intelligence is not necessarily credible," Ebizō interrupted him with dissatisfaction and looked around. "Elders and advisors, after these few days of discussion, I think we should at least have formed one consensus, and that is..."
He paused for a moment, his old but still firm gaze sweeping over the people sitting in the meeting room, and said slowly, "...Gaara is indeed the best candidate for the Sand Village to serve as the next Kazekage at this time."
The several elders who opposed Gaara raised their eyebrows, but they could not say anything to object.
Regarding the issue of the next Kazekage, they had already discussed, and even argued, for several days.
There was little progress on the issue.
Apart from everyone reaching a consensus that everyone other than Gaara was even less suitable to serve as Kazekage, the rest of the content had just been a repeated seesaw battle these past few days.
No one could convince anyone else.
Of course, for an issue that concerned the future and destiny of the Sand Village, no amount of caution was too much.
The opposition's reasons were very sufficient: after all, Gaara's previous performance was quite alarming. His killing intent was too strong, his thoughts were tyrannical and extremely unstable, just like an anti-social element. Taking into account that he was the One-Tail Jinchuriki, his unstable mental state made people extremely worried that Gaara would lose control and release "Shukaku," bringing endless disaster!
If such a person became the Kazekage, it was really hard to predict whether it would be a blessing or a curse for the Sand Village.
The several high-ranking officials who supported Gaara, on the other hand, valued the change that had occurred in Gaara after he had returned from Konoha: he seemed to have become more "human" and had begun to value his comrades.
Especially Ebizō and Chiyo, who had only recently come out of retirement. Gaara's past cruelty and bloodthirstiness were only things they had heard about. The Gaara they had seen with their own eyes during this recent period was a humble and calm youth, with no trace of his past tyranny. Naturally, they didn't feel there was any problem with Gaara.
On the other hand, the identity of a Jinchuriki also guaranteed that Gaara's strength could reach the Kage-level, and the Sand Village currently couldn't even find a few people of this level. Even Baki was a little short. Therefore, Gaara's identity was, on the contrary, an advantage!
No one could convince anyone else.
Since the number of opponents and supporters was about the same, it was also impossible to vote on this issue through a "minority-obeys-the-majority" resolution.
The high-ranking officials, whether they supported or opposed Gaara, had begun to grow tired of the endless debate.
For a moment, everyone stopped talking and was silently thinking about something.
"Everyone, I see that if we continue to discuss this, we won't make any progress even if we argue for another month. Ebizō and I did not come out of retirement to quarrel. Since that's the case, I have a compromise proposal," Chiyo suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence, and said faintly.
"Why don't we postpone the decision on the Kazekage candidate for another year. Isn't Gaara applying to join the regular forces? It's a good opportunity to observe him there for a period of time, and also to give the other new talents time to grow. After a year, we can discuss the Kazekage candidate again!"
"Drag it out for another year?" a voice questioned.
Chiyo nodded and explained, "That's right. In the coming year, the village's main task is to bide its time, recuperate, and fully cultivate the new generation. So even without a Kazekage for this year, the village's operation will not have too many problems. This is better than us hastily choosing an unsuitable Kazekage!"
The questioning elder hesitated for a moment, pondered for a moment, and then said, "One year... alright. The village can still wait for another year!"
The crowd whispered to each other for a while. Very quickly, this compromise idea was recognized by the majority. "Seconded." / "Seconded." / "Agreed!" / ... / "I agree!"
After reaching a consensus, the minor details were quickly approved.
Then Gaara was directly summoned. Baki personally handed the letter of appointment for the regular forces into the hands of the youth with the dark circles under his eyes.
"Gaara, your application has been approved. From today on, you are a member of the Sand's regular forces!" Baki said, looking at his student, his voice as hard and cold as ever.
"Thank you, sensei," Gaara said, bowing slightly to Baki and calmly accepting the scroll and identification.
"Work hard in the regular forces," Baki said, patting Gaara's shoulder forcefully. He was not good with words, and even worse at expressing his emotions. He just gave Gaara a deep look, sincerely encouraged him, and then said, "Alright, you can go."
Gaara then nodded in greeting to the high-ranking officials present one by one, turned, and was about to leave.
"Wait a minute, Gaara!" Chiyo suddenly spoke up, stretching out a hand like a withered branch and calling out to Gaara. "Can you tell us why you want to join the regular forces..."
She had just noticed that many people in the meeting room were quite disapproving of this appointment. The few high-ranking officials in charge of leading the regular forces were precisely those few opponents who disliked Gaara.
In their eyes, Gaara was probably just a terrifying weapon that was easy to lose control of?
Chiyo's brow furrowed tightly. She had originally thought that Gaara going to the regular forces was just a move to temper himself and, by the way, to improve his own reputation. However, if his superiors themselves were prejudiced against him, and everyone else in the unit was afraid of him...
Then it might not be tempering, but torture.
So Chiyo really wanted to know why Gaara, knowing full well that the higher-ups were prejudiced against him, still chose to join the forces.
"...In a situation where everyone is prejudiced against you or fears you?"
Hearing Chiyo's question, Gaara's steps suddenly stopped.
"A year ago, the connection between me, the village, and everyone else was only hatred and fear... I once thought this was a good thing," he said, stopping at the door of the meeting room, his head slightly turned. "But after going to the Land of Fire, my way of thinking was changed by some people... Now, I hope to gain the recognition and bonds of my comrades, and to no longer live a lonely life."
He turned around. Deep within his calm eyes, a fiery passion was hidden.
"I know that to change everyone's view of me is a very long-term and very painful thing. But if I do nothing, a lonely life path will be even longer and more painful for me..."
A person, after all, cannot live alone.
Gaara had tasted too much of the pain of loneliness. It was a feeling that was more unbearable than all other sufferings.
"To join the regular forces, to gain everyone's recognition, to establish a bond with the village. This is my current thought..."
The few people present were somewhat surprised, and even a little touched... to think that Gaara would say such a thing. This was a little different from the murderous demon in their impression.
The Jinchuriki, who had once been full of hostility, the tyranny in his eyes was gone. He had now become much more peaceful, with a bit more of a "human" feel.
The gourd he carried on his back, which had once been soaked in blood and had exuded a bone-chilling smell of blood, now seemed to have faded.
When that face, which had always been twisted to the point of being ferocious, had calmed down, and his bloodshot eyes had regained their clarity, and the texture of his chakra had become as soft as fine sand, as if carrying the fragrance of the earth, someone finally realized that the Gaara standing in this meeting room, after shedding that layer of hostility, was such a clean youth.
And so, someone finally discovered what Gaara, who had been deeply contemplating his own destiny for the past six months, had finally figured out.
"Gaara, you..." someone suddenly asked, "do you want to be the Kazekage?"
Gaara was silent for a moment.
"Yes. To become the Kazekage is my goal," he said with a nod.
His expression was still indifferent, without excitement or joy. It was just that when he said this, there was a bit more solemnity.
"Is that so..." The person who had asked the question fell silent, lowered his eyelids, and said no more.
"You may leave, Gaara."
The door of the meeting room was closed with a bang.
Gaara's figure gradually receded into the distance. Left behind were the elders, who had fallen into deep thought.
The long-held stereotype of Gaara would not suddenly change because of one meeting, but...
The seeds of change would be left in their hearts. When more and more positive examples of Gaara, rather than negative, bloody, and tyrannical ones, reached their ears, the seeds would take root and sprout under this sunlight, growing strong.
A long time passed.
Only then did someone say, "Then, let's discuss the next topic..."
He was just about to speak when he was suddenly interrupted.
"An urgent message from the Konoha side!" The door was suddenly pushed open, and a reckless ninja burst in.
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