Deep beneath the Village Hidden in the Sand (Sunagakure), within a gloomy prison cell.
Darkness enveloped the subterranean jail, and the cold, damp air was thick with a heavy, musty smell.
The only source of light came from a massive, faintly glowing tea kettle in the center of the cell. Its surface was densely inscribed with runes, radiating a chillingly oppressive aura.
This was Sunagakure's ninja tool used to seal a Tailed Beast; even without entering it, it served to suppress the Tailed Beast within the Jinchūriki.
Currently, a small figure was curled up and sitting in front of the kettle.
"..."
Gaara hugged his frail legs, burying his pale cheek between his knees.
His messy, uncut red hair hung down like dead grass, obscuring his eyes and the character for 'Love' tattooed on his forehead.
He sat motionless, like a lifeless stone statue, with only the barely perceptible rise and fall of his breathing confirming he was alive.
Since the last time he was used as a human weapon, forcibly awakening the terrifying monster inside him, and going completely berserk and out of control at the border of the Land of Fire to tear open the defenses for the Sand ninja.
He had been retrieved by his father...
No, by the Fourth Kazekage.
And then, he was abandoned here.
A dark cage buried deep underground, isolated from everything—the same prison that had held the previous One-Tails Jinchūriki.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Days? Months? Years?
Time had lost its meaning here.
Only endless darkness and deadly solitude gnawed at his soul, day after day.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A sharp noise of something hitting the cell bars suddenly broke the stagnant silence.
Gaara numbly lifted his head. Two blurry figures stood outside the cell door.
The two Sand ninja wore expressions of undisguised revulsion and vigilance, looking at him as if he were some filthy, dangerous monster.
"Hey, monster, hurry up and eat!"
One of them looked at the untouched food placed before Gaara and spat out, his voice full of impatience and disgust: "Seriously, I can't clean up until you finish eating."
His attitude was casual and contemptuous, not like he was dealing with a child barely ten years old, but more like he was feeding a detestable animal.
Gaara's eyes, illuminated by the faint light, were hollow and lifeless. He stared blankly at the two faces filled with hatred outside the bars, showing no reaction.
Just then, a force dragged his consciousness into the sealing space.
Before him was an endless, desolate, monotonous desert. The sky was an eternal, oppressive, dusky yellow.
Behind Gaara, a massive, sandy-brown tanuki squatted, its body covered in deep purple, grotesque markings.
"Hahahaha!!"
A shrill, ear-piercing laugh filled with malice echoed wildly in Gaara's ears.
"Look, look at you, you miserable wretch!"
The One-Tails, Shukaku, peered down at the tiny Gaara, taunting: "Locked up in this dark, sunless dungeon, being thrown scraps like a dog."
"Hahaha! The exact same treatment as that old geezer Bunpuku!"
"You foolish humans, you never change one bit!"
Shukaku's voice was laced with biting sarcasm. It proudly shook its enormous head: "But, that old geezer Bunpuku was much stronger than you, you useless brat."
"At least he could suppress this great one! But you, the moment you walk out of here, will only be torn apart by my power! Hahaha!"
Bunpuku was the previous One-Tails Jinchūriki, who was implanted with Shukaku as a child during the era of the Second Kazekage while meditating at a temple.
Later, to prevent the Jinchūriki from going berserk, the Sunagakure leadership also ordered Bunpuku to be imprisoned here.
From then on, Bunpuku remained confined. As time passed, his name was forgotten, and people simply referred to him as "Shukaku" until he died of old age.
Now, Gaara was receiving the same treatment as Bunpuku.
Shukaku's vicious and incessant mockery poured into Gaara's mind through his ears.
Gaara merely hugged his knees and curled up. There was no ripple of emotion in his eyes.
He should have hated the monster inside him.
It was it that caused him to hurt others in his repeated rampages.
It was it that forced him to bear the stigma of "monster" from birth.
It was it that caused him to be abandoned by his father, feared by the villagers, and loathed by everyone.
And ultimately, imprisoned in this sunless cage.
He should have hated it.
But was all of this truly because of it?
Listening to Shukaku's non-stop, wild laughter and mockery, an inexplicable sense of pity suddenly arose in Gaara's heart.
"You..."
Gaara slowly opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and faint, yet possessing a strange clarity that cut through Shukaku's laughter: "Are actually very lonely, aren't you?"
"Gah..."
Shukaku's deafening, mocking laughter was instantly choked off, as if its throat had been grabbed.
The entire sealing space fell into immediate dead silence. Shukaku's two massive yellow beast eyes widened sharply.
"Brat! W-What are you saying?!"
It had lost its arrogant, overbearing tone, roaring with a sense of disbelief and annoyance: "Are you an idiot?! This great one is a powerful Tailed Beast!"
The huge sound wave caused the entire space to tremble slightly, but Gaara simply sat there calmly, saying nothing.
He had simply come to a sudden realization.
This monster that resided within him, roaring and mocking him, seemed to be the same as him.
It was also lonely.
If it weren't lonely, it wouldn't be babbling incessantly in his ear day after day...
If it weren't lonely, it wouldn't be trying to cover something up with anger and mockery...
Then, why? Why did it turn out this way?
"Hey! Brat! Are you even listening to this great one?!"
Seeing Gaara's lack of reaction, his calmness only made Shukaku more agitated, and it roared at him in fury.
"..." Gaara opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something.
But, just at that moment.
Boom!!
A dull, enormous explosion suddenly came from outside the prison, piercing through the ground's resistance and clearly reaching Gaara's ears!
"Hm?" Shukaku's roar instantly seized up. A look of solemnity and surprise appeared in its huge beast eyes.
Inside the prison, Gaara was abruptly pulled out of the sealing space and instinctively looked up toward the outside.
A strong tremor spread through the entire subterranean jail. The ground under his feet shook violently!
The two Sand ninja, who had been full of disgust, were now filled with shock and vigilance. They spun around abruptly, their expressions tense, looking toward the passage leading to the prison entrance.
"What's going on?" one of them asked, a barely perceptible tremor in his voice. "What's happening above?"
"An enemy attack?" The other instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
And just as the two were in shock and uncertainty,
Thump... thump... thump...
A clear, steady, unhurried sound of footsteps gradually emerged from the profound darkness of the passage.
Along with the approaching footsteps, there were faint, spine-chilling wails and brief, intense sounds of fighting.
But those sounds quickly subsided.
Finally, only the approaching, increasingly clear footsteps remained.
"Who's there?!"
A Sand ninja couldn't help but roar harshly, his voice echoing in the empty cell. He forcibly suppressed his shock and raised both hands.
The other Sand ninja swiftly drew the long sword at his waist, the blade flashing with cold light in the dim glow.
Their hearts beat uncontrollably fast. They stared intently at the dense darkness of the passage entrance.
The footsteps stopped.
Splat!
The next moment, a sharp, piercing sound of something slicing the air shot out of the darkness without warning!
They were two Chakra arrows, moving at extreme speed, streaking through the darkness like two fleeting beams of light.
Pfff! Pfff!
Two dull penetrating sounds rang out almost simultaneously. The bodies of the two Sand ninja instantly stiffened. The shock and vigilance on their faces instantly froze.
It was replaced by an expression of incredible blankness and emptiness.
Their bodies went limp, as if their bones had been removed, and they collapsed softly to the ground. The swords in their hands clattered to the floor with a sharp metallic sound!
"..."
Gaara stared blankly at the sudden scene before him. The emptiness in his eyes was replaced by astonishment and confusion.
He saw that in the center of both Sand ninja's brows were thumb-sized, front-to-back blood holes. Hot blood mixed with white brain matter gushed out of the holes.
Two pairs of dead, unclosed eyes reflected Gaara's face.
The footsteps resumed.
Two figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds slowly walked out of the darkness.
One was tall, carrying a white longbow without a string. A cynical smile played on his face. This was Oyakata En.
The other was powerfully built. This was Pain's Jigokudō (Naraka Path).
The shadows of the two men, cast by the dim light of the kettle, stretched long and distorted, covering the entire cell.
"You..."
Gaara stared blankly at them, at the two unfamiliar faces. His hoarse voice broke the silence. He whispered, "Did you also come to kill me?"
Hearing Gaara's words, Oyakata En, who had reached the cell bars, raised an eyebrow.
He bent down slightly, examining Gaara, who was curled up in front of the kettle, as if appreciating an interesting toy.
"Poor child." Oyakata En's voice carried a smile, yet it held a chilling, bone-deep coldness. "We didn't come to kill you..."
"We came to free you."
Oyakata En's words seemed to startle the disoriented Shukaku.
"No, impossible!"
Shukaku's voice, full of terror, rang out in the depths of Gaara's mind.
"Those eyes... how could it be? Why would the Old Man's Rinnegan appear on a human?!"
"Brat! Run, run!" Shukaku let out a heart-wrenching shriek. The fear was so real and intense that it infected Gaara, causing him to tremble.
"Stop wasting time." Jigokudō Pain's cold, flat voice rang out. "Quickly extract the One-Tails and take him away."
"Yes, yes~ Boss." Oyakata En shrugged with a playful grin. His tone remained flippant, but his actions were immediate. He quickly performed hand signs.
Water Release: Water Severing Thread Technique!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several sticky, ice-cold, blue water ropes instantly shot out from Oyakata En's hands, coiling around Gaara's disoriented body!
"Ugh!"
The ropes tightened instantly, making Gaara grunt. The icy water soaked his clothes, and the powerful restraint left him immobile.
Oyakata En raised his hand and casually waved it at the heavy prison bars!
Snap!
The solid iron bars were cut open, revealing a large gap.
Oyakata En stepped into the cell, his gaze curiously falling upon the black kettle. A playful smile curled on his lips.
"Tsk, tsk, so this is the ninja tool Sunagakure uses to seal a Tailed Beast?" He reached out a finger and gently tapped the kettle's cold surface. "This certainly makes things easier for us."
As he spoke, Jigokudō Pain walked up beside him, his cold Rinnegan eyes looking down emotionlessly at Gaara, who was tightly bound by the water ropes and struggling futilely on the ground.
He slowly extended a hand, reaching for Gaara's neck.
However, just as his hand was about to touch Gaara.
Whoosh!
The giant gourd on Gaara's back suddenly sprayed out a large amount of quicksand. It condensed with a life of its own into a massive hand of sand, grasping toward Jigokudō Pain.
"Hm?"
Jigokudō Pain's gaze shifted slightly. He raised his hand and flung out a black rod, piercing into the gourd behind Gaara.
Bang!
With a muffled sound, the sand hand instantly exploded and scattered.
Jigokudō Pain's eyes, for the first time, held a look of appraisal as they rested on the gourd.
"Interesting." His voice remained cold. "Is it also a ninja tool with a soul?"
It was like the tachi (long sword) he carried, which was retrieved from the underground palace. He never expected Sunagakure to hide such a thing, let alone leave it with an abandoned Jinchūriki.
Hearing this, the previously struggling Gaara's body stiffened. He unconsciously blurted out, "What soul? Isn't that... Shukaku's power?"
Jigokudō Pain glanced at him but did not answer.
But the silent non-response made Gaara understand that the power that had protected him all along was not Shukaku.
What was it?
What has been protecting me?
Jigokudō Pain, however, paid no attention to his daze. He reached out and choked Gaara's throat, lifting him off the ground.
"Hrk!" Suffocation instantly swept over his body. Gaara struggled painfully, his feet kicking futilely in the air.
Behind Jigokudō Pain, a grotesque head slowly materialized—the King of Hell (Gedō Statue).
The King of Hell slowly opened its giant mouth, and a thick, purplish-black tongue extended from it, the hand at its tip plunging into Gaara's abdomen.
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