Gaara couldn't listen to anything else. The only thing he craved now was blood.
"Blood... I need blood!!!"
"Hmph, just as I thought, a monster." Watching Gaara's crazed and sickly state, Sasori of the Red Sand scoffed disdainfully.
"Fine, I'll just beat you half to death..."
Sasori wasn't fond of missions that required capturing rather than killing.
But he had no choice; his partner Deidara had been taken by the Fourth Kazekage. Reluctantly, Sasori had to deal with this himself.
"I'll make this quick, Gaara. After I handle you, I'll take care of your father. Use whatever tricks you have; I'm in a hurry..."
Gaara's eyes widened, filled with bloodshot veins. His only goal was to kill the person before him and drain every drop of his blood with sand.
"Whoosh!"
With a swift movement of his hand, a mass of sand surged towards Sasori from all directions, leaving no escape.
Just when Gaara thought he had him, a giant tail appeared behind Sasori. With a casual swipe, it scattered all the sand, leaving no trace.
Gaara was shocked. He had always thought the person before him was an assassin sent by his father, but this assassin's strength was in a completely different league compared to those before.
The movement of Sasori's tail continued. The sharp tail tip burrowed into the ground and spread quickly. Before Gaara could react, the sharp tail tip emerged from beneath his feet, too fast for both Gaara and the sand to counter.
The young Gaara had never anticipated an attack from below. With a piercing sound, his abdomen was struck by the powerful tail tip.
"Hmm?"
The scene before him caused Sasori to pause slightly.
What flowed from Gaara wasn't blood but small fragments of sand.
"Not only does he have automatic sand defense, but his surface is also covered with a sand armor? Boring..."
Sasori looked at Gaara disdainfully. Seeing the broken sand armor starting to repair itself, he wasn't about to give him the chance. Lifting his face mask slightly, Sasori opened his mechanical mouth, firing several poison-tipped needles straight into Gaara's abdomen.
"Ugh..."
Gaara felt darkness envelop him as a strong paralysis spread through his body. With a thud, he collapsed onto the sand, losing consciousness.
"Jinchuriki... captured."
Sasori walked up to Gaara, his large tail wrapping around him. He looked towards the village outskirts where fires and explosions raged, and sneered with disgust.
"Deidara's flashy and useless so-called art is always causing trouble."
"Oh well, since his opponent is Rasa, a collectible I want, I'll help him out."
Sasori closed his face mask and prepared to leave the Sand Village to assist Deidara.
Suddenly, a sharp, manic voice came from behind him.
"Hahahahaha, this brat finally lost consciousness, I can come out now, hahahahaha!"
"Boom!"
Gaara's body was rapidly covered in cursed sand, swelling in size. Within seconds, a massive monster stood in the Sand Village—the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku.
Facing the giant creature, Sasori remained calm:
"Hmph, gone berserk, huh? Although it's a bit troublesome... it's nothing more."
"It's time to get serious..."
...