Chapter 267: Temari's Heart Moves, This Man is Worthy of Her Trust
Akiyama Makoto nodded, pretending to agree.
In reality, he had gone to great lengths to find Chiyo, and not just for Temari.
Temari was indeed beautiful, but he wasn't the type to play with the fate of a nation just for a woman's smile.
Besides, in terms of beauty, Temari was far inferior to the women in his home.
What he had his eye on was the entire Sand Village, a village that he could completely control right now.
Although the Sand Village was too poor, he had the Flying Thunder God and Wood Style. Small-scale environmental modification wouldn't be too difficult.
Of course, how much energy he would invest in the Sand Village would depend on the cooperation of the Sand Village, Gaara, and Chiyo in the future.
If they had no objections, he could turn the Sand Village into his rear base and source of troops.
Seeing him agree, both Temari and Chiyo breathed a sigh of relief.
Chiyo then asked about some details of Temari's life. Upon hearing that he could bring Temari out of prison at will, Chiyo was even more convinced of his identity and status.
At this moment, Chiyo only felt that the Sand Village was unlucky.
Konoha had produced an absolute powerhouse whose identity could not be revealed, and this powerhouse was sharpening his blade on the necks of the Sand ninja. If this wasn't bad luck, what was?
If they had known earlier that Konoha had a second "Flash," the Sand Village would never have played the Konoha Crush game with Orochimaru, even if it killed them.
Afterward, Chiyo bid farewell to him. She had to take the few remaining elites of the Sand Village to continue guarding the border.
Despite his promise, as a veteran ninja, Chiyo still had to do what she had to do to the best of her ability, to prevent his betrayal, or Konoha bypassing him and acting on their own.
Not treating the enemy as a monolith was the most basic political literacy of a smart person.
He didn't say much about this either. Instead, he leaned against a tree trunk and admired the desert scenery.
The last time he had appreciated this scenery was in a simulation.
Although his shadow clone had been here before, the memories transmitted by the shadow clone were still different from real perception.
Now, he was using all his senses to experience the style of nature.
Temari hugged her knees, huddled in the tree, still recalling the bits and pieces of the past.
Finally, she had to turn her gaze to him, looking at the man she was destined to serve for the rest of her life.
It had to be said that he was outstanding in every aspect. However, this man had killed her father and was going to forcibly possess her—
Temari felt breathless. But then he spoke. "Relax. I didn't say I wanted to be husband and wife with you today."
"You can live in Konoha for now. Even after the peace talks are over and your brothers are sent back to the Sand Village, I don't care."
"But as long as you remember that you belong to me, that's enough."
Currently, he had passed the initial development stage and entered the "explanation" stage.
The girls around him could also carry his ninjutsu crystals to ensure they wouldn't encounter fatal danger.
So, his requirements for the girls' strength were not that high anymore.
Of course, if the girls themselves worked hard and wanted to keep up with his pace, he naturally wouldn't refuse. After all, in the future Great Ninja War, even with the Flying Thunder God and shadow clones, it would be a bit difficult for him to fight alone.
What's more, he couldn't just create countless shadow clones to suppress the ninja world every day. He still needed some helpers.
And if the girls who had been simulated by him started to "slack off" and just wanted to live a peaceful and happy life, he wouldn't mind either.
After all, if there was a chance to slack off and be happy and peaceful for a lifetime, he wouldn't have embarked on the path of frantically becoming stronger.
Temari looked at him in disbelief, not expecting his conditions to be so lenient.
Coupled with the past she had recounted when comforting Chiyo earlier, a thought couldn't help but arise in her heart: Does he really have feelings for me?
But— Temari's heart beat faster. She took a deep breath and decided to test him a little.
"Is what you said true?"
"How can that be false?"
"Then—I don't want to stay in prison after I go back today. I want to live in your house all the time, and even have the right to go out on the street occasionally. Is that okay?"
"Sure."
Temari looked at him in disbelief. "Won't the people of Konoha object? I've met your two Konoha advisors. They are quite difficult people."
He shrugged. "They don't dare to pester me."
He was telling the truth.
Previously, during the Konoha Crush plot, he had single-handedly killed countless enemies. This had earned him the respect of many people, but it wouldn't make them want to get close to him.
The strong should maintain a distance and have their backs viewed from afar. This was the attitude of ordinary people towards the strong.
Especially since he had killed Danzō. Although it was proven in the end that Danzō deserved to die, when he killed Danzō, he hadn't asked for anyone's permission, nor had he asked for the opinion of the Konoha advisors.
So in the eyes of Koharu and Homura, there was a possibility that he would kill an advisor if they disagreed, especially since they themselves weren't clean enough.
This was why they had asked Jiraiya to win him over, but didn't dare to come and see him themselves.
He had already seen through this. Under such circumstances, how could the two of them trouble him over such a small matter as Temari going out on the street?
In their eyes, Temari was just the next Karin—in fact, this was a good thing for them, giving them an excuse to negotiate peace with the Sand Village.
If they encountered hardliners in Konoha who wanted revenge, they just needed to pull him out and let those people talk to him. Those people would probably die down.
And this was another reason why Koharu and Homura didn't dare to provoke him. For the foreseeable future, Konoha needed a genius like him, who was comparable to or even stronger than the Fourth Hokage, to hold down the fort.
They had to ensure a harmonious relationship with him. After all, he wasn't even a ninja and could run away at any time. Then they wouldn't even have an excuse to arrest him.
In these aspects, Koharu and Homura were much easier to deal with than Hiruzen and Danzō.
At least they had awe for the strong, while Danzō would blow himself up along with Konoha and the dangerous elements in his eyes.
Temari's calmed mood slowly began to surge again. His words just now had actually given her a sense of security.
In the current situation where the Sand Village and the three siblings were in precarious danger, his single sentence could turn danger into safety. How trustworthy was that?
So much so that Temari stared at his face and slowly became dazed. It wasn't until he pinched her face that she came to her senses and couldn't help blushing.
"Time's up. Go home or back to prison?"
"Go home, of course—"
Temari blurted out, then realized he had played a little trick.
He meant going back to his home, not her home—at least not now.
But compared to going back to prison, she would rather go home.
Afterward, he took Temari back to the prison first to report to Morino Ibiki, telling him about his idea of taking Temari home.
In order not to make it difficult for Ibiki, he told him that Temari's chakra would still be sealed.
Only then did Ibiki nod. "I will report this matter. If the advisors are unwilling later, there is nothing I can do."
He patted Ibiki on the shoulder. "If they are unwilling, I will go to them."
His tone was relaxed, and Ibiki squeezed out an ugly smile. However, this wasn't an apologetic smile; there was a bit of schadenfreude in it.
As a worker in the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force, Ibiki clearly also had complaints about his superiors.
On Temari's side, she explained the situation to Kankurō and Gaara with a smile.
Kankurō looked at his sister with red eyes and finally said, "Sister, just tell me, did he force you during this hour? If so, I will definitely in the future—Ouch!"
Temari raised her foot and kicked Kankurō in the stomach, knocking him down. She said angrily, "Stop talking nonsense! Makoto-kun isn't that kind of person! He—forget it, I can't explain it to a brat like you. He's a real man."
Kankurō looked at the flush on Temari's face with a "seen-a-ghost" expression. What on earth did he do to make my sister change so much in an hour?
I'm your brother! Are you going to defect to a man who smashed your brother into a wall before?
Regardless of how resentful Kankurō's gaze was, Temari no longer looked at him. Instead, she went to Gaara's side and said, "Gaara, don't worry. You will get out, and you will return to the Sand Village. Be patient and don't get agitated."
Gaara listened calmly, his eyes peaceful.
He had actually taken a nap just now. The One-Tails was very quiet, or rather, he couldn't hear the One-Tails' noise anymore.
Even a one-hour nap, which seemed to have little effect, gave Gaara a feeling that his life had reached a turning point.
If Naruto had changed his view of the world, then Makoto had given Gaara a whole new experience of life.
After Temari finished speaking, Gaara said, "Sister, you also have to consider your own happiness. It doesn't matter if Kankurō and I suffer a little more."
This sounded normal, and Kankurō nodded repeatedly. But then Kankurō and Temari looked at Gaara with a "seen-a-ghost" expression.
Is this something the murderous Gaara could say?
Gaara tried to squeeze out a smile, but he really didn't know how, and the corner of his mouth twitched. This appearance made Temari burst out laughing.
She reached out and patted Gaara's cheek, her eyes moist. "Gaara has finally grown up—no, he's walked out of the shadows."
With that, Temari waved goodbye to her two brothers, turned around, and looked at Makoto with truly gentle eyes.
Whether he liked her or not, and what his attitude towards the Sand Village was, these were things Temari still couldn't be 100% sure about.
But the fact that he had changed Gaara was enough for Temari to leave a place for him in her heart.
"Let's go?"
"Mm."
He took Temari's hand and returned to his room, taking out a bundle.
"Your original clothes are inside. Put them on. But your forehead protector has been confiscated."
"Afterward, I'll take you to buy clothes. It's time to relax."
Temari took the bundle, turned her back, and calmly began to change clothes.
This made him, who was about to go out, suddenly feel that he was being too cautious. He turned and looked at her back with a smile.
As if knowing she was being watched, Temari's movements were slow and soothing, like a dance under a bonfire.
By the time she changed back to her original appearance, half an hour had passed.
"Let's go, Makoto-kun."
Temari took his arm and led him downstairs.
When Karin saw him come down with Temari, she subconsciously let out a cry of surprise.
But his next sentence made Karin accept Temari's existence.
"Like you, from today on, she has broken away from her original ninja village and become a member of the Akiyama family."
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