After enduring a harsh reprimand, Gaara curled up on his bed. His immature hands clutched his small body while his shoulders shook slightly, crystal tears constantly dripping from his eyes.
Why... why was I born a monster?
He did not understand why his fate was so difficult. Furthermore, he couldn't comprehend why the eyes of others were always filled with fear, anger, and coldness when they looked at him. Despite this, he knew he had done nothing wrong.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed outside his window. Immediately after, several kunai shattered the glass and flew straight toward Gaara as he lay on the bed. Sensing the danger, Gaara looked up, his face pale with terror. Being so young, he couldn't possibly react to such a sudden attack; he could only stare blankly as the danger closed in.
However, just like every other assassination attempt before, a large amount of sand surged from his body to form a shield, easily intercepting the incoming kunai. Yet, the assassin seemed prepared. He immediately formed hand signs, triggering the Paper Bombs wrapped around the kunai.
"Die, you damned monster!"
The Paper Bombs ignited instantly, and violent flames exploded outward. However, the sand surging from Gaara seemed to possess a life of its own. Before the Paper Bombs could officially detonate, the sand automatically formed a sphere to encase them. The intense fire was consumed within the sand, and the impact of the explosion merely scattered the sand sphere into fine dust, causing no actual harm to Gaara.
Seeing the initial strike fail, the assassin did not choose to flee. Instead, he gripped a kunai and charged directly at Gaara. At that moment, Yashamaru, who was responsible for protecting Gaara, finally intervened. He appeared above the attacker with a Body Flicker Jutsu and easily pinned the enemy to the ground.
A look of joy appeared on Gaara's face. "Uncle!"
"I'm sorry, Gaara. I'm late."
Yashamaru gave Gaara a kind smile. He was one of the few people in the Hidden Sand Village who dared to touch Gaara, truly cared for him, and understood him. Conversely, the attacker on the ground did not feel the same way. Even though he was restrained, he continued to struggle and scream abuse at Gaara.
"It was you! You monster killed my son and my wife! I'll kill you!"
Yashamaru frowned and knocked him unconscious with a swift hand chop. Despite this, Gaara had already fallen into deep self-doubt because of those words. He looked at his palms in disbelief and asked, "Uncle, have I really killed many people?"
Yashamaru sighed and comforted him. "Gaara, the one who kills is the monster inside your body, not you. I know none of this is your intention, right?"
Upon hearing his uncle's comfort, Gaara's expression improved significantly. He nodded heavily. "I really didn't mean to..."
"That's good, Gaara."
Yashamaru patted his shoulder and then took the attacker away to report to the Anbu.
"Gaara, are you okay?"
Temari and Kankuro opened Gaara's door, their faces filled with anxiety. However, as they saw the messy sand scattered across the floor, Gaara could still detect a clear trace of fear on their faces. This caused the small spark of joy in Gaara's heart to fade. Furthermore, his father hadn't come. Even if his own son faced an assassination, did he feel it was irrelevant?
"Um, let us help you clean up the room."
Temari was afraid, but she did care about her younger brother. Kankuro felt the same, though his fear of their father and Gaara's occasional inability to control his power usually made him act distant.
Gaara remained silent, simply letting his siblings come in to help him tidy up. After they finished cleaning, Temari whispered to him, "We're going to sleep now."
As the door closed and the last sliver of light vanished, Gaara was once again enveloped in endless darkness.
You monster!
Murderer of villagers!
Just die already!
The moment the darkness took over, countless voices echoed from within Gaara. He clutched his head and whispered hoarsely, "Father, I don't want to be a weapon to protect the village at all..."
All he wanted was a tiny, insignificant bit of love.
"Spider Lily never turns away a guest, especially a cute child like you."
Suddenly, a remarkably different voice rang out in Gaara's mind. A figure wearing square-framed glasses slowly emerged before his eyes.
A cute child?
Gaara pulled a Food Pill from his clothes. His uncle, Yashamaru, had confiscated the other ones, but he had secretly hidden this one inside his sand. No one dared to search his sand.
The moment he took it out, a refreshing fragrance lingered around his nose. Gaara could feel his body craving the pill. Without much hesitation, he popped it into his mouth.
A massive amount of chakra immediately released from the pill. Following this, an extreme drowsiness wrapped around Gaara. Although he tried his best to keep his eyes open to prevent himself from falling asleep and letting the monster take control, his exhausted spirit finally found a moment of peace under the pill's influence.
It felt like a corporate slave who had worked for five days without rest finally finishing his job and lying down on a soft bed. His utterly weary soul couldn't resist the sensation and he fell asleep instantly.
"The opportunity has finally come!"
A piercing voice rang out from deep within Gaara's mind. Inside a pitch-black cage, a massive monster opened its eyes. Incredibly violent chakra erupted wildly from its mountain-like body.
Under the impact of this chakra, the gold dust chains wrapped around its body began to shake violently. Whenever Gaara fell asleep, the power of the seal reached its weakest point; that was its best chance to break free!
However, this time seemed different. As it began to batter the seal, a large amount of chakra suddenly gathered within Gaara's mind, forming a human figure.
"So this is a Tailed Beast?"
Simu suddenly appeared here. This was his first time encountering a Tailed Beast at close range. Feeling the chakra permeating the surroundings, Simu took a deep breath, an intoxicated expression appearing on his face.
"Chakra this violent... it's truly fascinating."