We aren't saints

Gaara looked at the man even after he finished speaking and asked, "Since they're so diligent in their work, where do they stay? Or rather, how can they be contacted?"

The man replied, "You can simply visit their office. They have one on every corner of the village."

Temari and Kankuro exchanged a glance. It was clear that confronting a gang like that would only lead to trouble, especially for the sake of helping one person.

"Well, if we're going, we might as well go in the name of the people here," Temari said, her tone resolute.

Kankuro didn't respond, and Lady Chiyo remained silent. Gaara, however, spoke up, his voice calm but firm.

"You all can go. As for me, I don't want to be involved in anything here. I'm still too young for this."

Everyone paused, their thoughts turning to the same question. Is that an excuse to avoid fighting?

The shopkeeper, still kneeling, spoke up, his voice tinged with a plea. "A Shinobi is supposed to defend the weak and protect the small. Isn't that true?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed, and he replied, "That is true. But that's also another reason I don't want to go. This situation doesn't concern us in any way. Involving ourselves will only have adverse effects, plus… I feel like he's lying."

The group was taken aback by Gaara's blunt assessment. They turned their gazes back and forth between Gaara and the shopkeeper, unsure how to process his words. They couldn't just come into the village and leave now, especially with the people looking to them for hope. Turning them down now would be a difficult decision, one that carried weight.

Temari thought it over, and Kankuro did too, but Lady Chiyo considered the situation differently. She had been watching carefully, and something didn't sit right with her. She had seen enough in her time as a Shinobi to recognize deception when it was in front of her. Despite her mastery of puppeteering, Lady Chiyo could still tell when something wasn't quite as it seemed.

The safe was real, the seal was fake, she thought. There was money inside, but it wasn't forcefully taken or stolen.

Someone was deliberately trying to manipulate them, setting the pieces on their chessboard, but Lady Chiyo couldn't figure out exactly what their game was.

She could walk away and let the situation unfold without her involvement. After all, technically, their mission didn't require them to solve every problem in the village. A little bit of propaganda and a few days of action, and they'd have completed their mission.

But then again, if she turned her back on it, could she really walk away? Wasn't that just as dangerous, or even worse?

She wasn't a saint. Her past was full of decisions she couldn't easily erase, a history of actions that left behind a high body count. This wasn't her village; it wasn't Rasa who she could just call out. She had always preferred to mind her own business—so why was this particular problem tugging at her conscience?

Just then, Gaara, who had been quietly observing, turned to her and spoke in a low voice. "We can't save them all. And if we can't do that, then we're only temporarily alleviating their suffering, making it worse later on. Leave this for someone else."

His words struck deep. Gaara's blunt honesty always had a way of cutting to the heart of things, and the reality of what he said was undeniable. Solving only part of the problem was just as bad as not solving it at all. It was a half-measure that would leave the root of the issue untouched, likely leading to greater suffering down the line.

Lady Chiyo stood still for a moment, her thoughts shifting. She knew Gaara was right. The temptation to dive in and try to fix it was strong, but sometimes, doing so only caused more harm. She had been around long enough to know that not every battle could—or should—be fought.

After a long pause, Lady Chiyo finally nodded, her expression firm. This wasn't their fight. She understood that now, and with a reluctant sigh, she made her decision. She would let this situation play out, even if it meant leaving some things unresolved.

Turning to Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro, she spoke with finality. "We'll leave this for now. But we'll keep our eyes open. If this truly becomes a threat, we'll handle it then."

And with that, they began to move away from the shop, the weight of their decision hanging in the air. The village was full of secrets, and not all of them needed to be unraveled by them.