He was a jinchūriki—a terrifying existence.
Kankurō said, "Gaara… that guy is actually the next Kazekage? How is that possible?!"
Temari frowned. "After the Fourth Kazekage died, our village did need a new Kage to lead everyone… but how could it be Gaara?"
[Fourth Kazekage Rasa @ All of Hidden Sand Village: What in the world is happening?! Gaara is extremely dangerous to Hidden Sand Village! After my death, how could you possibly let him become Kazekage?]
[Sand Ninja: Lord Fourth, we only just learned we were wiped out by Orochimaru's ambush. As for why Gaara becomes the Fifth Kazekage in the future—we have no idea either!]
Chiyo thought to herself: The Fifth Kazekage is that Gaara child? The future really is unbelievable…
So she tagged Rasa.
[Chiyo @ Fourth Kazekage Rasa: Since Gaara becomes the Fifth Kazekage in the future, that means what you did earlier may have been wrong. Gaara might not be what you thought he was.]
[Fourth Kazekage Rasa: Lady Chiyo, everyone in the village knows Gaara is a threat! This was proven through experiments—how could it be false?]
[Gaara: I…]
Gaara felt even more disbelief and confusion.
A person feared by the entire village—how could he possibly become Kazekage?
At that moment, the scroll trembled and burst with golden light.
A translucent screen appeared before it.
Images began to play.
Everyone stopped talking.
All eyes turned to the screen with curiosity.
Especially the people of Hidden Sand Village—they truly wanted to see it.
What would it be like when the Gaara who terrified them all became Kazekage?
Would Hidden Sand Village fall into darkness and despair from that point onward?
The footage began.
["Why… why don't I have a mother?"]
[In a dim, suffocating room, a small child with panda-like dark circles stared at the ceiling, tears in his eyes—lost in painful memories.]
["Look, it's that kid!"]
["Go away, you damned monster!"]
["Monster! Go die!"]
["So scary!"]
["Disgusting! That cursed brat!"]
[Hatred, mockery, bullying, pointing fingers, curses… Gaara had no friends. His memories were only pain and loneliness.]
Naruto clenched his fists tightly as he watched, fully empathizing.
He suffered because the Third hid his identity.
Gaara suffered because he had a father whose brain was clearly not functioning properly.
["Gaara-sama, don't you still have me?"]
["I will always be by Gaara-sama's side."]
["Because… Gaara-sama is the most important person to me."]
[For those in darkness, there is always a small light—Naruto had Iruka; Gaara… had Yashamaru.]
[Yashamaru handed Gaara a small gift, smiling gently.]
[Gaara felt warmth—fleeting happiness.]
[However—]
[Happiness never lasts long.]
[And the one who personally shattered it… was a stubborn, self-righteous father.]
[In the footage, the Fourth Kazekage Rasa gave Yashamaru an order. Yashamaru was shocked, conflicted… and finally complied.]
Rasa's act—destroying the only hope, the only light in his son's life just to test whether Gaara was a threat to the village—shocked the entire ninja world.
[Kumo Ninja: Is he a pig?! Who does this to their own kid?!]
[Konoha Ninja: We feel guilty toward Naruto, sure, but we only discriminated and ostracized him—we were never THIS insane!]
[Amegakure Ninja: A jinchūriki is scary, but this Fourth Kazekage is clearly even scarier…]
[Gaara: So that's how it was… Why did you lie to me? Why did you do that to me?! To Yashamaru?!]
[Uzumaki Kushina: What kind of father does this?! You're not worthy of being a father! Calling you a pig would be an insult to pigs—you're worse than animals!]
The entire chat was filled with condemnation.
Rasa was furious—he didn't believe he'd done anything wrong.
[Fourth Kazekage Rasa @ Everyone: You don't understand! Everything I did was for the village! I needed to know whether Gaara was dangerous. What did I do wrong?!]
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded with deep understanding.
But he only nodded—he didn't dare support Rasa publicly.
Gaara's mother and Yashamaru stayed silent.
Both felt they had wronged Gaara, yet from Rasa's perspective… they could also understand why he acted.
Shame filled their hearts.
Gaara, seeing everyone in the chat standing up for him, felt a faint spark of hope.
Maybe his life wasn't completely hopeless.
But he also hesitated—afraid that the person he hoped for would crush that hope again.
At some point…
Naruto walked over to Gaara, whose fists were clenched tight.
He slowly placed his hand on Gaara's head.
Gaara froze, staring blankly at him.
The Sand nin were shocked.
Had Naruto lost his mind? He actually touched Gaara's head?!
Kankurō and Temari broke into cold sweat.
If Gaara went berserk…
If he killed the future hero of Konoha, none of them would leave alive—and Hidden Sand Village would be doomed.
But at this point…
All they could do was watch.
And pray nothing went wrong.
[The footage continued.]
[Why…?]
[Yashamaru…]
[My chest… hurts so much…]
[As Gaara stared at the gravely wounded Yashamaru—struck down by his own hand—he clutched his chest, screaming in anguish.]
[Gaara… deep in my heart… I've always hated you. In my eyes, my sister never wanted to give birth to you. She died with a curse. She wanted everyone to know… you were never loved.]
[Darkness.]
[Gaara's world fell into complete darkness.]
[Despair.]
[He had completely fallen into despair.]
[NOOOOO!!!]
[As Yashamaru died—Shukaku emerged.]
The chat exploded.
[Uzumaki Kushina @ Rasa: And you STILL claim you did it for the village?! Look at what you did to your own child!]
[Namikaze Minato @ Rasa: This is your village's matter, but… you are unworthy of being a father.]
[Uchiha Madara @ Rasa: In terms of being a beast, I, Madara Uchiha, acknowledge you as the strongest.]
[Uchiha Izuna @ Rasa: In strength I can crush you, but in being inhuman—I admit defeat.]
[First Hokage Hashirama: No wonder no one even noticed when you got assassinated. Trash.]
[Second Hokage Tobirama: Big Brother, don't say that—you're insulting trash.]
[Fourth Raikage A: Honestly, I feel ashamed to be a fellow Kage with you.]
Rasa's face turned pitch-black from anger as the condemnations poured in.
[Fourth Kazekage Rasa @ Everyone: I wasn't wrong! Everything I did was for the village! Just wait—when Gaara becomes Kazekage in the footage, you'll see what Hidden Sand Village turns into!]
[Uzumaki Kushina @ Karura: You're Gaara's mother, correct?]
[Karura: Yes… I'm Gaara's mother.]
[Uzumaki Kushina: Then explain. I don't believe there is a mother in this world who doesn't love her child.]
Karura fell silent, not knowing how to answer.
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