Father Also Loves You

From a distance, Summerwood stood on a rooftop with Rasa.

Rasa's limbs were stiff, but his eyes were fixed on Yashamaru and Gaara in the distance.

Summerwood's Sharingan spun continuously, observing the distant scene and feeling a sense of relief. He controlled Rasa, sitting on a sand mat, to fly over.

"Tap... Tap..." The sound of footsteps echoed.

Gaara looked up to see his cold-faced father, Rasa.

Gaara lowered his head again, shrinking further into Yashamaru's embrace.

Contrary to his usual demeanour, Rasa squatted down and pulled Gaara into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Gaara."

Gaara trembled all over and then pushed away from Rasa's embrace. "Dad, what did you say..."

Rasa stood silently, speaking softly, "Making you a Jinchuriki was never my intention..."

"What is a Jinchuriki?" Gaara, who Yashamaru's love had just calmed, managed to speak more steadily.

From a distance, Summerwood rolled his eyes. What kind of education did Sunagakure have? Gaara was already six or seven years old and didn't even know what a Jinchuriki was.

No wonder he suffered so much as a child. How did he endure all those years Without basic knowledge about being a Jinchuriki?

Oh, it seems Naruto didn't know either as a child.

No wonder they became close friends later on.

But Gaara's seal was much weaker compared to Naruto's.

Although the Nine-Tails' chakra could influence Naruto, he was unaware of the Tailed Beast within him for a long time.

Gaara, however, was easily influenced by Shukaku and couldn't sleep without the risk of Shukaku coming out to kill people.

So Gaara always thought of himself as a monster.

"A Jinchuriki is someone who has a Tailed Beast sealed within them. You are the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku."

Gaara clutched his clothes.

"The monster inside me is called Shukaku? Why me, Dad?"

Rasa nodded. "Because I am the Kazekage, I need to protect the village."

"And you, Gaara, my most beloved child, among all your siblings, you are the most exceptional. Only you can harness Shukaku's power. That's why I chose you."

Gaara clutched his head, feeling like he was hearing things. Did his father just say he was the most beloved and exceptional child...

"Then why did you, Father..." Gaara asked with doubt and hope, fearing his father was deceiving him.

Rasa continued to stroke Gaara's head, not letting Gaara see his expression. "The village is constantly in danger. If I always showed my approval of you, you would be in even greater danger..."

"I'm sorry, Gaara. Can you forgive your father?" Rasa hugged Gaara again.

Feeling this unfamiliar warmth, Gaara murmured, "Dad, I don't blame you. It's my fault. I couldn't control Shukaku and killed many people."

Rasa's eyes flickered. "It's okay. That was Shukaku's doing. I went to Konoha to get help strengthening the seal. You won't suffer as much in the future."

"Really, Dad?" Gaara asked, filled with surprise and joy.

Gaara longed to sleep, but if he did, Shukaku would come out and kill people. He hadn't slept for many years.

Rasa nodded. "Yes."

Yashamaru, seeing the reconciliation between Rasa and Gaara, felt incredibly happy. Hearing Rasa's words made him even more pleased for Gaara.

"Kazekage-sama, when will the people from Konoha arrive?"

Rasa stood up and looked behind him.

"They're already here."

Summerwood emerged from the shadows, his Sharingan gradually stopping its rotation and returning to normal.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for significantly altering Rasa's life path.]

Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Gold Dust Sand Mat (one-time use).

Summerwood felt a burst of joy. He could fly now, even if it were just once.

Wait, there might be a loophole here!

Rasa's body shuddered, and he glanced deeply at Summerwood.

Turning around, he took Gaara's hand and instructed Yashamaru, "Yashamaru, prepare the materials for the sealing jutsu. Remember, don't tell anyone else. Do it alone."

Yashamaru was momentarily stunned, then glanced in the direction Rasa indicated towards the sand wall where the high-ranking advisors of Sunagakure, Chiyo and Ebizo were residing.

It was Chiyo who insisted on making Gaara a Jinchuriki back then.

"Understood! I'll handle it right away!"

Even in Sunagakure, power struggles existed. It was best not to let Chiyo know about this.

...

In a secret room in Sunagakure.

Outside, many Anbu members guarded the area, surrounding the room to prevent any information from leaking.

Yashamaru had prepared the necessary materials for the sealing jutsu.

Experiencing his father's concern for the first time, Gaara clung tightly to Rasa's clothes as if afraid everything would disappear if he let go.

Rasa gave Summerwood a complex look and patted Gaara's head.

After training in sealing jutsu for over a year, Summerwood had mastered the Four Symbols Seal of the Hokage lineage.

The Four Symbols Seal wasn't just one seal but a series of sealing techniques.

All used the Four Symbols Seal, from the simplest of blocking a summoning beast to sealing chakra, sealing Tailed Beasts, and even sealing the Dragon Vein as the Fourth Hokage did.

Every village had its signature sealing techniques, but there needed to be more specialists in sealing jutsu.

Training in sealing jutsu required a lot of time, energy, and chakra.

It also depended on talent. With it, much time would be well-spent in the early stages.

During the Third Shinobi World War, no one had the luxury of time to spend on this.

After all, sealing jutsu had little combat capability in its early stages and could only serve as support.

People with large amounts of chakra held important positions and had no time to train in sealing jutsu.

Currently, research into sealing jutsu in the shinobi world is regressing. Many villages had sealing jutsu that were either lost or documented without anyone to pass them on.

A nation, Uzushiogakure, once mastered various sealing jutsu and used them skillfully in combat, but it was destroyed because of its prominence.

After obtaining the chakra of the Uzumaki clan, Summerwood discovered that besides increasing his chakra to incredible levels, he also became more attuned to sealing jutsu.

Now, he could perform sealing jutsu with great ease.

However, sealing a Tailed Beast required a more extensive formation for catalysis.

The materials Yashamaru brought were adequate.

Summerwood drew an extensive Four Symbols Formation on the ground, placing Gaara in the centre. Gaara looked fearful but also hopeful.

"Kazekage-sama, would you like to see Gaara's inner world?"

Summerwood suddenly asked. Rasa, who stood nearby with his arms crossed, hesitated and slowly nodded.

"If possible."

Summerwood had Rasa come over and place his hand on Gaara's head.

Gaara was noticeably less nervous with his father nearby and leaned against Rasa.

Summerwood checked the formation, ensuring there were no problems.

Standing firmly, he rapidly formed hand seals, dark runes lighting up on his hands.

He placed his hands on Gaara's head, and the runes slowly spread over Gaara's body.

At first, Gaara was frightened, but he relaxed when he felt no pain.

As the runes increased, the large formation on the ground began to glow.

"Four Symbols Seal! Activate!"