At night, as Gaara was preparing to sleep, he suddenly heard a call coming from the depths of his consciousness. It reminded him of what Nagasawa had said—that he should talk with the One-Tail and become friends with the One-Tail.
Gaara thought about it for a moment. Instead of resisting, he took the initiative to accept it and consciously cooperated.
Just like that, Gaara closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had already arrived in a mysterious space.
The first thing Gaara saw after opening his eyes was a gigantic tanuki covered in mysterious blue-purple markings—the One-Tail, Shukaku.
Seeing that Gaara was no longer resisting in fear like before, the One-Tail was somewhat surprised. It grinned, and combined with the dark atmosphere of the space, it looked especially sinister and terrifying.
"Heh heh, you actually dared to welcome me on your own. Looks like you've gotten braver," the One-Tail said in a gloomy tone.
"Haa..." Looking at the One-Tail's enormous and terrifying body, Gaara took a deep breath and forcibly calmed himself down.
This was not the first time he had seen Shukaku. Although he lost consciousness whenever Shukaku transformed, due to the influence of the remaining Tailed Beast Chakra, Gaara had seen the One-Tail before.
That was why he had been unable to sleep before.
Anyone who found out there was an ugly monster inside their body as big as a small mountain would be afraid, let alone someone as young as Gaara.
'Big Brother Nagasawa said that the One-Tail isn't a monster that only thinks about killing. It can communicate. I need to become its friend and understand it.' Thinking of Nagasawa's words, Gaara finally managed to stop his legs from trembling uncontrollably.
"Shukaku, I want to become your friend!" Gaara looked firmly at the One-Tail and clearly spoke each word.
Shukaku had not expected that Gaara's first words would be wanting to become its friend. It froze for a moment, then burst into booming laughter.
"Hahahaha! A little brat who was so scared of me that he couldn't even sleep wants to become my friend? That's hilarious. Kid, do you know who you're facing? Be careful, or I might eat you," Shukaku laughed before opening its enormous bloody mouth in an attempt to frighten Gaara.
Of course, Tailed Beasts did not like eating people.
Or rather, they did not need to eat at all.
Because they were a special kind of lifeform—beings of Chakra. Even if they were killed, they would revive eventually, though when they revived was anyone's guess.
"Big Brother Nagasawa said that if you threaten me, I should tell him, and he'll deal with you himself," Gaara said calmly, showing no fear because of Shukaku's words.
Shukaku fell silent and began cursing inwardly.
But now it really did not dare threaten Gaara carelessly. Nagasawa's strength was simply too terrifying. It was no match for him at all.
"One-Tail, do you have any friends?" Gaara asked.
"Who do you think I am? I'm the One-Tail Shukaku! I'm so powerful. What do I need friends for?" Shukaku answered proudly.
"Tailed Beasts don't need friends!"
Gaara ignored Shukaku's self-praise. If Shukaku were really that amazing, it would not have been sealed inside him, nor would it be so afraid of Nagasawa.
"So that means you don't have any friends," Gaara grasped the key point.
"You human brat, can't you understand what people are saying? I already said that the strong don't need friends!" Shukaku roared furiously.
"Mhm, so you really don't have any friends," Gaara said with certainty.
"Can't you say anything else? Although that's true right now, it's because I don't need them, understand?" Shukaku could not help saying.
Strictly speaking, Shukaku did have a friend.
Its previous Jinchuriki, Bunpuku, counted as one.
Bunpuku had truly treated the Tailed Beast as equal to humans instead of merely saying so. His pure heart had even reminded Shukaku of the Sage of Six Paths.
However, Bunpuku had already died.
So now it no longer had any friends.
"Then let me become your first friend. How about it?" Gaara spoke again.
"Heh, the first person to become my friend wasn't you." The One-Tail suddenly let out a low laugh. "Still, wanting to become friends with a Tailed Beast... red-haired brat, I take back what I said about you being timid. You've really got guts."
"Ever since I became aware, you've been inside my body. You should understand my situation." Gaara recalled everything that had happened before.
"It was precisely because I never had friends and was always rejected that I understand the pain of having no friends.
Someone with no friends watches others playing together in groups, their faces full of happy smiles, while they can only stand there alone. Even though the distance isn't far, it feels like two completely different worlds.
When you're happy, you realize there's no one to share it with. When you're sad, there's no one you can talk to."
"You..." Shukaku put away its mocking grin. It felt that Gaara truly possessed a certain determination and was not merely saying it casually.
It had always stayed inside Gaara's body, so naturally it knew what kind of treatment Gaara had suffered.
However, Shukaku thought it was perfectly normal.
Not only Tailed Beasts, but people also regarded Jinchuriki who carried Tailed Beasts as monsters.
Because of that very reason, Bunpuku had been imprisoned by Sunagakure for his entire life, spending it in a prison that never saw daylight until the day he died.
"Shukaku, let me become your friend," Gaara said firmly.
"Becoming my friend isn't that easy. But I acknowledge your courage," Shukaku grinned.
Suddenly, Gaara discovered that large amounts of sand-colored Chakra surged from the ground and surrounded him.
"Celebrate. This is the reward for your courage. But if you want to become my friend, you've still got a long way to go."
Only then did Gaara realize that the Tailed Beast was giving him its Chakra.
Gaara closed his eyes. This time, he truly fell asleep, and his body disappeared from the consciousness space.
"That kid is rather interesting." Looking at Gaara's disappearing figure, the One-Tail smiled.
If Gaara truly displayed the same qualities as Bunpuku, then what would be wrong with becoming the friend of the One-Tail?
By then, perhaps the One-Tail would even do its best to help Gaara fight.
Provided that Gaara could truly display Bunpuku's character and mindset.
...
When Gaara woke up the next morning, he suddenly felt as though he could summon even more sand than before.
"Is it because of the power Shukaku gave me?" Gaara stared at his hand for a while.
During breakfast, Yashamaru suddenly noticed that Gaara looked refreshed today, which pleasantly surprised him.
Usually, every morning Gaara looked drowsy, as though he had stayed up all night.
"Did you sleep well yesterday?" Yashamaru could not help asking.
Gaara swallowed the food in his mouth before nodding.
"Yes, I slept very well. Better than ever before."
"That's wonderful." Yashamaru smiled, genuinely happy for Gaara.
He had a feeling that the people from Konoha had done something.
Otherwise, how could Gaara be unable to sleep in Sunagakure but suddenly sleep peacefully after arriving in a completely unfamiliar place?
Regardless, it was a good thing.
Around noon, someone Gaara never expected came looking for him.
It was Naruto.
Gaara had never imagined Naruto would come to see him on his own. After all, he had not even told Naruto where he lived yesterday.
"Hehe, I didn't expect your house to be so close to Uncle Nagasawa's," Naruto scratched his head and laughed.
He had gotten Gaara's address from Nagasawa, but he had not expected Gaara to live right next door to Nagasawa's house.
"Today Sasuke, some other friends, and I are going to the forest on the west side to play. Want to come with us?" Naruto asked.
He was still just as interested in Gaara as before and really wanted to become good friends with this child who was also a Jinchuriki.
After learning about Gaara's past from Nagasawa, that desire had only grown stronger.
"They're all really good people," Naruto added.
"I'll go." Without thinking much, Gaara nodded.
It was the first time anyone had invited him out to play, and it was Naruto. How could he refuse?
"Then let's hurry. Don't keep them waiting," Sasuke urged.
So Gaara followed Naruto and Sasuke to their meeting place.
By the time Gaara and Naruto arrived, Shikamaru and the others were already there waiting.
While tearing open a bag of potato chips, Choji complained, "Naruto, you're a little late."
"Haha, sorry." Naruto scratched his head apologetically.
"Huh? Who's the person beside you?" Ino, who was sitting next to Yurika, noticed that Naruto had brought another person this time.
"His name is Gaara. He's a new friend I made yesterday. He's really amazing," Naruto introduced Gaara with a smile.
"Hello, I'm Gaara." Gaara said with a slightly red face. Introducing himself in front of so many people at once made him a little shy.
"Hello, I'm Yamanaka Ino." Ino generously introduced herself.
With Naruto's help, Gaara successfully got to know everyone present.
"Naruto, you said Gaara is amazing. Does he have some unique ability?" Ino asked curiously.
"Unique? Definitely unique. There are only nine of them in the entire world, but it probably isn't very convenient to show," Naruto thought for a moment before answering.
Although he himself was not very afraid of the One-Tail, that giant tanuki's presence was far too overwhelming. It would be bad if it frightened everyone.
"Unique..." Gaara repeated softly.
Then he raised his hand, and a stream of sand as thick as an arm appeared beside him, circling around him like a nimble snake.
"Does this count?" Gaara felt this should be considered fairly rare. At the very least, he had never seen anyone his age capable of doing this.
"That's really impressive." Ino applauded.
"You can actually control sand." Choji looked at Gaara in surprise as he stuffed a large handful of potato chips into his mouth.
"Some kind of Secret Technique?" Shikamaru revealed a thoughtful expression. This Gaara seemed anything but ordinary.
"That person... is very dangerous." Yurika, who had been continuously tossing a kunai into the air, suddenly spoke.
In her perception, enormous power was hidden inside Gaara's small body.
He was extremely dangerous.
"Huh? Even Yurika says he's dangerous?" Ino had not expected Yurika to suddenly call Gaara dangerous.
Although Yurika was the youngest among them, she was very strong, and her perception was especially sharp. She gave Ino the feeling of one of those powerful, cool-headed ninja from television dramas.
In short, she was especially reliable.
Ino wrapped her arms around Yurika's neck from behind and said, "If there's really any danger, I'll definitely protect Yurika."
With an expressionless face, Yurika removed Ino's hands. Having someone hold her neck made her feel extremely insecure.
Protect her?
With how full of openings Ino was, Yurika could casually find more than a dozen flaws and instantly defeat her with a single strike.
Although Naruto had not known Gaara could control sand, he still laughed loudly.
"See? I told you he was amazing."
"How come Hinata isn't here yet?" Naruto looked around and noticed that Hinata had not arrived.
The moment Naruto finished speaking, Hinata came running over, panting.
"S-Sorry... I'm late," Hinata said with a blushing face, full of embarrassment.
As the eldest daughter of the main family and the future heir of the Hyuga Clan, she had many lessons to attend. She had just been in class, which was why she was late.
"It's fine. We haven't been here long either," Naruto said with a smile. "This time we have another new friend too."
Although Hinata had arrived late, her usual image worked in her favor. Everyone knew she was an honest person and certainly had not done it on purpose, so no one said anything more.
The group began playing in the forest.
First they played hide-and-seek. A fairly large area was designated, and everyone could hide freely within it. Two people searched while six people hid.
Whether it was Yurika's bad luck or Naruto's group having bad luck was hard to say, but Yurika ended up being one of the seekers from the start.
With Yurika's outstanding perception, no one could hide from her. She quickly found everyone by herself, leaving even her teammate Hinata completely stunned.
"That was too easy," Yurika said calmly.
"Darn it! I can't believe even my perfect disguise was discovered!" Naruto said gloomily. He had hidden in a place with dense leaves and covered himself with them, yet he had still been found.
"Naruto, you call that a perfect disguise? I could see your blond hair even while I was hiding. It was way too conspicuous," Choji laughed loudly. Even though he had lost, he was having a great time.
"Tch, Choji, you're no better. I saw you fall out of the tree while climbing it," Naruto shot back.
Looking at all the laughter and cheerful voices around him, with himself among them, Gaara was somewhat dazed.
It wasn't that he had never imagined such a scene.
On the contrary, he always imagined it.
He just had never expected happiness to come so quickly.
Not long ago, when he reached out his hand, it had been mercilessly rejected.
Yet now, all at once, he had so many friends to play with.
None of them minded his heavy dark circles.
Nor were they afraid of his ability to control sand.
"If you ask me, Gaara, you should've used your sand to carry yourself into the sky. No one would've guessed that," Naruto enthusiastically suggested.
"Mhm." Gaara smiled and nodded.
He felt that this was wonderful.