Shukaku

Standing there, no one had the courage to move the sand or attempt to dig Gaara out from underground.

Nobody knew if Gaara had purposely chosen to remain there, as even the Kazekage didn't make any effort to extract him. As the day began to brighten and the sun rose, more and more attention was drawn to the strange situation by the citizens of Sunagakure.

Officials, though hesitant, were left with no choice but to act. They sent in sensory-type ninjas, whose abilities confirmed there was indeed life beneath the sand—life that was rapidly depleting. The chakra in the sand around Gaara was draining by the second.

Meanwhile, hours earlier, after Gaara lost control of his body and collapsed, the sand beneath him had responded. It had shifted, forming a protective cocoon around him, one much larger than the previous. This cocoon was designed to shelter Gaara while keeping him hidden from anyone who might be chasing him.

This protective action was the work of Shukaku.

As a jinchuriki, Gaara had been bonded with his tailed beast from birth—he had been born with Shukaku sealed inside him. While Shukaku had always been conscious within Gaara, the two had never been fully in sync. This lack of synchronization was evident when Gaara had tried to block the dart earlier. Though he'd managed to react in time, it wasn't perfect, and it was clear that Shukaku was acting more on instinct than precise control.

For now, Shukaku's instinct was to protect Gaara. Perhaps, in time, Gaara would be strong enough to wield the full power of the One-Tailed Beast, but for now, he was too fragile.

As Gaara slipped into unconsciousness, nothing happened within his body from the poison. It turned out that the poison was designed to induce a deep, long sleep—essentially a sleep poison. Whoever had poisoned him had the intent to kidnap Gaara for some unknown purpose, but they needed him alive. Shukaku, though capable of mitigating the poison's effects, required Gaara to fall into a deep sleep. It was an ideal moment for Gaara to be at his most vulnerable.

Minutes later, Gaara woke up in the same barren desert.

His eyes opened, and the familiar landscape filled him with both surprise and dread.

Surprised because this scene wasn't just a random dream—it was happening again.

Scared because it meant that he had been unconscious. And being unconscious meant he had either been captured or…

Boom!

An earthquake erupted, shaking the desert violently. This time, Gaara had no strength left in his legs to escape. The quake and the ensuing tornado swept him deeper into the earth, and soon enough, everything went black.

He would be awoken once again.