Rewards

I was really starting to grow tired of all these stories. At first, they had seemed at least a little realistic but now they were starting to get out of hand. I was pretty sure Shukaku had apparently defeated every Tailed Beast except the Two and Three-Tails. He probably didn't say anything bad about them since they were the next Tailed Beasts after him.

"Then I trapped that Five Tails inside my Sand Mausoleum but he managed to break free," rambled Shukaku. At least I was getting an idea of what Shukaku could do. His main strengths were defense and sealing as he had previously stated. It had been probably about a day or two in this state in my mindscape, unable to escape. It was really starting to annoy me that I couldn't leave. Shukaku had of course not stopped his incessant rambling the whole time. Story after story of dominating the other Tailed Beasts, humans, and mountains. I didn't really understand what it was with him and the mountains but he really loved to talk about them.

"Could you teach me Sand Mausoleum sometime?"

My question was immediately met with boisterous laughter. I sat there grumpily as Shukaku continued his laughing rant. I wasn't really sure why I had expected a different response. Most of my questions or requests had been met with a similar reaction. Either Shukaku was unwilling to teach me or he told me I couldn't use such techniques without his direct help. Shukaku said I would need to loosen the seal to achieve these team-up moves. Of course, I would never actually do that right now since I still didn't trust him.

"Maybe someday then," I said hopefully as he neared the end of his laughing fit. Yet, all I did was provoke another round of laughter. I sighed and hoped my suffering would end. I wasn't sure what god had looked down upon me at that moment but suddenly felt my mindscape loosen up. I jumped up and smiled with joy.

"Sorry, Shukaku looks like it's time for me to go. It was very nice to hear your stories and hopefully, we can do this again sometime." I of course didn't actually mean everything that I said. I actually hoped I wouldn't have to listen to his stories for at least another couple of months. I would need time to recuperate from this experience. I did actually hope to spend some more time with him though. Shukaku wasn't that bad if I just disregarded his outlandish stories.

"Hmm? Just when we were getting to the good part. Oh well, goodbye human." I might have been imagining it but for a moment I could have sworn that Shukaku looked sad. That was impossible though, he hadn't said he wanted me to stay. I had been about to leave but now I was a little uncertain. I shook it off though, I would deal with it later. Now I just needed to wake up and get back to reality.

"Goodbye Shukaku."

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I opened my eyes to find myself feeling much stronger than the last time I had been awake. I wasn't in the hospital ward like last time, I was in my bed. Then I remembered that I'd made Baki and Temari carry me here. I lifted my hand to find it felt completely normal. How long had I been out this time? It must have been a long time if I changed so quickly from my state the last time I was awake. I got up with ease to find my bandages still on me along with the IV still hooked up to me. I looked towards the window to find it was early morning. I frowned in confusion from this information. Was it only the next morning? What had suddenly helped me recuperate? Maybe it was going into that mindscape coma with Shukaku. I looked around my room to finally understand the changes I had noticed before I'd gone to sleep. Scrolls and books absolutely coated every surface in my room. They mixed between old, new, and ancient. Somebody had given all of these to me but why? Then I noticed the note on top of a very old-looking scroll. I picked it up and recognize that the handwriting was my father's.

"Gaara, I realize that I may be harsh to you sometimes. Completing your latest mission has made me realize that you have always done what I have asked. You brought Temari and Kankuro back after I mistakenly sent you after a foe far stronger than I believed him to be. There are still many things that I disagree with about you but I have decided to give you these things as a reward."

I set the note down then sat on my bed. Rasa had given me this gift. He had never before given me anything of such quantity or apparent importance. I didn't know how to feel about it at all. I wanted to reject the gifts yet at the same time, I wanted to eagerly cherish them. I went and grabbed a small scroll out of the pile and opened it. Another note fell out with Rasa's handwriting on it. I picked it up and read it.

"These scrolls with the dark grey covers have been filled with iron sand. I was surprised to learn that you have some level of mastery over it. I was also told by Baki that your iron sand had been lost in the fight against the traitor when you used the Forbidden Jutsu. Here is more for you to use."

My iron sand had been lost? This was news to me but I guess I hadn't really been paying attention. I guess I had sucked it into the Jutsu on accident. Surveying the pile of scrolls I counted at least two dozen grey cover scrolls. I wonder how Rasa had managed to procure so much of it. I rolled the scroll back up and set it on my desk. I gathered all the other grey scrolls and put them there as well. I found sand-colored scrolls with a similar note in them. These were filled with sand that I could infuse with chakra to summon into battle. Baki must have told Rasa all these things about me since I doubted he had noticed on his own. I started sorting through the various books and scrolls. Most of the books were on Jutsu research while the scrolls held usable Jutsu. So many of them held advanced Jutsu that I started losing track of time just reading them. I decided that most of them were out of my depth. There were a few exceptions though, one highly advanced Jutsu was far too powerful to pass up. I had pulled its dusty old scroll from the pile just like a dozen other ones. When I unrolled it though I found something absolutely amazing. It was a Jutsu technique called Sand Particle Conversion. It allowed the user to turn parts of their body into sand which was absolutely useless to someone who wasn't like me. It meant that I could turn my whole arm into sand and then turn it back. There were significant risks to the Jutsu though that made it dangerous to the user. If the arm was turned into sand and then the sand was destroyed then you'd no longer have an arm. As far as I could tell, any amount of your body could be turned into sand but if it wasn't turned back after ten minutes then it would be permanently lost. For example, if I fought the Flare Release user with this Jutsu there would be huge risks. If there wasn't any sand around for me to reform my body if he turned me to glass then I would die after ten minutes. The same principle stood if I was blasted with water, if I couldn't get the wet sand to form together then I would lose a limb or die. Nevertheless, there were just too many positives for learning this Jutsu I couldn't resist. It would be perfect against kunai, shuriken, and swords. I could simply turn myself to sand then immediately turn back to flesh to doge attacks like those. I would also be able to turn to sand to go through tight spaces like under a door. Once I went through the tight space I could go back to flesh. Putting everything aside for the moment, I unraveled the scroll with the Sand Particle Conversion on the floor.

The first thing it talked about was the amount of chakra it would consume if overused. I could also damage my body if I rapidly changed between flesh and sand too many times within a certain time. Basically, it meant I couldn't totally abuse the power until I mastered it and got a bigger chakra reserve. Both of those things would come with experience and time. I decided to start small, just turning my index finger into sand. I sat on the floor and carefully gathered my chakra in my index finger. I really didn't want to mess this up on the first try. Looking at the scroll, I slowly and precisely followed the instructions to the letter. I breathed deeply and then activated the Jutsu. I waited in anticipation and nervousness but nothing happened. I scowled and tried again only to get the same results. Why wasn't it working? Before I could look over the scroll again there was a knock on my door. Sighing, I quickly got up and opened the door. I was surprised with who I saw standing there but I guess it was only a matter of time before she came to see me. Kohara Ruchi stood there fidgeting in place just as nervous as she always was.

"Kohara it is good to see you though I do wish you would stop fidgeting around." She jumped a little at my words before seemingly focusing. looking determined, her posture straightened and exuded sudden confidence. I'd never see her change so quickly, not even during our fight about a week ago.

"Gaara I'm glad to see that you're doing okay. I see that granny Chiyo visiting you yesterday afternoon must have really turned you around" I frowned and gave Kohara a funny look. Granny Chiyo had visited me and that was the apparent reason for my lightning-quick recovery during the night. Whatever she had done must've also trapped me in my mindscape with Shukaku.

"Why did Granny Chiyo visit me? Who told her about my condition?"

"Well after your collapse yesterday Temari and Baki-sensei got really worried. They apparently appealed to Lord Kazekage to get medicine to heal you quickly. Lord Kazekage agreed reluctantly since the chunin exams are getting closer by the day. I guess he really wants you to do well in the exams. So he got Granny Chiyo to come and look you over along with cough up some medicine. She said you'd be fine by morning and I guess she was right."

I guess it all seemed pretty logical, Rasa didn't want his best genin to disgrace the Hidden Sand in the chunin exams. Baki and Temari probably exploited that to get me the best medical treatment possible.

"Thank you for informing me of this Kohara, I was wondering how my health had suddenly flipped from deteriorating to perfect."

"It's no problem at all Gaara," she said while slowly losing confidence. Kohara could never keep it up for too long.

"Would you like to join me in my room? My father sent me a lot of stuff for completing my latest mission. I'd like some company and an extra set of hands to sort through it while I work on a new Jutsu." Kohara seemed to think for a moment before agreeing. I could tell she didn't regret it when she saw all the books and scrolls. Her eyes went as wide as saucers and joy erupted across her face. Kohara bolted to the piles of books and began flipping them open left and right. I chuckled at her eager behavior. I had guessed correctly it seemed, I thought she might be like this when I noticed all the books she the first time we met.

"Look at all of this stuff Gaara! There are so many Jutsu and theories here that even I can understand them all." Kohara then noticed the Sand Particle Conversion scroll I had laid out on the floor. She went over to it and started reading the scroll. I could see Kohara's face grow with surprise and awe as she read it over.

"Something wrong Kohara?"

"We're you attempting this Jutsu before I knocked? Gaara this is a very high-level Jutsu and that means it's just as dangerous. Why not try something like this?" Kohara shoved a small scroll into my hands. She then went back to looking over the Sand Particle Conversion scroll with great focus. I didn't really like her butting into my work like she was Temari but I had invited her in. I couldn't exactly just kick her straight back out. I looked down at the scroll in my hand and decided to humor her demand. I unrolled it and read its contents. It was a scroll on how to make the perfect sand clone, one that was indistinguishable from a real human. I guess it was a good idea since my current sand clones were pretty bad. They only vaguely resembled me and they couldn't be passed off as me. I had planned to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu, though with this scroll right here I could just do this instead. I weaved the hand signs and my usual sloppy sand clone came to life from the sand in my gourd in the corner. Its legs were basically just a mound of sand with its only definable features being above the waist. Unlike other Jutsu clones, it didn't change to make an exact copy of me since it was basically stuck at halfway. Looking away in disappointment, I started reading the scroll. It said the key to a precise sand clone was three things. Visualization, chakra control, and proper hand signs were the big three. This was actually true for basically any Jutsu but a clone Jutsu put a big emphasis on visualization. This was because you were creating an exact clone of yourself, you couldn't get anything wrong or it would be ruined. You could be a little more relaxed with chakra control since there were no serious drawbacks other than wasting too much. Still important if you were fighting a prolonged fight so not exactly something to skip over. Once again, I tried to create a sand clone after reading over the instructions. This time my chakra control along with hand signs were much more refined. I only wasted a little chakra in the process which was good since I didn't want to waste a bunch of time practicing control. Naruto may struggle with chakra control but not me. I could exude chakra in any amount or to any portion of my body with minimal waste. When this sand clone formed it was easy to tell that it was far superior to the last one. This one didn't have a pile of sand for legs or not have a definite human shape. It looked pretty close to me except for a few things. One was that it still hadn't shifted color from sand to actually look human. The sand clone still looked like, well, a bunch of sand. What was I doing wrong with it? I canceled the Jutsu and watched the sand fall to the ground.

"Looks like your struggling with visualization Gaara. Maybe try picturing an image of yourself in your mind and then creating the sand clone," said Kohara from behind a wall of books. Kohara sounded as if she spoke from experience so she had probably struggled with this part too. On the other hand, maybe it was easy for her and she was surprised that I couldn't do it. That thought irritated me a little so I once again tried to create a perfect sand clone. This sand clone was only slightly better than the last one. Some patches of it were colored like me but not even close to all of it.

"I told you Gaara, you need to perfectly visualize yourself in order to make an exact clone. I've heard some people have a lot of trouble with this part. I once even read that it may be because of how the person views themself."

"Views themself? What do you mean?"

"Simply how you judge yourself, such as whether your proud of yourself or if you view yourself as weak. Emotions and self-judgment play a huge role in how effective certain Jutsu is Gaara. Maybe you should stop researching Jutsu and start reading theories. it might give you a lot bigger insight than you think."

Kohara was really being a big help to me. I can't believe that I had only invited her in as a formality to help me sort through scrolls. She had already provided me with very valuable insights on my Jutsu and overall technique. I guess reading really does help when it comes to proper technique and understanding.

"Thank you Kohara, it seems you are far better at this than I am," I said with real gratitude. Kohara squeaked and I could see her cheeks go red which made me smile. She was so easy to disrupt or get a reaction out of. I then went back to my sand clone which was still standing in its sad state. I canceled it just as I had the one before it and started over. This time I did it differently than before. I closed my eyes and then brought up memories that I felt defined me. Most of them were unhappy, such as Rasa punishing or giving me cold eyes, me killing my uncle, and Shukaku taking over. They may be dark memories that I hated but they were still a part of me that I had to acknowledge. Next, I moved to the happy memories that were important to me. Many of them were from when I was a little child playing with Temari and Kankuro. Another one was when we all entered the academy, I had been too young at the time to be horribly affected by what was really going on. My latest happy memory was when I had fought Baki, Temari, and Kankuro on my first day here. It made me smile as I thought about the fight and how long ago it already felt. I was now ready, I opened my eyes and weaved the hand signs. The sand on the flow along with even more from my gourd poured together to form three figures. All of them slowly but surely transformed into exact replicas of me, indistinguishable from the real me. They each started looking around curiously. Clones could look and act just like the original person, with the original person not gaining their memories until they stopped existing. This was very helpful for reconnaissance or training since there was no true risk to the real person. While the clones began reading through scrolls and books, I walked over to Kohara. She may not want me using the Sand Particle Conversion Jutsu but I didn't really care. With her help in perfecting my sand clones, she had indirectly helped me overcome the problem with my Sand Particle Conversion Jutsu. I now realized that my mental image and visualization must have also been the problem with this Jutsu. I hadn't been able to get it to work because I had only weaved the signs and given it chakra. I walked straight up to Kohara and snatched the scroll straight from her hands. She jumped up and moved to take it back but sand from my gourd grabbed her.

"Gaara stop what your doing, it's too dangerous."

Kohara sounded pretty distressed but I didn't really care too much right now. I felt bad about trapping her and making her worry but I needed this Jutsu. With the chunin exams coming up, I would need to be at my best. This Jutsu would greatly help against physical attacks which both Rock Lee and Sasuke Uchiha would use against me. If things stayed like they were in the anime then Rock Lee would use taijutsu against me in the elimination rounds and I could use Sand Particle Conversion to let his attacks phase right through me. Sasuke would be more difficult since he could use ninjutsu and most likely Chidori. I would cross that bridge when I got to it but for now, this is how I would easily beat Rock Lee. The iron sand would also prove very useful against both so I should have these matches in the bag if things hadn't changed too much. I opened the scroll and looked everything over one more time. I decided not to use hand signs since in a real battle it would be impractical to use them for this Jutsu. I needed it to be instantaneous so unfortunately, hand signs would slow me down. I stood there in absolute concentration and let everything fade away. Kohara's loud warnings soon became background noise and I closed my eyes. opened them and then smiled as my whole body turned to sand and crumbled to the floor, It was quite a strange feeling, I couldn't see or hear anything. I could still feel though just as I could with normal sand, such as my sand whips. I could feel every bit of sand in the room, from what used to be me on the floor to the sand that filled the gourd. I could also feel Kohara violently struggling against the sand that held her. I decided I better end her distress, reforming myself from the sand that had been me previously. I regained my vision and hearing which made me very relieved I hadn't messed up. Unfortunately, a large white clothe bundle slammed into me right after I fully reformed. I crashed to the ground in pain which sent dozens of scrolls toppling over.

"You crazy idiot, I thought you died!" Kohara was fuming made and had seemingly gotten some of her combat cloth out. She had obviously been the one that hit me which I guessed I deserved. Kohara yanked her cloth back and went to take another swing at me. I grinned as it swung toward my shoulder. The second it made contact it went straight through my shoulder and severed my arm from my body. This was of course because I had just turned it to sand, which I then made reattach to my shoulder and turn back to flesh. Judging from my chakra levels, I definitely couldn't abuse this power in a prolonged fight since it would quickly eat up most of my chakra. it was exactly where I wanted it though and I grinned with joy.

"Would you look at that, looks like you can actually do something without my help," said Shukaku. It was surprisingly nice to hear his praise considering the usual criticism that he spouted.

"Thank you Shukaku, I'm sure that some of your wisdom helped me learn this Jutsu so you can also thank yourself," I told him kindly. This was a total lie but I still wanted Shukaku to feel involved. Shukaku was quiet but I could tell he was a little proud about the apparent wisdom he had given me. I turned my attention back to Kohara who I finally released from her sand bindings.

"Thank you Kohara, you really helped me out. What do you say we continue looking through these scrolls and books?" Kohara simply gave me a funny look and her eye twitched.

"You are out of your mind Gaara."