Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 468 Naruko

"Let me show you how to use this."

Kankuro took a deep breath, moved his fingers, and several threads quietly extended from his fingertips, connecting to the back of the "Naruko" puppet's neck.

With an extremely slight tremor in his fingertips, a gentle wisp of chakra traveled along the threads and was injected into the puppet's drive array.

next moment--

As if a sleeping beauty in a story had been awakened by a knight, Naruko's tightly closed eyelids slowly and naturally opened.

Revealed in the dim light were a pair of eyes meticulously carved and polished from the finest sapphires.

The gemstone's interior is so beautiful it seems to contain a miniature galaxy. Under the soft glow of chakra, it shimmers with a clear, vibrant, and almost superhuman brilliance.

These eyes were stunningly beautiful, yet they also clearly reminded onlookers that this was not a body of flesh and blood.

Immediately afterwards, Naruko's lips curled up slightly, forming a bright, energetic, and standard smile.

A clear, melodious voice, full of youthful energy and mixed with pre-programmed enthusiasm, came from her exquisite throat vocalization device.

"Hello! My name is Naruko Uzumaki. Nice to meet you!"

Her voice was incredibly vivid, with perfect intonation, just like a truly lively and cheerful young girl introducing herself.

The overwhelming sense of realism made Gaara, who was already in a state of extreme shock, skip a beat.

However, this vivid performance lasted for less than three seconds. After saying that greeting, Naruko's smile froze instantly, the light in her eyes dimmed, and she returned to her slumped posture, falling silent once more.

The sudden shutdown made Ai Luo lean forward quickly, a look of panic and disappointment flashing across his face, afraid that his brief chance of life would vanish.

"Don't be nervous," Kankuro explained at the opportune moment, "Using this puppet is simple. Just inject the chakra containing your 'will' and 'command' into this specific chakra injection point at the back of her neck through physical contact."

He pointed to an extremely small circular mark on the back of Naruko's neck. "She can make corresponding actions, expressions, and say sentences that conform to the 'settings' based on the chakra 'intentions' you input. The core array inside will analyze your chakra fluctuations and convert them into driving commands."

In other words, this is a specially made puppet that is entirely driven by the user's will and can be operated without learning puppetry.

Aside from its outrageously high cost, in terms of its simulated companionship function alone, it can be considered the 'perfect companion' currently available.

Gaara's attention was completely captured by "Naruko" in front of him. He couldn't hear Kankuro's next words about the cost, and all his reason and composure crumbled the moment those sapphire eyes opened and closed.

He could no longer restrain himself. With trembling hands, he reached out his right hand, his fingertips tentatively and gently, very slowly, touched Naruko's shoulder.

The sensation from his fingertips made him pause slightly.

Although the skin under clothing lacks the temperature of a living person, its delicate elasticity, soft texture, and the realistic friction of the fabric make it almost indistinguishable from a real flesh and blood body.

This tactile sensation brought that distant dream closer, making it within reach.

Gaara closed his eyes, trying to calm his wildly beating heart. Then, following Kankuro's instructions, he mobilized his chakra, mixing it with the strongest, most primal desire deep within his heart.

"I want her to move, I want her to talk to me, I want her... to smile at me like in my dreams"—slowly, continuously, flowing from my fingertips into that tiny chakra injection point.

Chakra activated the dormant internal magic circle. The sapphire eyes lit up again, more lively than before, reflecting Gaara's image. Naruko's head turned slightly, her gaze focusing on Gaara's face, and that programmed smile reappeared, but this time, it contained a "curiosity" and "goodwill" more in line with the current situation.

She spoke again, her voice still clear and melodious, but her tone had subtly changed due to the "intention" of the chakra Gaara had infused into her, becoming softer and carrying a sense of comfort and acceptance.

"Your name is... Gaara, right?"

She tilted her head, her golden twin tails swaying gently. "What a lovely name. From now on, we're family. Nice to meet you!"

After saying that, she actually raised one arm on her own initiative. The movement was so smooth and natural that it didn't seem like a puppet. She gently lifted her fingers and touched Gaara's cheeks, which were flushed with shock and excitement.

The touch of his fingertips was still slightly cool, but the gentleness of his movements and the focus of his gaze struck Gaara's already fragile heart hard.

However, all these seemingly proactive acts of intimacy actually stemmed entirely from Gaara's own chakra, which contained an intense "will" to be treated in this way.

This puppet, like the most precise mirror, gently and vividly reflected Gaara's deepest desires.

"..."

Gaara's body stiffened. He felt the cool touch on his cheek, heard that familiar yet unfamiliar voice saying the words he most wanted to hear, and saw that sapphire eyes that reflected only his own image... A complex torrent of boundless loneliness and illusory satisfaction instantly overwhelmed all his defenses.

"...!!!"

Kankuro watched nervously from the side, his heart still filled with contradictions and uncertainties—would handing this thing over to Gaara be a lifeline to temporarily escape his predicament, or a dangerous push that would lead him into an even deeper illusion? He had no answer yet.

However, the next second, he saw a scene that completely stunned him.

Two clear tears uncontrollably streamed from Gaara's wide eyes, rolling down his pale cheeks and dripping onto the back of Naruko's hand that was stroking his face, as well as into the thick dust in the room.

Naruko sensed once again the intense emotional fluctuations within the user's chakra. Her expression softened further.

She withdrew her hand from her face, and instead opened her arms, gently embracing the stiff Gaara in a tender and accommodating manner, pressing his head lightly against her shoulder where there was no heartbeat and no body temperature.

Her voice became softer and gentler, carrying a tenderness and patience like that of someone soothing a child, as it gently rang in Gaara's ear.

"Don't cry, don't cry... Gaara is a strong and good boy... Don't be afraid, don't be sad... Look, I'm here... I will... stay by your side forever..."

These gentle words, this long-awaited embrace, this "dream" created by his own will... finally allowed Aiolia's tense body to completely relax.

Like a child who had been lost for a long time, he tightly hugged the lifeless "warmth" in his arms, buried his face deeply in the neck with a faint artificial fragrance, and let the tears flow freely.

Kankuro watched the absurd yet heartbreaking scene before him—his powerful yet lonely younger brother tightly embracing a lifeless puppet, silently releasing emotions that had been suppressed for who knows how long in that "hug" made of cold gemstones and biomimetic materials.

He felt a mix of emotions. He was slightly relieved that he had found a way to "alleviate" his brother's pain, but also deeply saddened that this "alleviation" was built on such an illusory foundation.

Finally, he sighed and decided to step back for the time being, leaving Gaara alone. He needed time to process this and to think about what to do next.

Just as he tiptoed out of the room, preparing to leave silently—

"...Thank you, brother."

A very soft voice, with a heavy nasal tone, came from the direction where Gaara was buried in Naruko's shoulder.

Kankuro froze on the spot. He whirled around, staring incredulously at Gaara's figure.

brother.

In Kankuro's memory, Gaara called him "brother" so naturally... This seems to be... the first time.

A warm current mixed with a deeper sense of sorrow rushed into Kankuro's heart, making his eyes well up with tears.

He blinked hard, his voice slightly hoarse from the emotional turmoil, but he managed to force a relaxed smile.

"Haha...it's nothing. The fact that you're feeling better is the most important thing. You...you should rest first. I...I'll go check on Temari..."

He tried to mask his inner turmoil with a normal tone, preparing once again to turn away from this place that had stirred his emotions.

However, Gaara's next words instantly extinguished the warmth that had just risen in Kankuro's heart, causing cold sweat to break out on his back again.

Gaara slightly loosened his grip on Naruko, but didn't completely let go. He turned his head, his cheek still pressed against the puppet's cool shoulder, his eyes, which had just shed tears, staring straight at Kankuro, their light flickering with a mixture of pleading and expectation.

"Brother!" he raised his voice slightly, "Could we... make another one?"

"Huh?" Kankuro was stunned, not understanding for a moment. "Make another one? You mean... spare parts for 'Naruko'?"

Gaara's next words struck Kankuro's heart like a hammer blow.

"Could you...make another one... just like Naruto's?"