As the solemn, weighty BGM began to play, the mysterious figure's face appeared on the Light Screen.
It was the face of a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy. Expressionless and stern, he was fairly handsome, yet somehow unlike an ordinary person.
His eyes were ringed by pronounced dark circles, making him seem deep and composed. They looked almost painted on, yet also like the result of endlessly staying up all night.
On the left side of his forehead, a large red character for "love" had been written, as though blood had been used as ink. It gave him a distinctly bizarre look.
The moment this person appeared, many people at a certain high school in Tokyo were stunned.
Then, everyone in one classroom turned in unison to look at a red-haired boy among them.
Because that red-haired boy looked exactly like the bizarre youth who had just appeared on the Light Screen.
Except the real-world version had no dark circles beneath his eyes, nor did he have that bizarre character for "love" on his forehead.
He was Gaara.
"Me? There really is a me..."
Gaara murmured to himself, his emotions somewhat wistful. He seemed dazed, yet also relieved.
It was as if a question he had long sought an answer to had finally received a true response.
On the Light Screen, the gourd-bearing youth stared silently at the ruins of Sunagakure for a long time. His mood was exceedingly heavy, and he seemed to be holding back anger.
At the same time, the Light Screen revealed what Sunagakure looked like now.
It was a city in the desert, with the feel of an ancient Middle Eastern city from Earth. Its buildings were all constructed of stone and mud, mostly gray and earthen in color, making the place look bleak and