Honestly, from the moment Gaara was taken away to everything that had happened since, Temari found it all unbelievable.
As the eldest daughter of the Fourth Kazekage and also Gaara's older sister, Temari carried much more on her shoulders than it seemed.
Especially during the time after the Fourth Kazekage was killed, Sunagakure was leaderless, and the Jinchuriki was forcibly taken away… that pressure nearly crushed this young girl.
But god wasn't so cruel to her.
The worst-case scenario didn't happen.
The brother taken away by that Uzumaki Naruto miraculously returned, and just as Naruto had said, it wasn't for the power of the Tailed Beast.
And what surprised Temari most was that her brother, upon returning to Sunagakure, was no longer as twisted as before.
Although she didn't know exactly what Gaara had experienced during those days away, or who had changed his personality, it was ultimately a good thing.
Not only for family like Temari and Kankuro, but also for the faltering Sunagakure.
The most serious consequence of their father, Rasa's death was nearly splitting Sunagakure into two factions.
On one side was Baki, their father's former deputy… on the other was Chiyo's faction.
Although there wasn't any sharp conflict between them, they differed on how to handle Gaara.
Especially when the Land of Wind's Daimyo, probably encouraged by some genius, openly interfered in Sunagakure's internal affairs.
Although a ruler could indeed interfere to some extent with their country's Ninja Village, for so many years the Five Great Ninja Villages had actually formed another kind of tacit balance with their respective countries' upper echelons.
Ninja would act as the Daimyo's weapons when necessary, but the price was that the Daimyo couldn't fully control the village's development.
On this point, the Tsuchikage and Raikage were very assertive. The Mizukage and Hokage, while not showing obvious resistance, still maintained a certain autonomy.
Only the Kazekage was different.
If Rasa hadn't used his Magnet Release to pan for gold in the sand, Sunagakure would probably have lost all initiative long ago under that Daimyo's economic pressure.
That shrewd Daimyo would not only skimp on financial and material support for the village but also wouldn't miss this golden opportunity.
He simply sent his 'minister' to permanently reside in Sunagakure.
It could be said that before a Fifth Kazekage was elected, the chaos in Sunagakure would be hard to stop.
However, all this was quickly resolved after Gaara returned to Sunagakure.
First was the issue of 'how to handle the Jinchuriki'.
One faction insisted on imprisoning Gaara in the shrine again, like previous Jinchuriki. The other faction, while not demanding imprisonment, still required Gaara to obey the village in the name of 'greater good'.
Even the minister sent by the Land of Wind's Daimyo tried to stir things up.
Unfortunately, their actions all became jokes in the face of Gaara, who had suddenly become assertive.
"I will become the Fifth Kazekage. Who agrees? Who opposes?"
When Gaara said this expressionlessly, both sides thought it was just that problematic kid acting up again.
The older faction around Chiyo was fine, with the old woman keeping them in check, so their reaction wasn't strong.
But the radical faction around Baki couldn't sit still.
They even began to ignore Baki's wishes as their leader, openly raising objections.
"Stop messing around, Gaara!"
"Yeah! Don't think you can inherit the Kazekage's position just because you're Rasa-sama's son!"
"Don't underestimate Sunagakure!"
But the next moment, a sky-covering sandstorm successfully taught these people what attitude one should have toward the strong.
No hand seals, not even a word.
That terrifying sandstorm, enough to completely bury Sunagakure the next second, obediently 'circled' around the village like a predator ready to strike.
Although the Nature Will had left Gaara and he could no longer replicate the indestructible [True Sage Art: Shukaku's Spear] from before, the Nature Will hadn't left nothing behind.
To enable Gaara to wield that power, the Nature Will had strengthened his already formidable Ninjutsu talent and physique.
Plus, as a Jinchuriki, Gaara had somewhat reconciled with Shukaku inside him… while still not quite able to easily enter Jinchuriki mode like Killer B or Roshi, but at least, Shukaku was no longer a burden.
And this enhanced Gaara might not be able to handle strong opponents like Naruto or Otsutsuki, but against ordinary Ninjas clearly not on his level, it didn't matter how many came.
Faced with such a shocking sight, those in the village who originally disliked Gaara and wanted to cause trouble all quieted down.
Some people are like that.
If you're a little different from them, whether that difference is good or bad, or even completely irrelevant, they'll use it to exclude you.
These people live in an environment called the 'collective', and the collective gives them the illusion that they can talk as equals with those on a different level.
They even instinctively believe that everyone must join their 'collective'.
"Hey! You monster! Are you trying to destroy Sunagakure?!"
Hearing that there were still people with unclear minds daring to jump out, Gaara wasn't angry but rather pleased.
Under the stunned gazes of Temari and Kankuro, that brother who always looked hateful actually smiled.
He smiled lightly.
"I don't know if you've misunderstood something."
"Sunagakure without a Jinchuriki and without a Kazekage is the one in the most danger."
"The only people I care about in this village are them."
Watching Gaara point to them as he said this, Temari wondered if she was dreaming.
"As for you... just as you never acknowledged me, I don't acknowledge you either."
"If not for the responsibility my dead father still bore, if not for my siblings still wanting to stay in this village, do you think this place could keep me?"
"Do you think you could keep me? Or you?"
The people Gaara's fierce gaze landed on couldn't utter a word.
Even if they hated Gaara, tens of thousands of tons of sand now hung above their heads. With just a thought from Gaara, they'd all be buried.
In this situation, these people finally seemed to see reality.
"Now, it's not that I need Sunagakure, but Sunagakure needs me."
"Besides—"
Saying this, without any visible action from Gaara, sand rose from the ground, forming ropes that bound the man who had jumped out earlier.
"Who are you, an outsider spy, to judge how I act?"
As he finished speaking, the sand formed blades, cutting into the Jonin named Yura, causing blood to splatter before he could say more.
No one knew if Gaara's spy accusation was true.
But everyone understood one thing.
Now, if Gaara said he was a spy, then he was a spy.
"Don't think I'm just trying to intimidate. I didn't kill him. Take him down for interrogation, and you'll know why the enemy was able to pinpoint my location last time."
After saying this, ignoring how Baki's faction reacted, Gaara, lifted by the sand like a god, looked down at the minister sent by the Land of Wind's Daimyo.
This minister, who had arrived at Sunagakure so arrogantly, now had none of that haughtiness left. He had originally thought Ninjas were lowly creatures meant to obey nobles' orders, yet they possessed such terrifying power.
And whether intentional or not, blood from that Jonin Yura had splashed onto his pants.
Seeing this man trembling, Gaara just narrowed his eyes slightly. Contrary to what Chiyo imagined, he didn't lose himself in killing intent and directly break with the Daimyo.
Gaara's silence almost made the man collapse to the ground… fortunately, sand propped up his legs.
In the end, Gaara did nothing to this minister, instead smiling lightly and patting his shoulder.
"Minister has come from afar. Our conditions in Sunagakure are hard, so we have nothing good to offer. Please forgive us."
When saying this, Gaara's smile was very cold, completely insincere.
Then he smoothly ordered others to take the minister to his residence for a good rest.
Chiyo silently watched how Gaara handled both sides, then her eyes flickered as she subtly glanced toward a certain direction outside the village.
As for Temari and Kankuro, they seemed to be dreaming, still not quite back to reality.
Gaara had changed too much.
Still imposing, still frightening.
But the feeling was completely different.
If before he was a 'monster' willing to become a tool for others' recognition yet still rejected and controlled,
Then now Gaara was more like a 'powerful figure' who had hidden his weaknesses and revealed his dominance and initiative.
'Where... where did he learn all this?'