Chapter 12 - Talking Strategy

The next morning

Gaara quietly sat on the hotel roof as he watched the sun rise; having spent the night watching the moon and thinking through the events of the day prior. Usually, Shukaku would have tried his best to annoy the hell out of him during his reminiscing, but the tanuki had been strangely quiet for most of the night, leaving the redhead to his thoughts in an act that was so unlike him. . .

. . . Until now.

"It's daybreakbrat!" Shukaku announced, smirking when he felt the boy grimace."And knowing your sensei, he'll want to start talkingabout the final round as soon as you and your siblingssit down for breakfast."

"I know Shukaku, and I'm not looking forward to it,"The prince mumbled, slowly standing up. "But that's the kind of person Baki is. No nonsense, all business, and as annoyingly formal as you can get."

"And your father?"The tanuki suddenly asked as Gaara dusted off his pants. "How would you describe him as a mentor?"

"As if you have no idea, Shukaku. . ."

"Pretend I don't Gaara. Humor me here!"

"Fine. . . He's coarse, unforgiving, and unrelenting, like the desert we were born in,"Gaara grumbled as he re-crossed his arms. "Why are you even asking me this Shukaku? You've been sealed inside me for my entire life, before I was even born. You've seen what my father is like through my eyes; what he has put me through. Why the sudden questioning now?"

"True; I've seen what your father is like, especially when he puts in the effort to train you," Shukaku admitted, his tone tame in comparison to its normal level."But in all honesty, I didn't know what your true opinions on his mentoring was until now. You are surprisingly tightlipped over that, even in your thoughts . . . I may be sealed inside you, but I'm not completely privy to your thoughts."

"Well, that's surprising to hear. . ."

"Hey! I may like destruction and carnage, but I'm not really nosy. . ."

"Unless the topic involves destruction and carnage that is."

"Okay, you got me there."

Gaara simply smirked as he looked up at the sky; his thoughts slowly going back to the times when his father took the time out of his busy schedule to oversee his training personally.

Itwas a long-standing tradition, especially for shinobi families, for the older generation to pass their skills and teachings to the next one, and not even the royal families were excluded from this trend. However, it was more difficult to uphold due to the Kings and Queens' various duties to their respective kingdoms.

King Rasa was no exception.

For the better part of his adult life, the man has had to juggle his duties as a monarch with his duties as a father, and unfortunately, his royal duties usually won out, much to his kids annoyance, consternation, and eventual relief. He always struggled to make any time for them, and it had only been getting worse with the Wind Kingdom's various problems piling up in recent months.

For most of their lives, the Sand Siblings were raised by nannies and tutors. The King would receive updates on their progress, only really spending time with his children during some of their training sessions, official royal events, and the occasional family dinner, and even during those moments, he was not entirely fatherly in his demeanor.

He proved to be quite the stubborn man, being standoffish, cold, or even a bit unwelcoming to them when they interacted, especially with Gaara, who simply rewarded such behavior with similar behavior in return.

"Your father is definitely no 'Father of the Year' candidate by any means . . . It's like he has had a permanent stick up his ass since birth."Shukaku couldn't help but grumble as Gaara walked toward the roof's entrance. "Hey! Have you ever wondered what the bastard was like before you were born?"

"A few times, but it's not like I'm going to get a good answer if I asked around," Gaara was quick to say in return. "I could ask Temari and Kankuro, but they were so young at the time they likely don't remember much, and I'm not planning to ask the palace staff either."

"And why not?"

"I make them uncomfortable enough as it is already because I have you sealed inside me."

"Oh yeah . . ."

"Plus, I wasn't the most well-behaved child growing up, and some of it was not even my fault," Gaara added, his comment earning him a quick chuckle from the tanuki. ". . . The staff would be more worried about not offending me than actually giving me a truthful answer anyway."

"Ok, fair point."

When Gaara finally returned to the suite, he found his siblings standing by the dining room table as a member of the hotel staff set out their breakfast, which was a mixture of traditional delicacies and Western cuisine. Still dressed in their pajamas, both looked quite disheveled, and hungry, as they watched the young man work.

As for Baki, he was out on the porch, looking out at the village with his arms crossed behind his back, totally oblivious to what was happening inside.

"How long has he been out there?" Gaara asked as he approached the table.

"For a while," His sister mumbled as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. "I woke up just as he finished calling for room service. . . He's been out there ever since."

"Knowing him, he's probably thinking about what he'll say during breakfast," Kankuro suggested as he tipped the worker, watching him bow before leaving. "I expect something finals related, probably what we should expect and how we must conduct ourselves."

"Most likely," Temari agreed as she walked over to the open doorway. "Baki-sensei, breakfast is ready!"

She didn't wait for him to respond, choosing to join her brothers at the table instead. Baki joined them seconds later, taking his seat across from the Crown Princess, remaining silent as everyone started filling their plates.

And then he spoke. . .

"It's tradition for the Showcase organizers to send letters reporting on the preliminary proceedings to all the kingdoms once the preliminaries are over, even to the ones that weren't competing," Baki announced as he cut into his meal.

"And you bring this up why?"

"Because you should expect a message from your father in the coming days." Was all he said in response to the puppeteer, his words making Temari grimace.

"Please don't try to ruin my appetite," Temari grumbled as she brought a piece of bacon to her lips. "Father will probably write us some half-hearted congratulations note before launching into why it's crucial for us to do well in the final rounds, again."

"Don't forget the part where he mentions that he's coming to view the finals," Kankuro mumbled, his attention more on his food than on the conversation. "I can just imagine it now: Him sitting with the other kings in attendance, watching us stoically behind that cloth he likes to wear over his face."

"Does he even speak in that fantasy of yours?" Temari asked, slightly amused.

"Oh, he'll make small talk alright. At the very least, he has to be cordial to his fellow kings, but sometimes, I wonder if he was born to be an Ice King than the Wind King."

"Oh, will you two stop with the mockery?!" Baki asked, his words coming as a bit of a shock for the three. "Yes, I understand that all three of you have issues with your father, and yes, he doesn't help the situation either with the way he acts toward you three."

"Isn't he supposed to be one of your father's most reliable supporters." Shukaku asked, just as baffled as his vessel.

"He is, but I guess even the most reliable supporters are allowed to criticize the people they support every once in a while." Gaara quietly replied as he watched his sensei.

For as long as the siblings could remember, Baki had been a reliable supporter of their father never speaking an ill word about him while sticking with him through every decision he's made while in office, even the bad ones.

This was as close to a negative remark that they had ever heard him speak, and they've known him for years.

"As you all may have noticed, things have not been going well for the kingdom these past few months, and it's not just because of the lack of profit we're seeing from the shinobi division," Baki continued. "The dry season has been especially brutal this year, and the nobles have been a bit restless these days thanks to some of the decrees your father had to make to offset shortages . . . Altogether, the situation has made your father more stressed than normal."

"Oh, we know. . . At this point, we think that if the heat of battle or an assassin won't do him in, the stress will." Kankuro pointed out before taking a sip of his orange juice. "Father doesn't know how to take a break or sleep for that matter."

"It's only a matter of time before he develops insomnia rings even bigger than Gaara's." Temari added, shooting a smirk the redhead's way.

"It's possible . . ." Gaara mumbled as he dipped his spoon into his miso soup.

"Maybe . . . Now, get back to eating. When you're done, head for the living room. We need to start discussing your future competition."

Twenty-five minutes passed before all four Wind natives had finished their morning meal. While Baki moved all the empty plates out into the hallway, Temari and Kankuro went to get ready while Gaara quickly brushed his teeth. The three siblings found Baki waiting patiently for them in the living room, seated in one of the leather armchairs. Temari quickly claimed the other one, leaving her brothers to take the couch.

"Ok Baki, where do we start first?" Temari asked as she watched the older man lean back in his seat. "What's on your mind?"

"We'll start with your immediate competition." The older man announced, crossing his arms. "I want to hear your opinions and observations. What do you make of them?"

"Well, Nekonome will be trouble for me if her claws get anywhere near my chakra strings." Kankuro mumbled as he rolled his head back.

"Is that all you're going to say? You're worried about her cutting your chakra strings?" Temari asked as she looked at her brother with disbelieving eyes.

"It's a legitimate concern!"

"But it's not your only one," Temari argued. "Nekonome's performance in the preliminaries shows that not only is she very agile, but she has quite a good understanding of taijutsu as well. Her agility is not a good match against your puppets' projectiles, and you wouldn't be able to protect yourself if she manages to take your puppets out of the equation. Your hand-to-hand skills simply don't match up with hers."

"Your sister is correct on all fronts Kankuro." Baki announced, cutting in before the puppeteer could even launch a rebuttal. "As you are now, you would definitely struggle against Haruka Nekonome."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence!" Kankuro grumbled, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "I'm happy to hear it, but seriously, do you really think I'll do that badly against her?"

"Most likely," Baki admitted. "You have a definitive talent for puppet ninjutsu, and that can't be denied, but puppeteering is a standard practice in our kingdom. One that's well known, so Nekonome will be familiar with the type of tactics you'll likely use."

"Don't expect her to fall for any of your poisonous tricks so easily," Temari advised. "Puppeteers like you are known for using poison in battle, so she'll prepare for that. . . She's fast too, and if she manages to get past your puppets. Well, I suggest you start brushing up on your taijutsu, because you're definitely going to need it."

". . . I figured as much," the puppeteer mumbled as he looked up at the ceiling, conceding to their points. "Gaara, you want to add anything?"

"Well, since the Nekonomes are so closely linked to cats, why not mess with their senses for a bit?" The redhead suggested. "Her senses are likely similar to a cat's own, so if you confuse her sense of hearing or smell, you should have a better chance at disorienting her."

". . . Now that's the kind of advice I was looking for. Thanks!" Kankuro said, a little shocked by his brother's words. "Does anyone else want to add on, or can we move on to one of you two now?"

"Let's move on to your opponent then Temari," Baki conceded, turning his gaze to the Crown Princess. "What do you make of Shikamaru Nara?"

"From a purely physical standpoint, he's not the most dangerous threat going into the finals," said Temari, thinking it over as she brought a hand to her chin. "He's physically lazy, but his intelligence is what makes him such a threat. He's likely the strategist of his team, so I wouldn't doubt that he'll already have a couple of plans ready for me when we finally meet for battle."

"You must also be wary of his shadow ninjutsu," Baki added. "His use of shadow manipulation means that you must always stay aware of your surroundings completely. One wrong move, and you'll become his puppet. . . Now then, Gaara, it's your turn. Your thoughts on Sasuke?"

"From what I saw, he wasn't at his best yesterday," The redhead mumbled, with Shukaku voicing his agreement in his head. "He was holding back, and I think it has something to do with why he was clutching his neck so much before the preliminary fights began."

"I think you're right Gaara. I noticed that too," Temari mumbled. "Sasuke didn't take any noticeable physical damage during his fight, but his sensei was quick to take him away once the match was over. . . It was probably an injury he got while in the Forest of Death. That would explain the quick exit."

"Does it matter!? He'll be all healed up by the time the finals roll around!" Kankuro reminded them. "Besides, he likely won't have a concrete strategy against you when you two face each other. He wasn't present for any of the other matches. He only reemerged once they were all over!"

"He may not have seen Gaara fight, but the rest of his team certainly did. He could always ask them for info." Temari stated matter-of-factly, shutting Kankuro up immediately.

"Speaking of Gaara's preliminary match, it was an eye-opener for me," The princess slowly admitted as she turned to the redhead. "Your sand has earned its reputation as an ultimate defense. We've seen it in action so many times, it's hard to dispute it at this point."

"Prior to our arrival here in Konoha, I always thought that the only possible way someone could beat it was if they had a very powerful water affinity."

"How strong are we talking here?" Kankuro suddenly asked. "Like strong enough to create whirlpools or King Tobirama level strong?"

"Hmm, you can't get any stronger than King Tobirama," Baki mumbled. "The second Fire King earned his reputation as the greatest water ninjutsu user of his time for a reason. No one has ever come close to his power since then, not even any of the Water Kings themselves."

"I wouldn't go that far in terms of strength. I'm just saying that I always figured someone with a strong penchant for water ninjutsu would be the worst person that Gaara could face in a battle," Temari clarified as she held her hands up. "And then that match with Lee happened. . . Turns out your shield has a second weakness after all."

"It's not fast enough to protect me from high-speed attacks." Gaara admitted as Shukaku started grumbling in his head. "This was the first time I ever faced an opponent who could use speed as an effective counter, and, well, it was shocking. I'll admit that."

"Shocking?" Kankuro asked, his eyebrows raised slightly. "I've never seen you looked so shocked in battle before till after those weights dropped, and damn, they dropped. . . Lee's sensei may be weirdly eccentric, but his teaching methods are apparently effective."

"Unless Sasuke increases his speed exponentially in these upcoming weeks, I don't see him beating Gaara with that strategy," Baki admitted. "Genjutsu-wise, he's an Uchiha, so he'll undoubtedly use his Sharingan during the battle."

"It wouldn't be as effective though against him as it would against other opponents, right?" Kankuro asked. "Shukaku's presence within him should give him some protection."

"I'll admit it. Your brother's not wrong," Shukaku quietly mumbled. "My presence should give you some protection, especially since your opponent is still young and likely not too experienced with the genjutsu aspect of Sharingan. . . If he had more years under his belt, then maybe there could be some issues."

"Maybe, Shukaku?"

"Look, if you're going to go up against a tailed beast with genjutsu, you better make sure you're Madara Uchiha-level strong when you make the attempt. . . That's all I'm gonna say on the matter."

"Gaara, are you okay?" Kankuro suddenly asked, breaking the redhead out of his thoughts. "You looked out of it for a second."

"Shukaku was talking to you about something, wasn't he?" Temari asked, more curious than concerned.

"All he said was that his presence will give me some protection from whatever genjutsu illusions that Sasuke plans to use," Gaara calmly replied as he took a deep breath. "Apparently, the younger and more inexperienced the genjutsu user is, the worse off against tailed beasts they are."

"Well, that's comforting. . . Then again, Sasuke may not need genjutsu or a boost in speed to beat you," Temari suggested as she shrugged. "A jutsu with enough piercing power could be enough to get through your defense."

"A month gives the Uchiha brat enough time to develop one." Shukaku grumbled, not happy with the thought.

"Great. . ."Gaara said in return, not liking the idea of anyone being capable of piercing his sand.

He already dealt with Lee breaking through his armor with his fists, but someone being able to pierce through his sandy walls with a jutsu with enough force behind it was an entirely different prospect that he just wasn't looking forward to.

"Temari raises a good point," Baki mumbled. "The Uchihas are known for their fire style ninjutsu, but fire alone isn't enough to break through sand. Lightning and wind hold the most piercing power among the five elements, but we don't know if the Uchiha is capable of either one."

"He didn't really use ninjutsu during the match itself, now did he?" Kankuro couldn't help but ask as he took out a notepad and a pencil from a scroll he had in his pocket. "All that we really know about Sasuke is the basic clan info you can read about in any history scroll you come across. We haven't seen anything unique from him so far."

"In other words, I'm going into my battle practically blind." Gaara pointed out. ". . . Eh, that's usually how it is, isn't it? I usually don't know much about my opponent at the start of a fight anyway."

"So, we shouldn't treat it like it's completely different from all the other battles you've been in before?" Temari asked, looking amused. Gaara simply shrugged, but that answer wasn't the satisfying one she was hoping for. "Anyway, all I can really suggest is that you just stay vigilant. Don't give the Uchiha any openings. . . He seems like one of those guys that will really make you pay if you do."

"Um, I guess that wraps up our immediate opponents," Kankuro mumbled as he started sketching the base of a new puppet. "Should we talk about the others now? They're not our immediate competition at the moment, but it would be good to make sure we left no stone unturned."

"We should," Baki admitted. ". . . Regardless of who you end up facing, it's always beneficial to learn all you can about your future opponents before the time comes."

"Well, if we're going to talk about the rest of the competition, for starters, our fellow royals must have learned some of their skills from their parents, skills that may be difficult to counter," Temari mumbled as she rested her elbows along her chair's armrests. "Other than Shizuka's Dragon Gale jutsu and Adamantine Chains, our knowledge on their ninjutsu is limited. . ."

"Princess Shizuka definitely learned her jutsu from her mother, as for Prince Naruto, it's likely that his father took the lead on his training," Baki mused. "His speed is already an indicator of his father's influence. . . Could be building him up to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique."

"The Fire King is terrifying on the battlefield because of that technique alone. If his tailed beast carrying son learns it . . ." Kankuro trailed off, slowly becoming terrified by the thought as his eyes went wide. ". . . Aw man."

"Yeah, that thought is not fun," Temari mumbled, agreeing with her brother for once. "Let's move on to someone else."

"Well, that Neji guy is straightforward," said Kankuro, glad that they could move to someone else. "He's a product of his clan; a Hyuga through and through."

"All you have to do is not let him get close to you to knock out your chakra points, which means long range would have to be the way to go," Gaara advised. "However, it'll definitely be hard to catch him off guard. His Byakugan gives him near 360-degree vision . . . Sneaking up on him will be nearly impossible."

"You can't get close to that Aburame kid either," Temari added. "His bugs eat chakra, and if they get a hold on you, it's game over."

"Nanami Otoribashi showed that she's competent with a sword."

"You remembered her full name?" Kankuro quickly asked, his eyes wide again.

"Shukaku liked her match. Plus, why would I forget someone who took down their opponent in one move?" Gaara asked. When Kankuro didn't offer up a response, he continued. "She's probably one of the fastest ones still competing. . . The question now, is how competent is she in a fight when she doesn't have her sword in hand."

"And then there is the lone Sound genin," Baki added. "His sonic attacks will be troublesome."

"I see him as a wild card, and I don't like wild cards," Temari grumbled. "You can't really plan for them."

"No, but you can still observe them," said Baki, smirking for once. ". . . For the next month, in between your training sessions, I want you to watch your competition when possible. Any new information you can get could be beneficial. After all, the more you know, the better you can prepare. . . Now, if you excuse me?"

"Where are you going?" Temari blurted out as Baki started heading for the door.

"The Fire King has requested my presence, along with the sensei overseeing the Sound team, likely to go over the upcoming arrival of our respective kings," Baki calmly answered. "I'll be back later."

"Well, at least we don't have to deal with him for a while," Kankuro mumbled once Baki was out of earshot. He was going to speak again, but Gaara suddenly disappeared in a cloud of sand, cutting his words short. "Now where's he going?"

"Probably to observe the competition, which is something we should be doing too," Temari reluctantly admitted as she got to her feet. "C'mon Kankuro. Let's go people watching!"

A/N: Leave a comment if you like!