____________
[— Manga Scene —]
"Begin!"
At the referee's signal, Sasuke charged straight toward Gaara. This time, there was no delay and no more waiting. The confrontation everyone had been anticipating since the start of the Chūnin Exams' final stage had finally begun.
The sand inside the gourd on Gaara's back moved automatically, while Sasuke kept his eyes fixed on it as he approached.
'So… this is the sand Kakashi was talking about…'
But before he could reach him, Sasuke suddenly stopped.
"Ah…!"
Gaara placed a hand against his head, his body bending slightly as the sand around him began moving erratically.
"?"
Sasuke watched him cautiously.
Gaara raised his head slightly, one eye visible between his fingers.
"Mother…"
'What the…?'
"I… gave you bad-tasting blood earlier, didn't I…?"
The sand shifted slowly behind him.
"I'm sorry…"
Sasuke remained silent, unable to understand a single thing his opponent was talking about.
"But don't worry… this time…"
The corner of Gaara's mouth lifted slightly.
"I'm sure it'll taste really good…"
'What the hell is this weirdo talking about?'
In the stands, Temari was no less tense than Sasuke.
"He's already started talking to her…"
A bead of sweat appeared on her face.
"This isn't good."
Kankurō, meanwhile, stared at his brother with a grim expression.
"I've never seen Gaara this worked up before a battle even started…"
His eyes shifted toward Sasuke.
"That's how important an opponent Sasuke is to him…"
Suddenly, Gaara clutched his head with both hands.
"Ah!!"
The sand around him churned violently, and his body bent forward for a few moments as though something inside him were trying to force its way out.
Sasuke stayed where he was, silently watching him.
After several seconds, the sand gradually began to settle.
In the stands, Baki kept his eyes fixed on Gaara.
"Looks like he's calmed down."
Gaara slowly lowered his hands.
The pain vanished from his face.
Then he raised his head and looked directly at Sasuke.
"Come."
[— End Scene —]
Inside Sunagakure's Art Store, the first thing that caught the readers' attention wasn't Sasuke's speed, nor the sand that had emerged from Gaara's gourd the moment the battle began.
It was a single word.
Mother.
Karura had stopped turning the page.
Ever since Gaara first appeared in the manga, there had been something about that boy's face that made her look at him more than once. It wasn't obvious enough for the thought to become certainty, yet it was familiar in an unsettling way.
The red hair wasn't the only reason.
The shape of his face, the sharpness of his gaze, even some of the angles Rubiro drew him from reminded her of Rasa when he had been younger.
She hadn't said much about it.
Because resemblance didn't necessarily mean anything.
But hearing Gaara call someone "Mother" brought the thought she had buried several times back to the surface.
'His mother…'
Karura's eyes narrowed slightly.
'Who is she?'
Beside her, Rasa appeared calmer, but he hadn't turned the page either.
Karura noticed.
Without looking directly at him, she simply said,
"It's strange how a single word can make someone start thinking about ridiculous things."
Rasa understood exactly what she meant without her having to say it.
"Then don't think about them."
The corner of her mouth rose.
"You say that as if you didn't think of the same thing."
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
…
Rasa wasn't ready to admit that Gaara resembled him.
Not because the resemblance wasn't there, but because admitting it would give weight to an idea that, so far, had no real foundation.
The manga had never shown a man named Rasa.
It had never shown a woman named Karura.
And no one had ever said that Gaara was related to either of them in any way.
So no matter how interesting the resemblance might seem, it remained nothing more than a resemblance.
But Rasa wasn't blind.
'The eyes are different…'
He thought as he looked at Gaara.
'But the shape of his face…'
His thoughts stopped when Gaara continued speaking.
"I… gave you bad-tasting blood earlier, didn't I…?"
Rasa's expression changed immediately.
The resemblance vanished from his mind.
In its place came the corridor they had seen in the previous chapter.
The Kusagakure shinobi.
The blood.
And Gaara standing in the middle of it all with that terrifying expression.
Karura understood at the exact same moment.
"He's talking about those two men."
It wasn't a question.
Rasa gave a slight nod.
It was the most logical interpretation of the scene.
The blood his "mother" had tasted earlier could only have been the blood of the two men Gaara had crushed before entering the arena.
But that made his next words even worse.
"This time… I'm sure it'll taste really good."
Rasa looked directly at Sasuke on the page.
'His blood…'
The meaning was obvious.
Gaara wasn't talking about defeating his opponent.
He was talking about his blood.
…
Karura didn't like that at all.
She wasn't a woman who had lived far away from blood, someone who would be shocked merely by the idea of killing.
This was Sunagakure.
This was the shinobi world.
A child could kill during a mission before reaching an age when some civilians would even allow their own children to leave the house alone.
But Gaara wasn't speaking like a soldier.
He wasn't speaking like someone who hated another person.
Nor like someone seeking revenge.
He was apologizing to someone he called his mother because the blood he had given her wasn't good enough.
Then he promised her better blood.
'What happened to you to make you end up like this…?'
The thought appeared in Karura's mind before she could stop it.
She froze for a moment.
Why had she thought about him that way?
As though Gaara were someone she knew.
As though seeing him like this bothered her more than it should.
Her eyes lowered slightly.
'He's only a child from the future.'
That was all.
At least… that was all she knew.
…
Not far from them, Chiyo leaned slightly forward as she read the chapter. Her usual mocking smile had disappeared from the moment Gaara began speaking to someone no one else could see.
In this era, she was not yet the tiny old woman she might become decades later.
She was still in her fifties. Her hair had not yet completely lost its color, her back remained straight, and her eyes carried the strength of a woman who had lived through wars and emerged from them more dangerous than when she had entered.
Her brother Ebizō wasn't much different from her in age.
But while Chiyo was known for her sharp tongue and her willingness to provoke whoever stood before her, Ebizō was calmer, preferring to observe something before judging it.
For several moments, silence settled between the two siblings and the Third Kazekage.
The Kazekage was the first to break it.
"Temari wasn't surprised."
Chiyo's eyes moved toward the page.
He's already started talking to her…
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"I was waiting to see when you'd notice."
The Third Kazekage looked at her.
"I noticed the moment I read it."
"So you were waiting for me to notice?"
"No."
He replied without interest.
Ebizō sighed quietly.
Even inside a store showing them the future, his sister's personality hadn't changed much.
But Chiyo didn't continue joking.
She pointed at Temari.
"She didn't ask who he was talking to."
Then at Kankurō.
"Neither did he."
Ebizō nodded.
"They're familiar with this behavior."
"More than familiar."
Chiyo said.
"They know it leads to something they don't want."
…
The Third Kazekage's eyes narrowed.
That observation mattered more to him than the word "Mother" itself.
Who was Gaara calling his mother?
He didn't know.
Was he referring to the sand?
He didn't know.
Was it connected to whatever had been sealed inside him?
Possible, but still only a possibility.
But Temari and Kankurō's fear…
That was something he could see with his own eyes.
"There's a history behind this state."
This time, Chiyo neither corrected him nor mocked him.
She kept looking at Temari.
"And the girl lived through that history."
Ebizō said,
"So did Kankurō."
Yes.
Their reactions were those of two people who knew Gaara well.
Perhaps better than they wanted to.
That alone made the scene feel heavier.
…
Over on Karura's side, the same thought was beginning to take shape.
Temari was looking at Gaara with concern.
But she wasn't confused.
There was a major difference between the two.
Confusion meant you didn't know what was happening.
The concern on Temari's face, however, was the concern of someone who knew exactly that something bad had begun.
"She knows him."
Karura said quietly.
Rasa replied,
"Of course. He's her brother."
"No."
She shook her head.
"I mean she knows this state."
Rasa reread Temari's words.
Then he fell silent.
Karura was right.
He's already started.
Not: What is he doing?
Not: Who is he talking to?
But started.
As though there were a sequence whose beginning Temari recognized.
And whatever came at the end of it, she did not want to see.
…
But Kankurō added another piece of information.
I've never seen Gaara this worked up before a battle even started…
This time, Rasa leaned slightly closer to the volume.
'So Sasuke is different.'
Gaara's interest in the Uchiha had been obvious for several chapters already.
He had waited for him.
He had been certain Sasuke would come.
And he had seemed displeased when he was late.
Now, before the two had exchanged even a single blow, Gaara had reached a state his own brother claimed he had never seen quite like this before.
Karura said,
"It seems Sasuke's strength attracts him."
"Maybe."
"Only maybe?"
Rasa turned toward her.
"Kankurō is the one who believes Sasuke is an important opponent to him. We don't know why."
A faint smile appeared on Karura's face.
"You're starting to sound like the Kazekage."
"That's a compliment."
"I didn't mean it as one."
Rasa couldn't tell whether she was joking.
…
Where Chiyo sat, the same page provoked an entirely different line of thought.
"This child isn't only looking for victory."
She said while staring at Gaara.
Ebizō looked up.
"Why?"
"If victory were all he wanted, he would have started fighting already."
She pointed at Sasuke.
"His opponent is right in front of him."
Then she pointed at Gaara.
"And yet his attention is somewhere else."
The Third Kazekage didn't respond, but neither did he reject her analysis.
Chiyo was a medical ninja, a poison expert, and one of the most dangerous puppeteers Sunagakure had ever produced.
She had seen men collapse from pain.
She had seen others lose their minds.
But Gaara didn't quite resemble any of them.
There was something about the way he spoke.
As though he wasn't speaking alone.
As though he were trying to please a presence that was perfectly real to him, even if it existed for no one else.
'Mother…?'
Chiyo looked toward the sand.
Then forced her attention away from it.
She had no proof.
And that bothered her.
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
____________
Chapter 244: The Reason We Were Late!
Chapter 245: What Lies Behind the Match
Chapter 246: Chidori
Chapter 247: Has It Really Begun?
____________
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Announcement:
After a hiatus of more than five months, I've decided to return to Creating Manga of One Piece with Book II, published as a new book! Thank you to everyone who's been waiting for this series to return. I'll share the link when the second book launches. It's time to set sail again! 🏴☠️
01/11/2026⏳