Gaara Underground

It was already past midnight, and dawn was almost upon them, but Gaara was nowhere to be found.

Temari and Kankuro were found knocked out at their house, and Gaara was the only one missing.

There was little panic to search for Gaara, as many believed it would be better if he simply disappeared like that.

However, Rasa still needed him. Gaara was set to be the next Kazekage, and Rasa wanted to know the results of the experiment he had conducted on his son.

Soon after, Kazekage Rasa himself arrived to confirm that Gaara had been kidnapped.

Considering that the Kazekage was usually the strongest or mightiest in the village, he might be able to find something the scouts hadn't noticed— and indeed, he did. After tracing Gaara's steps to the spot where the poison dart had been fired and where Gaara had fallen, Rasa noticed something strange: the sand under his feet was giving off more chakra than usual.

With his magnetic release kekkei genkai, Rasa could easily sense chakra in the earth.

He bent over and touched the sand, attempting to probe the reason for the increase in chakra. But just like before, when he infused his chakra to manipulate the sand, he was immediately bounced back.

This led him to believe that maybe Gaara wasn't kidnapped after all. It made sense—perhaps Gaara, in his panic or due to injury, had fallen into the earth.

This must be Shukaku's doing, Rasa thought. I don't believe Gaara can control chakra after barely being able to sense it.

Meanwhile, Baki stood beside him, taking in everything the Kazekage had just done. He watched him closely, eager to hear what Rasa would say next. When Rasa stood up, he spoke.

"He's here."

Baki's eyes widened as he considered the possible scenarios. Most of them were bad and disadvantageous, though he tried to remain optimistic.

He calmed himself and hoped that, at the very least, Gaara wasn't hurt beyond recovery, because that would be disastrous. It would spell trouble not only for the Sand Village but also for anyone foolish enough to attack them.

Considering how calm Lord Kazekage is, Baki thought, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Gaara is still alive. From what I know about Lord Kazekage, even if he had no emotional attachment to Gaara, he would never let his investment go to waste so easily.

"What do you want me to do, Lord Kazekage?" Baki asked, bowing.

Rasa, without showing any emotion or reaction, simply stared down at the sand before him. After a pause, he spoke.

"Leave him be. Raise the security on our borders and get me intel on who you think might be behind this. Gaara will come out when he feels safe."

At those words, a strong gust of wind blew through the area, sweeping away Rasa and Baki, leaving only a few scouts and Gaara's siblings behind, unsure of what to do next.