Land of Wind.
Amidst the endless yellow sands, an elite squad of Sand ninjas searched intently for something.
"Captain Kankuro!"
Inside a massive rocky cave, a Sand ninja's shocked and anguished scream echoed.
The voice was filled with grief and fury, making the other Sand ninja change their expressions as if sensing the tragedy.
As the elite squad charged into the cave, their angry shouts soon followed.
"GAARA!"
Their mournful, furious cries reverberated through the dark cave as Kankuro's eyes twisted in rage at the sight of Gaara, already decapitated. He was completely enraged.
"Konoha! Boruto Uzumaki, how dare you kill the Kazekage of our Sand Village! Konoha must give us an explanation!"
Kankuro's furious howl was echoed by the other Sand ninjas, all consumed by anger.
"Kankuro-sama, Konoha's support team has already entered the Land of Wind. Their leader is the Sixth Hokage, Hatake Kakashi."
To face such a tragedy and then hear that Konoha had sent reinforcements—Kankuro's eyes turned bloodshot, but when he thought of Kakashi's strength, he had no choice but to restrain his grief.
More importantly, even with Konoha weakened, as long as Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha remained, it was still the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
With this in mind, Kankuro gritted his teeth and forced himself to calm down.
"Send word: have Konoha's support team come to Sand Village for talks—say we've found some clues."
"Yes, sir!"
"Now, immediately! Investigate the scene and bring Gaara home."
The Sand Ninja fell silent. Over the years, with Gaara as Kazekage, the village had developed rapidly.
The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, might not have been the best politician or the strongest, but simply because of his friendship with Naruto Uzumaki, he became the most influential Kazekage in Sand's history.
…
Meanwhile, the Konoha team, having just entered the Land of Wind and receiving Sand's message, all smiled in relief.
Their leader Kakashi also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Boruto, huh? I hope we can persuade him to come back this time."
Thinking of the hatred between Boruto and Naruto, Kakashi felt a headache coming on. Naruto was just too impulsive—otherwise, things wouldn't have become like this.
Over a decade ago, they had chased after Sasuke. Now, the cycle repeated with Boruto. Maybe this was Konoha's tradition:
Hashirama chased Madara.
Jiraiya chased Orochimaru.
Naruto chased Sasuke.
Now it was Boruto's turn.
Kakashi sighed in melancholy.
"This time, Boruto hasn't formed deep bonds in the village, and since Naruto's rampage hurt so many, Boruto's situation is the hardest of all."
The villagers' hatred was mostly toward Boruto since Naruto's power as Hokage left them no choice but to endure. Meanwhile, the defected Konoha ninja blamed the Hokage—if Naruto hadn't lost control, the Nine-Tails wouldn't have killed their loved ones.
Konoha, since its founding, had always been a tangled mess.
As Kakashi led his elite team toward Sand Village, other powerful organizations were also moving into the Land of Fire: Kara, Boruto's revenge squad, and the greedy elders intent on extracting even more blood from Naruto.
…
Sand Village.
Kazekage's Office.
"Gaara-sama has already been killed. The Konoha support team will arrive tonight. What should we do?"
"According to the intel division, Gaara's last memory was of that bastard Boruto Uzumaki."
"Konoha has gone too far! No matter how strong they are, they can't just bully us Sand Ninja!"
"That's right! Konoha must give us an answer!"
In the Kazekage's office, the elite Sand ninja pounded the table in anger. Even though relations with Konoha had been good, no one could forgive the murder of their Kazekage.
"With Gaara gone, we're leaderless. We must quickly choose a new Kazekage to restore morale or in this chaos…"
Everyone nodded—amid such turmoil, it was essential to pick a Sixth Kazekage.
"I recommend Kankuro-sama. His contributions to the village are clear for all to see."
"Kankuro-sama has done a lot, but the Kazekage must be the strongest. Otherwise, other villages will look down on us."
"I propose Lady Temari. She's the strongest ninja after the Kazekage."
"I second that!"
As the suggestions flew, Temari slammed her hand on the table and shouted coldly:
"At a time like this, you're still arguing?!"
As she burst out, a terrifying aura of chakra radiated from Temari. Since fusing with the cursed seal, her chakra had soared.
Temari, already near-Kage level, now had chakra equal to or greater than most Kage.
"Is that really Lady Temari?!"
"How is this possible?!"
The pressure from Temari's chakra made the room break out in cold sweat. She now rivaled Gaara himself.
Kankuro, feeling this power, was excited.
"Our village needs a strong Kage, especially in these troubled times. I propose Temari as the Sixth Kazekage."
As her brother, Kankuro lacked ambition for power—he preferred puppets. Now, with Temari's newfound strength, he was thrilled.
Sand Village needed a powerful Kage to hold things together.
"Seconded!"
"Please, Lady Temari, become the Sixth Kazekage!"
"Seconded!"
With unanimous support, Temari smoothly became the Sixth Kazekage.
The urgency of the times made a strong leader essential. Temari and Kankuro were both respected, and Temari's years in Konoha gave her unique qualifications—especially with Konoha's two strongest powers.
Now that Gaara was gone, could the bond with Konoha endure?
After over a decade in Konoha, no one was more suited than Temari.
"From this moment, I, Temari, am the Sixth Kazekage of Sand Village."
Temari donned the Kazekage hat and began preparations to receive the Konoha team.
…
By evening, when Kakashi and his team arrived, news of Temari's appointment had already spread, and his face grew grim.
Not because he disliked Temari as Kazekage—his mind worked quickly.
"Damn, did something happen to Gaara?!"
Kakashi's face darkened. The only reason Sand would pick a new Kazekage was if something had happened to Gaara.
As Kakashi's team entered the office, they were greeted by a roomful of grim-faced Sand ninja.
At the desk sat Temari, and Kakashi's heart sank.
"Sixth Kazekage… Gaara, is he—"
He still hoped Gaara was alive, maybe just gravely injured.
But Temari's next words made Kakashi's face change dramatically.
"Kakashi, your Konoha ninja, Boruto Uzumaki, killed our Kazekage. You must give us an explanation."
Kankuro stormed forward, grabbing Kakashi's collar, eyes burning with rage.
"Gaara was killed by your Konoha bastard, Boruto Uzumaki!"
"Everyone calm down," Rock Lee quickly tried to defuse things, but he too was shaken.
If Boruto killed Gaara, this would be a nightmare.
"Kakashi, even if Konoha is strong, we Sand ninjas are not cowards. If you don't give us an answer, don't expect to leave!"
Arguments broke out all over the office. Kakashi had a splitting headache.
…
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, with Kakashi gone, the two elders made their move.
Konoha, Root's Secret Laboratory.
"Naruto, our research has hit a bottleneck. We need to do a full examination—especially more blood extraction."
Homura Mitokado, with a kindly smile, looked like a gentle grandfather.
Naruto, recently feeling less negative, smiled and nodded.
"Thank you, Elder. Don't worry, I'll cooperate fully."
He didn't realize his negative energy had only subsided because his earlier rampage had vented it. After such bursts, there was always a calm period.
But this gave Naruto a false sense of security.
Seeing Naruto so easy to manipulate, Homura smiled.
Nearby, Koharu Utatane, running the equipment, revealed a greedy glint as Naruto entered the device.
"Naruto, bear with it. We need a bit of your bone marrow this time."
As expected, Koharu's greed had grown. With Kakashi gone, blood wasn't enough; now she wanted bone marrow.
Naruto didn't care, nodding casually.
"Don't worry, Elder Koharu—I'm the Seventh Hokage!"
With a thick steel needle plunged in, even as the pain grew intense, Naruto didn't flinch.
As a ninja, he'd endured more pain than this.
"Koharu!"
Seeing the needle, Homura's face flushed as he looked at his old friend.
Koharu, full of greed, cranked the machine to max power.
Naruto wasn't just the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—he was of the Uzumaki clan.
Gallons of blood and bone marrow were drawn. Any other ninja would be near death, but Naruto was the child of destiny.
After a long while, Naruto staggered out, face pale, legs trembling.
"What's wrong with me?"
He asked, weak, but Koharu hurried forward.
"It's normal after a bone marrow draw. With your healing, a couple days' rest will do."
"Ah, I see."
Naruto looked relieved. Koharu eyed the blood and marrow bags with greed.
"Naruto, you'll need to come back for a few more days. The research is at a critical stage."
"Okay, I'll go rest and come back tomorrow."
Naruto smiled, thinking of Kawaki waiting on the training field.
Kawaki was the child he cared for most.
As Naruto left, Koharu and Homura exchanged greedy smiles.
"Heh, what a foolish Nine-Tails brat."
"Only someone like that could become Hokage and let us strengthen Konoha."
"Right. Without us, Konoha would've collapsed long ago with such a stupid Hokage."
The two elders, greedy and eager, took the bags into a dark chamber.
Using Orochimaru's research and Kabuto's technology, they began infusions.
"I can feel youthful energy!"
In the darkness, Koharu's wrinkled face twisted in madness as her skin turned red, becoming more demonic.
Homura's skin changed too, their greed and desire growing ever stronger.
"Not enough! We need more blood and marrow!"
"Drain the Nine-Tails brat. He's a threat to Konoha now!"
In the darkness, the two demon-like figures grinned at each other, lost in their greed.