Need you alive

Not too far away from where Gaara fought Kimimaro, Kankuro was currently about to finish off Sakon and Ukon, having successfully captured them using Kuroari and Karasu.

Just as he was about to finish them off, Gaara's sand-clone interjected, stopping him from doing so.

"Kankuro… Do not kill… Keep barely alive…"

Although the sand-clone could barely articulate its words, Kankuro understood. For some reason, Gaara wanted to keep them alive, so he would just take them to the brink of death.

"GUUUAAAAAH!"

As Karasu's blades entered Kuroari, Sakon and Ukon's screams resounded throughout the nearby forest, scaring Kiba.

'Man… As enemies, they were scary… But they're the best kind of allies!'

Kiba was shocked. Kankuro had taken down the opponent that he had struggled against for so long, in a mere five minutes.

Walking over to Kuroari, Kankuro placed a hand on it.

"Well, you can thank your lucky stars… For some reason, Gaara needs you alive, so you get to live another day..."

As his words trailed off, no sound came from inside Kuroari. Smirking Kankuro looked at Kiba with a provocative smile.

"Man, Leaf genin sure are weak!"

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The same thing happened on Shikamaru and Temari's front. When Temari was about to kill Tayuya, Gaara's clone stopped her.

"Alright… If Gaara wants her, it must be for some good reason…"

"Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai!" (Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance!)

With a shout, Temari summoned Kamatari, who sliced through the entire forest around them. Not too far away, Tayuya's body was about to get crushed by a tree, when Temari saved her.

"Wh… Why?"

Looking up at Temari, Tayuya coughed out blood as he curse mark faded.

"Someone needs you alive… You can consider yourself lucky...!"

Turning around, Temari smiled towards Shikamaru.

The latter just stared in shock. Now, that was power.

He felt like he had dodged a bullet, not drawing her in the Chunin exams… She was even scarier than his mom.

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As Kidomaru readied another arrow, a bunch of sand started creeping under his feet.

When he noticed, it was already too late. The sand spread around him, completely locking his movements.

"What is this!? Why can't I get out!?"

In his head, he couldn't believe it. Not only did he not detect the sand approach, but even in his cursed form, he couldn't escape.

"Kido… Maru… Come… With… Master…"

Kidomaru got scared when a head emerged from the sand that was binding him. It spoke with an eerie voice, and looking at it, he could vaguely recognize it.

'I guess it's over for me, huh?'

Unable to do anything, Gidomaru let himself get engulfed by the sand as he lost consciousness. Once this was done, the sand clone separated itself from the cocoon it had formed and sped towards Neji.

'Is he not going to shoot? What hap- What!?'

Through his Byakkugan, Neji noticed Kidomaru's chakra fading. Looking in his direction, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"So they've come… I'm glad…"

With a gaping hole in his body, Neji fell to the ground. Seeing this, the clone picked him up and hurried in Konoha's direction. On the other hand, the sand cocoon seemed to have a will of its own, as it hovered in Gaara's direction.

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"Are you alright?"

Gaara smiled as he watched the weakened Lee. Seeing him, Lee sighed in awe.

"I'll train even harder from now on, so please tell Shira-san that I'm expecting a rematch!"

"Sure thing… I'm sure he'll be glad to hear that. Let's take you to the hospital for now."

"Aren't we going to help Naruto?"

Hearing Lee's words, Gaara smiled mysteriously.

"Only Naruto can save Sasuke from the darkness that envelops him… Us going there will only have a negative impact."

Seemingly understanding his words, Lee nodded. If they were to go and beat Sasuke, he might just try and escape over and over again… It was better to let Naruto, who they trusted, do the job.

Having successfully fooled Lee, Gaara internally sighed. He really felt like he'd dodged a bullet.

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A few hours later, the sand trio gathered near Konoha. Kankuro and Temari were accompanied by Gaara's sand clones, which carried the sound five, not including Jirobo, in them. To make it so that they weren't found out, Gaara used a chakra suppressing seal and buried them underground, making sure the had some room to breathe.

He would come back for them later. After all, they were an integral part of some of his future plans.

"What do you need them for, Gaara?"

Hearing Temari's question, Gaara crossed his arms.

"They're useful to me. I won't give you the details yet, you'll find out eventually."

"Tch. Stingy…"

Kankuro clicked his tongue. Even though he couldn't force Gaara to talk, he was still curious.

"Anyways, we need to take all of these guys to a hospital as soon as possible. Lee, you lead the way."

Of course, Gaara was referring to Choji, Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru. They had all either severely exhausted themselves, or were on the verge of dying… Or both.

"On it!"

Lee nodded at Gaara's words, quickly taking them to the Konoha hospital. The guards on gate duty let them through without any fuss, seeing the state in which the genin were in.

Once they reached the Konoha hospital, the four patients got admitted immediately and the fifth Hokage was notified. Soon, she would arrive at the scene and help out the doctors.

Having guaranteed the safety of these people, Gaara felt better. Now, the leaf owed the sand even more than they used to, and through this exchange, their bonds had deepened with the younger generation.

Of course, he had to make sure not to get on the leaf's bad side… Having them as enemies would never be a good thing. That said, they were on very good terms currently, all thanks to his hard work.

Having finished their job, Gaara decided to leave. As they were walking out of the hospital, Tsunade arrived, accompanied by Shizune and Guy.

"Guy-Sensei!"

Lee started crying tears as he ran to his teacher, who punched him in the face, sending him flying, surprising everyone. Guy then walked up to Lee, hugging him and letting tears flow uncontrollably.

"Lee! You are a stupid student! Don't ever do that again… You weren't meant to leave the hospital!"

"G-Guy-sensei…!"

They both cried in unison, not caring for anyone around them.

"Lee… I understand that you had to go save your friends… Your youth is burning in full vigor! You are forgiven!"

"Guy-Sensei! I'm sorry!"

As they made a scene, Tsunade awkwardly laughed, walking over to Gaara and his siblings. Seeing this, Gaara knew he had to treat her like the Hokage, so he slightly bowed.

Seeing him do that, both Temari and Kankuro followed.

"You three… I am very thankful for what you have done. The leaf will remember this debt! Give your father my regards."

"Hai!"

The sand trio nodded in unison as Tsunade allowed them to leave.

As they reached the entrance, Gaara took one last look at Konoha.

'We'll be stronger than you… You'll all have to bow under Sunagakure's power!'

It wasn't just Konoha… Every single nation would fall under the rule of Sunagakure. Swearing it in his heart, Gaara departed.