Chapter 67 - 67 – Detained

"One, two, three… eight. Perfect! For the finals, we will draw lots. Pray to anyone you believe in and get your hands ready." Anko walked with a box with a hole and made everyone draw a number.

Anko and Hayate turned to face Hiruzen, showing him the match schedule. Hiruzen looked at the schedule then his eyes landed on Gaara. Pausing for a second, he just nodded.

"If your brain works then you would already know who your opponents are. However, to be sure and hope there is no mistake, we are going to let you have a look. " Anko flipped the clipboard and showed it to the genins.

"Hyūga Neji vs Uzumaki Naruto"

"Nara Shikamaru vs Temari"

"Gaara vs Uchiha Sasuke"

"Nakahara Karu vs Yoshizawa Raito"

"A total of seven matches… the matches start from ten in the morning, at the Konoha stadium." Anko looked stern as she looked at the Genins.

Karu rolled his eyes and looked at Raito from the corner of his eyes. 'Yoshizawa Raito, high-level all-rounder? He used Ninjutsu. Maybe Earth primary. Taijutsu… it is also high. I think I can last a few rounds against him.'

'Should I ask Shun-nii?' Raito thought about it for a long time but everyone he knew was busy. Moreover, in a situation like this… everyone was extra busy with preparations and such.

'Orochimaru, Sasuke, and Sunagakure. Why is this so troublesome?' Raito turned and looked secretly towards Temari and Gaara.

Gaara first looked at Sasuke then he fixed his eyes on Raito. Temari stood beside Gaara, anger on her face as she gave Raito a hateful glare.

"One whole month, no mission. It's like a vacation." Shikamaru let out a small smile then looked at Raito. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking, who should I train with? Since Kakashi-sensei is training Sasuke. " Raito sighed then looked at Hiruzen. "Or I can train alone."

"You still want to train?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"You can always go there." He added, narrowing his eyes. He was talking about the [Challenger's Stage], where skilled warriors are plenty and they fight with full power without reason.

"You think you can skip training? Just join me." Raito gave Shikamaru a weird smile then turned to face Hiruzen.

Hiruzen listened to what the Jōnin had to say, as they looked at the Genins. While some praised their Genins, others commented on their shortcomings.

"Bring them." Hiruzen gave Anko a look.

With a cough, Hiruzen's demeanor changed. The Jōnin and Chūnin immediately came into attention, quieting down and standing beside Hiruzen. Looking at the Genins in front of him, Hiruzen released a little bit of the pressure and enveloped them within it.

Feeling the pressure, everyone quieted down, turned their head, and looked towards Hiruzen.

"Exactly a month from today, you will be standing in the Konoha stadium, in front of the fellow villagers, foreigners, and the prominent members of the continent. The stage will be yours, show them what you are capable of and make your village proud."

"Remember… on that day, you will represent your village."

"Do what you must as a shinobi of the village."

With everything said, Hiruzen gave them a final glance then left the hall, followed by a small group of people

Baki looked at Hiruzen's back then he looked around at the shinobis from Konoha. With them not coming towards him, Baki heaved a sigh in relief. However, it may have been a little too soon as Anko walked in front of Baki.

"Shall we?" Anko pointed towards the top floor with her eyes.

Baki sighed and nodded. He wanted to talk with Gaara and Temari but Gaara did not care to listen as he disappeared in a swirl of sand and as for Temari; she ignored everyone and rushed towards Kankurō's room in a hurry, leaving Baki troubled over his situation.

Inside an empty room, Hiruzen looked through the glass at the Genins and Jōnins downstairs, in the hall. Then he turned around with a sigh and looked at Baki, who was standing with his hands on the back.

"Explain." Hiruzen took out a tobacco pipe from his sleeve and looked at Baki.

Raito appeared beside Hiruzen then took out a comfortable looking chair from his inventory for Hiruzen to sit.

Hiruzen looked at Raito for a moment before sitting comfortably on the chair. Several ANBU in the room rolled their eyes and while Anko did not roll her eyes, she felt the corners of her mouth twitching.

"…" It seemed that Baki had not given any thoughts about explaining Gaara's action from the day before. Simply because Gaara was the son of the current Kazekage, he thought that there would be no action against him or anyone from Suna, and most importantly no one had died.

Surely, Konoha would not want disputes between the nations when they already had bad ties with Iwagakure and Kumogakure.

"Explain." This time Hiruzen raised his voice and released his pressure.

Baki immediately kneeled, and said, "Hokage-sama… yesterday was just a small scuffle between the Genins. Our Gaara likes to fight against strong ones of his age group. Although he is a bit competitive, he would never think of killing someone from the allied nations."

Hiruzen looked at Baki with anger on his face, still waiting for Baki to explain.

"He is the same as Uchiha Sasuke who well… enjoys battles." Baki added with a bit of hesitation.

"Uchiha Sasuke?" Hiruzen raised his brows, looking at his people.

"Yes, just before the start of the Chūnin examination, Uchiha Sasuke, came to our dwellings and challenged my Genins to a fight."

"Gaara... may have thought that it was fine to challenge. S-since Uchiha Sasuke did so…" Baki sweated, trying to come out with an answer.

"You came to my village. Tried to harm my grandson or as you claimed 'an accident', then you tried harming my Genin when we clearly stated than you are not allowed to." Hiruzen looked at Baki in clear anger. The pressure coming from Hiruzen was making Baki tremble and sweat.

Hiruzen stretched his hand towards Baki, signaling him to take the papers.

Baki looked at the paper and words on the first page made him sweat. The first page had a list of all the people killed by Gaara from childhood to the teenage.

Baki's hands quaked as he grabbed the paper. Turning to the next page, there were details of Gaara's outbreak, damage estimation, and injury report. At the end of the bundle, there were even pictures of Gaara's transformation.

As Baki read the papers, his heart trembled. 'Why are these here? These are my reports!'

Looking at the last paper, Baki froze as he raised his head. The last page had a single sentence.

'Release Shukaku in the middle of Konoha.'

"Baki-Senshi." Hiruzen slapped the arm of the chair and glared at Baki.

"We already know what your intentions are. Are you still going to keep your mouth shut?"

"There are no intentions. We are here just for the Chūnin exams. I don't know what this means." Baki raised his head, pushed the paper to his c.h.e.s.t, and immediately defended. However, after that, Baki froze as if someone hit the pause button.

Hiruzen sighed as he massaged his temples. "Inoichi, he froze again."

"How many times has it been?" Hiruzen frowned.

With a wobble, the room disappeared, transforming into pitch darkness.

"The mental seals on him are a bit difficult but it shouldn't take more than two days if we move in this pace, Hokage-sama."

"And why is Raito still there?" Hiruzen massaged his stiff shoulder and asked Inoichi.

"That… That is just a mental message, Hokage-sama. It's like Naruto's prank but a lot… a lot more complicated." Inoichi laughed weakly, scratching the back of his head. "This kid…"

Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nosed and massaged his eyes. "I haven't seen Naruto's pranks for a long time now."

"The Chūnin responsible for village security are thankful for that." Inoichi laughed and replied.

"Call Mari and Ibiki over and let's try to finish this faster." Hiruzen thought for a while and ordered.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The Chūnin behind Hiruzen nodded and hurriedly left the room.

Hiruzen walked out of the room along with Inoichi and stood in front of the window. With the sun setting down, the temperature was getting colder but the orange light from the setting sun gave a faint sense of warmth.

Hiruzen looked at Inoichi then back at the scene. After a few minutes, Hiruzen sighed as he traced the wall. "Raito knows."

"…Yes." Inoichi nodded. A simple mental message would not be able to make a channel of information transfer but he had taught Raito many different things during his work in T and I.

"It's a mental channel," Inoichi answered truthfully. "I just taught him once and he just… took it in like a sponge."

"When did he do that?" Hiruzen asked with his eyes closed

"For this jutsu, the caster must be close to the one it is being casted on… so, my best guess is when-"

"When Baki was forced to jump down and take the hit for Kankurō." Hiruzen completed the sentence and sighed.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Inoichi nodded.

"Call SWALLOW. He has been asking for a vacation. Give him one." Hiruzen ordered then turned back towards the room.

"Hai."

Raito looked at the dim sky as he walked through the hospital doors with two small bouquets in his hand. As he walked in, everyone's gaze converged onto Raito who for some reason seemed a little pitiful.

Standing in front of the receptionist, Raito spoke up. "Hyūga Hinata and Rock Lee, please."

The receptionist looked at the Hitai-ate on Raito's arm and became a little more respectful while answering. "From the Chūnin exams, um… room 201 and 205."

"Thank you." Raito bowed slightly then turned right.

"Who is that?" The receptionist watched Raito's back as he walked down.

"…I don't know. I don't think I have ever seen him hospitalized." The other receptionist frowned slightly and answered.

"Well… there are many ninjas coming and going. How can we remember all of them?" The receptionist smiled then took out a small lunch box.

"Raito? Is that you?" Wearing a white uniform with a kanji for doctor printed on the left c.h.e.s.t area, Sakura walked forward with a clipboard in hand.

"Sakura?" Raito felt mixed emotions as he looked at Sakura. She became a little chubby as compared to the academy days and her long hair fell down, reaching to her heart. She had a small smile, which looked professional, holding the clipboard.

"If you are looking for Hinata, she is in room 201. I am attending her." Sakura smiled as she explained Hinata's situation. "After resting for a few days, she will be good to go."

"You did become a medic," Raito commented with a small smile.

"Not yet, but I completed my basic courses. It will still take some time." Sakura smiled as she looked back at the notes. "It's all thanks to Iruka-sensei and Ino… and you."

"… I didn't do anything." Raito shook his head and looked at the room number beside the door.

"That's not true. If-" Sakura mumbled but Raito kept looking at the door.

"Are you also looking after Rock Lee?" Raito asked with one hand on the door know.

Sakura froze as she closed her notes then looked down. Reciting the medic rules in her heart, she regulated her breathing and nodded in reply. "Yes"

She flipped the papers and stopped at one then said, "He… isn't doing that great. But the senior medics have come up with a plan. With the treatment, he will be able to-"

"I understand." Raito smiled as he unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Sakura looked sadly at the figure behind the door then turned around.

"There is so much to do. Go, Sakura." She cheered herself while stretching.

With a small smile on her face, Sakura walked out of the individual holding unit to the medical ward where many people were sitting and sleeping on beds. Turning to face the nurse reception, she asked, "Nurse, can I have the files for the first five beds?"

Inside Hinata's room, Raito sat on a small chair, by the bedside. Hinata was sleeping on the bed, connected to the monitor, which showed her vitals, which were all normal.

Raito opened Hinata's status tab and started going through the details. It clearly showed what Neji had done and how those injuries were resolved by the medics in the hospital, and what parts were still left for treatment.

After some time had passed, Raito closed all the tabs and stood up. Walking towards the door, he said, "Even though you are not fighting in the finals, you should train after leaving the hospital."

Opening the door, Raito walked out, and just before closing the door, he said, "I brought your favorites. If you'd like… have a few."

As Raito closed the door and walked away, Hinata opened her eyes, looking blankly at the ceiling then she moved her head towards the bedside table, on which there were a bouquet, a ramen cup, a small pastry box and a handwritten card from Naruto.

She slowly sat on the bed then grabbed the note written by Naruto.

'Believe in yourself, Hinata-chan.'

Hinata let out a small smile and grabbed the pastry box on the table. Taking a sniff, her eyes brightened as she hurriedly opened the box. "Cinnamon rolls."

Raito stood in front of another room for a long time before entering. Surprisingly there was not much in the room except some flowers at the bedside table. Upon checking with '[Observe]', he found that the flowers were from Tenten.

Raito again pulled the chair and sat down. Lee was covered in bandages all over the place and various mechanisms were fixed on his body. Upon further checking, Raito found that they were used to limit the movement and aid in recovery.

Looking at Lee's tab, Raito clenched his fist then closed the tabs. He had taken much damage but the main focus wasn't his legs and arms which were damaged by Gaara's sand, it was from the opening of the inner gates that had done greater damage to Lee. Taking out a potion from his inventory, Raito manipulated the liquid inside to Lee's mouth, feeding him.

"Get well soon, Lee." Raito stood up, sprayed the flower with water then left the room.

Moments later, the window in the room opened quietly as sand poured in. Gaara quietly stepped into the room and stood like a doll beside Lee's bed.

…

Gaara stared blankly at Lee for quite a long time before stretching his hand forward. The sand also moved with his hands, targeting Lee. The sand was ready to cover Lee's neck when a part of sand suddenly moved and formed a small shield in front of Gaara.

Splat

The sand defense exploded but the attack never came. Instead of being alert about the next attack, Gaara turned his attention back to Lee.

Raito gritted his teeth as he looked at Gaara. Under the effect of [Stealth], he walked around the bed with dangerous intentions.

Chakra gathered into Raito's left while he raised his right hand, palm pushed forward.

"[Earth Control]"

The sand, which was around Lee's neck, froze, going against Gaara's will.

'It takes too much chakra.' Raito looked at his CP bar then looked at his left hand, which was gathering chakra.

"YOU!" Cracks appeared on Gaara's sand armor as he turned towards Raito. From the broken face armor, Raito saw the same disgusting smile on Gaara's face that he showed on the stage earlier.

"Haa!" The sand from the gourd erupted towards Raito.

"Too slow." Raito disappeared from the spot, leaving the sand tentacles attacking him, hanging.

Dodging all the sand tentacles, Raito appeared in front of Gaara in an abnormal position. Raito looked like he tripped on a stone and was about to fall on the ground. However, strangely, Raito was fixed into that position as his left fist concentrated with chakra swiftly reached for Gaara's side.

"[Explosion]"

(From the chakra control series)

Inside a VIP room in Konoha hospital, Kankurō laid on the bed, and sitting beside him was Temari with half closed eyes.

BOOM

Temari jolted in shock as she hurriedly walked towards the window. "An attack!?"

At the ground level of the hospital, a wall was blasted off with a figure in tow. The beautiful garden was trashed in an instant by huge earth needles, blasting from below and launching towards the figure.

'Isn't that Gaara?' Temari looked at the figure caught by the black tentacles.

As she squinted her eyes, Temari could see another figure, standing on top of an earth needle. "Yoshizawa Raito… What's happening?"

Raito glared at Gaara as black stone beads hovered around him, turning into spears and pointing at Gaara.

"Hahaha." Gaara laughed revealing his maniacal face. The sand around Gaara converged towards his hand, morphing into a claw. With a little force, the sand pushed the black earth, freeing Gaara.

"Stope!" Kakashi appeared in between Raito and Gaara standing on top of an earth needle.

Kakashi looked at Raito and frowned, "Fights against the members of allied nations are not allowed in public areas without reason."

Kakashi watched the two of them but neither showed any sign of backing out.

"There was a reason and I have evidence." Raito took out a film roll from a camera then threw it towards Kakashi.

Without even looking, Kakashi grabbed the film roll and turned to face Gaara.

Feeling that he would not be able to fight to his fill, Gaara transformed back to his normal form and was about to return.

Raito cleared his throat and used chakra to amplify his voice, "That shinobi from Sunagakure tried to kill a Genin from our village who was injured in the Chūnin exams earlier."

"I even have a video recorder inside, which has recorded everything," Raito added as he manipulated the earth needles to point away.

"Gaara of Sunagakure, come with me and answer a few questions." Kakashi turned towards Gaara and waited.

Gaara looked at Kakashi then turned towards Raito again. His hands traced his sides where Raito had punched. The sand that was blasted earlier returned to Gaara and formed onto the gourd. Feeling something amiss, Gaara looked at Raito and stayed silent.

Kakashi looked at Gaara then at Raito, "What is he doing?"

"How would I know?" Raito shrugged and shook his head in negative.

"…My sand." Gaara opened his mouth, looking at Raito. With his expressionless face, it felt like some kind of sin to steal things from Gaara.

"…"

Kakashi felt a headache looking at the two Genins and not to mention another Uchiha that was waiting for him.

"Raito, give it back." Kakashi thought for a moment before nodding at Raito.

Raito widened his eyes and looked at Kakashi, "You believe in him? Kakashi-sensei…"

"Just give it back." Kakashi shook his head then turned back to Gaara. "Once you get it back, quietly come with us."

Gaara did not answer but looked at Raito.

Raito grumbled for a while before taking a stone bead slightly larger than his head. When a small hole appeared on the bead, the sand inside flew out towards Gaara.

"Now then… come with us." Kakashi walked a couple of steps forwards towards Gaara, extending his hand forward.

Raito looked around and found several ANBU with rat hand seal on top of the hospital.

[Cooperation Genjutsu in effect]

The sand from the gourd formed tentacles and covered Gaara and the leftover went towards Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed as lightning gathered in his hand. With several swings, the tentacles burst into the sand and returned towards Gaara. "I'll have to use force."

"I said so." Raito took out the black book from his inventory and turned the page slowly. When Kakashi was about to charge towards Gaara, Raito raised his hands and activated his chakra.

"Sensei, the gourd." The sand surrounding Gaara weakened and crumbled, leaving him defenseless.

Kakashi, who was charging in a straight line towards Gaara, disappeared from his sight then appeared behind him. Lightning covered his hand as Kakashi grabbed the gourd and threw it behind where there was a stone bead ready to gobble up the gourd.

Gaara glared back in distress from losing his gourd. Along with the gourd, most of his chakra infused sand was gone. Without any hesitation, Gaara created a spear from the sand on his body and threw it towards Kakashi.

In midair, Kakashi twisted his body and barely dodged the sand spear. Using the spear as a stepping-stone, Kakashi jumped even higher and made a long series of hand seals.

Water gathered behind Kakashi and as time passed it became bigger and bigger.

"[Five Elemental Seal]" Jiraiya who was hidden all this time appeared in front of Gaara then jabbed his hands on Gaara's left c.h.e.s.t. The character seals on Jiraiya's finger etched onto Gaara's c.h.e.s.t.

Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Void.

Lines appeared and connected them creating a restriction on Gaara. This restriction created a gate between Gaara and his chakra core. Moreover, since his chakra core was linked with Ichibi, Gaara lost connection with it too.

Even in the end, Gaara stretched out his hand, hoping for the sand to move to his will. Sand, the only thing that he could depend on and the only one who never left him.

"Clear the area and cancel the Genjutsu." Kakashi looked at the fallen Gaara then turned to face the ANBU on the hospital building.

"I'll take him." Jiraiya grabbed Gaara then disappeared, leaving behind chakra smoke.

Kakashi nodded then turned around to find Raito but he was nowhere to be found.

Inside Kankurō's room, Raito sat on the chair with a kunai on his hand, which was just above Kankurō's heart.

"You should stop me, you know." Raito teased as Temari glared at him.

"What do you want?" Temari gritted her teeth in anger as she tried taking half a step forward but was stopped by Raito's action of cutting into Kankurō's body.

"I just want to know, why do you want to go against Konoha?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." Temari retorted while she made a small cut on her hand.

"Why do you want to kill my friends, my family, and the villagers? Instead of doing it the way that it has been for the past decade, why do you want to wage war against Konoha?"

First Raito brought out loyalty, then he made it personal and lastly he made it about war.

"…" Temari's eye widened as Raito talked about the war.

"I have read your brother's memories earlier during the match. And I know as much as this, make up loving guy knows… about your family, your village, your youngest brother, and the tidbits about the war that you guys are planning."

"You want to release the Shukaku, the sand spirit, on Konoha, and deal damage onto the village, isn't it?"

"You want the shinobi and the villagers to die under Shukaku's rampage."

"You know… that means you also want to kill people who are close to me." The grip on the kunai got tighter and it pricked Kankurō's c.h.e.s.t.

Raito's glare intensified, as he brought out another kunai and waved it towards Kankurō's eye, just a few millimeters away.

"Stop!" Temari rushed forward grabbing Raito's wrist, trying to restrain him.

"You are prepared to kill but aren't ready to lose one of your own." The anger in Raito's eyes burst forward. He flicked his wrist, throwing the kunai towards Temari's face.

To dodge the kunai, Temari shifted back and at the same time pulled Raito back.

Using [Shape Transformation], the chakra gathered around Raito's wrist and turned into needles, making Temari flinch in pain.

With a finger signal, the kunai, which Temari dodged, returned into Raito's hand. Raito then sat comfortably on the chair with kunai pointed above Kankurō's heart.

Temari looked at her hands, which had many stab injuries then glared at Raito.

"What?" Raito glared. "If killing you both could stop the war… then I would have done it already."

Click

In this glaring contest, the door to the room opened and an ANBU walked in leisurely.

Looking at the two in a glaring contest, the ANBU felt a little amused as he leaned on the wall.

Temari glare dimmed as she thought about Kankurō. The ANBU walked towards Raito and placed his hand on Raito's shoulder. "Codename – SWALLOW."

Raito snorted then left the room.

SWALLOW sighed and shook his head, "This kid."

Temari looked at SWALLOW in fear and nervousness. While her left hand was ready to draw the fan, her right hand had already made preparation for the summoning jutsu.

"Well… let's talk." SWALLOW smiled, even though it could not be seen because of the mask, as he unsealed a bundle of paper and gave it to Temari.

"What's this?" Temari looked at the papers for a fraction of a second then her eyes returned to SWALLOW instantly.

"I declare in the name of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage, that Konohagakure have detained Gaara from Sunagakure, the Ichibi Jinchūriki, for having an unstable sealing formula. Further details regarding Gaara's detainment are in the first half of the bundle."

Temari's breathing quickened as she heard about the accusation then she looked down at the paper and read the lines. The first page had every name that Gaara had killed from childhood to till now.

"You know how unstable he is… but still brought him here." SWALLOW sighed.

"Second. I declare in the name of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Sandaime Hokage, that Konohagakure has detained Baki from Sunagakure, a member of the Jōnin council."

Temari frowned as she didn't hear any reason for detainment. She wanted to speak up, shout, pour out all her anger but she couldn't. She just asked with hesitation, "Why?"

SWALLOW looked like he was waiting for this as he quickly answered back. "On our investigation, we found that Sunagakure along with Otogakure are planning to attack Konohagakure. And since your Jōnin had valuable information that Konoha could use, he was taken in."

"What are you going to do to him?" Temari interrupted SWALLOW and asked.

"Extract information." The ANBU answered simply.

Temari's face paled as she knew that this one month was going to be extremely dangerous for her and the sand shinobis. "How?"

"By any means possible." The ANBU answered again but for Temari, she felt her body weakening.

"What happened to other Suna shinobi? What did you do to them?" Temari raised her voice.

"They have left the village premises and according to the latest intel they have crossed the fire border," SWALLOW answered.

"What about Gaara? What are you going to do to him?" Temari bit her lips, raised her head, and asked with whatever courage she had left in her.

"We are going to fix that d*mn seal on the boy. Your village intentionally used a faulty seal to seal a bijū. Now that boy with the faulty seal is sent to our village to cause destruction. We would very much like to extract the bijū but that will lead to your brother's death but its Hokage-sama's order. He said to just fix the seal and nothing more."

"The late fourth Hokage wanted to lend Sunagakure a helping hand in sealing the Shukaku, the Ichibi, but it was your father that didn't want any help. Maybe he was paranoid that we would control the bijū or something like that."

What swallow didn't tell Temari was that there were people that wanted to rip the bijū from Gaara and create new Jinchūriki.

"Everything could be have been avoided…" Temari flipped the pages blankly as she lay on the ground in confusion and anger. People sent out to agitate Gaara, assassination attempts, mental breakdown to release Shukaku. According to the papers, the village, especially the council did many of these so-called experiments to gather data.

"We got that from your Jōnin leader," SWALLOW added.

"What the-" Temari felt like vomiting as she continued reading.

"Your brother is not at fault here." ANBU sighed as he opened the door.

Forcing down the vomit that was threatening to come out, Temari looked up at SWALLOW and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Nothing. Please prepare yourself for the final part of the Chūnin exams. Invitations have been sent… we cannot stop the Chūnin exams now."

SWALLOW closed the door slowly and left the room. After leaving the room, SWALLOW looked both sides then disappeared from the corridor.

After Raito walked out of the hospital, Raito saw the once beautiful and serene garden was now totally trashed. So, he activated his chakra and used [Earth Elemental Control]

The ANBU watched in amazement as the rocks and soil flew around.

Under the effects of Raito's manipulation, everything was quickly patched together.

"Raito." SWALLOW appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Raito's shoulder then disappeared from the hospital area.

The ANBU on top of the hospital scratched their heads and laughed. "That was fun."

"But it looks like sh*t."

"Let's call the professionals."

"That brat needs more gardening missions."