Chapter Text
"Let's go over this again."
The young Kazekage leaned against the wall of the room provided by the Hokage with his arms crossed. The fourteen-year-old quickly learned the real reason Suna's council of elders picked him as the next Kazekage; his selection had little to do with public approval and much to do with quite a few of the elders believing a young Kazekage might be manipulated by the elders to their own purposes.
Of course, Suna opening up dialogue with Iwa with the help of Konoha was the last thing on any of the elder's minds.
"What were you thinking?" Even Baki, the man placed in charge of teaching and mentoring the previous Kazekage's young children so they might best serve the village didn't expect such an action. "One meeting is very unlikely to change the animosity our two villages have towards each other."
"I want to perceive with my own eyes what kind of shinobi the Tsuchikage is rather than simply relying on the word of others, including that of the council elders."
Unfortunately for Gaara, his older siblings and Baki were away on important missions when the time came up, possibly because another elder managed to arrange it so. This was how the young Kazekage set out from Suna with a few of the council elders for Konoha, but not before his older brother dropped one of his grins, the purple lines of makeup on his face making him stand out like a sore thumb.
"Man, it really sucks to be you, little bro. I'm glad they decided not to make me Kazekage, you know, given the fact I'm your older brother."
"Shouldn't Temari be Kazekage if they were to pick based on who's the eldest of the previous Kazekage's children?"
Kankuro's smile faltered, but a smile appeared on Temari's. "That's rather sweet of you Gaara, but I think you are the best choice for Kazekage."
His older brother rolled his eyes. "You mean they thought he would be the easiest one of us to manipulate if Baki's word is anything to go on. Personally, I wish he at least was going on this stupid peace talk with Gaara, particularly with those other two council elders making Gaara's life miserable."
"Gaara can take care of himself, but I'm sure Lady Tsunade will step in if she feels the need to."
The fifth Hokage was definitely not someone to trifle with, yet she wasn't here observing the two council elders lecture him regarding the proper etiquette expected of him at the upcoming meeting between the Kazekage and Tsuchikage. He didn't know why they felt the need to emphasize the fact Iwa was the enemy and not to be trusted, particularly the Tsuchikage.
They also complained about possible assassination attempts despite the fact they were meeting in Konoha, an allied hidden village. Gaara was also a jinchuriki, but the beast sealed inside of him – Shukaku – allowed his host the ability to use sand for both offensive and defensive purposes. For some reason, the elders also worried how the Tsuchikage would react to learning how young Suna's kage was.
"He'll see it as a joke, how young you are, being the eldest of the kage for the five great hidden villages. That's why you shouldn't have done this without consulting us." The elders couldn't make it any clearer what they thought of his abilities despite the fact they choose him for Kazekage.
"They picked you because you're the strongest shinobi in the village, not because they actually thought you capable." Shukaku chuckled in the back of his head. Long gone were the days when the tailed beast shouted in Gaara's head for blood.
"The fourth was also strong, so did they treat him this way?"
"How should I know? They're boring me to death! Are you sure the previous Kazekage didn't die because they bored him to death?"
"I'm getting your message loud and clear." Sand began trickling from the gourd at Gaara's side, waiting for just the right moment. In the old days, before another jincuriki knocked some literal sense into him, he might threaten them with some kind of bodily harm even though he rarely if ever carried through with these threats.
Instead, he formed a clone with his sand when neither council elder were looking, allowing him to sneak out the window onto the roof without being noticed. He now stood on the roof, his arms looking down while the elder droned on without realizing the young Kazekage made his escape. He listened for only a few minutes, before stepping off the edge onto a cloud of sand, something which felt like second nature to him.
Of course, the clone wasn't the only thing he left behind.