Gaara's courage is immense.
Since Gaara underwent a significant change in temperament, he has never been afraid of anyone except for his father, Rasa, because no one has been able to break through the defensive sand barrier he was born with.
This has also fostered Gaara's strong self-confidence.
This red-haired boy never hesitates when he wants to kill someone.
The sand ninja, upon seeing Akihara Kagura and Jiraiya, was visibly stunned for a moment before suddenly giving a sinister smile and saying, "If you want to kill someone, go ahead and kill them. When necessary, you can even use the monster inside you."
"Oh?"
Gaara was somewhat surprised.
All this time, every instance of the monster inside him emerging greatly irritated Rasa, and no one had ever told him he could use the monster inside him.
"Alright!"
Gaara quickly raised his palm!
A mass of sand flew out under his control, wrapping around Akihara Kagura, who was waiting in line, intending to suffocate him with the sand!
This scene immediately caused astonishment among everyone.
Jiraiya, who had just finished talking with the caravan leader and was engaging in pleasantries with a lady of exotic charm within the caravan, saw a mass of sand attack Akihara Kagura!
"Ah?"
Jiraiya was somewhat stunned for a moment!
"What's wrong?"
The lady, noticing Jiraiya's distraction, followed his gaze to the flying mass of sand: "Someone can control sand…"
"Well, it is the Sand Village after all…"
Jiraiya casually replied, watching the sand mass get dispersed by Akihara Kagura with a punch, before turning his attention back to the lady beside him: "Ah, I'm sorry, I might need to deal with some trouble first. How about we meet at the inn tonight?"
"Of course."
The woman was slightly stunned but then smiled and nodded.
Jiraiya quickly returned to Akihara Kagura's side, placing a hand on Akihara Kagura's wrist and following Akihara Kagura's gaze to a red-haired boy controlling sand.
"Teacher Jiraiya."
Akihara Kagura's face bore an innocent look, as he shrugged and said, "The people from the Sand Village want to kill me. Now, whatever I do, it's not my fault, right?"
"..."
Jiraiya didn't know what to say.
If Jiraiya were to speak his mind, this student has indeed made progress, at least he's willing to find a reason for wanting to do something extreme...
But then again...
How does the Sand Village educate their children?
Such a young child daring to use ninjutsu to attack passersby?
"Teacher Jiraiya."
When Akihara Kagura looked at Jiraiya, he stared intently into his eyes: "If you are my teacher, then at this time, you should stand by my side, right? This time, whatever I do can't be considered extreme, right?"
"You could say, that's still a child, I can let that child live, but as a price for his survival, can I kill the Kazekage of the Sand Village?"
"..."
Jiraiya looked at his student, seemingly understanding his grievances, and was cautiously trying to say something good about Rasa, to prevent his student from really killing the Kazekage.
However...
Someone interrupted him.
Gaara, realizing his attack was ineffective, once again controlled a larger mass of sand, blanketing Akihara Kagura and Jiraiya with a sky-covering pressure!
"Whose kid is this!"
Jiraiya could only lift his hand to disperse the yellow sand with a Rasengan, his gaze sharply turning towards the Sand ninja beside Gaara: "You, can you not control this?"
"..."
Upon hearing Jiraiya's question, the Sand ninja was clearly stunned for a moment before smirking and saying: "This is Lord Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of the Sand Village's youngest son, Gaara..."
"..."
Jiraiya's body instantly froze.
No wonder this brat dares to be so arrogant here...
"This time, it's the Kazekage's mistake!"
Akihara Kagura was visibly shocked, as if he had just found out about Gaara's identity, and immediately said: "Now, whatever we do is justified. The Sand ninja attacked the Konoha ninja, can we consider this a violation of their treaty?"
"Uh..."
Jiraiya was taken aback for a moment, quickly restraining his clearly excited disciple: "Hey, hey, hey, calm down a bit, don't pin such a big accusation on a kid..."
Akihara Kagura continued to argue with his teacher: "Master Jiraiya, with such jutsu, that redhead kid definitely isn't just a student anymore, he must be a ninja fit for the battlefield, so we should treat him as a ninja, right?"
"That was during the Great Ninja War..."
Jiraiya continued his explanation: "Now is a time of peace; no village would allow such young children onto the battlefield..."
"The Sand Village's ninja attacked us, we could consider this moment the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War, it might even be recorded in the history books..."
Akihara Kagura even took the initiative to remind of the redhead boy's name: "The son of the Sand Village's Fourth Kazekage, Gaara, attacked the Konoha ninja, breaking the treaty between Sand Village and Konoha, sparking the Fourth Great Ninja War, leading to the Sand Village's downfall..."
"Hey, hey, hey, can such a big accusation be borne by a kid..."
"I'll kill you!"
Gaara, still unaware of the seriousness of the situation, manipulated his sand to sweep towards the two, intending to bury them in the yellow sand!
"Teacher Jiraiya."
Akihara Kagura, looking at the overwhelming yellow sand, prompted: "See? That redhead kid really wants to bear the grave sin of sparking the Fourth Great Ninja War, we should fulfill the child's wish."
"All I see is his immaturity..."
Jiraiya shook his head, unwilling to give his disciple the chance to trigger a Ninja War: "A little punishment for the brat is enough; don't escalate the accusation to such a serious level!"
Boom!
Jiraiya dispersed all the yellow sand in front of him!
Jiraiya looked towards the Sand ninja maintaining order, feeling something odd: "Why aren't those guys coming over to maintain order? Why not control that kid?"
"Maybe no one dares to offend the Kazekage's son."
Akihara Kagura casually threw another accusation on Gaara's head: "This Kazekage spoils his son so much that such a young child can kill without restraint!"
"..."
Jiraiya felt there was some truth in what Akihara Kagura said.
"I'll handle this!"
After speaking, Jiraiya instantly appeared beside Gaara and the Sand ninja, questioning: "Even if he is the Kazekage's son, he shouldn't just attack others, right?"
"The Kazekage's son can kill anyone he wishes."
The Sand ninja chuckled lightly, looking at Jiraiya and saying: "This is the Sand Village, even ninja from other major countries must follow the rules of the Sand Village."
"..."
Jiraiya faintly felt a sense of malice.
"I can kill whoever I want!"
Encouraged, Gaara lifted his hand to control the sand to attack Jiraiya: "I'll kill you first, then that guy!"
"..."
Jiraiya's expression suddenly turned ugly.
Jiraiya glanced at the Sand ninja beside him, took a deep breath, and with a palm dispersed the sand controlled by Gaara, aiming to educate the recklessly acting kid with a slap on the head!
However...
A mass of yellow sand blocked Jiraiya's palm!
"Automatic defense, huh?"
Jiraiya immediately realized the automatic defensive purpose of this mass of yellow sand and, with a punch, dispersed the sand in front of him, seizing the opportunity to fiercely elbow Gaara in the neck!
This strike...
Even the automatic protective sand was too late to stop it!
"This kid..."
Just as Jiraiya was watching Gaara fall unconscious, planning to reason with this Sand ninja, he saw a strange smile appear on the face of the Sand ninja, who instantly leaped back into the crowd and disappeared without a trace.
"You've caused a big problem..."
Jiraiya's gaze still held a hint of peculiarity.
The group of Sand ninja, who were originally maintaining order, hesitated at first about risking their lives to intervene in the conflict. But after seeing Gaara pass out, some went to report to the Fourth Kazekage, while others began loudly dispersing the crowd!
"Quick, disperse!"
"Find a safe place to hide!"
"Everyone, don't linger here, evacuate immediately!"
"What's going on..."
"Why suddenly disperse..."
As the crowd was bewildered, Gaara, who had originally passed out, suddenly erupted with a powerful surge of chakra, and masses of yellow sand began to emerge from his body!
"Tailed Beast chakra..."
Jiraiya immediately leapt backward, sensing the power of this chakra, his expression turning serious: "This is the Sand Village's Tailed Beast...the One-Tail..."
"Shukaku, the Great Elder... has finally come out again!"
A somewhat sharp roar echoed out!
A massive creature, shaped like a tanuki and covered in curse marks, appeared before everyone, quickly sweeping down its claw at them!
"Ninjutsu: Summoning Jutsu!"
Jiraiya quickly formed the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu!
After all, he had stirred up this trouble. Jiraiya hadn't expected that his attempt to prevent his disciple from making a mistake would turn into his own problem...
A massive toad appeared in front of everyone!
It was the toad from Mount Myoboku, Gamabunta!
"Hey, Jiraiya, what's going on?"
Gamabunta quickly intercepted Shukaku, kicking the tanuki down and saving everyone present!
"I came here with Kagura to broaden our horizons..."
Jiraiya awkwardly glanced at Gamabunta, then towards the massive, fat tanuki that was struggling to stand up again: "A brat wanted to harm Kagura. I intended to teach the brat a lesson, only to find out that this brat was the Sand Village's jinchuriki of the One-Tail, Shukaku. Accidentally, I ended up releasing Shukaku from the Sand Village..."
Gamabunta didn't even know where to begin his complaints, only managing to exhale a ring of smoke: "Has it been so long that the world has changed, where someone dares to bully your disciple instead of him bullying others?"
"Let's resolve this first..."
Jiraiya could only urge Gamabunta to help restrain Shukaku: "You help me hold down this guy, and I'll reseal the One-Tail, Shukaku..."
"Teacher Jiraiya!"
"Maybe I should handle this..."
A thick vine burst out of the ground!
This vine quickly grew into a massive wooden dragon, wrapping around Shukaku's body and swiftly absorbing the Tailed Beast's chakra!
Kagura stood atop the wooden dragon, feeling the chakra absorbed by the dragon merging into his body, then into the shell of the Ten-Tails within him!
"It seems I don't need to make a move after all…"
Gamabunta was very satisfied with this trip and couldn't help but deeply praise, "Jiraiya, your disciple is much stronger than you..."
"I get it, I get it..."
Jiraiya helplessly waved his hand, signaling Gamabunta to leave quickly.
As the giant toad dissipated into a puff of smoke, Jiraiya rushed to the side of Akihara Kagura, planning to help reseal the One-Tail, Shukaku.
"Let me go! Hurry up and let me go!"
The One-Tail, Shukaku, was still struggling fiercely, but only felt its chakra draining away, unable to exert any strength, and could only loudly threaten, "Release me quickly, or I'll kill you all as soon as I get out!"
This time, it had been careless!
Akihara Kagura tightened the grip of the Wooden Dragon.
Boom!
A surge of gold sand suddenly swept over!
Just as Jiraiya was about to make a move, the gold sand, like a tidal wave, instantly poured over towards the Wooden Dragon, firmly pressing down on its tail!
A man wearing a Kazekage hat stood on the head of the sand, looking at the two figures on top of the Wooden Dragon, he also saw Jiraiya and saw Akihara Kagura.
Akihara Kagura...
Had already made it onto the list of other major ninja villages.
After all, a Wood Release ninja reappeared after many years and even started off quite impressively, single-handedly defeating the Mist Village to the ground, and it was rumored that he had also caused some trouble at the Rock Village...
"One of the Three Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, and the Wood Release ninja of Konoha, may I ask what brings you to the Sand Village!"
"Does Konoha intend to use Wood Release to capture the tailed beast of the Sand Village? Such an act would be tantamount to tearing up our alliance and directly starting a war!"
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, decisively put on a big hat, even feeling somewhat nervous, because it wouldn't be surprising for Konoha to do such a thing...
Mainly because...
Konoha wasn't short of allies.
Konoha now had the Mist Village as an ally and had also established good relations with the Rock Village. The three villages could form a pincer attack from the sea, land, and air directions against the Land of Wind.
Frankly speaking...
Should Konoha want to annex the Sand Village, the Mist and Rock Villages would not mind lending a hand, even sharing a piece of the pie, which was a constant worry for the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
Although Konoha's Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was always kind to allies, a village cannot entrust its fate to the mercy of others...
Especially since...
Konoha was becoming increasingly powerful.
While the Sand Village was becoming increasingly weaker.
"There has been a misunderstanding here."
Jiraiya, standing aside, wanted to speak up for peace: "Lord Kazekage, our purpose here was to deliver important information. We didn't expect to accidentally conflict with your child, nor did we expect this child to be the One-Tail Jinchuriki of the Sand Village..."
"Teacher Jiraiya, this time, we haven't made a mistake."
Akihara Kagura interrupted Jiraiya, raising his finger, "Fourth Kazekage Rasa of the Sand Village, it was your son who wanted to kill me first. Can we consider this as the Sand Village wanting to tear up Konoha's alliance, intending to start the Fourth Great Ninja War?"
"Don't put such a hat on it!"
Jiraiya quickly whispered to his disciple.
"He said it first!"
Akihara Kagura frowned.
"Don't learn such hypocrisy!"
Jiraiya whispered to his disciple.
"It's quite useful..."
"..."
The teacher and disciple in the distance were whispering to each other.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, realized the trouble with the situation.
Because of Gaara's protective sand and the One-Tail Shukaku inside him, he had been sending people to assassinate Gaara, completely drawing out the young boy's intent to kill...
Unexpectedly...
This time, the kid has gotten into big trouble!
Who allowed him to leave the Sand Village!
"This misunderstanding can be set aside."
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, immediately moved past this topic and continued to question, "First explain why you two visitors from Konoha are here in the Sand Village without my having received any letter?"
"..."
Akihara Kagura looked at the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, and raised an eyebrow: "Didn't you hear? We are here to deliver a letter. Did you leave your ears in your office?"
"..."
It was the first time the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had encountered such rudeness.
Ever since he became the Kazekage, people around him had always treated him with great respect. He didn't expect to be insulted by someone from another village...
"How dare you insult the Kazekage!"
"Do you want to die, brat!"
A group of Sand ninjas assumed a stance as if ready to die for their leader's honor.
However, before these Sand ninjas could say more, vines burst from the ground, turning into large trees that hung them all from the branches.
"Someone wants to assassinate the Kazekage..."
Jiraiya voluntarily shared the message he had brought.
"But we think this matter should be handled by us..."
Akihara Kagura casually continued his teacher's words: "Now I think, I should be the one to kill the Kazekage..."
"Kagura!"
Jiraiya quickly interrupted him.
"Teacher Jiraiya!"
Akihara Kagura, facing the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, directly accused him in front of everyone: "Many people heard those words, right? The Fourth Kazekage's son, within the Sand Village, can kill whoever he wants, without any reason, just because he feels like killing…"