Once the match ended, Naruto carried Gaara over to Temari.
Naruto waved off Temari's thanks, then asked a question.
"Um, I've been meaning to ask. What's with that really warm chakra on Gaara?"
Temari froze. Chakra on Gaara?
Sunagakure had few sensory ninja to begin with, and not one of them had sensory abilities on par with Naruto's or Karin's.
As a result, no one had noticed the chakra that had always been on Gaara, distinct from Shukaku's.
"Huh? You haven't sensed it?" Naruto gave Temari a puzzled look, then gently took her wrist.
Sensory sharing.
It was a little trick Naruto had learned from Karin.
Through Naruto's shared senses, Temari "saw" that familiar chakra on Gaara.
"Mo... Mom?" Temari murmured in a daze, but she quickly came back to herself and signaled that Naruto could let go.
"It should be... our mother's chakra."
"She died after giving birth to Gaara..."
Died.
Naruto immediately understood Gaara's situation.
Pretty similar to mine.
So was it for the same reason that he turned out like that?
Gaara's eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly.
Naruto stole a glance at Gaara, keeping the fact that he was still conscious from Temari.
"Then... do you hate Gaara? In my senses, your feelings toward him are fear and... something complicated."
Temari shook her head. They were no longer in Sunagakure anyway, so there was no harm in telling Naruto.
"The day Mother died, Kankuro and I both cried for a long time."
"But we never resented Gaara. No matter what, he's our little brother."
Gaara's hands clenched involuntarily, but Temari was already lost in her memories.
"But Father chose to make Gaara a vessel for a Tailed Beast-a jinchūriki."
"Kankuro and I were forbidden from visiting Gaara. We tried to go see him a few times, but Father's