Chapter 270 - Cap 248: Aho Tanuki

It had been two days since Kurama and the others had arrived in Suna, and at this time they were resting at the Uzumaki Embassy.

"A pity that Maki-san cannot see us off..." - said Kurama, who was now considered part of the family to the girl from Suna, as Pakura had made it clear that she loved the girl as if she were a daughter, which was normal knowing that she had lost her entire family and the only connection she had left was Maki.

"I know... but she has a mission to do" - replied Pakura as she shook her head - "Anyway... What do you plan to do today?"

"Hmm... Temari told me that Gaara was coming back today, so I'm going to join them," replied Kurama as he shrugged.

"I see... it's good to hear that Gaara-sama has returned" - smiled Pakura as she recalled her good stay in Suna thanks to the hospitality of the present Kazekage.

"Sorry to interrupt you, Kurama-sama, Pakura-sama" - said a shinobi from Suna as he entered the embassy - "Gaara-sama has returned and is with Temari-sama waiting for you"

"OK, thank you very much" - Kurama nodded as he gave the green and orange-haired woman a glance - "See you before I leave Suna"

"OK, Kurama-sama" - Pakura nodded as she saw the redhead leaving with his young apprentice.

* * * * *

"Not the welcome I expected..." - said Gaara as he saw how the little sand raccoon with blue marks was growling at his friend. He hadn't changed much during the time that had passed, he had just grown up enough that he couldn't be considered a child anymore, just as his features were now much more masculine - "Shukaku..."

"Apologize, you smelly fox!" - exclaimed Shukaku as he ruffled his sand tail.

"F.u.c.k you, kitty litter," snorted Kurama with disdain.

"What happened?" - Temari asked as she frowned because she had left for a few minutes with Inari, so she could go buy something to drink and now when they returned they only saw how the redhead was arguing to the point of fighting with the little sand raccoon.

"I only said that now he is almost as strong as Isobu" - answered Kurama with disdain - "Normally the next one would be Matatabi, but after helping her to train, she is much stronger than Kokuo"

"I'm going to bury you in the middle of the desert!" - roared Shukaku as if he were a cat who had just been stepped on.

"I only told the truth, silly little brother," smiled Kurama as he repeated the famous phrase of one of his friends.

". . ." - Gaara only shook his head when he heard this as he stood in the middle to stop the two brothers because he didn't want those two to fight in Suna.

"Calm down, I don't plan to fight Shukaku... although our little encounter could not be considered a battle... rather I would say it would be bullying against my silly little brother" - said Kurama while a huge smile appeared on his face. If there was anything that was entertaining him, it was to piss off Shukaku.

"Okay, you, me, out of Suna!" - roared Shukaku fiercely - "Now I will show you that no one can despise the great Shukaku-sama!"

"As you wish, I only hope that by the time we finish I have not beaten your fragile pride too much," snorted Kurama as he grabbed Shukaku by the ears and dragged him out of Suna.

After a few minutes, sounds of explosions and sand flying appeared outside the Village hidden in the Sand.

"Should we be worried?" - asked Kankuro as he looked at his younger brother. He hadn't changed much on a physical level either, just a bit higher, but the most apparent change was his clothing that now consisted of a hood and a black raincoat, accompanied by a cross-shaped make-up that covered his face.

"No... they will not destroy Suna..." - said Gaara as he shook his head, only to see the explosion come closer and closer to his village - "I think..."

And for their relief and luck, nothing went wrong...

* * * * *

"Ugh... I swear to God you're insufferable, you, stinking fox..." - said Shukaku in pain as he stood up. The outcome of his battle had been obvious, ending in his utter defeat while Kurama stood as if nothing had happened.

"And you are still so easy to anger, Aho Tanuki," replied Kurama with disdain, "Now we'd better get to the point... How do you feel, Shukaku?"

"Huh?" - Temari and Inari were surprised when they heard such a quick change of topic.

"If I'm honest, it feels great to be able to breathe fresh air," Shukaku replied so normally that it even confused Gaara.

"I know how you feel... I experienced the same thing when I 'recovered' my memories" - nodded Kurama as he noticed how everyone was watching them - "What?"

"I didn't think you had such a good relationship with Shukaku-sama... not with all the bad things he said about you after he left the seal," answered Kankuro.

Kurama raised an eyebrow when he heard this as he looked at Shukaku in silence, only to shrug his shoulders - "The truth is not as complicated as you think..."

"In fact, the stinking fox is right," Shukaku nodded. "We may have insulted each other and fought all the time, but that doesn't change the fact that we are brothers"

"Shukaku may be someone who is annoying to the extreme..." - said Kurama.

"But? - Temari asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"That's all," answered Kurama as a small smile appeared on his face, "But, well, we'd better talk seriously... Shukaku is somewhat annoying, but he is still my family... it is impossible that I don't love him"

"I say the same thing as this bastard," said Shukaku as he snorted in disdain. "In fact, I think the same thing about the other Bijuu..."

"Okay, this is something I didn't expect..." - said Kankuro with surprise - "With all the shit you said, Shukaku-sama... I thought you hated other Bijuu"

"Oh no, it's not that" - answered Shukaku calmly - "That's just my way of talking... the madness was mostly because of the Cursed Seals around my body that make me absorb the negative emotions of humans through the Natural Energy".

"Okay, I didn't know that..." - said Gaara as a surprised expression appeared on his face - "Why do you do that?"

"Because that was the purpose that Tousan gave me... to regulate the bad intentions of men in order to keep the peace... they could consider me as a kind of ground wire" - answered Shukaku with disdain - "But you know how things ended up"

"Do all Bijuu have a job, Shukaku-sama?" - Kankuro asked because this was something he had never heard before in his life.

"In fact" - answered Kurama while everyone was looking at him - "Besides being the guardians of men, we have a clear purpose... although I won't say what they are because it doesn't come to the point... By the way... it is strange to hear 'Shukaku' and 'sama' in the same sentence".

"That just shows that someone discovered how awesome I am," Shukaku said proudly.

"I think he's just saying that out of pity..." - said Kurama as he shook his head at the sight of his brother's annoyed gaze - "Okay, enough of jokes..."

"Hmph!" - Shukaku snorted with disdain before disappearing from the scene.

"Well, it's time for us to enter Suna..." - said Gaara as Kurama and the others nodded.

* * * * *

"It was a good meeting... let's just say that after that hard training I hadn't been able to relax for a while" - said Gaara as he shook his head.

"I agree... during our training, Gaara almost returned to his sadistic, bloodthirsty personality" - added Kankuro as he trembled in fear.

"It wasn't that bad..." - said Gaara as he frowned.

"Tell that to our shinobis, they couldn't get near you for at least a year" - snorted Kankuro as Gaara looked away.

"Okay, I think that was enough..." - Temari said as she shook her head - "Now that we've spent some time together, it's time for me to have my special moment with MY fiancé"

". . ." - Gaara and Kankuro could only cast a blank stare at their sister, only to deny with their heads because they knew it was better to listen to her because it was not a good idea to get in Temari's path.

"You can do whatever you want, just don't cause trouble in Suna," said Gaara as he shook his head. "And if possible, I would like your m.o.a.ns not to echo through the whole village

". . ." - Temari blushed, but still nodded.

"OK, I'll leave... I sincerely don't want to hear anything about how you are going to have s.e.x with the redhead" - said Kankuro as he looked at his sister with a frown - "Now if you need me, I have to go see a certain girl..."

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Kankuro" - said Temari with surprise.

"He's known her for more than three years" - answered Gaara as he shook his head - " It's just that he didn't want to tell you"

"What?! Why?!" - Temari exclaimed with a frown.

"Because I know you Temari," said Kankuro with neutrality, "I know very well that you would get in the way to 'help' me, ending up in annoying trouble for me... and I am sincerely happy as I am..."

". . ." - Temari tried to defend herself, but remained silent when she felt her fiancé's hand on her shoulder - "Let him handle his own affairs, Kankuro is not a child"

Temari nodded at the redhead's words while Kankuro nodded in appreciation before leaving.