"What...what are you saying?!"
[Temari weakly retorted.]
However, Naruto and Gaara were too busy to pay her any attention at the moment.
Naruto extends his hand.
A flicker of confusion and wariness crossed Gaara's eyes.
However, Gaara was stunned once again.
[Then Naruto stretched out his hand.]
The sand, which had been strangely still inside the sand gourd, suddenly started moving.
It flew uncontrollably toward Naruto.
In the blink of an eye.
[It actually transformed into a sand hand.]
Naruto gently placed his hand on it.
The moment Naruto made contact, he understood what Gaara meant by absolute defense sand.
Suddenly, the way he looked at Gaara changed.
Gaara easily caught the look in her eyes.
Gaara frowned.
He was even more puzzled.
This scene.
This caused the Fourth Hokage Rasa, who was in the Pure Land, to turn pale.
Can you really know what the sand protecting Gaara is all about just by touching it?
It seems that... everything he's worked so hard to build up is just a matter of a single sentence in front of Naruto with his black-rimmed glasses.
The effort was broken.
"What do you know?" Gaara finally couldn't hold back any longer.
Seeing that Naruto remained silent for a long time.
Gaara couldn't hold back any longer.
Temari also cast a curious glance at them.
She didn't know why, but Gaara's sand always seemed to protect him.
Even when Gaara is completely relaxed, this is still the case.
[If it's about manipulating sand.]
[Temari's appearance wasn't that surprising.]
[Because their biological fathers can manipulate gold dust.]
Naruto did not answer directly.
Instead, she looked at Temari.
[She saw Temari looking at her with a somewhat blank expression.]
Naruto would know.
How outrageous is the father of these two siblings?
"Absolute defense?"
Naruto spoke.
Gaara and Temari seemed to realize something, and their breath caught in their throats.
"Perhaps you can understand your Sand Absolute Defense as..."
["like."]
[Buzz—]
[In an instant.]
Gaara felt as if the "love" mark on his forehead was burning hot.
"A mother's love."
"Both reasonable and unexpected."
[boom--]
Gaara's pupils suddenly contracted.
[He froze on the spot.]
Temari stared wide-eyed, covering her mouth in disbelief.
[This...this isn't right, is it?!]
This is completely different from what the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, their father, said!
How could it possibly be a mother's love...?
Gaara was struck dumb.
My mind went completely blank.
Naruto had no reason to lie to him.
And...it seems that this is indeed the case.
This completely shattered Gaara's worldview.
He wasn't someone even his own mother hated.
If he was the culprit who caused his mother's death... then his mother would never have loved him.
And certainly not...
Love becomes tangible—the Sand Defense, absolute defense.
Gaara stood there, lost in thought.
My memories of my mother all come from other people's accounts.
At this moment, the words his maternal uncle, Yashamaru, had spoken kept echoing in his mind.
[And then there are...those memories that are constantly being distorted by external influences.]
Finally, at this moment, everything was restored.
"Yashamaru..." Gaara murmured.
Temari's delicate body trembled.
[Yashimaru...Uncle?!]
"Pain...and...love?"
Gaara murmured, his eyes reddening without him even realizing it.
Tears streamed down my face.
[The memory of Yashamaru's final assassination attempt on him is gradually becoming clearer.]
The details of that night... have all become clear.
Indigo eyes, a kind face, and a perpetually gentle smile.
Naruto sighed.
Having a father like that is truly miserable.
[Then, Naruto transmitted the information he had gathered.]
"You were premature."
"Your mother passed away amidst her love and worry for you after giving birth to you."
"At the insistence of a certain high-ranking puppeteer in Sunagakure."
"You have become the Jinchūriki of Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, after Bunpuku."
[Inside the sealed space within Gaara's body.]
Shukaku paused, taken aback.
[It, which had been planning to continue making noise, suddenly fell silent.]
"Unfortunately."
"Unlike Bunpuku, you were too young to control your chakra."
"Therefore, I often go on wild tantrums."
Naruto paused at this point.
He was naturally thinking of himself.
[If Minato Namikaze hadn't split the giant fox in two back then, he probably would have gone berserk too.]
Even though he has the blood of the Uzumaki clan flowing through his veins.
[And the blood of the Senju clan.]
A fully formed, large fox is far superior to a single-tailed Shukaku.
Of course, we can't be too absolute.
After all, besides possessing the bloodline of a complete immortal body, he also has the strongest seal enhancing his power.
Most importantly, he possesses the chakra of an Ashura reincarnation.
[...]
[Naruto finished speaking.]
Temari seemed to have remembered something.
She covered her mouth.
Now I understand why they treated Gaara that way back then.
[Besides Luo Sha's contributions.]
[And then there's... Shukaku, no, Shukaku's jinchūriki, Gaara's frequent berserk rages, which have cost the already impoverished Sunagakure village dearly.]
Naturally... the people of Sunagakure, whether commoners or ninjas, both feared and loathed Gaara.
The instigator... a certain high-ranking puppeteer... Chiyo?
[Including the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, it seems he was completely detached from the events surrounding Gaara's loss of control.]
now.
Gaara and his counterpart in the black-framed world are virtually identical.
Temari and Kankuro also looked on incredulously.
It's as if all my previous understanding has become a joke.
The same applies to the area around Sunagakure.
Just like the Konoha group before them.
I see...
They even dared to laugh at Konoha.
In fact.
How different can there be between Sunagakure and Konoha?
"So...the villagers were all evacuated back then."
"Gaara has also been imprisoned in another area."
"His uncle is taking care of him."
Temari spoke softly.
Tears silently streamed down my face.
Naruto has figured out the entire sequence of events.
Now, it's time to verify.
"Yashimaru, he must be very gentle, right?"
As soon as the words were spoken, Gaara shuddered.
"The reason you're still alive is..."
"It seems... he didn't go berserk after personally killing Yashamaru."
"Yashimaru is the Fourth Kazekage's right-hand man; he must obey his orders."
"Yashimaru must have said something to you... but your absolute defense is the best evidence."