My Journey as Fourth Kazekage

At that moment, Rasa's words not only resolved the doubts in Karura's heart but also left the three siblings, Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara, utterly shocked. At the same time, they finally understood why their father had been acting strangely all along.

"So… something like this is really possible?"

Karura looked completely incredulous. Hana covered her mouth in astonishment.

Rasa nodded in agreement.

"I think it's unbelievable too, but it truly happened. And… how should I put this… that version of me from the future didn't seem to be a very good father."

The moment those words fell, the expressions on the three siblings subtly changed. Karura, especially after sensing the familiar chakra and the faint but undeniable scent of blood coming from Gaara, seemed to understand something.

"But no matter what… they are still our children. So there are things I simply couldn't ignore. That's why I brought them here. Besides, with them around to look after you, I can feel more at ease."

Having said that, Rasa looked toward the three siblings.

"Of course… if you don't want to stay, that's fine too."

"No…"

Temari immediately shook her head.

"I want to stay with Mother!"

Kankurō also nodded firmly in agreement.

As for Gaara, though his eyes were wet, he still managed to ask the one question that lingered in his heart:

"So… are you really our father?"

The question made both Temari and Kankurō's expressions shift slightly with unease.

Rasa thought for a moment and then replied,

"That's a difficult question to answer definitively. But I believe that sometimes, the answer itself doesn't matter as much as how we choose to see things. At the very least, the reason I was able to bring you here… is because I already considered you my children."

"!!"

Gaara's pupils contracted slightly, and Temari and the others' eyes lit up.

Karura, sensing the emotions in her husband's heart, reached out and gently stroked Temari's head with tenderness.

Feeling that familiar gentleness once again, Temari couldn't hold back any longer and cried out:

"Mom!"

Seeing this, Rasa gave a small nod.

"Looks like you've all already made up your minds. Very well. From now on, live here in this version of Sunagakure for a while. Get familiar with it, see what's different between the two villages. But during this time, you must hide your identities. Also, no chakra use or ninjutsu. Baki, come in!"

At Rasa's command, Baki, who had been waiting outside, walked in, curiously eyeing the three children.

The trio also stared at the younger version of their teacher Baki, full of surprise at how much younger she looked.

"Their names are Temari, Kankurō, and Gaara. Have the ANBU arrange identities for them."

Baki didn't question it much. After all, over the past year, the Kazekage had already brought in two highly gifted children, Hana and Honoka, from other parts of the shinobi world. This wasn't exactly unprecedented.

"Got it."

"Thanks for your work. Go on ahead. Oh, and pass on my order, have Yashamaru return from the front lines."

The moment they heard that name, all three siblings were visibly stunned again.

As Baki left, Temari finally couldn't help but ask:

"Uncle Yashamaru… he's alive too?"

That question made Karura's heart tremble, did it mean that in the future timeline, her little brother had… died?

Thankfully, Rasa's next words eased her heart.

"Yes. That's exactly why I said our two worlds are not the same. It's not just Yashamaru, Pakura, Michikawa, they're all alive and well in our timeline. There are also others you don't know. For example, the child beside you is Hana. She's from the Uzumaki clan and is Elder Chiyo's disciple. There's another child named Honoka, also from the Uzumaki clan. She's Elder Ebizō's disciple."

"Uzumaki!?"

Kankurō didn't really understand what the Uzumaki clan was, but he was definitely familiar with the name "Uzumaki."

"Isn't that the same surname as that idiot Naruto from Konoha?"

"Exactly."

Rasa nodded.

"That boy, Naruto Uzumaki, is the child of Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki. Just like Gaara, he's currently the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."

!!!

That revelation utterly stunned the three siblings.

"You're kidding, right, Dad? That idiot… is actually the child of the Fourth Hokage!?"

Temari blurted out instinctively.

Kankurō also suddenly connected the dots.

"No wonder that idiot always seemed to care about Gaara."

Gaara's pupils shrank in surprise at that, but at that moment, a gentle figure approached him slowly and embraced him tightly.

The instinctual rage boiling inside Gaara made him want to resist, but the warmth of that voice and that familiar embrace completely froze him in place.

"You've suffered so much, Gaara…"

He couldn't control it. A single tear slowly fell from Gaara's eye. He desperately wanted not to cry, to avoid looking so weak and pathetic, but it was useless. The tears just kept falling.

In that moment, everyone around could feel the sorrow in this cold and distant boy's heart. Karura held Gaara even tighter.

The moment her husband revealed that Gaara was a jinchūriki, Karura already knew what kind of pain her future son must have endured. No wonder the Rasa from that world had failed as a father.

And the name "Gaara" itself carried a deep sorrow from that other world that Karura could feel in her soul.

Watching this scene, Rasa felt as if one of the deepest regrets in his heart had finally been given closure. He didn't want to interrupt as Karura used a mother's love to slowly dissolve Gaara's pain.

So, turning to Hana, Temari, and Kankurō, Rasa said.

"Hana, stay here. Temari, Kankurō, come with me."

---

In the realm of Yomi.

Temari and Kankurō followed Rasa as he led them back into this strange world.

Though they had only recently been here, the sight still filled them with awe. Before them stretched an immense space, as if they were floating through the universe. Countless stone orbs the size of fists floated in the air like stars, and at the very center of this dense stellar field stood a towering divine tree that reached into the sky.

Rasa brought Temari and Kankurō beneath the God Tree. Without any cryptic buildup, he got straight to the point as they looked at him with questioning eyes.

"There's only one reason I brought you here, because, as my children, you're both far too weak."

Temari and Kankurō froze in place, their expressions stiffening.

"Especially when you're up against someone like Naruto Uzumaki, who carries both the Uzumaki bloodline and the power of the Nine-Tails, or Sasuke Uchiha, who carries the power of the Uchiha clan. I don't belong in your world, and I can't stay there for long. So now, I will bestow upon you a kind of power…"

The two siblings were visibly shaken. Kankurō looked especially thrilled, while Temari, though also intrigued, showed a trace of concern.

"What about Gaara?"

"Gaara's situation is unique. The One-Tail inside him will interfere with this power. So from now on, as his elder sister and elder brother, it's your turn to protect him…"