"Is that… Gaara?"
"Wasn't he a monster? Why does he look like that?"
"I remember when we were kids, Gaara tried to play with me. My mom dragged me away and said he was a monster."
"He is a monster. There's a beast sealed inside him. If he loses control, he'll hurt people."
"…But didn't we hurt him first?"
In Sunagakure, anyone who owned a television saw the Red Sun TV program. Word spread fast, and crowds gathered wherever there was a screen.
When Gaara's empty, desperate expression appeared at the end of the broadcast, the entire village fell into silence.
Rasa sat alone in his home, replaying the program. He watched Gaara's pain over and over, his fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
After a long time, he hardened his heart and turned the TV off.
"I am the Kazekage," he muttered. "I cannot abandon the responsibility on my shoulders for one child alone. I am the Kazekage… I am the Kazekage…"
---
That same day, Baki returned to Sunagakure with the Genin.
"What's going on?" Gaara asked, frowning.
The way people looked at him felt different.
Still fear.
Still distance.
But mixed with it—pity. Sympathy.
Something had changed.
Temari felt it too.
She dragged Gaara and Kankurō straight home, turned on the TV, and waited for the rebroadcast.
"Oh… so that's what the interview was," Kankurō said, stunned.
"Does that mean the entire ninja world can see this?"
Seeing himself on TV left him completely at a loss. He was a ninja, but he was still just a teenager.
Temari's face flushed. Her heart pounded.
Neither of them spoke as the program reached the moment where Gaara lost control—his broken smile, his answer to those two questions.
They both turned to look at him.
They'd been there when it happened, but watching it through the camera hurt even more.
"Why are you staring at me?" Gaara said calmly.
"The filming was good. Red Sun TV… I'll remember that."
He turned and walked out.
"…Has Gaara changed?" Temari asked quietly.
"Changed? How?" Kankurō replied.
"You idiot! You really don't understand your own brother. How could you not notice something this obvious?"
"Who says I didn't notice? He loses his temper less now. Ever since he came back from Konoha, he's been quiet. I don't have to worry as much."
"I think he's gentler."
"Gentle? Gaara? That's impossible! He still has that deadpan face!"
"I'm going to lose it… you're hopeless."
Their voices echoed behind him.
Gaara stood alone on the balcony, overlooking Sunagakure. For once, his heart felt calm.
Change?
…Maybe.
He thought of the boy from Konoha, two years younger than him. Without realizing it, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"A tailed beast grows stronger when you are weak—and weaker when you are strong. Don't blame others. Make yourself stronger. If you're strong enough, a tailed beast is nothing."
Stronger…
Without realizing it, Gaara had found something to hold onto.
If he became strong enough to completely suppress Shukaku, then one day he could stand before Uzumaki Naruto again—and prove that he no longer blamed the world. That he carried his burden by his own will.
Inside his body, Shukaku sneezed violently.
"What the hell… this brat's willpower just skyrocketed. This seal is getting stronger."
Shukaku scowled.
He wasn't in the mood to stir up trouble anymore.
Konoha had scared him badly. Even now, back in Sunagakure, he hadn't fully recovered.
"And that damn Kurama… what kind of monster is it following? These idiots want to cause chaos in Konoha? I'm not that stupid. Heh. When the time comes, I'll give them a surprise."
Back in Konoha, Jiraiya walked out of a shop, feeling oddly refreshed.
His heart felt lighter.
Ninjas lived tragic lives.
But life itself was rarely smooth. You endured it anyway.
There was always a road forward.
"Alright, alright—time to gather material! Hot springs, here I come!"
A familiar, shameless laugh echoed, then vanished in an instant.
In the days that followed, the entire ninja world fell into a viewing frenzy.
Even the Chunin Exams were pushed aside.
Red Sun TV became famous across the world.
The Past and Present of the Ninja World traced history from the founding of Konoha by Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha to the present day—sixty years of blood, war, and shifting power.
For the first time, ordinary people understood what had truly happened in the ninja world—and why.
The endless killing left them shaken.
Then came Interviews with Ninjas, one episode per day.
Ninjas from all walks of life spoke about their daily lives, their preferences, their dreams, their regrets.
Konoha shinobi appeared on screen with different personalities, different emotions—laughing, suffering, struggling—just like ordinary people.
Slowly, the public's perception changed.
"Ninjas are just ordinary people too."
The idea spread everywhere.
Of course, not everyone agreed.
"It's all an act. When they kill, they don't hesitate at all."
But agreement or not, the programs grew more popular by the day.
Red Sun TV became an institution—its influence rivaling the Five Great Villages.
"Damn it! Why haven't they interviewed Cloud Village yet? I've got plenty to say!"
"Yo, TV's amazing! We should do a concert broadcast!"
"It's not fair that only Konoha shinobi get screen time!"
"How about we go to their station and demand an interview?"
As Red Sun TV rose, the leadership of the major villages finally grew uneasy.
At first, they hadn't cared.
But after one explosive program after another, public opinion surged—and the danger became clear.
They sent ninja teams to locate Red Sun TV's headquarters.
Nothing.
The station broadcast every day, yet no one could trace the signal's source.
Just like Kira of the Red Sun Society before—
Mysterious.
Untouchable.
And impossible to predict.
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