Three-A Missed Opportunity

"Gaara left him alone after that day," Baki said. "And about a year and a half later they started doing missions as a team. They were far too young, but Gaara needed…the release." He took a drink. "Ebizo-jii-sama, does this help? The Kazekage never sent Kankuro away for training with your sister or with you. Does this tell you why?"

"I suppose we will never know for certain, but I believe that he did try to get my sister to take Kankuro as a pupil. I think he tried to use the boy as a bribe."

"A bribe?"

"Yes. He came back one more time and talked to my sister after he had taken the puppets. The council had demanded that the Kazekage do something about Gaara when he started to get out of control. It was ridiculous, they were the ones who had demanded that the Kazekage raise the demon in the first place. In any case, he came to my sister and asked her to remove the demon from Gaara and reseal it in its previous prison. I think he offered Kankuro in exchange. He offered her someone to replace her grandson. But she said no. And she refused to have any contact with him after that and withdrew completely from the village."

"So the Kazekage had to teach Kankuro himself. Why didn't he ask you?"

"He probably knew that I would support my sister's decision. And I might have. Did the boy really use the puppet that way the first time?"

"Yes, Ebizo-jii-sama. It is something I will never forget."

"It is unfortunate. Chiyo-nii-chan would have done much with him. Kankuro has a natural talent for puppet techniques, but the fierce passion that characterizes a great puppet user needs time to grow and mature. The Kazekage started him too early and then he was left to fend for himself. Much to his own detriment. It appears that neither his father nor you were able to rid him of his reckless streak."

"No. I was a poor teacher to him, to all of them. His father was the only one able to calm him down. And even he had trouble getting the boy to obey him."

Ebizo waved a bony hand, "I mean no criticism. I will probably do no better. He is not the first puppet user like that; many of the great ones were the same way. Remember how my sister attacked that young Leaf shinobi so rashly?"

Baki nodded.

"She was a tough, my Chiyo-nii-chan, to defy the Kazekage like that." Ebizo made a surprised noise, something had occurred to him. "But she was not the only one." He looked at Baki's sister. "Temari. She is quite skilled, a brilliant analyst, and with her diplomatic skills she is an excellent representative for this village. But she is no assassin. You did not train her as the Kazekage wanted."

"I did not. My skills are no longer needed by this village. And the girl was not suited to it. I gave her the skills best suited to her temperament. And as you have said, she has become an asset to this village. I believe the Kazekage would be pleased with the results of her training."

Ebizo nodded, "That is true. But I imagine he was not pleased when he realized what you were doing."

"Not at first. But Temari and I eventually persuaded him that it was for the best."

"Hmm. So, how long did the Kazekage wait before he introduced Kankuro to Kuroari?"

"Kankuro did not get another puppet until after his father's death. He did want one. They had numerous arguments about it." Baki heaved a sigh. "And then the Kazekage refused to discuss it any further. In fact, he stopped talking to his children altogether a few months before…before we tried to invade the Leaf village. He did not even discuss their mission at the chunin exams with them. The orders came to me and I had to deliver them. It was hard on Temari and especially Kankuro. He wanted to make chunin at the exams, to please the Kazekage. That is why he wanted another puppet."

"Kankuro is of the opinion that Orochimaru killed and replaced his father well before the invasion and the whole thing was Orochimaru's idea. That is his explanation for why his father became so distant. What do you think?"

Baki shrugged, "I don't know. A part of me would like to believe it. But Orochimaru himself said that he killed the Kazekage just before the exam."

"And he is a man known for his honesty, isn't he?" Ebizo said wryly. "You found his body. Could you tell anything from it?"

Baki shuddered at the memory, "Not really. Orochimaru had taken…steps to ensure that the body…all the bodies were almost unrecognizable."

"So it could be true. Hmm."

Ebizo meditated on that for a while.

"In any case, it meant that Kankuro was left without instruction of any sort in puppet techniques. He figured out Kuroari and Shanshouo on his own then?"

"He did teach himself how to use Shanshouo. But with Kuroari he had a little help. Ebizo-jii-sama, you might have a hard time believing how it happened."

Ebizo arched an eyebrow, "Is that so? Well, perhaps you should tell me and then I will be able to decide for myself."

A/N-This is shameless self-promotion I know, but you can find the reason for Kankuro's theory about the invasion in my story 'Aftermath'. HW2