Hidden Sand Village Vassal State, Asura City, City Lord Sandcastle.
"Let me... become the Kazekage?"
Gaara stared blankly at the Kazekage appointment letter on the tea table before him, its black characters on white paper stamped with the Feather Emperor's seal.
Nineteen years old and in the prime of his life, Gaara had not experienced the dramatic twists and turns of his original fate, but neither had his path been smooth.
His childhood had also been spent in loneliness.
The turning point came during the Chunin Ninja Exams held by Konoha in Dark Hidden Year 8, when he was defeated and redeemed by Uzumaki Naruto.
During those same Chunin Ninja Exams, Gaara lost his beloved son Kankuro, forcing him to reevaluate himself. From then on, he was no longer so harsh toward Gaara.
Later, the Three-Tails revived, and the Akatsuki officially began collecting Tailed Beasts. After losing the One-Tail within him, Gaara died.
Fortunately, Yu had long since made plans for the placement of the Jinchūriki.
Sasori of the Red Sand had preserved the Jinchūriki's bodies, and after the Fourth Shinobi World War ended, all of them were revived. The Mini Tailed Beasts created by Orochimaru then replaced the Tailed Beasts they had lost, allowing them to continue serving as Jinchūriki.
Some of you might ask: weren't all the Mini Tailed Beasts sealed inside Naruto?
That was where a very subtle detail came in.
Orochimaru had created two batches of Mini Tailed Beasts.
The first batch fused with the Mini Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and became the Mini Ten-Tails, whose Jinchūriki was "Uzumaki Naruto."
The current Mini Ten-Tails was no longer mini. It already possessed a considerable portion of the true Ten-Tails' power, and after absorbing natural energy a second time, it had become comparable to the real