[In the image, Gaara's words had completely captured the attention of the Allied Shinobi Forces. No one was thinking about their own pain anymore. That emotional connection elevated their perspective—they began to think about the pain of the entire world, about the pain of being human, of being a shinobi, yet being treated as nothing more than tools, as weapons.]
["However!!"]
That single "however" was the most forceful word in Gaara's speech. It marked a turning point.
["However, a shinobi from Konoha stopped me!!"]
"Huh?"
The people watching from Konoha froze for a moment. Three years later, someone had made Gaara say something like that—then that shinobi must have stopped him during this Chunin Exam, right?
Could it be another genin?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
How could a genin defeat that killing machine?
Only a handful of Konoha's high-ranking officials who knew the truth looked at Naruto with relieved, approving eyes.
The only one who could stop a Jinchuriki… would be another Jinchuriki.
Tobirama Senju: So it really was that kid. What an incredible shinobi. From such a young age, he already possessed the ability to change people's hearts. In that regard, he's even more impressive than my older brother.
The Second Hokage recalled the Fourth Great Ninja War—how, through the Yamanaka clan's secret technique, that blond boy had shared his emotions with the entire Allied Shinobi Forces.
How many people on the verge of giving up had been awakened by his words: "I don't want to have regrets anymore!"
[In the image, Gaara sank into his memories—and astonishingly, the screen reflected exactly what he was thinking!]
Inoichi Yamanaka was stunned that whoever was behind this could even use a mind-reading technique similar to the Yamanaka clan's secret arts.
Shikaku Nara, meanwhile, felt nothing but a headache coming on. The Sand and Leaf villages' tailed-beast Jinchuriki being exposed to the entire shinobi world—just imagining the fallout made his head hurt.
[Within Gaara's memories, a blond boy about the same age as him slowly appeared. Blond hair, blue eyes, a Leaf forehead protector, whisker-like marks on his cheeks. His face was filled with smiles—radiant and sunny, the complete opposite of Gaara.]
"The Fourth—no, wait… Naruto?!"
Damn it. That blond hair and blue eyes almost made him mistake him for someone else.
The Chunin Exam candidates were collectively stunned.
Could it be…?
They remembered that loud blond kid slamming his hand on the desk during the exam.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'll never run away! Even if I stay a genin for the rest of my life, I'll become Hokage and make everyone in the village acknowledge me!"
That reckless declaration echoed in their minds.
No way…
The answer wasn't the Hokage. Not some villager. Not even just a genin.
It was Naruto Uzumaki?!
At this moment, even Gaara himself looked shocked. Just earlier, when that blond kid had come over to challenge him, he hadn't even bothered to respond…
Him? That weak, powerless-looking guy?
How could someone like that possibly stop him, the living weapon of the Land of Wind…?
"Huh? Me… and Gaara… talking?" Naruto, who had already recovered thanks to the Second Hokage, Sasuke, Iruka, Sakura, and the others, sat on the ground in a goofy seiza-like posture.
He stared at the figure appearing in Gaara's memories on the screen. "Is that what I look like when I grow up? Pretty cool, dattebayo!"
Sakura actually agreed—but habitually couldn't resist teasing him. "No way. He definitely beautified you in his memories."
"Huh? Why would he make me look better in his memories, dattebayo?"
"Uh…" Sakura froze. Something about what she said felt off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
What Naruto didn't know was that the moment his face appeared in the image, intelligence divisions from other villages immediately went into action.
Anyone capable of stopping a Jinchuriki, guiding him to become Kazekage, and later serving as the commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces was absolutely not someone to underestimate.
[Sorrowful music played, as if performing the emptiness in Gaara's heart. He lay in the forest, while not far away, a golden head slowly crawled toward him.]
"That's… that's Gaara right now!" The Gaara in the image was wearing the exact same clothes as he was in the present!
What on earth had happened?
At this point, even Gaara himself was desperate to know.
If… if there really was something that could pull him out of hell—turn this monster back into a human…
Gaara didn't know how to express it. Only that strange thought drifted through his mind:
"After the war ends, just come and take my head."
["D-Don't… don't come any closer…"]
In the image, Gaara actually shrank back in fear?!