As the four Shinobi reached the doors to the Hokage's office, Shikamaru began to moan in laziness. After all, it was a gruesome few flights of stairs to get to the office. Temari did notice that Shikamaru's breath was a bit heavier after the walk, and smiled at the thought of such an out of shape ninja. Shikamaru knocked softly on the oak doors with restraint, then turned the knob and walked in without any hesitation.

"Shikamaru! You're supposed to wait for my response to enter!"

"Yeah, I know, but I hate to wait and I wanna go home and play pops in Shogi."

Tsunade dropped her face into her palm and waved Shikamaru out without looking at him. With a slight shrug, Shikamaru walked out and looked at the three Sand Shinobi, who were waiting outside the door patiently.

"Okay, you guys can go in," Shikamaru said as he began to walk away.

"I wish to talk to the Hokage alone. Temari and Kankurou, please find something to do until I am done," Gaara said.

The way Gaara had said that gave Shikamaru a cold chill down his spine. Could that boy be trusted to meet with Tsunade alone? There wasn't any way to be sure that he wouldn't try to attack the Hokage, but common sense calmed the Leaf Shinobi down. There wasn't any reason for Gaara to attack; even if he wanted to, it didn't seem like his siblings were planning another attack. Besides, it seemed that they really did value the alliance between the Sand and the Leaf. Other than that, it also seemed like Gaara was a lot more calmer and his mind had comed to a more peaceful state. The next thought he had threw his whole paranoid away: this was the Hokage who had been known as one of the legendary Sannins. Gaara could not compete against that, and even if he could, it would take such a long time to deal with Tsunade, reinforcements would arrive before he could cause any damage. To Shikamaru, it seemed like a game of Shogi- the queen attacking the king without any backup. It wasn't reasonable, logical, or sane to be exact.

"You guys can watch me play Shogi while we wait."

"If that's your idea of a date, then I'm glad I'm not your girlfriend," Temari responded. Before Shikamaru could come up with a witty response, it was Gaara who made the next joke, surprisingly.

"If you try anything, I will beat you more painfully than my sand could," Gaara said monotonously.

"I think I should be more afraid of your sister beating me up than you or your sand," was Shikamaru's response. Shikamaru and Gaara gave a smile and chuckle right before Temari could smack the back of Shikamaru's head.

Tsunade was at her desk with a closed dark red book in her left hand, with her pointer finger at the page where she had stopped reading. She stood up respectfully and greeted the red-haired nominee for the position of Kazekage. His hair was the same color as the book she was reading; ironically, the title of book was "To Love is to Sacrifice". Gaara walked up to the desk and bowed with mutual respect and stood with some notice to the surrounding. It was a large office with some wooden chairs and paintings of the previous Hokage of the village. The balcony behind the desk held complete beauty under the sunset. The biggest feature of the office he noticed was the amount of books; it seemed as if the bookshelves were the walls themselves.

"Thank you for accepting me at such short notice, Hokage of the Leaf."

"The pleasure is mine, Gaara of the Desert. What can I do for you?"

This made Gaara stop to think. It wasn't like him to ask for advice or help, but he knew he had to for the sake of himself and his people.

"You are known as the strongest of the village. I've learned from a certain person that to be strong, you must have someone to protect. I've come to the conclusion that because you, the Hokage, are so strong, you must have people to protect; the villagers, correct?"

Tsunade nodded in confirmation, and Gaara continued.

"My following question is this: How can one protect those who who hate and fear the person that protects them? If I am to become Kazekage, I would not be strong enough to protect them if they do not return the love I give. So what am I to do, dear Hokage?"

This was a question that Tsunade, the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, was eventually expecting from Gaara. She knew that it was only a matter of time before this young boy became the prodigy of the Sand Village, but who could have guessed he would have become the strongest in such a short amount of time? Tsunade wanted to study the answer to this question a lot more, as she was expecting Gaara wouldn't have asked until much later. Then again, she wasn't expecting Gaara to become the Kazekage for another ten years or so.

"Do you recall the name Uzumaki Naruto?" Tsunade asked. The answer was a short nod and a hidden smile from Gaara.

"What of him? He was the other reason I wished to come here. I wanted to apologize and thank him."

"He left the village a little bit after the mission of retrieving Uchiha Sasuke failed. Speaking of Naruto, there is an elite outlaw group known as the Akatsuki that want to capture him. That is why he left to train and become stronger," The Hokage spoke with fear in her voice.

She envisioned the Akatsuki stealing away Naruto as did death stole her precious brother and fiance. Gaara gave a concerned look, but then calmed down as he knew that Naruto would not lose so easily. They both looked at each other knowing the same exact thing. That Naruto never gives up, no matter what the circumstances.

"However," Tsunade continued, "my sources have reason to believe that you, Gaara, are in the same dangers as Naruto are in. Let me explain this briefly; please have a seat Gaara."

Gaara sat at the desk and looked at the grave expression that Tsunade was trying to hide. What was going on?

"The Akatsuki seek power, plain and simple. They are looking to capture mythical demons to gain to their powers. You hold the demon Shukaku, correct?" Tsunade asked, already knowing the answer. As Gaara nodded surprisingly, she continued her story.

"As you may know, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was a story told by many. The demon would have destroyed the Leaf Village, but the previous Hokage before me had sacrificed his life to seal the demon away. The legacy of the Fourth Hokage is none other than Uzumaki Naruto. To seal the demon, the Fourth Hokage needed someone to carry the demon inside of him. Uzumaki Naruto was the one chosen, and was to be considered the savior of our people."

Gaara listened somewhat bored, but the very mention of Naruto's name had caused him to intensify his listening.

"Even though he was the savior of our people, it didn't turn out that way. Our villagers saw him as the demon itself, instead of the one who saved the villagers. As fate would turn out, the villagers also passed down the undying hate for him to their children. Although it was a strict law to never mention to the children that Naruto carried the demon, the secret was kept, but the hate still spread. Uzumaki Naruto never had a single family member or friend until he was twelve."

Gaara sympathized greatly for Naruto now. Gaara remembered that Naruto said he was always alone, and now he knew why. He couldn't understand why humanity was so cruel to those who are different.

"To answer your previous question, Gaara of the Desert, I must use Naruto as an example. Even though he didn't have anyone to protect, his strong will and desire to have a precious person, gave it to him. In a sense, he willed his fate; to have someone to love and protect. If you are to become Kazekage, your will itself will spread to the people. If you apply your hate and malice into your will, then that is all you will get in return. That is why you have led such a lonely life. Yes, even when you try to love, there will be times when you will be rejected. All people don't understand that people are different, but there are at least some. In order for one to love to come back to them, time must pass to dissolve the hate of differences between them. Time is all it takes for love to work."

Both Tsunade and Gaara were deeply moved and surprised by the speech. Tsunade herself wasn't even expecting the answer to be that well defined and fresh. Gaara looked to the Hokage with a newfound respect, and gave the most authentic smile he had ever given to anyone. Gaara stood up and bowed with so much respect, he had almost lost his balance from the Gourd falling off.

"Thank you, Hokage. You are indeed wise," he thought as he walked out the door. His only question to life was answered and his path was certain. Truly, he had turned away from the path of darkness.

"If no love exists, then it is up to me to will the love to exist."

Maybe that's why Naruto wants to be Hokage. So he can will upon the whole village his love, and to be loved in return. He may not seem it, but he truly was a genius in emotion. Gaara walked around the quiet village and thought of the young boy who had saved him. He looked at the Ramen eatery, walked in and sat down on a stool.

"What can I get for you?" The restaurant owner asked.

"What does Uzumaki Naruto usually get?" Gaara asked, remembering that Naruto liked to eat at this place.

"Everything, but his favorite is the Shrimp!" The answer came back to him in the form of a laugh.

About halfway through his meal, a young boy with a brown vest walked in and sat next to him. He wore the Leaf Head protector over his forehead, and had a blank look to his eye.

"You are Gaara of the Desert, right?"

"Correct. Who are you?"

"Hyuuga Neji. I hear you were asking the Hokage about Naruto?"

Gaara nodded and answered, "Yes. He saved me from myself. Certainly, he is someone I can give my truest respect to."

"I agree. He saved me as well. Let us have some ramen over this conversation," Neji said with a smile.

"Only if you let me pay for it," Gaara answered with a smile.