Youth! Asking for Directions!

The setting sun cast its last rays over the quiet little square, bathing everything in a warm glow.

"Get away!"

"Run—"

"Waaah!"

Piercing cries shattered the silence of dusk. Thick, almost tangible sand morphed into vicious claws and fangs, knocking down the children as they fled in every direction. The scraping of grains against one another sounded like some dreadful whisper, echoing across the square.

Gaara stood alone beside the swing. The tattered teddy bear lay torn to pieces at his feet. With his back to the sun, his small figure stretched long across the ground.

His face was shadowed, his childish features twisted by his out-of-control power. The rejection and indifference that had built up over time had finally found an outlet.

"Stop!"

As the raging wave of sand surged toward the last boy, a familiar figure suddenly stepped in front of him. Yashamaru's outstretched arms looked so frail against the sandstorm.

Gaara's pupils contracted slightly, but the rampaging sand could no longer be recalled.

"Go to hell!"

A bright, mocking laugh cut through the frozen air like a blade.

In the blink of an eye, a fierce flying kick swept Yashamaru aside. A clear ring of steel rang out, and blinding lightning burst through the dusk. The raging wave of sand crumbled in an instant.

Whoosh—

Sand poured down like a sudden rainstorm, its grains catching the last rays of sunlight in tiny golden glints.

"Hey, kid."

As the dust began to settle, a tall, slender figure stood silhouetted against the light. The setting sun traced a dazzling golden edge around him. His breezy, red-and-blue short-sleeved top flapped in the wind, and the delicate fan pattern, stitched with fine seams at the cuffs, was just visible. Beneath his loose beach shorts, white flip-flops casually pressed into the sand, giving him a carefree, devil-may-care air.

Gaara stared up at him in a daze. Before him was a smiling face bathed in sunlight. Black hair fluttered in the breeze, and his bright, open smile was utterly uninhibited.

"Kid!"

His deliberately deep voice rang in Gaara's ears once more. His deep, dark eyes were like bright black gems in the sea of sand, reflecting Gaara's image.

"Could you tell me how to get somewhere?"

Faced with the unfamiliar older boy's question, Gaara couldn't react for a moment. He had no idea what to say.

"An outsider?"

Yashamaru, who had just been kicked away, darted in front of Gaara. His face was grave, and his wary eyes fixed on the boy before him, especially the unmistakable fan on his shirt.

Is he an Uchiha? he thought, wary.

"Tch!"

The boy shot him a disdainful look. His formerly sunny smile turned cold and distant, and his lips moved to spit out one word: "Get lost."

Whoosh!

Like a blade of cold air sweeping toward him, Yashamaru quickly dodged to the side. Amid a series of hissing sounds, the spot where he had been standing was covered in ice crystals that radiated a chilling cold.

Whoosh.

The shrill whistle of a kunai slicing through the air rang out—

A streak of silver flashed in like a venomous snake striking, attacking fiercely from his right. Slender fingers hooked through the kunai's ring, sending it along a deadly arc straight for his throat. At the same time, a faint, orchid-like fragrance drifted past on the breeze, concealing a lethal intent.

Yashamaru's pupils shrank. Cold sweat instantly broke out across his back. He hurriedly twisted aside, only for another flash of steel to come at him—

A girl and a younger girl had somehow crept close like specters. The kunai and senbon in their hands glinted coldly as they struck from either side, aimed at vital points all over his body!

What on earth was going on?

Yashamaru struggled to fend off the fierce attacks, but before he could figure out what was happening, a wave of dizziness suddenly washed over him.

Poison?

Kazekage's reception room.

"Bang!"

Chiyo sprang to her feet, visibly shaken. Her emotions were running high as she shouted, "How could that be?! Sasori couldn't have done it!"

Tsunade didn't even bother to change her expression at the old woman's outburst. "Has years of seclusion addled your mind?"

She continued, "I've already explained everything. Before the Third Great Ninja War, my husband did indeed visit the Land of Wind. According to him, he encountered a red-haired boy skilled in puppetry in a desert in the north. After defeating him and the Hiruko he was hiding inside, the boy brought out a human puppet made from the body of the Third Kazekage..."

Tsunade's lips curled into a malicious smile, as though she were deliberately provoking Chiyo. "He said the puppet was exquisitely made. Not only could it perfectly use all the powerful ninjutsu the Third Kazekage had mastered in life, but its body had also been fitted with all sorts of mechanisms!"

"That's enough!" Chiyo roared. "Where's your proof?"

Tsunade simply shrugged, utterly unapologetic, as if to say, believe it or don't. "I've made it perfectly clear. What more proof do you want?"

Chiyo clenched her fists. Her lips trembled several times, but no words came out. Ebizo sighed beside her. He could tell that his sister had probably already accepted the truth deep down.

That child, Sasori... Had he really fallen this far?

"More than that..."

The Fourth Kazekage, who had been silently listening the whole time, finally spoke. His eyes showed no sign that the news had shocked him. "What I'd rather know is, what was Ryuu Uchiha doing in our Land of Wind back then?"

"That'll cost you extra." Tsunade showed him no more respect for being a Kage than she'd shown anyone else. Even when it came to her teacher, the Third Hokage, if she was in a bad mood, she'd give him an earful.

"Bang!"

Recovering from her shock and dismay, Chiyo slammed the table again and warned, "Don't push your luck, Tsunade! This isn't the Hidden Leaf."

Tsunade gave her a casual glance. "Then do you dare start a war?"

"You!" Chiyo was instantly at a loss for words.

Just then, a Sunagakure Anbu hurried in and whispered something into the Kazekage's ear.

"Ryuu Uchiha's son?"

The Fourth Kazekage furrowed his brow, then slowly relaxed it. He quietly gave the Anbu a few instructions before waving him away.

"Don't worry. It was only a spar. You can see for yourself that one of the village's shinobi has already taken him back."

Along a street cracked and yellow with dry earth, Qing Xuan ran his fingers along the tall wall of clay and stone, leaving a mark as he spoke reassuringly.

Gaara held the grimy stuffed bear in his arms. Its torn patches bore clear shoe prints, with clumps of grayish-brown stuffing poking out and swaying in the air. Even so, he hugged it tightly, cherishing it.

Qing Xuan glanced at it. "You really like that teddy bear."

Gaara nodded slightly and answered in a muffled voice, "My mother left it for me."

"Then you're really lucky."

Qing Xuan pulled his hand away from the wall. "My mom never bought me toys like that."

"Was your mom not nice to you?"

"How should I put it? She wasn't exactly mean, but she was the sort of person who always made me worry. How about this? If you take me to that place, I'll bring your teddy bear back to life as thanks."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

The two walked along, chatting as they went. Once they disappeared around the corner, several Sunagakure shinobi slowly gathered around, staring at the mark Qing Xuan had made on the wall.

"This is... the secret code used by Sunagakure's covert agents?"

"What did he write?"

"Uchiha Qing Xuan was here?!"