Temari's expression tightened with frustration and helplessness. Despite being the daughter of the Fourth Kazekage, she possessed far less authority than her lineage suggested. Influence did not equal power, and in the political structure of the Sand Village, the elders overshadowed nearly everyone.
She stepped toward Naruto and bowed deeply.
"My brother… I'm entrusting him to you."
Her voice trembled slightly, but her eyes remained steady.
"I'll speak with the elders again. Once I convince them, I'll bring reinforcements to join you as soon as possible."
Naruto grinned with his usual confidence.
"Who knows? By the time you catch up, we might have already rescued Gaara!"
Temari stared at him for a long moment. This boy… the same boy who once used overwhelming power to send Shukaku reeling back inside its host, the one whose strength had frightened her before.
Yet now, with him standing beside their village as an ally, she felt something unexpected.
Relief.
A sense of trust she didn't know she could feel.
Kakashi, meanwhile, had no intention of getting involved in Sand Village politics. He gave Baki a polite nod, then gestured for Pakkun to lead the way. Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata followed him, their figures quickly disappearing across the desert sands.
Temari watched silently as the Leaf shinobi vanished into the distance. Once she could no longer see them, her expression shifted, darkening with anger and determination.
"Baki-sensei… come with me. We're going to see the elders."
"Temari, calm down," Baki warned gently. "The elders aren't people you can simply demand an audience with."
Temari spun toward him, her composure cracking.
"My brother is in danger! Gaara, the Kazekage, was taken by the Akatsuki. And the elders want to do nothing?"
Her voice rose, raw with emotion.
"Gaara is still so young. They were the ones who pushed him into becoming Kazekage, saying he would protect the village. He did everything they asked of him. And now that he's in danger, they just abandon him?"
Her voice broke.
"What do they think Gaara is? A tool?"
Tears welled at the corners of her eyes.
Gaara had begun changing. Opening his heart. Reaching out to people. He had finally begun moving toward the light after years of darkness. So why… why did the world keep testing him like this? Why did he have to suffer again?
He wasn't just the Kazekage.
He was her little brother.
And with their parents gone, Temari was the only one left who could protect him.
Baki remained silent, and the shinobi behind Temari lowered their heads. Shame weighed heavily on them.
On the night of the attack, Gaara could have unleashed Shukaku and fought back with full force. But he hadn't. He had held back to protect the village, even risking capture.
If he were still the bloodthirsty Gaara from before, Shukaku would have torn through the Sand Village without hesitation.
The realization only deepened their guilt.
Most of them didn't have deep emotional ties to Gaara. His transformation had been too recent for the villagers to fully accept. But they had allowed him to become Kazekage because they believed he could protect them.
And now, Temari's words cut deep.
Their Kazekage had been taken.
Their leader had been taken.
And they were doing nothing.
Temari wiped her tears, her voice cold and edged with steel.
"I'm going to the elders. Are you going to stop me?"
The look in her eyes made Baki instinctively take a step back. After a long moment, he exhaled slowly.
"I'll go with you."
Temari nodded and strode toward the elders' compound. Baki followed, and the remaining Sand shinobi exchanged hesitant glances.
"Should we… go too?"
"What's the point? We're nobodies. The elders won't listen to us."
"But if only a few people show up, nothing will change."
"Then let's call more shinobi!"
"Yes! Gaara… Kazekage-sama was captured because he protected us. If we do nothing, what right do we have to call ourselves shinobi?"
Heat spread through their voices, lighting sparks in the once-silent air.
"I'm gathering more people!" one shouted.
"If the elders still refuse to send reinforcements, we'll go ourselves!" another declared.
More voices joined in.
"I'll go too!"
"Count me in!"
The frustration and guilt that had weighed down the village exploded into a surge of determination.
Shinobi ran through the streets, shouting the news.
"Kazekage-sama was taken because he protected us!"
"The elders want to give up on him!"
"If you're a real shinobi, come with us to demand answers!"
Chunin and genin patrolling nearby stopped in shock. Then, as the truth settled in, so did anger. They remembered Gaara standing on rooftops, controlling sand to protect their homes. They remembered how peaceful the village had become after he became Kazekage.
Within minutes, small groups turned into large ones.
Large ones turned into a tide.
By the time Temari and Baki reached the elders' hall, dozens of shinobi were following behind them. Then hundreds.
Footsteps echoed. Voices rumbled. A wave of pressure swelled outside the massive wooden doors.
The guards felt cold sweat drip down their palms. These were their own comrades, not enemies, yet the intensity radiating from them was far more overwhelming than any battlefield threat.
The doors finally opened.
A stern-faced elder stepped out, glaring at the crowd.
"Silence! This is the elders' council. What is the meaning of this unruly gathering?"
This time, no one backed away.
Temari stepped forward, head held high, eyes blazing with fury and resolve.
"Unruly? Then tell me, Elder, what do you call abandoning the Kazekage who sacrificed himself for this village?"
Her voice resounded, trembling not with fear, but with conviction.
"Gaara is my brother, but before that, he is the Kazekage of the Sand. The Akatsuki didn't capture a child. They captured our leader."
She swept her arm toward the crowd behind her.
"If we abandon our own Kazekage, what dignity does this village have left? What right do we have to demand respect from other nations?"
A roar erupted from the shinobi behind her.
"Well said!"
"Rescue Kazekage-sama!"
"The elders must give us an answer!"
"Let us join our allies from the Leaf!"
The elder stiffened, stunned by the overwhelming force of their voices.
He had never expected such unity from the rank-and-file shinobi.
Never expected such powerful public outrage.
The other elders gathered behind him, equally shaken.
Temari seized the moment.
"Elders, make your decision. If you refuse to act, we will form our own rescue squad. The Sand Village's Kazekage will be protected by the strength of the Sand Village!"
Baki stood silently beside her. His presence alone spoke volumes. Temari was not standing alone. She had the support of the elite.
The elders could feel it.
The tide had turned.
Under the crushing force of united will, under the voices of hundreds of shinobi demanding justice, the elders realized the truth.
They could no longer ignore Gaara's plight.
They could no longer deny their duty.
Rescuing Gaara was no longer just Temari's demand.
It was the will of the entire village.
And it was a will that could not be overturned.
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