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Rasa's consciousness, imprinted on the Gold Dust, had already connected with his reanimated body. Seeing Gaara now, he was overcome with complex emotions.
"Gaara, I've heard about your recent circumstances. That boy named Sasuke told me…"
"Sasuke…?"
Sakura wasn't surprised, but Neji was shocked, growing more confused by the moment.
Gaara's expression remained stony. "So your grave was excavated for the reanimation jutsu."
Rasa sighed, a world of emotion in the sound. "That boy… he's truly remarkable. Among the five present back then, I was the weakest. And yet, using only a shadow clone, he utterly defeated me in my own area of expertise. Incredible. The ninja world keeps producing such talent…"
Sakura's fists clenched at her sides. Praising a peer right in front of the child you wronged? Even if it's Sasuke he's praising, I can't feel happy about it. Rasa… you really haven't changed a bit.
Gaara listened quietly, his face betraying no joy or anger. After all, when you're used to disappointment, you stop expecting anything. Facing his father felt exactly like that. Besides… his father was dead. What clung to this mound of gold dust was a mere consciousness, and that consciousness would vanish completely once the Magnet Release chakra dispersed.
The only reason he stood across from that man now, instead of sending a tidal wave of sand to give him a final send-off, was purely out of filial duty. A matter of principle.
Rasa watched Gaara's detached expression and crossed his arms. "It seems you truly hold an unforgiving hatred for me. Say it now. All of it."
In the whirling sand, Gaara was silent for a long moment.
"I have nothing to say to you. Do as you please."
He turned, ready to end this meaningless father-son encounter.
"Then… I'll speak."
Rasa lifted his gaze to Gaara's retreating back.
—"That boy is remarkable. But in my heart… the most remarkable person is my child!!!"
"!!" Gaara's footsteps froze.
"It was your friend who made me see my own arrogance and prejudice! Who made me realize how utterly wrong I was!!!"
"I saw you as an ill-omened incarnation that stole your mother Karura's life. From the moment you were born, I treated you as an experiment to fulfill my own ambitions. So I strangled your emotions. I even stole your childhood. I made you live in constant fear of death, breathing nothing but dark, oppressive air—all to forge you into a weapon!"
"After the Konoha incident, I planned to erase you completely. Because I was convinced a creature rooted in such negativity could do nothing but create slaughter and hatred… But… I never imagined. The failure I never held any hope for… YOU!!! You would become the sun that illuminates the desert!!! The great Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure! You even… moved the older Kage at the Five Kage Summit…!!!"
Gaara's shoulders trembled. "Enough. What's the point of saying this now…"
"I know," Rasa said. "I have no right to shamelessly boast of your glory or seek your forgiveness. But right now… more than your glory, what I see are the hardships you have borne and endured until now…"
"As your father… I made you shoulder burdens no child should ever carry. I gave you none of the goodness a father should give his child…"
"Son… I don't dare ask for your forgiveness. I just want to say… all these years… you've suffered."
In the wind and sand, Gaara… slowly turned to face his father.
A flicker of surprise crossed Rasa's sandy features, then faded. "What's this…? Seeing your shoulders shake just now, I thought you were crying."
Gaara folded his arms. "And you. Hearing your passionate speech, I thought this time you might not be so stingy with your tears."
Rasa shrugged, a wry smile forming. "Your aloofness… you really did inherit it from me."
"Have you said all you wanted to say to me?" Gaara asked.
"If you have something to say, say it," Rasa replied.
Gaara pondered, then spoke softly. "To be honest… I don't hate you. I just… can't bring myself to love you."
Rasa's eyes fixed on the character for 'Love' carved into the flesh of Gaara's left forehead with sand.
"'The Asura who loves only himself'… that was your own assessment of yourself, right? You still keep it… are you unable to let it go?"
Gaara's hand rose, fingertips brushing the scar. He shook his head slowly. "It's not about letting go… It's just that now, the meaning of this 'love' has changed."
Rasa's non-existent eyebrows seemed to rise. "Oh? Don't tell me you don't even love yourself anymore?"
Gaara lowered his hand and spoke words that shocked Rasa to his core. "No. I… love everyone."
"!!"
"It was… someone who suffered a fate similar to mine who showed me. Taught me. He had a past even more tragic than mine, yet chose a different way to live. Through him, I found the path I wanted to walk."
Rasa bowed his head, a sigh escaping him. "Ah… I see. Sasuke already told me… but hearing you say 'I love everyone' with my own ears… it truly moves me deeply. But… that love doesn't include me, does it…?"
"Oh well…" Rasa smiled, a look of release on his face. "Not hating… is a form of love, I suppose."
He lifted his gaze again. Cracks began to spiderweb across his golden-sand body.
Gaara unfolded his arms. He knew. This was the final farewell.
"Before my reanimated self departed, I asked Sasuke to relay a message," Rasa said. "It's about your mother…"
Gaara's composure cracked. "Mother…!? What is it!?"
"Ah… He hasn't told you yet. It seems… sensing my divided consciousness through Magnet Release back then, he foresaw we might meet again. So he wanted me to tell you myself…"
"What. Is it."
Rasa lifted his eyes, meeting Gaara's gaze. All pretense of coldness was gone. All that remained was the warmth of a father.
"Listen, Gaara. The reason you can control sand… is not a curse from Shukaku! It is your mother Karura's… LOVE FOR YOU!!!"
"What…?!"
BOOM! It struck him like a thunderbolt straight to his soul. Gaara stood utterly frozen.
Then… the tears he could no longer hold back burst forth like a broken dam.
"No amount of repentance can make up for my wrongs. The road ahead… you must walk it yourself. Thankfully… you have friends you can trust and rely upon. And villagers who trust and support you. Sunagakure… is in your hands now. Become… a Kazekage worthy of their faith!"
Amidst the words of repentance and blessing… Rasa's body dissolved into shimmering golden grains. They swirled past Gaara, mingling with the desert sands, dancing up into the vast sky.
Sakura spoke to Gaara's back. "I take back… what I thought about your father."
"…" Gaara wiped the tears from his face. When he turned, his expression was calm once more.
Only… his eyes, freed from that knot in his heart, were clearer. Brighter.
Neji stepped forward. "By the way… what exactly are you two doing here? Sakura, that power that just converged on your forehead… what was that? That mark… if I'm not mistaken, it's the same as Lady Tsunade's, but a different color."
Sakura touched her forehead. "This is Lady Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal. The situation is urgent. I needed to gain a certain level of power quickly, so with the Kazekage's help, I used an accelerated method…"
Neji scrutinized her. "And now… are you strong?"
Sakura's gaze sharpened. "Actually… I don't really know…"
Just then, Neji raised a hand, falling into a Gentle Fist stance. "I'm a little curious. Let's exchange a few moves."
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