The story unfolded from Naruto's lips, each word carefully chosen, each pause deliberately placed. His voice carried across the plaza, drawing every listener deeper into the narrative.
The Sand ninja couldn't help themselves. They found their own memories surfacing—moments of loneliness, times when they'd felt isolated or unwanted. The story's emotional current bypassed their rational defenses entirely.
"That child was me," Naruto said quietly. "Because I endured years of loneliness without friends, I developed a dream. A simple dream: to make many, many friends."
He paused, letting the revelation settle.
Then he looked directly at the assembled ninja, his expression open and vulnerable in a way that Hokages weren't supposed to be.
"So I have to ask... are you willing to be friends with me?"
He didn't actually need to ask. The Sand ninja had already figured out that the protagonist of Naruto's story was him. The pieces fit too perfectly—the orphan, the isolation, the desperate search for connection.
And now, having heard the story, having felt that emotional resonance...
How could they possibly refuse?
A female ninja stepped forward, tears streaming down her face. Her voice cracked with emotion. "Naruto-sama, we'd be honored to be your friends."
She looked like she wanted to rush forward and hug him, to cradle him and say someone should have loved you better.
"Yes!" another ninja called out. "Please, Naruto-sama. Let us be your friends!"
The chorus of agreement swelled. Almost every Sand ninja present had been moved by the story. At this moment, they genuinely believed Naruto's desire for friendship was sincere—which, to be fair, it absolutely was.
Naruto's face split into a bright smile.
Gaara smiled too, pleased he'd been able to help his friend achieve part of his dream.
Sasuke and Nine-Tails exchanged glances. Both straightened in anticipation.
"Sasuke," Nine-Tails whispered, already tearing open the sunflower seed bag, "get ready. It's starting."
Sasuke nodded, quickly finding a good vantage point on the higher steps. They settled in with practiced efficiency—drinks in left hands, sunflower seeds in right hands.
The viewing positions were perfect.
Then Naruto-style friendship began.
The Sand ninja who'd been so moved by the story had no idea what they'd signed up for. And even if they'd wanted to back out now, the opportunity had passed.
WHAM.
CRACK.
THUD.
Nine-Tails and Sasuke munched sunflower seeds in perfect rhythm, watching the proceedings below with the rapt attention of theater critics.
Maki observed with an expression too complicated to describe. He didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or just accept that this was his life now.
"Seeing Naruto's dream come true," Gaara said to Temari and Kankuro beside him, "I'm genuinely happy for him."
His siblings exchanged glances. After a moment, both nodded with carefully constructed smiles.
"We're happy for Naruto too," they said in unison.
Though privately, both were remembering their own friend-making experiences. Their faces felt hot just thinking about it. Still, even with the embarrassment, they had to acknowledge it made them genuinely happy.
They noticed Maki wasn't smiling at all. The man looked like he was watching a natural disaster unfold.
Maki-sensei is still too young, Temari thought with barely suppressed amusement. After Naruto finishes making friends here, he's going to regret that attitude.
Sure enough, by the time Nine-Tails and Sasuke had finished their drinks and depleted their sunflower seed supply, Naruto had successfully befriended every Sand ninja gathered in the plaza.
The new friends sported bruised faces and swollen features, but every single one of them beamed with genuine happiness. Smiles stretched across battered faces as they looked at Naruto with something approaching worship.
Naruto returned their smiles warmly, acknowledging each new friend.
Then he turned and walked directly toward Maki.
"Maki," Naruto said, his tone suddenly serious.
The older man's heart dropped into his stomach. "What is it, Naruto?"
"I've been thinking about our friendship," Naruto said gravely. "And I believe there might be some issues that need addressing. Our bond requires maintenance."
Temari, Kankuro, Sasuke, and Nine-Tails all turned to stare at Maki with expressions of profound sympathy.
WHAM. WHAM. WHAM.
For the next fifteen minutes, Naruto maintained his friendship with Maki-sensei extensively.
After all, you couldn't just make friends and then ignore them. Friendships required regular upkeep, or they'd become distant and strained.
When those fifteen minutes concluded, the friendship between Maki and Naruto had been thoroughly reinforced. Anyone could tell by looking at Maki's face—which was split in the widest, most genuine smile imaginable.
Once the friend-making session ended, Gaara dismissed the assembled ninja. In a show of generosity, he provided each one with a complimentary bottle of wound-healing ointment for treating their various traumas.
A nice benefit for attending today's event.
After the new friends dispersed, Gaara approached Naruto. "Congratulations! You've made so many more friends. You're another step closer to your dream."
"I have you to thank, Gaara," Naruto replied sincerely. "Without your support, this would have taken much longer."
Gaara still had Kazekage duties to attend to, but before returning to work, he promised to gather more Sand ninja the following day for additional friend-making opportunities.
Naruto agreed readily, then headed back to his residence to continue training.
When Sasuke returned, Nagato immediately dragged him into his room and launched into a lecture about wasting an entire afternoon. If Sasuke had spent that time training instead of watching Naruto make friends, he could have grown stronger.
"Sure," Sasuke said mildly. "But would I become as strong as Naruto?"
Nagato's mouth snapped shut. His entire body language shifted into something resembling a sulking turtle retreating into its shell.
Sasuke, not wanting to be too cruel, quickly added that once he fully mastered his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's power, he planned to spar with Naruto.
Nagato couldn't help laughing at that. This kid has courage, I'll give him that. Even with the Rinnegan, Nagato had been utterly defeated. Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō, impressive as it was, wouldn't change the fundamental gap between them and Naruto.
But Nagato didn't crush Sasuke's ambition. Instead, he just suggested that next time, Sasuke skip the friend-watching. It was just friendship. What was so entertaining about it?
Sasuke, predictably, ignored this advice.
Nagato decided to stop trying to understand and focus on his research. He was naturally withdrawn anyway—isolation suited him fine.
Over the following days, Gaara continued gathering groups of Sand ninja for Naruto to befriend.
Initially, those who'd already become Naruto's friends felt too embarrassed to leave their homes. The visible marks of friendship made going out in public mortifying.
But cabin fever eventually drove them outside, where they discovered something wonderful: everyone looked like them. The entire village sported matching bruised faces and swollen features.
The relief was palpable.
Some ninja even started treating it as a point of pride.
"Oh! So you became friends with Naruto-sama too? What a coincidence!"
"Right? And don't tell anyone, but after a few casserole-sized fists, my face just naturally settled into this smile. Couldn't help it."
"Hey, can I ask—how long was your friendship session with Naruto-sama?"
The questioned ninja puffed up with pride. "Fifteen minutes."
The questioner gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Impressive! You beat my record. Mine was only ten minutes."
He slapped his thigh in mock regret. "I should have tried harder!"
Conversations like this echoed through Sand's taverns and streets, creating a bizarre camaraderie among the newly befriended.
Meanwhile, Nagato remained holed up in his room, emerging only for delivered meals. His entire existence revolved around researching the resurrection technique.
Sasuke and Nine-Tails, by contrast, had consumed such massive quantities of sunflower seeds and drinks that Sasuke developed painful mouth blisters from overindulgence. Nine-Tails, being a chakra construct, suffered no such consequences.
Every time Nagato saw Sasuke return from another friend-watching session, he'd give the young Uchiha a bewildered look. What is so fascinating about watching someone make friends?
Before anyone quite realized it, the entire Hidden Sand Village had become Naruto's friends.
Gaara's office, several days later.
Naruto and the young Kazekage sat across from each other, tea cooling between them.
"The entire Hidden Sand is now your friend," Gaara said, genuine happiness coloring his voice. "Congratulations, Naruto."
Then his expression shifted slightly, joy mixing with melancholy. "Which means... you'll be leaving soon. To continue pursuing your dream elsewhere."
"Yes," Naruto confirmed, smiling. "Thank you so much, Gaara. I'm incredibly happy. In just these few days, I've befriended every ninja in the Hidden Sand. It's been an honor."
The satisfaction of drawing closer to his dream warmed him from the inside.
After chatting a while longer, Naruto suddenly frowned. "Wait. Gaara, you said the entire Hidden Sand became my friend. Are you sure there's no one I missed?"
Gaara's eyes widened. "Actually... there is someone. Chiyo-baasama. She's been in seclusion. I completely forgot about her until just now."
Naruto's face brightened immediately. "Then let's go visit Chiyo-baasama and become friends!"
They traveled to Chiyo's hermitage together. The elderly puppet master greeted Kazekage with her characteristic indifference—her status was high enough that even Gaara couldn't really make demands of her.
But when she learned about Naruto's purpose for visiting, Chiyo's attitude shifted dramatically.
"Damned brat!" she snapped. "You won't even leave old people alone?!"
Naruto turned to Gaara with a concerned expression. "I think Chiyo-baasama has been in seclusion too long. She's showing symptoms of isolation-induced depression. She urgently needs the care and attention that only friendship can provide."
Ten minutes later, Chiyo was practically shoving them out the door with a beatific smile stretching across her weathered face.
On the walk back from Chiyo's hermitage, Gaara fell silent. His mood had shifted to something subdued, almost melancholy.
Naruto noticed immediately. "Gaara? What's wrong? You seem unhappy."
The young Kazekage stopped walking. When he looked at Naruto, his eyes held barely concealed sadness.
"You've befriended everyone in the Hidden Sand now. So... you're leaving, aren't you?"
Understanding dawned. Naruto placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder, smiling gently.
"Yes, I need to continue pursuing my dream. I want to befriend people in other villages too."
He squeezed Gaara's shoulder. "But don't worry. When I've fulfilled my dream, I'll return to Konoha. Then you can visit me there whenever you want. Today's goodbye is just so we can have a better reunion later."
"Are you leaving today?" Gaara asked, voice small.
Naruto's heart clenched. Gaara was one of his most important friends—someone who truly understood him. The redhead had opened up in ways he never did with others.
"How about this," Naruto offered. "We'll stay one more night. Leave after breakfast tomorrow."
Gaara's face immediately brightened. "Then tonight, don't go to sleep early. I still have so much I want to talk to you about."
Time passed too quickly. Despite Gaara's reluctance, morning arrived.
After breakfast, Naruto and Sasuke went to extract Nagato from his room.
Tendo Pain answered the door, pushing Nagato's wheelchair. "What's wrong, Naruto?"
"Nagato-senpai," Naruto said, shaking his head in exasperation, "we're leaving the Hidden Sand. Time to head to our next destination."
"Oh." Nagato's response was characteristically flat. He simply followed as Tendo Pain wheeled him out.
Gaara waited outside to see them off. The goodbye was brief but warm. Then Gaara headed back to the Kazekage Building while Naruto's group made their way through Sand's streets toward the village gates.
Sand ninja kept approaching to greet Naruto, every face bearing similar marks of friendship, every smile genuine and bright.
Naruto returned each greeting warmly.
Nagato, who'd been isolated in his room for days, stared in bewilderment. Why does every single Sand ninja have a bruised face?
"Sasuke," he asked urgently, "what happened to all these people?"
"They're all Naruto's friends now," Sasuke replied casually.
"All of them?" Nagato's voice rose slightly. "Naruto befriended every ninja in the entire Hidden Sand?"
"Yep." Sasuke nodded with complete seriousness.
Every ninja. Everyone.
Nagato's mind raced, pieces clicking together. Naruto's stated goal was to make friends with everyone in the shinobi world. He'd just accomplished that in the Hidden Sand. Next, he'd do the same in other villages.
What happened when someone befriended literally everyone?
An absurd thought flashed through Nagato's mind. His breathing quickened. Heart rate accelerated.
He wheeled himself rapidly to Naruto's side, grabbing the blonde's sleeve with surprising urgency.
"Naruto," Nagato said, voice shaking with excitement and hope, "tell me the truth. You're making friends for the sake of world peace, aren't you?!"