A Father's Hope, A Mother's Love
You're no longer a Jinchuriki?!
What do you mean?
The ones that are controlling you extracted the Shukaku from me.
That killed me once.
Sealing Jutsu! Nine Phantom Dragons!
Just what…
am I?
But thanks to Chiyo and my friends, here I am, alive.
Granny Chiyo… She did that?!
And friends?
You have friends?!
The things I did in the past were nothing but mistakes.
But in my last hour,
it seems I'm finally able to do the right thing.
The Village of the Sand and
the Leaf Village…
The future is likely to be different
from the way things were in our time.
Gaara…
Gaara!
Naruto…
This is…?
Everyone came to help you.
You thought he'd have no friends?
Man, he must've been some lonely kid, huh?
At that age, everyone has friends.
Father, you tried to kill me six times.
And each time, my fear and hatred of you grew.
But I no longer hate you.
I can understand why you did it.
I am the Kazekage now.
It is a leader's duty to eliminate threats against one's village.
We must protect it.
You are…the Kazekage?
That's not all.
He is also the Commander-in-Chief of
the Allied Shinobi Forces' Main Battle Regiment.
Despite his age, he not only calls himself Kage,
he has the respect of all the other Kage as well.
No wonder…
I thought it was odd I sensed chakra types
from various villages mixed together.
Imagine that, shinobi forming an alliance.
Not having eyebrows makes a face more charismatic…
Oh hey, I don't have eyebrows either.
Then what about that wisp of a moustache, Mizukage?
Guys, if you're going to kill us, start with the mummy here!
I'll be more than happy to root for you.
He's your son, huh.
He's a fine shinobi.
He's small… So he was premature?
Are you sure he'll be all right?
He's adapting.
At last, with the third child, we know he's compatible.
This child must be brought up with great care.
Please let me see… my child's face.
Are you all right, Karura?!
He's…so tiny.
Lady Karura's heart rate is dropping.
Do something! Quick!
This child is a failure as well.
The rampages have begun.
If we can't maintain our defenses further
the Sand will be weakened beyond repair.
We need to figure out how we can negotiate with other lands,
and we have to do something about the Shukaku.
As long as the Jinchuriki is unreliable,
we must rely on Lord Kazekage's development of new jutsu,
and in our gold dust trade for village stability.
As for Gaara…
Yashamaru, I need to speak to you later.
Yes…
But Lord Gaara is still a child…
Over the years, I've had to judge the value of many things.
And I must test his worth too.
We will assess Gaara tomorrow.
After the village has been evacuated, corner Gaara.
Tell him about his mother, and provoke him emotionally.
If he doesn't go berserk, I won't kill him.
About my sister?!
Are you sure about this?
I know that he loves and respects Karura with all his heart.
If that is taken away from him, and if he can still suppress his rage…
then and only then, will he suffice as a Jinchuriki!
What?
Why me…?!
Why only me?!
Who is it?
Why?
I must hand it to you, Lord Gaara.
Yashamaru…!
Why? Why?
Why you…Yashamaru?
Why?
It was an order.
I was ordered to kill you.
By your father…the Kazekage.
Father?
Why does Father want me dead?
Lord Gaara, before you were born,
the Shukaku of the Sand was placed inside you.
And you were nurtured carefully because of that experiment.
However, you are unable to control the power
of the vengeful Spirit of the Sand, the Shukaku.
Thus, you pose a threat to the village.
Before any more damage is done…
So you had no choice,
but to go along with Father's orders, Yashamaru?
No, that's not so.
It's true, I was ordered by Lord Kazekage.
However, I could have refused if I chose to do so.
Lord Gaara…
Deep down, I'm sure I resented you.
You…who stole my dear older sister's life when you were born.
You were my late sister's legacy.
So I desperately tried to love you.
But I couldn't.
My sister never wanted you.
She was sacrificed for the village,
and she died cursing it.
My heart has borne the wounds of that moment,
and it has never healed.
My sister gave you that name.
Her words were…
"This child will be known as Gaara, a demon that loves only itself."
"Love only yourself and fight only for yourself."
"Then you will continue to exist."
That was her wish.
But she didn't name you out of love or concern.
She gave you that name hoping that you would survive.
She died resenting and cursing this world,
leaving you as reminder.
So that the world would remember her hatred.
You were never loved.
It's a failure, after all.
Gaara is a failed experiment.
This Reanimation Jutsu may have some merit, after all.
Let me see what you may be worth!
Can you defeat me?!
Ohnoki… Stop me.
Against my Particle Style, the number of opponents means nothing.
Only you can stop me.
I'm aware of that.
Also, you remember what to do with allies
after a victory, don't you?
Once the fighting ends, so is the alliance.
There will be a scramble for the spoils of war.
That is what truly decides which village is the victor.
Hey, Tsuchikage, quit playing dirty!
I won't let that happen.
I have no intentions of doing such a thing, Lord Mu.
I see…
I guess you didn't turn into a stubborn old geezer.
I wouldn't be too sure.
In any case, we have no control over our movements.
Our bodies are set to automatically counter the enemy's jutsu.
So hurry and kill us, and send us back to the netherworld.
We will tell you what our weaknesses and powers are.
You just have to stop our actions!
It's not going to be easy.
Everyone, go!
Let's go!
– Right! – Right!
Sand Hail!
Damn it!
Sand Hail is just a diversion.
He used it to force me to lift the Gold Dust!
Karura… You still live on inside this child…
That really is our old man…
You've grown, Gaara.
All a parent needs to do is to believe in their children.
Just that little bit is the most valuable treasure.
Isn't that right, Karura?
It seems I didn't possess the ability to see the true value of things…
What do you mean?
No matter when or what, the Sand will always protect you.
That's not the Shukaku's power.
But it's your mother's…Karura's.
He's so tiny.
No matter what happens, I will always protect you, Gaara.
Your mother loved you!
Mother…loved me?
But that day when Yashamaru came after me, he said…
You were never…loved.
I ordered Yashamaru to lie to you.
In order to provoke you,
and to test the volatility of the Tailed Beast inside you…
For the sake of the village.
If there was anyone Yashamaru hated…
it would be me, not you.
I'm the one who sealed the Shukaku of the Sand
into his pregnant older sister.
But Yashamaru was also a shinobi.
He was my right-hand man and a member of the Sand Black Ops.
So he did as he was ordered, for the sake of the village.
I failed.
It seems I failed in everything I did.
I burdened you unnecessarily,
and arbitrarily decided that you weren't worth anything.
I took away your future by turning you into the Jinchuriki
and I took your mother away from you.
I robbed you of your love for your mother.
I took away the bonds you had with people.
And I even tried to take your life.
As a parent…
there is only one thing that I gave you.
I gave you a broken heart.
It's not bleeding.
But it really hurts right around here.
Physical wounds will definitely bleed and may look painful.
But over time, they heal by themselves.
And if you apply medicine, they will heal faster.
What's troublesome are wounds of the heart.
Nothing is harder to heal.
Wounds of the heart?
They're a bit different from physical injuries.
You can't apply medicine, for one thing.
And sometimes, they never heal.
There's only one cure for a wound of the heart.
It's a bit bothersome and
you can only receive it from someone else.
What is it?
It's love.
– Love? – Yes.
How do I get it?
You've already received it, Lord Gaara.
Mother…
I believe your mother loved you immensely.
Essentially, Shukaku of the Sand is a wraith to be used for offensive assaults.
But when the Sand instinctively acts to protect you…
That is your mother's love.
I believe your mother's will has seeped into the Sand.
My sister…even in death… wanted to protect you, Lord Gaara.
Karura…
Mothers are powerful.
She's dead, but she believed in you and still protects you.
She's the one who has brought you this far.
She gave you life, so that you would become the Kazekage.
She gave you friends.
She gave you the bonds with your siblings and community.
All things that I took away from you.
All I did as your father was to torment you.
I don't deserve to be called your father.
My mother was wonderful indeed.
Thanks to her, for the first time, I received medicine from my father.
Gaara… You…
SEAL
You surpassed me long ago.
I leave the village to you, Gaara!
Itachi Uchiha and Nagato?!
You know these guys, Naruto?
Yeah! Both of them!
Never would I have thought I'd have to battle you again, Naruto!
You now command the Power of the Nine Tails?
I'm impressed with your development!
Next time on Naruto Shippuden: "Contact! Naruto vs. Itachi"
Naruto, I must ask you…
CONTACT! NARUTO VS. ITACHI
Tune in again!