Chapter 12: Plan

"T-That's impressive. I can't believe you could really achieve that height of power at such a young age and with less than a decade of training." - (Hizuchi) said with shock visible on his face. He could feel that the boy in front of him was serious and was telling the truth. Like him, the other people in the room were also shocked.

….

"But, doing that will surely make the other nations wary of us. We might as well be the next Uzushiogakure. Even with my strength right now, with the Tsuchikage's kekkei tota, I'm not confident I can protect the village on my own… And my answer is no because I don't think war is the only option." - (Gaara) continued.

'Plus, going to war now will just give Akatsuki an opportunity to collect all the tailed-beasts in one fell swoop. I'm not ready for that yet.' - (Gaara)

"Does that mean you have alternative plans?" - (Hizuchi) inquired.

"I simply believe that there are other ways without risking too much." - (Gaara)

"That's also what we are thinking. There are just too many risks in your father's plan." - (Hizuchi)

In reality, there are many ways to develop this village but Gaara doesn't trust this person enough to share that valuable information.

"Now that you know what I think, what do you need me for?" - (Gaara)

"From this conversation, I'm sure you could already tell where this is going…What we want is for you to help us. Don't worry, we're not starting a civil war. We will only need you when the situation becomes dire. By tomorrow, I want to hear your ans- " - (Hizuchi)

"If that's all then I'm good with it." - (Gaara) interrupted.

"R-Really? Thank you so much." - (Hizuchi) said and bowed sincerely followed by the people behind him who also had grateful looks on their faces.

"So, what exactly is your plan?" - (Gaara)

"Our plan is to meet the daimyo and file a request to make your father step down from his position. It will be a lot of work but it's our only option. The council already secretly conducted a vote about this and they all agreed. We also asked the civilians and most of them have the same opinion as us, although some refused to share their thoughts, afraid of endangering their families which is understandable in this situation." - (Hizuchi)

"Secretly, huh. Wouldn't that make your request less credible?" - (Gaara)

"We are sure the daimyo will agree as well. He already signed another peace treaty with other nations but your father doesn't want to disclose this information to the public. He was planning to start an invasion without abiding by the laws of war. I also think this is what the daimyo wants us to do. He can't just allow someone to break his current relationship with other daimyos without getting any benefits out of it." - (Hizuchi)

"I understand. So, who will be the next Kazekage if this succeeds?" - (Gaara)

"To be honest, we haven't decided yet. It's because of the urgency that we are only doing this." - (Hizuchi)

"Hmm, as long as our line of command during the absence of our kage is functioning well, we should be able to survive during that time. Just make sure to find a candidate quickly." - (Gaara)

"Yes, we were planning to." - (Hizuchi)

'Hey, why not become the Kazekage yourself? You always have weird but good ideas, you know. You can also make the whole village your slave, don't tell me you don't want that.' - (Shukaku)

'Nah, I'm good. And that's not for me to decide.' - (Gaara)

"And after overthrowing my father, do you have any plans after that? Because if you don't then all of this is pointless. The very purpose of doing this is to improve the situation of our village, is it not?" - (Gaara)

"You are correct. We are planning to build more greenhouses to grow more crops to improve our agriculture. Although it will take a long time to compete with other agricultural industries, it will be enough to sustain our village. We can also export some of our herbs that only grow in our land to other nations. And once our situation improves, we will prioritize the funding for the research on growing crops and other plants more efficiently in this type of soil and climate without the use of a greenhouse." - (Hizuchi)

"If you have this kind of plan, why did you not propose this to my father?" - (Gaara)

"Honestly, I don't get your father… We already proposed this many times but he doesn't want the idea of sharing our resources to other nations. Like him, the previous Kazekages have the same kind of thinking, same as us, the council, because that's one of our biggest advantages in war. But the situation is different now, we have no other choice but to adapt." - (Hizuchi)

"I understand." - (Gaara)

Gaara and Hizuchi continued for an hour, discussing the details and preparation for their plan.

…

"Thank you for your cooperation. See you in 5 days." - (Hizuchi) said and shook Gaara's hand.

"No problem. As long as it prevents more deaths and sacrifices, I'm ready to help." - (Gaara)

//Flash back ends//

'2 more days before we meet the daimyo. During that time, I will be guarding Hizuchi and other council members in the daimyo's palace until we get back to the village.' - (Gaara)

"Hey, Gaara. Gaara, are you there?" - (Shinsuki)

"Oh, sorry… Anyway, the proctor is here." - (Gaara)

"Okay everyone, I will call your name alphabetically. Once you hear yours, go to the academy training ground." - (Proctor)

…

"Gaara, your next." - (Proctor)

"Good luck." - (Shinsuki)

Gaara stood from his seat and gave himself a good luck sign.

–Training ground–

There are three judges sitting on the sideline, each has a board and pen in them to score the students.

"Alright, for your first test: Fight that puppet over there using only taijutsu. We purposely placed a weak spot on it so that when you hit it, the puppet will be disassembled. Your goal is to find that weak spot in the shortest amount of time you can. No weapons are allowed." - (Judge 1) said and pointed at the human-like puppet.

….