Naruto now understood why Kano-chan had let him deal with Gaara. Because they were the same kind of people, only Naruto could understand him.
Kano-chan was stronger than him; it was impossible for her to be unable to handle Gaara. The reason she said she couldn't was because she didn't share the same past.
"I can deeply understand your feelings. We are the same kind of people."
Gaara also remembered what Kano had said during the Chunin Exams; she said Naruto was the same as him.
Ostracized, hated, all alone... It turned out there really was someone in the world just like himself.
"But, I already have someone I love. I won't let you hurt my most important person! Otherwise, even if it means killing you, I will definitely stop you."
"Why? Why can you go to such lengths for someone else!"
"Because she is the important companion who rescued me from the hell of loneliness and acknowledged my existence!"
"Emotions... so that's why this guy is so strong?"
Gaara looked up at the sky; he seemed to have understood something.
"Naruto." Sasuke arrived at Naruto's side. "Leave the rest to me."
At this time, Temari and Kankuro also arrived, shielding Gaara. They never expected Gaara to be beaten like this. Just who was the opponent!
"Sasuke, there's no need."
"They are enemies who invaded the Village. We must wipe them out completely."
Hearing Sasuke's words, Kankuro and Temari became alert and pulled out their Kunai. After all, Temari's fan had been confiscated by Kano, and Kankuro's puppet had been smashed by Kano. But they still had plenty of Chakra; if the two of them joined forces, they might be able to stall Sasuke.
"This is what Kano-chan said. Let them go."
Naruto lied, but he felt that this was probably what Kano meant.
Since it was something Kano had said, Sasuke naturally complied. Perhaps Kano had her own plan, and if killing them affected Kano's plan, that would be bad.
"Enough, I'm not fighting anymore."
Gaara also gave up on continuing the fight; there were some things he needed to think about for a while. Under Sasuke's watchful eye, the two of them escaped with Gaara.
Sasuke helped Naruto up, and Naruto suddenly spoke as he remembered something.
"Don't go around trying to kill people at every turn in the future. That's so cold-blooded and scary. You'll set a bad example for Kano-chan."
"She's much more ruthless than I am."
Sasuke complained weakly in his heart. His killing techniques were actually learned from Kano; they were fast, accurate, and ruthless, aiming straight for vital points, clean and efficient.
He didn't dare to imagine that these were techniques mastered by a girl; it was as if she had killed many people.
In fact, after Kano finished off Mizuki for the first time, her hands wouldn't stop shaking when she got home. To overcome this fear, she had personally slaughtered several deer.
Later, Sasuke had seen Kano's clean and efficient moves and chatted with her about the issue of killing. After the chat, Sasuke found that he was still too conservative.
Sasuke basically didn't contribute much during this attack.
One reason was that he had been beaten by Kano and didn't have much combat power left. The second reason was that he spent the whole time watching Gamabunta fight Shukaku; he couldn't even intervene in that kind of battle.
It was because of this that he understood Kano's words. What it meant that Naruto was first and he was the weakest. This also strengthened Sasuke's resolve to become stronger. He still had potential, potential enough to surpass Kano.
This was what Kano had said personally.
Sasuke supported Naruto as they walked back. Halfway there, they ran into Kano, who was looking for them.
At this time, after parting with Tayuya, Kano had taken off her Virtual Idol Skin and followed the previous traces to find the two who had just gone through a major battle.
Seeing Kano, Naruto weakly made a peace sign, grinning and showing his teeth.
"Kano-chan, I won!"
"I know, I know. You won't be missing your reward. You can't have a proper date in your current state, so wait until your injuries are healed."
"I will become stronger, and then I will surpass you. Not just you, I will surpass Naruto as well."
"Mhm, I believe you can do it. Pursuing the power you want is also quite good."
Kano kindly summoned a Shadow Deer to carry Naruto. Since there wasn't a second Shadow Deer right now, Kano had no choice but to ride the same Shadow Deer as Naruto, supporting him so he wouldn't fall off.
Watching Naruto lean against her with a silly smile, Kano also smiled helplessly, treating it as a little bit of compensation for him.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!