"Bear?!"
Everyone in Sunagakure was instantly dumbfounded. Where would a bear come from in the great desert? Was this guy deliberately looking for trouble?!
Temari fell into thought—could the black-and-white bear her family had picked up belong to him?
Just as she was about to speak, Kankurō stepped in first.
"Outsider, no matter who you are, this is Sunagakure. You're not allowed to run wild here!"
Kairen asked himself, hand on his chest, "Running wild?"
He immediately let out a roar like an evil dragon.
"Not only am I going to run wild, I'm going to eat people!"
"Roar—"
"Fire Release: Multiple Demon Lanterns!"
In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of fireballs condensed around Kairen, carrying the scorching heat of the sun itself.
Gaara used ninjutsu at once: "Sand Burial Waterfall!"
All the sand of Sunagakure was at his command. The sandstorm surged like a sea, swallowing Kairen in an instant.
After the torrent of sand passed, everyone present stared wide-eyed.
With Lord Kazekage's full-coverage sand attack, that man couldn't possibly be completely unharmed, right?
When the sand dispersed, a young man clad in white, with silvery hair, revealed a pair of eyes glowing with sky-blue light.
Kairen formed seals with both hands. Behind him, a massive Majestic Attire Susanoo phantom also formed seals in sync.
"Six Paths: Tengai Shinsei!"
As the seals completed, a power from beyond the world began to strike the earth.
At the horizon, a streak of fiery red descended from the sky, carrying boundless fury.
Kairen folded his arms, his face filled with faint aloof pride.
"Sunagakure—can you stop a meteor even bigger than your village?"
A red shadow engulfed the entire world. Every living being in Sunagakure looked up at the sky.
At this moment, dogs stopped barking, cats stopped sleeping, people stopped shooting.
A super-giant meteor thousands of meters in diameter fell like the sun crashing down, its heart-crushing pressure like a god descending in person.
All of Sunagakure's ninja stood frozen.
Only one thought echoed in their minds: mmp—was this really necessary? What kind of grudge is this?!
The meteor Kairen summoned was even bigger than Madara's, and it carried the power of flames as well. This divine might was nothing short of dimensional annihilation.
Everyone knew that Sunagakure was doomed, Gaara included.
Many from Sunagakure dropped to their knees—their spirits had already collapsed.
Gaara's momentary daze was replaced by resolve. Naruto had told him that no matter what, he must never give up.
He formed seals with both hands, pouring out all the chakra in his body. The surrounding sand surged up into pillars, trying to block Kairen's meteor.
But it was ultimately like an egg striking a stone. The wind pressure from the meteor alone shattered some of the sand pillars.
Gaara's defense was nothing more than a thin shell.
Just as the entire village was about to be destroyed, a heroic female voice rang out: "Stop!"
Kairen flicked a finger, and the meteor above his head screeched to a halt.
His sky-blue eyes turned toward the blonde woman who had stepped forward.
Her face was solemn, her brows brimming with heroic spirit, like a female general who had fought campaigns across the northern deserts.
A desert beauty—nothing could surpass this.
Temari clenched her fists and said to Kairen,
"I picked up your bear!"
"Oh."
Kairen responded indifferently.
"Mmnh~ (๑ت๑)"
A chubby black-and-white figure crashed into Kairen's arms—it was Wolon.
The moment Kairen arrived, it had already caught his scent.
Kairen rubbed Wolon's bear head, then shifted his gaze to Temari.
Temari continued, "I didn't mistreat it. I'm returning it to you now. Please leave Sunagakure."
Kairen smiled faintly.
Kairen pointed at the iron-eating beast in his arms and said,
"You didn't mistreat it? My Wolon has gotten thinner. Just a few days ago, it was still chubby."
"Mmnh~"
Wolon nodded.
In Sunagakure, even eating a bit of leaves would get its ears tugged. Truly a backwater place.
Temari replied, "What do you want?"
Kairen said with killing intent, "Because you abused my panda, I'm in a bad mood and have decided to massacre your village."
Gaara stepped forward. "Don't even think about it. I'll stop you."
Kankurō also took out his puppets, the stubborn pride of the desert people laid bare.
Temari hurriedly pulled her two brothers back and whispered, "Don't make him angry. I'll handle this!"
Temari stepped forward. "Just say it straight—what do you want from Sunagakure?"
Kairen still had some sense of shame; he couldn't openly say he'd come to snatch a woman.
He coughed lightly and pointed at the entire village.
"From today on, Sunagakure answers to me. Not just Sunagakure—the entire Land of Wind must answer to me."
Kairen directly revealed his ambition, and the people of Sunagakure cursed inwardly.
The Akatsuki were brutal, but they only wanted the Kazekage's life.
But you—this is about seizing the entire Land of Wind.
Gaara stepped forward, carrying the gourd on his back, calm filling his brow.
"What do you want Sunagakure for?"
Kairen replied, "I need a vast territory to carry my dreams."
"I want to unify the ninja world."
Unifying the ninja world—such a common ambition declaration, so overused it had gone stale.
Gaara looked at Kairen seriously. "You want to rule the world?"
Kairen pointed at the sky. "I possess the power of gods and demons. Shouldn't I become the master of this land?"
No one spoke. Kairen could summon meteors from beyond the heavens—such ability was not something ordinary people should have.
Seeing Sunagakure remain silent for a long time, Kairen finally said bluntly,
"Right now you have two choices. One: be my lackeys. Two: work for me."
Many people felt indignant—either way, it still meant becoming his lackeys!
"Sunagakure, choose!"
Kairen's hand slowly swept downward, and the heavenly meteor descended with it.
Gaara watched silently, outwardly calm, but inwardly burning with anxiety.
What should I do? Should I submit to him?
Naruto—if it were you, what would you do?
Naruto's choice would be simple: pull out a bunch of shadow clones and charge in headfirst, using less of that brain thing.
The heavy silence grew thicker. Everyone looked at one another.
Among Sunagakure's people were those who wanted to surrender, those who wanted to fight to the death, and those who wanted to become guides.
But the one in charge of Sunagakure was Gaara, so all eyes turned to him.
Gaara remained silent for a long time, wanting to fight to the death yet unwilling to doom the villagers.
Finally, a booming voice rang out. "We obey your command!"
All of Sunagakure's gazes focused on a middle-aged man.
Wearing common desert clothing, with a square face—he was an elder of the village.
When Gaara had been captured by the Akatsuki back then, it was he who had advocated abandoning Gaara.
Kairen halted the meteor and looked toward the Sunagakure elder.
"Are you the one in charge?"
The Sunagakure elder knelt straight down.
"My lord, the Kazekage-sama is still young and cannot shoulder everything alone."
"I am an elder of Sunagakure. I can make the decision. For us ninjas to return under your rule is truly great fortune."
Temari glared angrily at the elder. "Elder Chōhei, you—!"
Chōhei looked utterly concerned for Sunagakure.
"Don't think about dragging the whole village into this. There are still so many villagers—we must consider their future."
Damn old man—you're just afraid of dying, and you still dare drag the villagers into it!
Chōhei began splashing filth onto Gaara.
"Gaara, as the Fifth Kazekage, look at what you've brought to the village. Because of you, the Akatsuki invaded and nearly wiped out Sunagakure."
"Your father Rasa was also a useless fool—recklessly attacking Konoha and causing us to be sidelined by the daimyo."
"What has the village gained because of your family?"
"Now a sage descends to bring peace to the world, and instead of gratitude, you want to block him—utterly courting death."
Elder Chōhei's words disgusted many people, especially Gaara's confidants.
Damn old man—who doesn't know you've coveted the Kazekage's position for years? How could you ever say anything good about Gaara?
Baki raised his kunai!
Temari stepped forward directly, fury on her face as she pulled out her giant fan, ready to blow this old man Chōhei away in one gust.
But Sunagakure's other elders also stepped out, kneeling one after another beneath Kairen.
"Elder Chōhei is right. We are willing to accept my lord's command."
Kneeling and submitting to a young man didn't seem like a big deal to them. Old age had stiffened their legs—kneeling was more comfortable.
They didn't have long left to live anyway. One more day alive was one more day gained.
Seeing someone take the lead, more and more people began kneeling, submitting to Kairen.
Temari's face was full of anger. "Are you preparing to betray Sunagakure?"
"What betrayal? We understand the bigger picture and think for the village's future."
Chōhei said loudly.
As a guide, he was excellent in every aspect and was about to start riding on Kairen's coattails.
"You brain-dead descendants and remnants of Rasa! Our council of elders has decided to impeach the Fifth Kazekage and arrest and imprison him."
"Men! Control Gaara!"
Chaos was about to erupt. Human hearts were unfathomable—no matter how ancient the sand, it would still be ground away by the wind.
Kairen pinched Wolon's little butt and watched quietly.
That was why he no longer wanted to be human—because the human heart could not be looked at directly.
Push open the gates of the eight layers of hell, and what you see is the human world.
Sunagakure quickly split into three factions: the elders' guide faction, Gaara's fight-to-the-death faction, and the faction—whoever had more people, they followed. Coincidentally, they were the most numerous.
"Hack these Sunagakure traitors to death!"
Fighting erupted quickly. Ninja blades were drawn, blood splashing everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, people fell to the ground.
Once blood was spilled, it couldn't be stopped, and larger-scale slaughter would follow.
Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, Gaara stepped forward and used sand to suppress the fighting.
"Enough!!"
With a furious roar, everyone's eyes turned toward him.
Gaara's eyes looked at Kairen—neither servile nor overbearing, filled with a silence like yellow sand.
He fixed his gaze on Kairen.
"I am Sunagakure's Fifth Kazekage. I cannot surrender."
Temari looked at Gaara standing alone, still as aloof as ever, and her heart ached.
"…Gaara!"
Gaara turned around, looking at his brother, his sister, and those who supported him.
"You surrender."
Kankurō said anxiously, "Gaara, what are you trying to do?"
Gaara didn't answer. He turned away and slowly walked toward Kairen.
"I am a cursed star of calamity. My mother died at my birth, my father hated me, the villagers resented me, and I became a Shura who loved only himself."
"Until I met a ninja like this—his circumstances were the same as mine, yet he never gave up on pursuing the goal of being acknowledged… Because of him, I became Kazekage."
"Only after becoming Kage did I understand that a Kage must shoulder many things, including glory."
"Throughout history, Kage have only died in battle—none have surrendered."
Gaara drew to within ten steps of Kairen. From beginning to end, there was not a trace of gloom in those panda eyes.
"Outsider, you may conquer Sunagakure, but you will never defeat the sand of the great desert."
Gaara left his final words behind him.
"Temari, Kankurō, Baki… after I die, do not avenge me, and do not attempt to resist him."
Temari leapt out, trying to pull back her stubborn brother.
"Gaara! You idiot—don't go throw your life away!"
A wall of sand blocked Temari's path. Through the gaps in the sand, she could see Gaara's lonely face.
It had always been like this—isolated by others, with no one able to enter his world, not even her as his sister.
Gaara removed the gourd from his back. Leaning against it alone, chakra surged through his entire body.
"Outsider, I am Gaara of Sunagakure. I will let you know that the first stretch of sand you conquer in Sunagakure will be blood-red."
"Ah—!"
With a roar, Gaara's entire body turned into sand, surging forward with a sea of sand, charging straight at Kairen.
At this moment, the kneeling Sunagakure shinobi were stirred. One by one, they stood up.
Fired with passion, they shouted, "We are sand—sand that drowns everything! We will never submit to any enemy! Sunagakure, charge with me!"
"That's right!"
The elders cursed loudly. "All of you kneel down! Stop making trouble—we're no match for him! You're all as overestimating yourselves as Gaara!"
The young dared to fight and charge; the elderly shrank back, having lost their burning blood.
The forward-rushing sand suddenly stopped. A violent wind卷ed the sea of sand, and then Kairen's spotless figure was revealed.
One hand pressed on Gaara's head, the Tenseigan looking down at his dazed face.
Gaara froze in place—his all-out attack, releasing all his chakra, had been blocked in an instant.
"…Th-this… is this a god?"
Kairen released the hand pressing on Gaara's head, the divine eye filled with disdain for mortals.
Kairen walked forward. As he passed by, he spoke calmly,
"I have no interest in an insect's life."
Those from Sunagakure who had just stood up quietly knelt back down.
The hot blood rushing to their heads was instantly crushed by reality—sure enough, the elders' words had to be heeded.
Even the Kazekage had no power to fight back. If they went up, wouldn't they just be throwing their lives away?
Gaara's body dropped to its knees against his will, so weak he no longer had the strength to stand.
At this moment, all that filled his heart was his own powerlessness.
Lost again!
The last time the Akatsuki invaded the village, he lost. This time was the same—lost completely, defeated utterly.
He truly was a useless Kazekage.
"Haha…"
Gaara suddenly laughed, his smile filled with self-mockery as he lowered his head to look at his hands.
"I really shouldn't have become a ninja. These hands seem neither here nor there!"
Sand gradually wrapped around Gaara's hands.
Temari's eyes widened as she screamed herself hoarse to stop him.
"Don't!"
A dull thud followed. Flesh and blood exploded, and a figure collapsed to the ground.
Kairen turned around, his pupils contracting.
"This young man… that ruthless?"
A streak of crimson stained the sand red. Beneath the lingering dusk, the entire desert was incomparably beautiful.