At present.
Location: The Kazekage Building of the 'New Sunagakure Village'.
You ask where the old Sunagakure went? Well, it was just relocated—
In fact, the old Sunagakure is actually still there.
Or rather, the new Sunagakure is the result of expanding upon the original foundation.
Immediately after successfully 'taking office', Gaara immediately began working on the transformation of Sunagakure.
Unlike his father, who could only bitterly use his Magnet Release to pan for gold in the sand, Gaara, having dealt with the Nature Will, at least having been in contact with it, possessed power far beyond what he had previously shown.
Under some special guidance, Gaara overruled all objections and initiated an expansion project towards a certain direction.
During this period, under his control, massive amounts of sand were forcibly compressed into building materials that could be used for expansion. The villagers only needed to figure out how to construct the buildings the Kazekage requested.
Although Baki's faction had objections, after confirming that the Jonin named Yura was indeed a spy, their voices temporarily quieted down.
As for the elders like Chiyo's faction, on the very first day Gaara took office, they handed over all authority, showing an attitude of 'I support Gaara as the leader'.
With these two sides taking such stances, although others in the village didn't understand Gaara's decisions, they had nothing to say.
Of course, when they later discovered the oasis in the desert and the fertile soil exposed after the sand was moved, the villagers were overjoyed, and no one mentioned the Kazekage's 'rash decisions' anymore.
If there was still any unstable factor, it was only the minister representing the Land of Wind's Daimyo.
After his initial intimidation, this minister didn't completely lose heart. Instead, because Gaara hadn't killed him, he developed some unwarranted illusions.
As for the decisions made by Gaara, the Kazekage not officially recognized by the Daimyo, especially the blatant land appropriation, he had strong objections.
After all, in his view, every grain of sand and every stone in the Land of Wind should belong to the Daimyo.
Just as Temari and Kankuro grew anxious over the minister's attitude, fearing he would anger Gaara again-
That man's attitude suddenly did a one-eighty degree turn.
Not only did he fully support Gaara's actions, but he also voluntarily returned to the daimyo to vouch for Gaara's 'legitimacy', 'security', and 'loyalty'.
With his mediation, the Land of Wind's Daimyo changed his original stance.
He seemed very satisfied with this 'sensible' Gaara, even sending the minister back to offer commendation.
—Of course, it was only verbal commendation, with no substantial material support.
But that was enough to shock those with malicious intent who wanted to see the two sides completely fall out.
They couldn't understand how Gaara had suddenly smoothed things over.
In fact, not only them, but even Temari, Kankuro, Baki, and others didn't understand.
Perhaps in all of Sunagakure, only Chiyo vaguely guessed at a possibility.
Swish—
A cloaked figure silently appeared in the Kazekage's office, landing right behind Gaara.
"Heh, quite careless, aren't you? Not afraid I might ambush you?"
The cloaked figure's voice was strange, hoarse as if his throat had been burned.
But Gaara completely ignored this rather threatening remark, his eyes fixed on various documents.
"That guy is still useful. At least until Sunagakure truly develops, we can't completely cut ties with the Daimyo."
At this moment, Gaara spoke quite rationally, completely opposite to the arrogant and domineering persona he displayed in public.
He seemed more like... when he was with Kousei… cold, wooden.
"Hmph, why not just kill him? You know I could easily turn him into a human puppet..."
The man couldn't finish his sentence because he felt a sand-formed blade silently cutting near his 'core'.
Though it didn't cause any real damage, the threat was clear.
"Alright, alright... you're the boss. The [Memory-Concealing Manipulative Sand Technique] isn't bad either."
The cloaked figure removed his hood, revealing an ordinary face.
Gaara didn't look at him, knowing this was just another 'shell' created by that guy.
"Sasori, don't mention 'human puppets' or anything like that in front of me again. The newly born Sunagakure doesn't need such things."
Indeed, the cloaked man was the last remnant of the Akatsuki, the former Sasori of the Red Sand.
Of course, now he was just a 'transparent man' under Gaara's control, used for dirty work.
Just like that guy who liked to stab Susanoo with a kunai.
After saying this, Gaara casually dropped another statement that made Sasori's expression change.
"Don't worry, Chiyo noticed you long ago. I asked her not to see you for now."
"You're not ready yet, are you?"
After finishing the last document, Gaara turned to look at Sasori's puppet body and smiled lightly.
"Tch... always doing unnecessary things."
Though he said this, Sasori didn't actually show any real dissatisfaction.
On the contrary, he was actually quite grateful for Gaara's decision.
Although he had left the Akatsuki, Sasori still hadn't figured out how to face Chiyo.
The blood on his hands couldn't simply be wiped away by washing them of past deeds.
"...By the way, you should know about the situation in Iwagakure. Their Jinchuriki was attacked."
Hearing this, the faint smile on Gaara's face vanished as if it had never appeared.
"I know."
"It seems that even without the Akatsuki, there's no shortage of people targeting the Tailed Beasts in the Ninja World. You better be careful... heh."
Toward the end, Sasori didn't hide his gloating tone, chuckling before melting into the shadows and disappearing.
Gaara said nothing to this.
He was long used to this guy's attitude.
As long as he obediently worked for him, helping make Sunagakure great again, these small details didn't matter.
In a way, Gaara and the Fourth Kazekage Rasa were truly very similar.
Clap clap clap...
Suddenly, crisp applause echoed in the room.
Almost instantly, countless sand particles transformed into sharp, nearly invisible blades, slicing through every corner of the room.
Gaara's reaction speed was remarkable.
After being strengthened by the Nature Will, he could now transcend the limitations of Ninjutsu itself to a certain extent.
Unlike when Sasori had silently appeared earlier, Sasori's regeneration core contained specially crafted sand that Gaara had meticulously prepared, so his movements had always been monitored by Gaara.
But this person who had appeared in Gaara's office now had not revealed any presence at all before clapping.
For Gaara, whose perception had been enhanced by the Nature Will, this was simply impossible.
You have to understand, although this building looked very clean, in fact, throughout the entire Kazekage Building... even throughout the entire area, there floated tiny grains of sand invisible to the naked eye.
Just like the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, these sand grains could accurately feedback every move of anyone within to Gaara.
To silently break through this kind of perception barrier was simply impossible... unless the other party could teleport!
The sharp sand blade sliced through the air, finally stopping just before the mysterious guest's neck.
When Gaara saw who this suddenly appearing person actually was, a complex expression immediately appeared on his face.
"You've done really well, Gaara. I've been watching your actions these past few days, you know."
"What a rare guest... Uzumaki Naruto."
The sand dissipated, once again becoming particles invisible to the naked eye.