The crisis had passed, and Sunagakure had returned to its quiet routine.
Meanwhile, no one knew the details of everything that had happened in the Kazekage's Office during chapters 34 to 35.
But a few vague signals and shifts in the prevailing winds were enough for those with a keen sense to detect a change.
"Father actually summoned that Shira alone?" When Temari heard the news, her delicate brows knitted tightly, her face filled with confusion and a hint of unease.
Kankuro fiddled with a small puppet component in his hand, his expression equally grave. "And I heard that after their conversation, Father showed no sign of displeasure. He even called off the extra surveillance on Shira's daily training."
This was highly unusual. Their father, Fourth Kazekage Rasa, was a deeply suspicious man with a powerful need for control.
There was no way he would let an unstable element who had gotten close to Gaara, the "weapon," off so easily, much less seemingly allow him to remain by Gaara's side for so long.
"What on earth is Father thinking?" Temari murmured to herself. She couldn't understand it.
What was so special about that Shira? Was it just because his Taijutsu was a little better and he could calm that monster down?
Yet their father's attitude was the highest order. No matter how confused or resistant they felt, as the Kazekage's children, they had to obey and adapt to this change.
A few days later, at the edge of Gaara's lonely training ground.
Temari and Kankuro made a rare appearance. They stood far away, their faces still showing tension and distance they could hardly conceal.
When Gaara finished his morning training with Shira and started home alone, Temari took a deep breath, as though she had made some decision. She stepped forward and placed something on a clean rock.
"Hey..." Her voice was stiff, and she didn't even dare meet Gaara's eyes as he looked up in surprise. "These are extra Military Rations Pills. Your training takes a lot out of you, so take them and eat them."
As soon as she finished, she backed away as though burned and immediately returned to Kankuro's side.
Kankuro looked at Gaara, then at his sister beside him, his expression complicated. In the end, he said nothing and merely turned his head slightly away.
Gaara froze completely. His green eyes stared in disbelief at the few small Military Rations Pills on the rock, which carried an unprecedented significance.
Then he looked at his sister and brother in the distance, both familiar and unfamiliar. His small face was full of bewilderment and a faint trace of anticipation, so slight that even he hadn't noticed it.
He stood where he was, neither taking them nor moving, as though afraid that any movement would shatter the mirage before him.
Temari and Kankuro didn't linger either. After leaving the pills, they hurried away, their retreating figures looking almost rushed and discomposed.
This awkward gesture of goodwill, so full of distance, seemed less like family affection and more like an attempt or the execution of some vague instruction.
But whatever the reason, it had happened for the first time.
Yashamaru, keeping watch in the shadows nearby, had seen it all.
For the first time, barely concealed shock and deep worry appeared on his gentle face.
Temari and Kankuro had actually approached Lord Gaara of their own accord? And even left something for him?
This was too abnormal! It definitely wasn't because their sibling affection had suddenly awakened again; that old bastard Kazekage had to be directing them from behind the scenes!
Why? Was it because of that child named Shira? Did his conversation with Lord Kazekage change something?
Yashamaru's heart sank. He knew Rasa's attitude toward Gaara better than anyone. This sudden kindness was no good omen.
It seemed more like a new test, or some strategy to make the "weapon" more stable.
He feared that deeper schemes and crueler orders lay hidden behind this brief warmth.
He feared it would bring even greater harm to Gaara, who had only just begun to open his heart a little because of Shira.
Hajizi, what on earth did you say to that old bastard Kazekage?
Yashamaru looked in the direction Shira had gone, his gaze deeply conflicted. He was grateful for the change Shira had brought about in Gaara, but he feared the uncontrollable attention from the higher-ups that the change had attracted.
"Lord Gaara." Yashamaru walked over to Gaara, who was still standing there in a daze. His voice was as gentle as ever, but it carried a barely perceptible tremor. "Are you all right?"
Gaara slowly raised his head and looked at Yashamaru, his eyes full of childish confusion. "Yashamaru, why did my sister...?"
Yashamaru couldn't answer. He could only crouch down and say in an even gentler voice, "Perhaps Lady Temari simply cares about you. Would you like to accept these Military Rations Pills?"
Gaara was silent for a long time. Finally, he carefully reached out and cupped the Military Rations Pills in his hands, as though holding some fragile treasure.
He didn't eat them, just held them tightly.
Watching him, Yashamaru felt a pang of heartache.
The tide of change had begun to surge, and no one could stop it.
Whatever the purpose, cracks had already appeared in the frozen surface of the lake.
And at the center of it all, the boy named Shira was walking home, still not fully aware of the ripples he had caused behind him.
Beneath the skies of Sunagakure, undercurrents stirred.