"Huff… huff…"
In the middle of the crumbling ruins, Gaara knelt on one knee.
The once-impenetrable armor of sand that covered his body had shattered, breaking apart under the force of the explosion.
Jagged grains still clung to his frame, but the protection was gone. His appearance now was more terrifying than reassuring.
Each breath came heavy and ragged. Pain surged through his nerves with every heartbeat.
Blood dripped from a gash on his forehead, clouding his vision in crimson.
A high-pitched ringing echoed in his ears, drowning out the world around him.
"Too... too dangerous," he murmured to himself. "If it weren't for Mother's power…"
A moment flashed across his mind—just before the explosion.
The sand had moved entirely on its own, wrapping around him like a mother's arms. It had embraced him, shielded him from the brunt of the impact.
But that protection had been meant for him alone.
Thank you… Mother.
The words echoed silently in his heart.
Since returning to the village, Jonin Baki had told him everything—about the Fourth Kazekage… and about Karura.
Gaara now knew the truth. His mother had never hated him.
She had never regretted bringing him into this world.
The emptiness inside him, carved by a lifetime of loneliness, had finally been filled.
And at last, Gaara understood the true meaning behind the word etched on his forehead—"Love."
It wasn't a symbol of a Shura who loved only himself.
It was his mother Karura's hope—that her son would one day learn to love himself.
"I've changed," Gaara whispered. "I'm the Kazekage of this village."
With gritted teeth, he pushed himself up from the ground. His legs trembled. His ears still rang. But he wiped the blood from his face, steadied his breath, and stood tall.
"My mission… is to protect the village. To protect its people."
The smoke began to settle. But what it revealed was a wasteland.
Sunagakure—or what was left of it—was reduced to rubble.
Buildings lay in ruins. Dust filled the air like fog. The cries of the injured and dying echoed in every direction.
Corpses buried beneath debris.
Ninjas fallen in the line of duty.
Civilians crushed under what used to be their homes.
Blood. Severed limbs. Shattered stones. Screams of agony.
It looked like hell itself had descended.
Gaara's pupils contracted. Something inside him—something he had not felt in a long, long time—ignited. A fierce, blazing flame began to rise in his chest.
And then, from within the smoke…
A voice.
"Oh? You're still alive?"
Toshi stood atop the ruins.
He bent down, elbow resting on his knee, chin propped on his hand as he watched Gaara with great interest.
A hint of amusement danced in his eyes despite the fury on Gaara's face.
"As expected of the Fifth Kazekage, Gaara," he said with a smirk. "Even my Flaring Sun couldn't break through. So this... is what they call a mother's love?"
"Shut up!"
The veins on Gaara's forehead bulged, his face twisting with rage. Those words had clearly hit a nerve.
In the blink of an eye, murderous intent surged in Gaara's eyes. His chakra exploded outward like a tidal wave, shaking the air with a violent roar.
Within a radius of several hundred meters, sand began to stir, flowing like a living sea.
As Gaara slowly raised both arms, walls of sand rose with him, climbing dozens of meters into the air.
"I am Gaara—Fifth Kazekage of the Hidden Sand!"
His voice rang out, cold and resolute, carrying the weight of leadership.
Standing high above the battlefield, atop a vast sea of sand, he glared down at Toshi. His next words echoed across the entire village.
"Sunagakure shinobi, ANBU—evacuate the villagers immediately! Do not come near me!"
With a rumble that shook the ground, the towering sea of sand surged forward. Its terrifying pressure loomed like a mountain as it crashed down toward Toshi.
Boom!
A violent tremor shook the earth. Hundreds of tons of sand crashed together, forming a titanic wave that blotted out the sky.
Dust and energy burst outward, crackling through the air like thunder. The roar was deafening—like ten thousand raging beasts charging all at once.
"Come on!" Toshi shouted, a crazed grin spreading across his face. "Now this is exciting!"
There wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes. Wrapped in golden armor that shimmered with holy light, he stepped forward.
He clenched his fist. His five fingers tightened.
"Only by defeating you will this boring game finally become interesting!"
He threw a punch.
Blazing golden light erupted, tearing through the darkness.
And for a moment—it was as if the night itself had been devoured by radiance.
The scorching, blistering heat felt as if a second sun had collided with them, its terrifying power shaking heaven and earth.
In the sky above, shockwaves rolled through the air, thunder echoing across the horizon.
As the currents roared, countless fierce winds ravaged the landscape, tearing the towering sand sea—dozens of meters high—to shreds, its force like an apocalypse.
Gaara, thrown from the shattered sand sea by a single punch, flew dozens of meters, carving a trail of wind as he spun through the air, his face twisted in shock.
"What kind of jutsu is this guy using?!"
Gaara's pupils contracted as he immediately summoned the sand beneath his feet into a floating cloud, halting his backward momentum.
Rumble!
Toshi's foot struck the ground.
A horrifying force collapsed the ruins beneath him, visible shockwaves pillar-ing outward for hundreds of meters, propelling him forward like a streak of light.
"Sandfall Spear Burial!"
High-density sand burst from the ground in spiraling layers, ensnaring Toshi's body.
At the same time, sand refined with layers of underground metal solidified into the shape of a lance as Gaara formed a grip with his five fingers and hurled it forward.
The Ultimate Spear: Shukaku's Spear!
Boom—!
The lance tore through the air, its speed and power spiking to their peak in an instant.
Almost too fast to track with the naked eye, it became a mere afterimage as it streaked across the sky, dragging the crackling sonic boom behind it toward Toshi.
"Sacred Light!"
Toshi tilted backward, arms outstretched as though embracing the sun.
In the next moment, a magnificent, pure pillar of blazing light descended from the sky, enveloping him completely.
The sand sea trapping him dissolved in an instant, yet Toshi, freed, did not retreat.
Instead, he gathered the radiant light he had just absorbed, forging it into a spear of absolute purity and launched it with precision.
"Spear of Light!"
*******
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