Chapter 25

When I woke up the next morning, it was to the notification that the system calibration had finished. Turns out there had been multiple notifications while I was asleep about the game changing a few things it was changing already so the first notification had become obsolete. Apparently, a system administrator or something had gotten involved in the matter.

If I was a more patient man, I'd have spent my time looking through the changes that were made and trying to parse them to understand what had happened. Instead, I just called up my stat sheet to look through everything at once, and oh was it interesting.

Name; Gaara of the Desert

Age; Twelve

Level; 13

Title; Kazekage of Sunagakure

Chakra Capacity; 4,500/6,000 (Regeneration; 250 cp per minute)

Ichibi Chakra Capacity; 45,000/45,000 (Regeneration; 750 cp per minute)

Strength; 21

Speed; 57

Agility; 63

Endurance; 61

Intelligence; 75

Durability; 26

Perception; 39

Charisma- 42

Stat Points; 34

Skills;

Gamer's Mind Mark Two- ON

Taijutsu; 51

Ninjutsu; 82

Genjutsu; 2

Fuinjutsu; 47

Medical Ninjutsu; 63

Sand Control; 75

Pain tolerance; 28

Meditation; 76

Shape manipulation; 67

Chakra Sensing; 10

Chakra affinities;

Wind; 49

Earth; 42

Fire; 48

I watched the sheet with a scowl building across my face. Pretty much all my stats had seen a notable downgrade. What kind of nerf was this? It wasn't till I read through the notifications again that I realised that this wasn't a nerf at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was a buff. My power level was the same, but the numbers had changed. That meant my limits were being shifted. The game claimed that it was being shifted to the level of Madara Uchiha or something, so that was some serious scaling.

And even when I hit that limit, I still had ideas for how to improve my powers. Beyond that, there was something else that caught my eye in the stat sheet. I still laid in bed in my old room in my old apartment, so I had the freedom to experiment. I stared right at my index finger for my right hand and watched it shift, becoming a yellow, earth coloured. I focused on it and changed the shape, thinning out the sand that had once been my finger, and sending it floating across the room before I returned it to its original position on my hand and watched it return to flesh and blood.

Fuck. That was every bit as cool as I expected it to be. It made all the worries I had. The inner fears that I hid even from myself to fade away. I'd beaten Orochimaru by luck. It was a fluke. I was S-rank, but barely. Nowhere near the level of any of the Kage fuckers floating around. But now? I'd basically become unkillable. With this kind of power, I'd gone from bottom barrel scum to hanging with the truly scary big guys. The fact that my effective chakra capacity had gone down by a fuckton didn't even bother me as much as it could have.

From what I understood, 3000 chakra points was more than enough to carry out all the jutsu I needed to. All I had to do was be more careful about how I spent the chakra that had become my own. A quarter of it was already gone in maintaining a clone that I needed to perform special duties at the capital. That was non-negotiable.

Speaking of the capital, the first bit of aid was due to arrive today, and I needed to be ready to receive it whenever the time was necessary. It wouldn't do for me to not be there to take the credit for what I had done. I walked out of the room after taking a shower and freshening up. My home had enjoyed amenities beyond the pale for the average home in Suna, and luckily, the place I was moving to would enjoy similar amenities. I couldn't end up moving into the Kage mansion last night. By the time I'd finished with Chiyo, it was well into the morning, and I was happy to take the excuse to procrastinate the awkward meeting.

I was also going to be doing that this morning as I walked towards the office to begin my day instead of the mansion like I'd told myself I would. When I was greeted by the secretary, she met me with some robes and hat in her outstretched hands. I accepted them with a smile. The Kage gear had to be resized to fit me but Suna tailors worked quickly. Very quickly. I put it on and smiled at her, slightly disheartened when she seemed to cringe backwards a bit. She'd been my father's staff, and clearly not one of those ready to deal with me on a daily basis.

If I was Naruto or pretty much any other anime protagonist, I would have resolved myself to changing her mind. I wasn't them though. I was more pragmatic. In my position, I needed a secretary I could trust to have my back fully and completely. She wouldn't be able to fulfil that role. Not now. Maybe not ever. Still, I maintained my smile till I walked into the office and made a gesture with my hands calling down the anbu agents hidden around the office.

My orders were simple. We needed information so I had them liaise with others who would liaise with our agents in all the other villages I needed to know which villages would be mobilising and which ones would be staying put.

If war would come, we would need to be ready. And I ended things by asking for a map of Ta no Kuni. War against Otogakure was still months away but I had to make myself as conversant as I could with much of the geography. My meeting with the academy head was set for a few minutes for now so we could follow up on the changes being made to the curriculum.

"Toshiro-sensei" I greeted the man as he walked in. His white haired form dropped into a bow almost instantly. I smiled at the respect. It was manipulative, he wanted something, but being treated like an actual kage by someone who wasn;t the anbu who had sworn their lives to me was a refreshing experience.

"Kazekage-sama. My heart and sword are yours" He greeted

"Good. Now let us dispatch with all the formality. We have work to do."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. You mentioned changes to the curriculum"

"Yes, we will need a condensed curriculum for the next two years to match the village's militarisation. The peace the five nations have enjoyed will come to an end sooner or later and the Village hidden in the sands shall not be caught lacking when the time comes."

"A condensed curriculum? This is most unusual kazekage-sama"

"Is it? I have it on good authority that something like this has happened twice before already."

"Those were all in the middle of war, Kazekage-sama"

"War is what I am preparing for, Toshiro. Believe it or not, war will come to these lands sooner or later."

"There has been peace for over a decade, Kazekage-sama. This is the largest era of uninterrupted peace in the history of the five villages"

"Which is precisely why we must prepare ourselves, Toshiro. Our kage was assassinated by a rogue ninja from Konoha. Our allies do not remain as such, we are on our own and must be ready for anything."

"But a great ninja war"

"The greatest of them all is coming, Toshiro-san. Think. Use that brain of yours. Peace for over a decade means the other villages have had more than a decade to advance and prepare their war machines to deal with us. Unlike them, we have only suffered since the wars ended. Our Daimyo has seen fit to humiliate us at every turn, and Rasa's leadership was not the best. Suna is weak. We must fix this, Toshiro. Together. You are the only one that can help me with this. Can you do it? Your Kazekage requires this of you."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. What changes are you suggesting?" He seemed to have come over to my side of things and took out a notepad and pencil from one of his pockets. I'd had to raise a hand to prevent the anbu from interfering.

"First of all, we will condense the curriculum to two years"

"Starting from the first year, Kazekage-sama?" He asked and I nodded, ignoring the frown that began to spread across his face.

"Kazekage-sama is a prodigy with unseen talent, but that is not the situation of the average academy student. The average eight year old does not have the body strength or chakra capacity to deal with the rigours of ninja life" He said, trying to put as much respect in his tone as he could to take out the sting of disagreeing with me. It was then that I noticed the fear he was doing his best to hide. Has that always been there?

"Yes. I understand. That is why the academy will be matched with a revamped Genin corps. The Jounin track will be abolished, and every academy graduate will be placed in the Genin corps for a minimum of two years. There, they will learn under the tutelage of a rotating roster of Jounin and Chunin. Graduates will be examined and instantly promoted to Chunin" I told him and watched the dread build across his face.

"Ten year old chunin, Kazekage-sama?"

"Do not limit your thinking to the way things have been. Prepare to understand new limits of what is and is not possible. We will graduate the best of the best. The remainder will be sent to various administrative functions within the village and the land of wind itself."

"Within the Land of Wind?"

"Yes."

"Kazekage-sama. There is another issue. What will we teach in this accelerated curriculum?"

"Six months of basic education and physical fitness to begin with, and then ninja skills for the rest of the period. Ideally, we will focus on chakra control, the beginning of elemental control, taijutsu, bukijutsu, medical ninjutsu and fuinjutsu"

"All of this will be expensive, Kazekage-sama"

"Do not worry. The Daimyo has approved increased funding to the village itself and part of that will go to the academy. We will also be changing the rotation of academy teachers. All fit and battle ready Chunin will be sent to remedial training to prepare for active duty, and only injured or aged Chunin will be eligible to teach at the academy."

"Kazekage-sama! I must protest!"

"Noted and ignored."

He slumped back in his seat after he'd made as if to rise. In Suna, the academy was basically a cushy retirement job. Chunin with little future prospects got to retire from active duty and earn a greater than living wage while doing little beyond producing mediocre genin year after year. That had to change. If I wanted to change the way the academy operated, I could not do it with the same staff that had basically upheld and created the system I was trying to change.

If there's a fire you're trying to douse, you can't put it out from inside the house or something like that.

"What else, Kazekage-sama?" He asked, with a scowl building up on his face.

"Nothing for now. My next appointment begins in five minutes. My people will reach out to you to schedule another meeting to hash out the specifics, but if you could generate a draft curriculum based on the details I have given you, then I will be most grateful" I said, waiting for him to nod and scurry out of the office.

I didn't have another appointment. Not for hours, at least. That meant I had time to solve my secretary problem.

Mebuki lived in an apartment building on the edges of town. Adopted by a counsellor she might have been, but that counsellor also happened to have adopted a dozen other orphans that showed potential to be great in future. It was the business she was into, and while I did not judge, it might have made things more difficult for me in this particular instance. Should I be seen favouring one member of my council over the others so early into my reign. It was a balancing act. How to achieve what I wanted with the least amount of resistance from those who were ostensibly supposed to be helping.

Still though, having someone I trusted around me was worth more than whatever ill will or suspicion it could generate within the council. Those old farts were so used to their petty games and backroom dealings that they would never contemplate me appointing Mebuki to such a sensitive position as the one I was about to without some sort of deal having been made.

Still, even that would have its purposes. Division amongst the councillors was to my advantage in the end. If they were too busy questioning who had or hadn't made deals with me and being suspicious of each other, they wouldn't have the time in the day to fuck with me or my plans. Like all things politics, it was stupid and illogical, but somehow managed to work.

When I entered the apartment, I was actually surprised to find her inside. When she rushed at me with a hug building up, I was only mildly surprised. The Anbu didn't react. I'd already prepped them for this. Mebuki was one of those they were not to harm under any circumstances. I understood the hole it left in my defences, but I trusted her. And it was also a red herring for anyone who wanted to attack me. They'd see Mebuki as the weakness she was and focus on using her to get to me instead of the half a million other things they could try. Sometimes, it was better to have an obvious weakness, because you'd know exactly what to protect against and would have your guard up for it at all times. Even as Mebuki wrapped her arms around me, I scanned her chakra to make sure and my sand ran across and into her body without her detecting it. Years together had made her accustomed to having my chakra run across her body like this, so she had no reason to be suspicious.

"Uhm Sorry" She said, suddenly bolting out of the hug once she realised who exactly she was squeezing the life out of. "Kazekage-sama, my heart and sword are yours" She said, dropping to one knee and bending her head in deference. I picked up her hand and held it tight as I could. "Gaara to you, Mebuki. Always Gaara to you."

When she wrapped me in a hug the second time, I did my best to return it in the spirit it was given. After a few minutes, I finally managed to extract myself from her death grip.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can a man not visit his Onee-chan on his own? Must he have a reason?"

"The first thing wrong with that question is you calling yourself a man. Still have a few feet to go, methinks" The laugh her statement got from me was real and full. A full belly laugh ripped itself out of my lips before I could stop it, not like I'd ever try.

"I've got a job for you" I finally said when I sobered up

"I have a job"

"A better job, then"

"Head of the Hospital?" She asked, eyes comically large, drawing another laugh from me. I missed her. I missed this. Just someone who was with me for me. Not my strength, not my name, not what I could do for or to them.

"Nothing quite so impressive. I'm in need of a secretary"

"I've never been a secretary" She deadpanned

"I've never been Kazekage. We'll learn things together."

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

"Well, I say it is and I'm Kazekage so I'm always right." The banter was smooth and easy. Just as I preferred it to be.

"Why me?" She asked, and I could tell the question was a serious one.

"Because I trust you. That's the most important thing to me. I trust you. I trust you to tell me when I'm wrong. I trust you to do what I need you to. I trust you not to hide things from me or spy on me. Am I wrong to do so?"

"Never, Gaara. Never" She said and I nodded, expecting the answer

"Good. Now, will you take the job?" I asked her and she nodded before glomping me with another hug. Mission accomplished.

"Hold on. Hold on" She finally said after a bit.

"I need to negotiate. They said we should always negotiate jobs" I laughed right in her face at that. Mebuki was a genius, but could be an idiot a lot of the time.

"I'm serious" She said, pouting

"Ok. What do you want?" I said, trying to take her seriously,

"A better apartment" She said first

"You can have my old house. Apart from the location, its practically a mansion of its own."

"Pay?"

"Whatever you decide it is. Just be reasonable and I won't have any problems" She nodded, looking immensely grateful, not realising she was the one getting the short end of the stick here. If I chose to pay her, I'd most definitely overpay, and the girl would never pay herself a ryo she felt was unearned. It annoyed me that even years after coming to this world, I was still applying lessons learned from my old one. A trick like this was pretty much based on the idea some companies had that if you gave employees unlimited time off, then they would actually take less time off. Using such tactics against Mebuki felt dirty, but I didn't know better. Couldn't be better. Like the scorpion always says to the frog, 'it is my nature'.

Energised from the meeting with Mebuki, I made my way to the Kazekage mansion next. I'd face off with my siblings and end this once and for all. I walked in through the gate and entered the living room. I was unsurprised to see Kankuro and Temari sitting in the living room. It had become a habit to send my sand scouting the environment whenever I was entering a place I did not completely feel safe in. It was telling that I didn't scan Mebuki's apartment, but I was scanning the home that bore the last of my family.

Rasa had done a thing. A stupid stupid thing in keeping us so estranged from each other. The living room was large, multiple couches dominating the place, and fuinjutsu script visible on every wall. Probably regulating the temperature within. It was the only way a building like this could be habitable in the heat of the desert.

Too busy looking at the script, I paid no attention to my siblings, so I could not see them share a look before Temari ran right at me. For some reason, my sand did not stop her. He clutched me in a hug, seeming to hold on to me for dear life as tears ran down her face. She was taller than me so it was a bit awkward, but Kankuro who dwarfed the both of us came right behind her and wrapped the both of us up in his own embrace.

What was this feeling? Is this what family felt like? It was similar to what I felt with Lord Narohaya. This feeling of completeness. I felt complete with the both of them, like a part of my soul had been searching for something and found this in this group hug.

"Gaara. We've missed you so much" Temari said, sobbing increasing and Kankuro squeezed us even tighter as if to show his agreement.

Missed me? How? They did not even know me. How could they miss me? It was a lie. It had to be. Some sort of trick to make me let my guard down for them to take advantage of and pull the rug out from underneath me. If it was, why did it feel so perfect? Why was I so happy now? Why did my sand not defend me? Why weren't the Anbu doing anything? Why? Why? Why were the feelings disappearing? Where were they going? Gamer's mind? Why?

Quest Notification; You can not turn off Gamer's mind to feel emotions fully until Shukaku is subdued. Subdue him. 

Objective; Defeat and subdue Shukaku

Rewards; Status; 'Perfect Jinchuriki'; +20 to all stats; +15 to Sand Control.