"Please make way, I need to come in." Naruto said as he stood at the doorway.
"Pervert." Temari still blocked the entrance, not letting him in.
"Whatever, think what you want." Naruto glanced at Temari, then looked to the inside of the room through her back.
Through the white sandalwood door, the room appeared spacious, with sheer curtains billowing gently in the breeze. Sunlight poured in through the large bay windows, casting swaths of light over the down comforter and an expensive carpet that Naruto couldn't name.
"I'm here as a representative of Konoha to negotiate with you from Sunagakure. If this is your attitude, I don't see any reason to continue."
Temari's expression was anything but pleasant, but after a moment, she stepped aside warily, allowing him to pass.
Naruto strode in and immediately sat down on a chair facing the large bay window. He turned to look at Temari, then stretched out lazily in the sunlight, letting out a brief groan.
"Don't make such weird noises." Temari muttered, her face darkening as she approached Naruto. Her long white legs were covered with fishing nets and she sat opposite him.
All the curtains in the room were drawn back, and the door was wide open, allowing light to flood in.
Although Tsunade had played a trick on Sunagakure, it was Sunagakure who was at fault first, and it was Temari's inferior skills that caused her to lose her fan. Now, if Sunagakure wanted it back, they could only swallow their pride.
Even so, Sunagakure, and particularly Temari, maintained a strong stance.
She recalled the moment during the Chunin Exams when she was overpowered by the young man in front of her. The memory made her grit her teeth in frustration.
"Are you trembling?" Naruto's gaze drifted down to Temari's legs, "Sunagakure and Konoha have already made peace. I'm a law-abiding citizen of Konoha, so there's no need for you to be scared."
"You!" Temari shot Naruto a fierce glare, turning her face away as she squeezed the words through gritted teeth, "Give me back my fan, and you can leave."
"What fan?"
"My fan, the Three Star Fan, you stole it." Temari was on the verge of losing her composure.
"I forgot where I put it." Naruto replied seriously, "Maybe I tossed it somewhere, or maybe I used it to prop up a table leg."
"Stop with the nonsense and give me back my fan!"
"Why?" Naruto suddenly asked.
Temari's expression showed both anger and nervousness, and she sat down five meters away from Naruto.
From the moment she entered the room, Temari had tried to maintain a strong attitude, hoping to exert some pressure on Naruto. But her legs were tightly pressed together, betraying her unease.
"Because it's my fan."
"But it's mine now." Naruto said nonchalantly, "I took it fair and square. If you want it back, you'll have to take it from me."
"Konoha and Sunagakure have already established diplomatic relations." Temari took a deep breath and said, trying to suppress her anger.
"It doesn't matter. Personal grudges should not be elevated to the village level." Naruto replied slowly, his eyes scanning Temari, who shuddered violently under his gaze.
"Can you stop staring at me like that?"
"You actually noticed?"
"That kind of blatant staring isn't exactly subtle, okay?" Temari gritted her teeth, wondering what the hell was wrong with this person.
'He's utterly shameless and infuriating.'
'Is he really a Shinobi from Konoha? He feels more like a villain straight out of a movie.'
"So what?" Naruto's face suddenly turned indifferent, his eyes fixed on Temari as he said, "You intended to kill me back then, didn't you?"
"…. War is..." Temari was caught off guard, stammering and unable to form a coherent response.
War is just like that. Genin can only carry out decisions made by the higher-ups. As a Genin, you are a soldier once you go to the battlefield. There's no time to think about anything else in a life-or-death struggle.
But in that moment, Temari's mind went blank, and she couldn't come up with a response.
"Putting the war aside, you wanted to kill me, but in the end, you and your two brothers both survived. That's a fact." Naruto interrupted her thoughts.
He lifted his head, staring intently into Temari's eyes, his voice carrying a sense of pressure.
"Yes or no?"
"… Yes." Temari replied, sweat beginning to form on her forehead.
(Silence)
Tap.
Tap.
Naruto drummed his fingers on the edge of the chair, his eyes like a deep sea, staring at Temari expressionlessly without saying a word.
"Uh…" Temari couldn't stand this feeling of oppression and turned her head away. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes due to the tension.
The nervous tears swam in her eyes. She wanted to reach out and wipe them away, but under Naruto's sharp, hook-like gaze, she couldn't muster the courage.
She thought that, in hindsight, she should have drawn the curtains, closed the door, and driven out all the sunlight, returning the room to darkness.
In this way, she could openly be afraid, scared, tremble and shed tears in the shadows.
Showing weakness isn't a right everyone is born with, especially not for her, the eldest princess of Sunagakure. Her father is dead, and the village's higher-ups had already decided to groom Gaara as the next Kazekage.
But Gaara was inexperienced, having grown up isolated and withdrawn since childhood. Because of this, it is difficult for him to grow into a respected and qualified Kazekage.
Even though the village's higher-ups had agreed on the decision, the actual process of training him wouldn't be easy.
She had to shoulder the responsibility as the elder sister, allowing her two younger brothers to rely on her. No matter what, she had to get her fan back, and Sunagakure couldn't afford to make further concessions to Konoha.
Just as she was about to open her mouth to break the silence, the other party spoke first.
"Tell me, how do you plan on getting the fan back?"
Temari swallowed hard and opened her mouth for a long time before speaking. Her momentum was obviously much lower than before, "Please give it back to me, I'll pay you."
"Money?" Naruto didn't even furrow his brow, "I don't need such thing. You wanted to kill me at that time, but I still let you go."
"And now, you're asking for the fan back?"
Tsunade had given him the task of returning the fan, ending the matter. But Naruto knew that if he simply handed it back without a word, he'd be in for a lecture when he returned.
He had no desire to write that mission report. Sasuke had already run off, so what was there to review? Should he write in the report that he killed four of the Five Otogakure's Shinobi, and then returned after running out of Chakra?
That definitely wouldn't fly. The report had to be written according to the Konoha's regulations. Originally, only the team leader needed to write one, but who knew what Tsunade was planning?
Not only did Shikamaru have to write a mission report as the team leader, but all the other five who participated in intercepting Sasuke's defection had to write one too, which led to that scene earlier this morning.
'Instead of going back to write a report, I might as well stay here a little longer.'
'Also, was she about to cry?'
'Interesting.' Naruto grinned.
"B-but you electrocuted me back then…" Temari said, barely holding back her shame, "That should have made us even."
"That's because you insist on being stubborn." Naruto countered, "If you'd surrendered earlier, you wouldn't have suffered as much."